A Double Dose of Giving

The ring of cash registers, the throb of sore feet and the weight of heavy shopping bags can make you feel like someone stole the holiday spirit and replaced it with a shopping marathon.

In an attempt to find the missing joy, not to mention the real meaning of the holiday, it would be easy just to send cards explaining to friends and family that this year, in lieu of gifts, charitable donations will be made in their names.

But then you risk getting some nasty reactions.

“Where’s my bauble?” greedy Aunt Nellie might shout. “I’ve waited all year, and all I get is a piece of paper?” And children, raised to believe that the reward for good behavior is a gift for the holiday, have been known to cry upon hearing the words “But other children will be benefiting from your generosity.”

There is a way to minimize shopping stress, give to worthy organizations and avoid disappointing loved ones: Shop at nonprofit gift stores. There, the proceeds from sales go to worthy causes, but you still have something wonderful to wrap.

And if you go to the St. John’s Regional Medical Center Gift Shop in Camarillo, you do not even have to wrap it. They wrap all gifts bought at their store at no additional charge, said store manager Patty Paumier.

This includes $7 Beanie Babies, handcrafted items and collectibles. The volunteers at the shop order plants from nurseries and create original arrangements priced from $4.95 to $45.

Religious items, priced from 49 cents to $50, are also big sellers, including angels, nativity sets, night lights and statues.

“People who shop here are doing a good deed,” said Paumier, adding that money from the shop assists the hospital with special projects.

Other hospitals have nonprofit gift shops run by volunteers.

*

The Thousand Oaks Los Robles Regional Medical Center Gift Shop uses its revenue to assist such organizations as Meals on Wheels, the Fitzgerald Center and the Conejo Free Clinic, said manager Shirley Rak. An item Aunt Nellie might love that is only found in the Los Robles Gift Shop is a tapestry afghan that sells for $55.

The twin-bed-size afghan depicts Thousand Oaks, with an oak tree in the center surrounded by scenes including the Civic Arts Plaza, Cal Lutheran University and the library.

They also have Beanie Babies starting at $5.50, beanie buddies from $10 and a vintage bear collection by Russ Berrie that varies in style and size, priced from $15 to $75.

*

You won’t find Beanie Babies at the Grant Brimhall Library in Thousand Oaks, where the nonprofit Thousand Oaks Library Foundation volunteers have a store to raise money to purchase items the library budget doesn’t cover. Over the years they have bought special book collections and supported many library programs.

At the library store, shoppers will find a lot of glass cases full of jewelry including copper and brass bracelets from $15 to $50.

The store features a large collection of hand puppets, stuffed animals and educational toys. Hand-painted vases sell from $15 to $17. Russian nesting dolls range from $17 to $25.

According to volunteer Lyn Meyer, a big seller--and something she has purchased and enjoys--is book weights covered in decorative fabric that hold books open, for $11.95.

“It’s really handy when you’re alone and eating and reading,” Meyer said.

*

The San Buenaventura Mission Gift Shop run by the Roman Catholic Church has a variety of souvenirs and religious items people purchase and send to relatives all over the world, manager Kyra Samaniego said.

Shelves are full of rosaries, books, CDs and tapes, statues, tiles, thimbles, spoons, postcards and jewelry, with prices from 50 cents to more than $100, she said.

*

Handcrafted items resembling gifts from bygone days can be found at the Stagecoach Inn Museum Gift Shop in Newbury Park.

Wooden angels, cut and painted, sell for $9 each. Antique-looking clocks range from $5 to $20. And then there are peekaboo bears that hide their eyes, wooden snowmen, wreaths, Christmas stockings and other handmade items in a country theme.

“Our gift shop sales help us to keep our museum doors open,” museum Director Sandy Hildebrandt said.

*

Down the road and over the hill, another museum store hopes its unique gifts will help fund programs and exhibits. The Museum Store at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is full of items that can only be found there, including Reagan’s signed autobiography “An American Life” that sells for $400, and a Stetson cowboy hat with a tag that reads “Custom designed for President Ronald Reagan.”

There is even a Millennium Time Capsule that promises to safely store up to 800 documents in a climate-controlled vault at the Reagan Library until January 2100. The capsule sells for $250.

There is also a die-cast toy Air Force One 747 plane set complete with a stretch limousine with a working sunroof, a helicopter, Secret Service van and a sedan that sells for $13.95. Kids also like the $1.95 yo-yo replica of the yo-yos Reagan gave to children who visited the Oval Office while he was in the White House.

*

There are items unique to the city of Fillmore at the Fillmore Historical Museum, with almost everything relating to a train or citrus theme. “We have a whole new inventory,” museum Director Rochelle McKinnon said.

Orange crate labels sell from $5 to $60 depending on rarity. Books on the history of Fillmore, local T-shirts and musical instruments are also popular, McKinnon said.

One of the best buys is a fossil collection for kids that includes six fossil pieces for $4.

But the item people seem not to be able to get enough of, McKinnon said, is the box of Sunkist Fruit Gem candies, from $5 to $7 a box. Since they are such a big seller, McKinnon said the store is being kept well-stocked for the holidays.