Giving gifts is good; giving the gift of giving is better. That’s a whole lotta giving!

The Chicago Alternative Gift Fair is this weekend, and it is far from your regular old gift fair. Stop thinking woven baskets and doll-shaped light switch plates. The Chicago Alternative Gift Fair doesn’t sell tangible gifts. Instead, you purchase donations to various good causes in your own name, or someone else’s.

At the Chicago Alternative Gift Fair, attendees can support a variety of local, national and international nonprofit organizations with established track records of helping people and the environment by making donations and purchasing gifts directly from them. Those who make donations on behalf of friends and relatives will receive a beautiful card with a description of their gift.

Forget about buying your mom flowers and overpriced scented candles. Besides feeling good about doing something for those in need, you’ll make your mom smile – especially since a warm fuzzy feeling inside is always appreciated.