A Nativity set made in Haiti features a stable made out of a coconut shell and hand painted clay figures. The sets are available for sale at the diocesan Office for the Missions. If you are still hunting for a Christmas gift for a hard-to-buy-for person on your Christmas list, take heart, you are not alone. But thanks to the Internet - not to mention any number of catalogues, which arrive almost daily in the mail - there are plenty of things from which to choose if you prefer to shop from home. Many catalogues are enticing buyers by offering free shipping, regardless of the size of the order.
An order for caramels made by the Trappist nuns at Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, not far from Dubuque, Iowa, (www.trappistine.com) arrived in Springfield just three days after it was placed. Bourbon fudge made by the Trappist monks at Gethsemani, Ky., (www.gethsemanifarms.org ) took a little longer to arrive.
Donating to a non-for-profit organization in someone's name is a popular gift to give a person "who has everything." Catholic Charities, St. John's Breadline, Catholic Relief Services, local food banks, St. Martin de Porres, the Animal Protective League, the American Heart Association and Habitat for Humanity are but some of the places to choose from, and whatever donation made will be put to use helping others.
Fresh roasted-to-order fair trade organic coffee is sold by Café Campesino. In recent years a number of small independent stores have really perked up shopping in downtown Springfield. Several stores specialize in local artists' work. While some shops have closed, new ones have opened up, and there is enough variety and great eating spots nearby to make Christmas shopping downtown a fun activity again. The gift shop at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Museum, the Illinois State Museum artisan and gift shop and the gift shop at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, which is just a few blocks north of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, all offer unique items for sale to appeal to people in many age groups.
On Springfield's west side, Coco-Bon Gourmet, in the strip mall across from Schnucks on Iles, offers tantalizing handmade chocolate creations that are as beautiful as they are tasty. Gourmet food items and specialty kitchen tools and china make it the perfect place to find hostess gifts. Just a few shops away, shoppers can sit down and relax over a cup of specialty coffee and a snack at Brew-Baker's Café. Original art works by local artists are on display on its walls.
If you prefer shopping at home, go to the diocesan Web site, www.dio.org, click on Departments, and then click on Office for the Missions. The very first link you see is Café Campesino, a direct link to purchase fresh, roasted-to-order fair-trade coffee. You can buy coffee, tea, hot cocoa, and 5 percent of the proceeds will go toward the diocesan Office for the Missions to help promote fair trade.
"And as always, we have those $15 Nativity sets from Haiti, available," said Vicki Compton, director of the missions office.