Feel Good Friday - Last Minute Gift Guide

Happy Feel Good Friday! Hanukkah is here, Christmas is coming... if you're like me, you've waited until the last minute to do your shopping. Don't worry, there's an upside!

For today's Feel Good Friday, we're going to take a look back at companies we've profiled in 2014 that have a feel good product to sell. Given how last minute this list is, you may need to make these presents for the new year or save them for someone's birthday in 2015. But hey, now you've got your birthday shopping taken care of too. You're welcome.

Click on the links below to go to the original FGF posts and get all the details!

Guardian Princesses - books about "super heroines who work together to protect the people and the planet."

GoodWeave -  rugs made without child labor by a group that also provides "education and opportunities to rescued and at-risk children."

Thistle Farms - beauty products made and sold by women in Tennessee "who have survived lives of prostitution, trafficking, addiction and life on the streets."

luminAID - a solar-powered, waterproof, inflatable light. When you buy one for yourself, take a moment (and get a discount) to buy one for a person liven in a country without reliable access to electricity.

ChopChop Magazine - a magazine full of recipes to teach kids how to cook real food with their families.

GoldieBlox - engineering toys designed for girls to get them interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Wonderbag - "a non-electric, heat-retention cooker that allows food that has been brought to a boil, to continue cooking after it has been removed from the fuel source." For every Wonderbag you buy, one is sent to a family in Africa!

If you'd rather make a donation to another organization in someone's name or buy a goat for a family in Guatemala, you can scroll through the Feel Good Friday archives to get ideas or just to feel good.

Happy Holidays!

Feel Good Friday - Guardian Princesses

Tired of watching and reading about the princess who waits for the prince to come save her? Worried about the impact that will have on a youngster in your life? Well then you'll love today's Feel Good Friday the Guardian Princesses!

I first learned about them through this Upworthy article. The summary provided on their IndieGoGo campaign page explains, "The Guardian Princesses are new super heroines who work together to protect the people and the planet.  They are a group of racially and cuturally diverse leaders who model compassion and intelligence, as well as the power of knowledge and collective action. Our stories transform the cultural meaning of the princess from a damsel-in-distress to brave heroines providing better role models for all children." You go, girls!

The Guardian Princesses were the idea of UC Riverside Professor, Shetsu Sigematsu, who was concerned about the effect the princess culture was having on her young daughter with it's focus on external beauty and the need to be rescued rather than take charge of a situation. She decided she couldn't fight the power of the princess so she wrote new stories. Not only do these princesses offer fabulous role models for young girls, but the stories also meet the Common Core requirements for all you teachers in the house.

The first three books are out, you can order them here, and there is an IndieGoGo campaign underway to launch a book for the next princess, Ten Ten, Guardian of the Skies. She's "the first ever gender independent East Asian super heroine." What's not to love?

You can learn more by listening to an NPR story from last year and stay current by liking their Facebook page or following them on Twitter @GPgeneration1

Last, there's a music video you can watch and get stuck in your head in case there's any other princess song you need to let go.