Cheryl Shops

Website of the week
Because I am totally into the Christmas spirit this week, the website of the week is not about fashion or shopping--it's about giving. Everyone's favorite upscale furniture emporium, ABC Carpet & Home, has set up a lovely website called ABC Home & Planet, devoted to the art of giving charitably. A small but high-quality list of gifts is divided into "gifts of compassion" and "gifts to visionary organizations." The recipients are varied, from giving a milk-producing goat to a child in the Caribbean to making a donation to the New York-based Housing Works, which helps people suffering from HIV and AIDS. All of the causes are explained in detail, and unlike buying furniture at ABC, you don't need to drop thousands of dollars--literacy for an Afghan girl is just $75. Of course, this is ABC, so a certificate of your good deed comes in a pretty bejeweled bag. And, as an added bonus, the gifts are 100% tax deductible. But gift bags and tax breaks aside, the best part is getting into the true spirit of the season and giving, because god knows a Cambodian family needs a water buffalo more than you need that cashmere sweater.