Noooo! How does it happen every year? Mother's Day is just six days away, and all you've got prepared for dear old Mom is an impromptu poem on the phone. Or the old standby, flowers. But does it have to be that way? Noooo!

iStockPhoto.com/dickysingh

Here are some gifts that will delight your mom while helping other moms:

• Give her some dairy-free chocolates. They're delicious and affordable, and they help prevent mother cows from having their male calves taken away from them in the dairy industry.
• If you're making Mom breakfast in bed, opt for a tofu scramble. Then no mama hens will have been exploited for their eggs, and you'll help keep Mom healthy. Plus, tofu scramble is delicious—it tastes great in "huevos" rancheros.
• For dinner, treat her to vegan veal chops—great cuisine without the cruelty.
• For a little glamour on the cheap, give her a bunny-heart necklace. This lovely little piece of jewelry will subtly help her share her love for animals in style.
• Thank Mom for being sweet to animals with Sweet Anthem Handmade Perfumes. They are vegan and cruelty-free, which means that nobunny got hurt in testing.
• If she's a whiz in the kitchen, how about giving Mom the new vegan cookbook Betty Goes Vegan? It's got all the classic Betty Crocker recipes, but they've been updated for the compassionate cook. Or perhaps these tea towels are for her. They show that her kitchen is animal-free and that her decorating style is adorable.
• Present her with tickets to an animal-free circus. It's kind of hard to appreciate your mom while you watch elephants who were shackled and beaten in front of their mothers. Check out Cirque du Soleil or one of the many other dazzling spectacles of human entertainment.
• Tell her that she's beautiful with the Beauty Without Bunnies cosmetics bag. It even comes with a free lip balm!
• Can't think of the right thing to give her? How about a PETA gift certificate? She can pick out anything she wants from hundreds of items in our catalog. Does she need a "Vegetarians Against Spam" shirt? Yeah, we've got that.
• Or just spoil her a little with a PETA membership. She'll receive PETA's wildly popular magazine, Animal Times, plus discounts on PETA merchandise throughout the year!

It's the one holiday when we get to celebrate Mom for all that she's done for us, so show your appreciation by honoring all moms, from feathered to finned!

We all love hearing those three little words: "Have some chocolate." I jest, of course (kind of), but on Valentine's Day, love often takes the form of candy in a heart-shaped box. And PETA's box of confections won't just satisfy your loved one's sweet tooth. Since it's cruelty-free and the purchase price helps fund PETA's vital work, it will also satisfy a desire to be sweet to animals.

Because everyone—animals included—enjoys displays of affection.

Cats head-butt the ones they love as a sign that they feel comfortable and secure. And dog guardians know that, as Bill Maher put it, "The reason I love my dog so much is because when I come home, he's the only one in the world who treats me like I'm The Beatles." 

© iStockPhoto.com/djgunner 

Sheep love to cuddle and nuzzle, male rats sing love songs to females, fish rub against one another, and geese mate for life. 

Get your melt-in-your-mouth vegan chocolates before they're gone. Your valentine will likely prefer them to an enthusiastic head-butt.

We know that there weren't any pigs on your table this Christmas, but were there pigs at it? At a festive Christmas party in Goa, India, not only were pigs at the table, they were also the guests of honor.

The Panjim Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) had intercepted a group of people who were illegally transporting about 100 pigs and who intended to slaughter and sell them for holiday meals. But PAWS rescued all the pigs and took them to safety at its shelter. So, since the pigs were no longer becoming the feast, PAWS and PETA India decided to throw them one instead.

The gleeful pigs happily munched on corn, spinach, strawberries, grapes, and other treats, while their proud rescuers doted on them. And as news cameras caught the pigs' mirthful antics, they also captured the not-so-subtle message that PETA India had prominently displayed at the table: a sign that implored, "Give Pigs the Gift of Life: Go Vegan."

Ho, ho, no! Looks like Santa's been indulging in a little too much eggnog:

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How does milk (and other animal products) contribute to impotence? The saturated fat and cholesterol in even so-called low-fat 1 or 2 percent milk (which are actually about 20 and 30 percent fat calories, respectively) clogs the arteries leading to all your organs, not just your heart. Milk is also loaded with female hormones, since cows are kept almost constantly pregnant on today's dairy factory farms. One Harvard University scientist estimates that cow's milk accounts for up to 80 percent of the estrogen in the average person's diet.

So if you want to keep Mrs. Claus happy, better make it soy or almond milk with those cookies on Christmas Eve. Otherwise, Rudolph might be the only one who gets up in the air this holiday season.

The Black Friday shoppers who were standing in line at midnight to score deals on video games weren't necessarily parents of teenage boys. Some of them might have been pig guardians.

It's true: Pigs love a good video game. Surprised? Then try this one on for size: Pigs can answer to their names within a week of being born. Yep. That skill takes people, what, two years to master?

Pigs are super-smart. In fact, they're classified as the fourth-smartest animal on the planet—ahead of cats and dogs (who haven't the foggiest idea what a Wii is).

And here are some other things that you may not know about pigs:

• They enjoy listening to music.
• They "Eskimo kiss" like humans by rubbing their noses together.
• The intense bond between mother pigs and their babies is just as strong as that between human parents and their children.
• Pigs are chatterboxes, and their wide range of grunts, squeaks, snarls, and snorts all have distinct meanings.
• Just like human beings, they have widely varied personalities: Pigs can be shy or outgoing, serious or playful.
• Piglets play like human children: chasing each other, pretend fighting, squealing, and playing with toys.

Pigs can also suffer from depression, as many on factory farms do. And they don't want to be slaughtered and turned into a centerpiece. This holiday season, serve a hearty and delicious Field Roast and save a pig from your table.

You may just wind up with a new favorite gaming partner.

Tired of giving your family and friends neckties, candles, and pairs of gloves every year? Most of us already have overstuffed closets, and really, how much cinnamon aroma can one take? This year, think outside the tie box and give a PETA Present. 

Make your friends and family all warm inside by letting them "deliver" comfort to a cold, lonely "outdoor dog" this winter, help save a rabbit from losing his or her fur for a collar, or help get an animal released from a laboratory. Or make personalized gifts—just choose the campaign that you are most passionate about and specify what you would like your donation to be used for.

Your gift recipients will receive an e-card on the date that you choose to let them know that they have helped an animal in need, and if you need to make use of all those tie boxes, you can print out the description of the gift to put under the tree.

It's the season for tidings of comfort and joy—and we can help make it a little bit more comfortable and joyous for animals, too. Thank you!

O, Canada! We're always busy, busy, busy during this festive season, but we haven't forgotten our pals in the Great White North—y compris nos amis francophones. Yanks and Canucks have so much in common, and yet there are distinctive differences. For example, while the yuletide finds a disturbing number of friendly, intelligent pigs on this side of the 49th parallel killed for ham, it's the saddest day of the year for abused factory-farmed turkeys in Canada. So PETA is encouraging Canadian kids (since kids haven't yet been taught to suppress their natural compassion for animals) to consider what—and who—they're eating. PETA has placed the attention-grabbing holiday billboard seen below on a highway leading into Victoria, British Columbia.

PETA's also giving U.S. kids something to chew on other than cruelly produced ham with this billboard, just outside Reno, Nevada. 

Of course, companion animals need our help, too—and it's not just children who need to reconsider their attitudes. So PETA is also looking to put up a brand-new billboard—promoting spaying and neutering to effectively curb animal overpopulation—in the hope of reaching those kind people for whom this season is more about revering Mary than reveling merrily.

We'd like to thank all the donors whose support of PETA makes it possible to place these billboards, which foster awareness of animal rights. 

What You Can Do

To give a holiday gift that keeps on giving to animals year-round, become a PETA member. And please remember to shop PETA for everyone on your list—each purchase funds vital efforts to improve and save animals' lives!

Thanksgiving is hell for turkeys. To make sure as many folks get this message as possible, here are three of our best holiday ads. Pick your favorite and share with friends to let them know why they should give turkeys a reason to be thankful, too:

 "Would You Eat Your Dog?"

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"Turkey Terror"

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 "Grace"

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Give everyone—including animals—something to be thankful for this holiday season by celebrating with a vegan feast. 

It seems as if every other week there's another horror story about an animal who has died or gone missing during airline travel. The most recent one involves Xiaohwa, a frightened cat who bolted when an employee opened her crate at John F. Kennedy International Airport—she is still lost inside the building. 

It's just not a good idea to entrust our beloved animals to a system that we barely trust with our shampoo and underwear.

 Although some airlines do allow a limited number of small animals to ride inside the cabin, many still think that animals should be treated like baggage. The cargo hold of a plane is a loud, terrifying—and often deadly—place. Because it isn't  climate-controlled, it can quickly become sweltering or freezing, putting animals at risk of dying from heatstroke or exposure. 

So as the holiday season approaches, many animal guardians are opting to take the scenic route and drive to their destinations. Here are our top tips for traveling with animals to help make the trip smooth sailing:

1. Toting no-spill travel bowls makes it easy to keep everyone hydrated en route.
2. To keep cats calm in the car, some people may consider tranquilizing them, but tranquilizers can be dangerous and actually upset and disorient cats. Catnip or stress-reducers such as Feliway or Rescue Remedy are gentler ways to calm cats.
3. For dogs who are prone to losing their lunch in the car, ginger capsules (found at health-food stores) may help, or veterinarians can prescribe medication.
4. Cats can turn into escape artists on the road, so it's safest to keep them in sturdy, roomy carriers that are lined with a towel and equipped with a small litter tray.
5. Carriers made of hard plastic provide much better protection in an accident than soft-sided or disposable cardboard carriers.
6. Dogs should never be transported in the bed of a truck—an abrupt stop can eject them from the vehicle.
7. Schedule frequent stops. Just like human travelers, dogs appreciate the chance to stretch their legs, have a snack, and hit the bathroom every couple of hours.
8. Animals should always be put on a leash or in a carrier whenever a car window or door is going to be opened. Countless dogs and cats have been lost at tollbooths, gas stations, and rest stops when they unexpectedly darted out an open door or window. 

Some people find that it's easier on animals if they're allowed to stay at home in the care of trusted family members, friends, or sitters. When your animal companions are staying at home, you will want to do the following:

• Put everything that caregivers may need to know in writing, including your temporary contact information, cell phone number, veterinarian's phone number, and emergency numbers.
• Leave extras of all animal supplies that caregivers may need, just in case your return is delayed.
• Check in regularly to give caregivers a chance to ask any questions that they might not have felt comfortable calling about.

Happy holidays to you and all your family members!

Do you know folks who eat turkey breasts? What about terrier breasts?

A new billboard that PETA is working to place near public schools in Ottawa; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, asks children to consider why they call one animal "family" and another "dinner":

Turkey: ©iStockphoto.com/James Steidl | Dog: ©iStockphoto.com/Eric Isselee

Like dogs, turkeys are highly curious and love to scout out new sights and smells. And like dogs, turkeys are highly social animals who enjoy the company of humans and even like to have their feathers stroked. They are also devoted parents, and in nature, chicks stay with their mothers for a full year.

But on factory farms, turkeys spend nearly their entire lives crammed into stinking, windowless sheds. The only human touch they experience is when workers chop off parts of their beaks and toes and the males' snoods without any pain relief. Turkey eggs are hatched in an incubator, and the chicks never see their mothers. They are less than a year old when they are shipped to the slaughterhouse, where workers slam their legs into shackles and drag them through a "stunning tank" that immobilizes but doesn't kill them and a blade slits their throats.

As Thanksgiving approaches, please repost the image of this poignant billboard and ask your friends this: If you wouldn't pay someone to torment and kill your dog, why pay people to torment and kill a turkey?