Two years ago I wrote about presents and other solutions to make your holiday season kinder to the environment. Time goes by, fashions and good ideas evolve, and that’s why I am writing a new edition of the post to have a ‘greener’ holiday season without having to make too much fuss.
1. About Christmas cards…
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| A handmade Christmas card. |
The average person in the US receives 17 Christmas cards per season. If you’re the kind that keeps cards, you can reuse them by cutting them out and making them into ‘new’ cards of your own using colored paper. This is especially handy if you have kids, as you can make it a family project. If you don’t keep cards, do the trees a favor and send ecards.
2. And presents
When it comes to giving gifts to other adults around us, friends and relatives, we spend hours thinking of ideas, and shopping. But stop for a moment now and think: what did you get for Christmas last year? Do you remember any of the presents? Maybe a couple?
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| Everyone should try to escape a Mystery Room at least once. |
Experiences
A hot-air balloon ride, a restaurant cruise, a mystery room, or a night at the movies or theater. If you have friends or family with small kids, the gift of a dinner for 2 with tickets to some event, including babysitter is a huge kindness.
Experience in something they like
Experience in something they like
Music or singing lessons, a ceramics or drawing class.
Services
Massages, manicures, pedicures, a fishing boat day rental, wildlife spotting excursions, full car cleaning and detailing.
The less common present
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| Vintage belt buckle |
Many things fall under this category, but a few are very specifically environmentally-friendly: second-hand presents (vintage decoration and accessories have been an ‘in’ thing the past 10, 15 years), antiques, or things created via repurposing.
Repurposing consists in using existing objects and materials to turn them into something new. There are many do-it-yourself repurposing projects; bowls made from vinyl records, or candles inside vintage and second-hand porcelain tea cups. As a matter of fact, check out the Upcycle That website because it’s a haven to all things cool and repurposed.
Repurposing consists in using existing objects and materials to turn them into something new. There are many do-it-yourself repurposing projects; bowls made from vinyl records, or candles inside vintage and second-hand porcelain tea cups. As a matter of fact, check out the Upcycle That website because it’s a haven to all things cool and repurposed.
If you don’t find yourself handy enough to try your own hand
at repurposing, most large online merchants have very cool repurposed gifts.
There are hundreds of gifts to fit every budget, and every single one of them
is made using materials that otherwise would go to waste.
Re-giving?
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| Tickets for two, including babysitter is a great gift for parents. |
This is a subject so touchy there’s even a Seinfeld episode about it. It used to be that if you received something that you didn’t need, want, or like, but could not return, you had to keep it at home gathering dust. Because giving it to someone else would be very rude to the person who gave it to you in the first place. Nowadays, if you have something useless to you that you never used and have someone that you know would like it, you’ll be doing your wallet and the environment a favor by giving it away. Perfectly acceptable!
For ideas on wrapping paper and alternatives, please read my first article on this subject, it has some great ideas.
And regarding adhesive tape, why not try avoiding it whenever possible? If your wrapping paper is strong enough, the ribbon will hold it in place without need for tape. Oh and why not use a reusable ribbons and strings (cloth, handwoven hemp, etc)?
Batteries
For ideas on wrapping paper and alternatives, please read my first article on this subject, it has some great ideas.
And regarding adhesive tape, why not try avoiding it whenever possible? If your wrapping paper is strong enough, the ribbon will hold it in place without need for tape. Oh and why not use a reusable ribbons and strings (cloth, handwoven hemp, etc)?
Batteries
Did you know that 40% of batteries sold each year in the US are sold the first 3 weeks of
December? Their high content in chemical compounds, especially cadmium and nickel means they’re one of the worst dangers to the environment. This is why, lease try to avoid buying presents that require batteries and, if you must buy something that has batteries changed all the time, buy the person rechargeable batteries and a charger. It’s a thoughtful detail for the person getting the present, and you’ll be doing nature a kindness too.
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| A vintage cocktail set. |
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