What do you get the person who has everything? That’s the question facing lots of us right now.
We live in a society of too much. At least my family does. You should see the huge amount of toys taking up residence in various spots around our house. Our closets and drawers all overstuffed with clothes. Shortly before our move this summer, I sold and gave away a lot of tchotchkes, books, CDs, DVDS, etc.. Yet, I’m sure that we will be getting more of all of those in a few weeks.
And don’t forget all of the wrapping paper, bags, boxes, tissue paper and bows that will be used to wrap all of those presents. Most of which are not recyclable. And of the ones that are, many won’t be recycled.
Enough with all of the negativity. There are lots of ways you can enjoy the holidays and still be eco-conscious.
We’ll start with gift-giving, which is one of my favorite things about the holidays.
There are all sorts of environmentally- and socially-friendly options available today. You can donate to charities in your loved ones’ names. Your family can pick a charity together and volunteer as a whole. There are a wide array of charities available. It should be very easy to find one for your family or loved ones.
Spending an afternoon or weekend together volunteering sounds like a great way to create some wonderful family memories. You could help at a soup kitchen or pancake dinner. You could pick up litter along the highway. Visit a nursing home or hospital and sing carols. Play with animals at the local HumaneSociety.
If you want to give something tangible, look for a gift that benefits an organization near and dear to your loved ones’ hearts. There are lots of options available, including green ones.
I recently read about Trees for a Change. This organization plants trees as gifts in national forests that have been decimated by wildfires. You can buy a tree planting, which comes with a certificate on recycled paper or an e-certificate. You can also order Tree Gift Cards, which are printed on recycled paper. Each card represents one tree.
Good news about gifts like this? You don’t need any wrapping paper!
According to informinc.org, we waste lots of paper during the holiday season. The website reports that enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields could be saved if each American wrapped three gifts in reused paper.
Rolls of recycled paper can be expensive, but there are lots of other green alternatives. Buy something that doesn’t need to be wrapped! A bottle of wine, basket full of organic goodies, etc. If it does need wrapping, get creative. Since we have a toddler, we’ve started wrapping presents in newspaper that he’s colored on. Our son is very minimalist with his artistic renderings, but it’s still pretty sweet. And newspapers are recyclable.
If your kids are too old to find that fun, try wrapping presents in beautiful pieces of fabric. If you’re getting someone something for his/her house, wrap it with linens.
Or, buy canvas shopping bags and put your presents in those. These come in a variety of sizes, and stores like Whole Foods offer holiday specific totes.
These don’t create any extra mess, and many of the canvas shopping bags cost about $1.
Any holiday present or wrapping advice?
