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I'm really trying to give gifts that won't be too hard on the environment. And since my 3 kids and 1 grandchild (and me too) all have Nov/Dec birthdays, thats a lot of presents. Here's what I've come up with:
1. younger DS, birthday-- a stainless steel water bottle (avoiding using plastic water bottles ever). Holiday--subscription to Netflix
2. older DS ditto, except double the amount of time for the Netflix because it's the holiday present for his wife, too.
3. DD, birthday -- 2 books, holiday --same water bottle (and one for her partner too).
4. DH--tickets to the local progressive dinner/house tour, and that includes his presents to me for birthday and holiday.
Wrapping is important, too. I've always saved wrapping paper, so that's easy, plus those wrapping bags can be used over and over again.
Good topic Jennifer! I read this earlier today and then later on was going thru the mail.
Our rural electic co-op sends out a monthly newsletter and they had energy efficient gifts for the twelve days of Christmas listed.
I thought of this post and thought energy efficiency and "green" often go hand in hand.
So, the two that I thought were the best were 4 tubes of caulk to seal up drafty spots, and 8 CFL bulbs. They also mentioned big ticket items like more efficient washer and dryer sets.
Personally, I give socks to the kids every year. This year they'll be getting organic cotton socks. Hopefully made in the USA organic cotton socks.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Bloom where you are planted.
tulips 4 buddy at yahoo dot com
Posts: 1856 | Location: Zone 4 Central South Dakota | Registered: June 20, 2002
Someone gave me a 'crank' radio years ago and I still use it from time to time. I had it in an emergency kit for a lot of years too because it doesn’t have batteries that will go bad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LAUS DEO, Where ever I go, there I am. ..... major at nwi dot net ..... Zone 6a, Eastern Washington, sagebrush high desert, Columbia plateau.
Posts: 2596 | Location: Eastern Washington State, zone 6a. | Registered: December 13, 2004
My friends will get a ticket to a garden show held here each March as a present. They all like to go and I figured this would be a great present...now, if only they remember what they did with them come March!
I've been trying to think along the lines of the gift of an event, a meal at a favorite restaurant, etc. instead of a 'product' this year...ie. no more 'stuff'.
*************************** Happiest in the garden... with dirt under my nails, sunshine on my back and Sister at my side
highcotton46 at yahoo dot com
Posts: 1484 | Location: zone 8b, Mobile, AL | Registered: January 22, 2007
We've been trying to eliminate the "stuff", also. Here are some of the ideas we've come up with in my family: 1) Dad asked for a donation to a favorite charity instead of gifts. I went on-line and did that easily. 2) Local honey, organic coffee and/or tea, organic fruit basket, homemade muffins or breads. 3) Reusable grocery bags- to reduce the volume of plastic bags. 4) Soaps (goat milk, etc) from Farmer's Mkt. 5) Burts Bees gift sets (my personal favorite) 6) Flower bulbs, gardening tools, seeds. 7) Homemade gifts such as a knitted scarf or photo you've taken and framed.
I'd love to hear more ideas!
Posts: 659 | Location: Southeast NC Zone 8 | Registered: May 15, 2007
- As are grocery bags. Envirosax (http://tinyurl.com/2xvu6x) are very fashionable, but ChicoBags (www.chicobag.com) are probably the most practical there is.
- I have given the crank radios Major mentioned to loads of people (http://tinyurl.com/ytokut) - they have cell phone chargers too.
- Speaking of power, if you're a big spender, this solar-powered backpack will charge your portable devices (http://tinyurl.com/32p9l9) for just $230. This site has great recycled messenger/DJ bags too.
- Eco-me (www.eco-me.com) makes several different kits for making your own household and personal care products - even babies, cats and dogs get their own kits.
- I would like a gift certificate to www.Kiva.org, a microlending site where individual lenders can invest in an entrepreneur in a developing country. The gift certificate recipient will be paid back, and can re-loan the money over and over again so it does more good.
- I haven't seen these in real life, but these organic cotton shower curtains (http://www.shopequita.com/hbh4729.htm) and towels (http://www.shopequita.com/hbl4567.htm) are a relatively good price for organic cotton.
- If people have iPods, you can give them iTunes or Omstream.com gift cards. Or cellphone minutes, if they have prepaid (non-contract) phones. These are gifts that have little carbon footprint since no actual physical product changes hands.
Posts: 1067 | Location: Los Angeles, CA | Registered: August 09, 2007
Thanks, Suasoria. I had looked at the Chicobags, but didn't know if they would hold up or not. I just ordered some. I am going to "wrap" some presents in them and they will also be a useful gift! I also ordered a couple for myself. I have canvas bags, but they are so bulky that I never seem to take them anywhere empty. Barb
Posts: 659 | Location: Southeast NC Zone 8 | Registered: May 15, 2007
When my kids were little I just told everybody in the family to NOT give them plastic toys, with the exception of construction toys such as Lego. Everything else, including Barbies (which had just come out) would be given away or thrown out. Especially toy guns (thrown out). So they didn't. I can't stand the stuff in stores such as Toys R Us. Toys R Junk.
How about subscriptions to fun online resources? For kids, there's www.time4learning.com which has educational resources but also a "playground" where they regularly scour the Net for fun kids things and then post links in an interactive format--my son loves it, but there is a monthly subscription fee.
I love magazine subscriptions for the kids too, but I guess that's not really environmentally friendly, given the use of glossy papers. My kids don't throw them away though--they read them over and over.
That's all I can think of at the moment other than things already mentioned...
Making the world a better place... one 500-word post at a time.
Posts: 1044 | Location: Zone 7, East Coast | Registered: February 11, 2002
