Green and Frugal Gift Giving
With most people focused on the upcoming holidays, many people are turning to gift giving and thinking about how to make this holiday season more eco-friendly and wallet friendly. As I’ve posted about many times, I have never really liked the extreme commercialization of the holidays and welcome any opportunity to re-examine purchasing habits to make them more in line with simpler, ecologically-friendly living. Although I don’t expect everyone to down-shift their gift giving, I do find it easier to discuss these steps now, compared to a couple of years ago. Here are some thoughts:
Give the gift of green — Most people are hesitant to give money (or gift cards, or gift certificates) except to a young person just starting out on their own. I think this is largely a cultural issue, as money is the traditional gift in a lot of cultures for birthdays, weddings, and other celebrations. In many ways, the gift of money creates the least waste since the receiver can use it however they see fit. Gift cards and certificates are also great if you want to cut down on shipping and packaging for friends and family far away. If you give a gift card, such as a restaurant or specialty shop card, be sure that the recipient can easily redeem it without too much hassle.
Give a gift that celebrates the local — Local artisans, local food makers, and other local merchants often make the majority of their profits in the 2 months around the holiday season. Purchasing locally is a great way to support a neighbor’s startup business and give your friends something they can’t find at a chain store. There are a number of sites to support the finding of locally made goods and handicrafts including Etsy and Foodzie.
Give a gift that helps someone to be green — some suggestions include an appliance that is energy saving, like a crock pot; a nice water filter, stainless steel water containers, or handmade bags that can be re-used for multi-purposes.
Give the gift of giving – I have a number of friends that request that funds be applied to a specific organization they support or to a neighborhood food bank rather than piling up more stuff. If someone requests that you not bring gifts, and you feel that this is inappropriate, finding an organization that they like and sending a donation is likely to be a good compromise.
shared at Works for Me Wednesday
Great ideas!
I will be giving more gift cards this year, no money to waste on the wrong thing!
Great post. I’d encourage readers interested in calming the Christmas machine to check out http://www.buynothingchristmas.org – our mennonite friends have a lot to teach us about finding true meaning in the holidays.
Last year I gave my co-workers paper bags of black oil sunflower seeds with a tag detailing how to hand-feed black-capped chickadees. Several told me later that they’d enjoyed the holidays with an outing to the woods with their families to feed birds. Made me so happy!
Kelly, thanks.
Christy, I really like receiving cards. Hope this catches on.
Julie, I *love* the idea of the sunflower seeds.
Thanks so much for commenting.
Many people don’t like to give give giftcards because it’s not a lasting gift, especially the food ones. I think they are great. Teens love them and families think of you when they go out to eat!
Audra, I think the cards are great as well, and do appreciate them. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable because the dollar price of the card is obvious. But these days, except for something totally homemade, the cost will be known. Thanks for the reminder on teens!