Have a Green Christmas!

From my David Suzuki Foundation newsletter…

There’s no better time than this financially challenged, politically confusing shopping season to check your list twice and consider: do you own your stuff or does your stuff own you? Think about it. One less gift can save about 200 kg of natural resources (the equivalent of two, queen-sized mattresses) and keep the same amount of material out of the waste stream.

Now is also a great time to pause and reflect, spend quality time with family and friends and, if you’re going to buy, buy less, buy used and buy local.

The Queen of Green, Lindsay Coulter, is here to help (as usual…) with these great green gifting ideas:

• Give paper new life. In this video, Lindsay and Katharine Byers, one of the Naturebag Moms, show you how to make seed paper. Recyclable papers (newspapers, magazines, envelopes, etc) can be made into cards, bookmarks, gift tags and small gift boxes and are embedded with seeds that grow herbs and flowers (indoors in pots or outdoors in the spring). A great family or kid activity! Here’s the recipe (PDF). 

• Donate to charity. Honour those on your gift list with a contribution in their names. (Try these lovely e-cards, for example. Watch the video). Choose a charity as a family gift to the world – it’s a great way to get kids out of ‘buy me’ mode and into a conversation about how we need to share the planet.

• Buy something used. Used (aka ‘recycled, vintage, pre-owned, antique’) stuff is already here – no new energy, materials, processes, packaging or transportation from far away needed. (The team at reyouzd.com have even started Canada’s first ever Buy Something Used Day (PDF) January 22 – but now is a good time to start.)

• Offer your skills. Whether it’s a year’s worth of once-a-week babysitting or a promise to rake leaves, we all have something we can do for someone on our gift list that’s worth more than just another inanimate object. And making homemade coupons is fun and crafty – make ‘em out of seed paper (PDF - see above)!

• Give experiences instead of stuff. Movie or theatre tickets, an art gallery membership, a sports event are great gifts, just remember to keep it local. Throw in bus tickets or passes for an extra shot of green.

• Consider a book. Whether new or used, there’s nothing like a good read. After you’ve finished sharing with family and friends, you can donate books libraries (the world’s oldest recycling centres!). Here are some of our favourite books.

• Beware of toxic toys. If they must have stuff, at least make sure it’s not going to hurt them (or the planet). Select locally-made goods from companies that consider the whole life of their products – what’s in it, how it’s made, and what happens to it when it doesn’t work any more.

• Make gifts yourself. Check out Lindsay’s lists of recipes for ideas. Whip up an assortment of green cleaners or non-toxic cosmetics, arrange them in a cute (reusable) container, and tie on a homemade seed card (see above). Or assemble a green travel kit in an attractive (reusable) cloth bag: stainless steel commuter mug and/or water bottle, reusable food container, cloth napkin, and ’spork’ (a spoon and fork in one).

• Cut the wrap. If only two out of three households used one arm’s length less of ribbon, the amount saved could tie a bow around the earth. Great gift decorating alternatives: dried flowers, recyclable paper bows or a reusable scarf.

• Reap the rewards. Go outside (PDF). Breathe the air that you’re helping to clean up, look at the sky, and admire the natural abundance. Go for a walk in the woods, skate on a frozen pond. Think about how we are all connected to the planet that sustains us. It’s free and off-the-grid! And you deserve it. We all do. (Cue music…)

Peace on earth!

So what do we do? 

• I “wrap” our gifts in fabric bags - they are just pretty fabric sacks with a wide fabric ribbon tied around the top (and sewn to the side) so that people get the experience of “unwrapping”… I always ask for the bags back
• We also reuse paper gift bags we have recieved, for situations when I may not get the bags back.
• We DO recycle gifts!!! but we always tell people that we are doing it and usually they are appreciative, such as with books.  In fact, a friend who is getting married next week we bought used books and wrapped them in a tea towel! (With a pretty ribbon.)
• I have in the past also made quite a few gifts… herb teas from my garden, etc. 

Enjoy the season!