Gift giving can be one of the most wasteful holiday traditions. Here I will share all the strategies I have been using for less wasteful gifts. Let me know if you'd like to see my Christmas list in the comments below.
What to gift?
We often receive gifts that we don't need or won't use which is part of the reason this process can be quite stressful sometimes. Gift giving is a part of the holiday season I really enjoy so I have found ways to do this more sustainably.
1. Consumables
An item of food, maybe even home made, is never going to waste. It will be eaten and enjoyed and there will be nothing left for this planet afterwards, a gift with a short life span. Think cookies, truffles, toffee, flapjacks, muffins or even home made crackers to pair with some cheese. It could also be preserved food such as pesto, jam, chutney or jarred fruit. These can easily be packaged in re-purposed glass jars or custom made boxes using cardboard and grease proof paper, you could also use plastic take away containers if you already had them in your house taking up space. It is always better to re use something we already have than to buy new things.
Another good option would be a good quality soap or toiletries with plastic free packaging. Soap bars last a very long time and you can often obtain them with little to no packaging at all. Other toiletries are available in solid form such as shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser bars, or in glass jars or aluminium tins (although these can be more expensive). You can get these from Lush, Peace with the Wild, Waste not Store, Plastic Freedom and many more online stores or support your local zero waste shop. Mission Green in Hither Green stocks many of these items.
2. Long lasting gifts
At the other end of the scale, you have well thought out gifts that are long lasting and useful. If you know the person you have in mind really needs something and you are sure they will use it, get them a good quality version of what they need, made with renewable materials as much as possible. If this is difficult to sort out on your own, get them involved in the selection process, it is worth sacrificing the element of surprise for a gift that they truly will love and keep for ever.
In addition, I have gifted many plastic free starter kits to family and friends, for example beeswax wraps, compostable sponges, bamboo toothbrushes, etc... This can be a way to get your loved ones to try out some sustainable alternatives without having to make the first investment themselves.
3. Experience gifts
If you can't think of something that your loved one truly needs and will use why not gift them an experience? This could range from theatre tickets, concert tickets, exhibition tickets, workshops or classes, days out somewhere. It doesn't have to be expensive, you can gift them a day of your time by taking them somewhere special and making memories together.
4. Charity gifts
You can gift the sponsoring of a child in a developing country or adopting an endangered animal. It will be meaningful and get that person involved with the charity, make sure they get updates on how your gift is being used by the charity so it is more personal.
gift wrapping
I have already made a post about gift wrapping here but I will run through the main ideas:
- recycled or repurposed paper (we use Who Gives a Crap toilet paper which comes wrapped in pretty colourful paper, and re use this to wrap presents)
- save up good quality wrapping paper from gifts you receive
- fabric (curtain samples, old clothes cut up and sewn into squares, big handkerchiefs)
- cardboard boxes (if I order a gift online I save the box and remove all the labels, then I can put a ribbon on it and it is a gift box)
- glass jars (great for home made foods such as cookies, toffee, flapjacks or crackers, or if you buy lose tea or other items)
- other containers (any containers that you have in the house and are not using otherwise can be made into a gift box, make sure the person you are gifting it to will also re use it)
cards
When I get Christmas or birthday cards I store them all away, then a year later I cut up the front of the card, the bit with the pretty picture which usually doesn't have writing on the back, and decide if I want to keep the part with the writing or not.
All these cards can then be used to make new Christmas cards, either one sided ones, just write on the back like a post card, or crafted into greeting cards once more by using some recycled card and craft materials. I do this for birthday and thank you cards as well, I have a drawer where I keep all my card fronts separated by category. They can also be used as gift tags, just cut them up smaller and write on the back. Alternatively you can write directly on the gift who it is for.
Stay tuned for updates and photos of my Christmas gifts. Leave a comment below to let me know what you think of these ideas.