Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Greenish gift giving guide

Green for ChristmasThe Green Holiday Series. Serving all your holiday needs since, well, Monday.

Without divulging all the super-cool handmade gifts I'll be presenting to my loved ones this year, I'd like to pass on some suggestions for gift giving this year that may not exactly be "green", but will certainly be a whole lot lower impact than something manufactured out of petroleum products and shipped from China.

So, without further ado, here's a laundry list of sorts to stoke your creativity:

Crafts - This, of course, assumes you have some sort of skill. And some projects do require it, but I've also included a few projects that anyone can do. For starters, there's the ubiquitous knitting, crocheting or other likewise crafts. If you're new to knitting or don't have a lot of time you can go with the obvious scarf or hat. Another thing to try is knitting up something I call bath scrubbies. Basically they are washcloths knitted from something like Chenille. I had a whole bunch left over from another project, so I doubled it up and produced something that was more loofah than a regular washcloth. Any thick natural fiber would work well. The best thing is that even the most inept knitter (that would be me) can crank one of these out in about an hour.

If knitting or crocheting is not your sport and sewing is, then by all means sew up some of those fancy bed warmers we were talking about a while back. You can fill them with rice and any kind of dried herb for an aromatherapy experience. If you want something a little more seasonal, try crushing cinnamon sticks, cloves and nutmeg and adding it to the mix. Plus, they can be used as any sort of heating pad and not just because you're keeping your house temperatures at 60 degrees. If you have scraps of fabric left over from other projects, use those to make a patchwork pad.

If even that's too much and all you can do is boil water, well then making your own candles should be something you can handle. You can buy large blocks of beeswax and some molds and go to town adding different pigments and scents or just leave them au naturel. If that's still too much then you can get beeswax sheets for making rolled candles. They come in a variety of colors and are simple to do.

Making your own soaps is a heap of fun, teaches you a bit about chemistry and is extremely satisfying. But, if cold-processed soapmaking is a bit overwhelming for you (the lye! it burns! it burns!), you can go the melt and pour route. There are all sorts of super-fun soap molds out there and you can add all manner of additives (like oatmeal, cornmeal, dried flowers, etc.) to personalize it as much as you like.

While you're at it, you might as well make some lip balm as gifts. Who needs petroleum based lip balms, when it's sooo easy to make it out of luscious ingredients like cocoa butter, shea butter and mango butter. Heck, with flavorings like "champagne", make some extra for your Eco New Year's Resolution Party for the non-drinkers in your crowd.

Arts - If you're more artistic and less glitter and glue-gun, try painting something personalized on gallery wrap canvas or on something you can easily frame. For grandparents, frame some of your children's artwork. Better yet, have your kids make something special and let them pick out the frame.

If writing is more your speed, write a poem or pen a letter telling the person how much they mean to you or how they make a difference in your life. A haiku about your friend's passion for trout fishing will leave a more lasting impression than one of those damn singing fish.

Foods - If you have the equipment (although probably not the time if you haven't already started) bottle your own beer, wine or cider. You can buy customized bottle labels for that extra personal touch.

For food gifts, make mini loaves of quick breads, fudge, or cookies. If you have more time (or are just a crazy Canning Crack Ho like my friend, Rachel), make your own jams or fruit butters.

Other ideas include making your own granola and putting it in canning or fancier jars with ribbons (natural, of course). Additionally, you can make your own cocoa mix, spice mix, coffee mix, or other dry mixes to give as gifts.

One thing that is also fun is to paint an empty wine bottle with non-toxic paint and then fill it with an herb infused olive oil, complete with an oil pour spout on top.

Miscellaneous - If you don't have time to do much of anything, then print out some of these coupons for free massage and childcare to give to your friends and family.

You can also adopt a critter on someone's behalf or donate an animal through Oxfam or Heifer International. Who knew a sheep only set you back $45?

And, when in doubt, you can always check out the thrift stores, consignment shops and garage sales and help keep items out of the waste stream.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, gift certificates for services and entertainment (like spa or movie theater), instead of items. I like knowing that it won't end up in a landfill.

Burbanmom said...

Thanks so much for the AWESOME gift ideas Crunchy! I'm gonna go get some beeswax sheets today. Also, you made me spit coffee all over my laptop with (the lye! it burns! it burns!). :-)

Jane said...

I am regifting! I know some people think this is tacky, but if you know someone else would like it more than you why let it sit wasted or in a dump? I inherited two sets of china and I know my mom would enjoy one of them. I see nothing wrong if it's done with thought and care.

Anonymous said...

You are the only ones who now know my addiction. Hi. My name is Rachel. And I'm addicted to canning. I'm fairly sure I will have had more fun making my canned presents than my friends will have consuming them. Although I will say they're damn tasty. At least in my can ho world.

You're such an enabler, Crunch.

Christy said...

I recently discovered the Knifty Knitter which makes knitty SOOOO easy! I can make a hat in a little over an hour and a pair of socks in about 2 hours. Suddenly my family is all getting knitted presents.

Anonymous said...

Great ideas--I like the baking and "coupons".

I can tell you all from experience, though: there's a reason why real artists do study drawings before they paint the real thing. Don't waste your materials like I recently did!

Laura said...

Awesome ideas! Thank you. :) I am enthralled with the lipbalms. :P Must try.
Jane ~ rock on with the regifting! I would be thrilled with a regifted gift if is was something I truly loved/needed/wanted and I knew it was given with love and care.

Olive said...

i am asking for a generous "gift" from worldvisiongifts.org. the children/women issues seem particularly close to my heart. now if only my family would quit rolling their eyes at my suggestion :)

Oldnovice said...

Here are more "green" gift suggestions.

Oldnovice said...

Forget that link above. It WAS more green suggestions this morning, but it isn't now.

Sorry.

Anonymous said...

Hi, while I hold my hands up to say I'm involved with this company, I think it offers a real alternative to E-cards for the first time and it's FREE, so you can send personalised messages with your photos-

here is my reason for using it

http://play.goldmail.com/1s0ntr484dns

thanks

Anonymous said...

Great ideas. The food idea is one we use a lot as it has a better chance at not ending up in the dump.
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