[Raptor235]

It’s holiday time again, like it or not, and this year I decided to go to a well-known national discount store chain the morning after Thanksgiving. It was an eye-opening experience, with special, one-time-only pricing on many products. These products, as well as so many others I saw, had one common theme: excessive packaging. Even if the bigger products were in cardboard boxes, the chances were that the cardboard wasn’t going to be recycled.

Holiday wastefulness is definitely troubling, but as troubling as it may be to us, it’s an entirely different kind of troubling for the planet. If mass consumption bothers you, definitely give a thought to giving “green” gifts to family and friends. It doesn’t have to mean that they get a certificate stating they helped save a whale, although that is pretty cool thing. Here, then, are some ideas for gifts you can give without feeling guilty as you fill trash bags with Styrofoam “cushioning” post-celebration:

You can find the entire article here http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/environ...holiday-season

[Danielle C]

Even better than the long list of gifts is Secret Santa. We have done this on both sides of our big family. We just buy one gift at a set amount and make Christmas about the kids. It saves us money and useless gifts that will sit for re-gifting.

[peachy]

Yeah...I'm with you Danielle. As the family does get bigger, more gifts are given. But sometimes, with some family members, they think it is about quantity...so they buy a ton of useless stuff or things that are just not suitable for me. I'm not being ungrateful, but I don't need a ton of stuff.

I'm still a believer that gift certificates are awesome.

[horselover]

There won't be Christmas for us this year unfortunately. Things have gotten so bad that we won't have a home to live in.


Even if we had a place, we still wouldn't be celebrating.

[echos]

I make shopping bags out of hemp cloth, for all those in the family who don`t already hae one. I also bag my best compost, for others to use as fertilizer in their own gardens. I bake it so it is semi-sterlized. And I have some fancy paper bags to put it in. A great green gift.

[EviesEarth]

Great ideas here. We will not be sending out holiday cards this year, rather we will be emailing them. I always reuse all kinds of wrapping too. I try to make most of my gifts and try to include natural and organic items too.

[tater03]

Firstly, I hope that things get better for you horselover. We to will be having a smaller Christmas due to financial problems. We are doing the Secret Santa this year because we have a big family on my husbands side and the boys and I are going to make some of our own gifts also.

[mrs.tinsley]

Wouldn't "green" gifts end up being brown dead gifts by New Years??

[katharina]

Originally Posted by peachy

I'm still a believer that gift certificates are awesome.

I agree with you *very* strongly. I've always totally hated taking a risk of giving a gift that won't be enjoyed or used. When I started giving gift certificates to my parents, they loved it and always wanted the same following years when I ask. I give a variety... a couple to restaurants, a grocery store card, a gas card, a couple department stores. It's very nice knowing they'll be buying things they need.

[katharina]

Originally Posted by EviesEarth

Great ideas here. We will not be sending out holiday cards this year, rather we will be emailing them. I always reuse all kinds of wrapping too. I try to make most of my gifts and try to include natural and organic items too.

I'll still be sending cards out, but it will only be half the amount that I normally send. A lot of them will be going to people who aren't connected to the net (yes, hard to believe there still ARE some of those! ) or I'd probably consider the email cards, too.