sustainable gift ideas

Christmas is the time of year to give.  Follow this guide to sustainable gift giving and you'll feel great knowing you've put in just a little bit extra this year.  The lucky recipient of your gift will be touched by the extra thought and care taken in the process.

Bake, make or create

Nothing say's "I care" more than giving a gift you've spent some time on.  If you're great in the kitchen, spend a day creating beautiful gift baskets filled with goodies for all of your friends and family.  Create a theme such as "Home for the Holidays" and fill the basket with related items.  For example, a "Home for the Holiday's" gift basket might include a homemade apple cider spice blend, fresh baked delicious cookies or squares, homemade peppermint bark, local seasonal fruit, homemade preserves or whatever else you can think of that reminds you of "Home for the Holiday's".  A couple of tricks to go by are to keep 80% of the basket homemade, to use containers that can be reused (mugs, metal tins or jars) and to properly seal everything accordingly.

Let someone else bake, make or create

If you're not feeling very crafty or simply don't have the time, visit a Christmas Craft Fair.  Christmas Craft Fairs' are a great way to seek out sustainably minded homemade gift items.  Typically, the items you find at a craft fair are homemade, locally produced and one of a kind.  This is a great way to support someone in your local community!


Take a different approach

Rather than send out traditional Christmas cards this year send them out electronically.  Take what you would have spent on the cards and in postage and donate it to a charity that you care about.  Inform all of the recipients of the card that this is what you have done.  This is also a great idea for a company that sends out Christmas cards every year.