Christmas is coming and we LOVE not only the celebration itself, but also the festive and uplifting mood, when getting ready for it. But sometimes getting everything ready can be quite a headache with the usual lack of time and all the rushing. Do you know the feeling, when you are going for the perfect gift hunt, but as a result you spend a lot of time in shops and buy something that does not give satisfaction you hoped for? And then your inside Grinch comes out. Also, all the holiday shopping with consumerism fever is unfriendly to the environment – just think of all the used gift-wrap and packaging that is left after unwrapping. The good news are – today there are many more sustainable gifts available. Here are few tips to make your holiday preparations more conscious and environmentally friendly:
Few ideas for a happier and more sustainable Christmas:
- Start getting ready for Christmas early. Your last minute rush can encourage reckless purchases.
- Make the perfect gift yourself. Handmade gifts are very warm-hearted and the receiver will definitely appreciate your work and time invested in this. Self-baked cookies, a drawn Christmas card or herb tea picked in the summer will be a perfect gift with great added value;
- If you don’t have time to prepare a gift yourself, make a shopping list (and check it twice) and stick to it when gift-shopping. Many impractical gifts are bought in last-minute panic purchases.
- Choose a gift from sustainable local small producers and traders. This way you will not only support local businesses with your purchase, but such gifts will also be more environmentally friendly (lower CO2 emissions compared to imported goods) and more unique, because they are produced in smaller quantities. Also pay attention to the packaging of the gift wanted – won’t there be piles with plastic packaging left after someone unpacks the gift? Try visiting the Christmas markets and you will definitely find something special for your loved ones;
- Try gift-hunting in second-hand shops. There are many beautiful things waiting for their new owner. That way you can be sure you’ll find a unique treasure. And buying second-hand means that less new things have been bought. The Earth will thank you.
- Give experience. Receiving a gift that sits on your shelf and only collects dust – can you relate? Exciting experience brings more joy than objects. Give tickets for a concert, a spa visit or an entertainment adventure. Equally valuable will be things that give experience – a book, a musical instrument etc.
- Secret Santa. If your family is big, a great alternative to gift mountains is a raffle, where everyone gets only one person to choose a gift for. We have been practicing this ourselves for several years now, and everyone is happy that all attention can be paid for searching only one but very special gift;
- Donate. f your family doesn’t enjoy gift-giving or everyone feels tired of the all the pre-holiday madness, it’s a great initiative to donate money or gifts to a charity. Your donation will definitely make someone happy.
If giving Christmas gifts is important to you, hopefully these ideas will help you choose cool, more sustainable and more useful gifts Christmas means large consumerism and we already have overproduction of things in the world right now, so by choosing environmentally friendly, ethical and locally produced gifts, you will not only make the recipient happy, but also make less impact on the environment.
