I love the holidays. I find it especially rewarding to slow down when everything around me is speeding up. I love going for long walks on the empty streets of our neighborhood when the malls are packed, or wandering on trails in the woods with the (almost) silent sound of wind whistling in my ears.
I’m not a total grinch though! I love giving gifts to friends, family, and non-profit organizations, and I enjoy getting into the holiday spirit on a concrete level, not just an ethereal one. Much like other aspects of my life, I have re-engineered the gift giving process and created my own unique ways of doing so.
As you can see in the photo above, rather than packaging gifts in expensive new wrapping paper that will go into the trash heap and straight to the landfill, I like to cover gifts in newspaper (that I’ve read), giving it a second use. I enshrine this reused newsprint with a big, beautiful, piece of ribbon. After consumption, the newspaper can be recycled and the ribbon can be saved for another use. I’ve wrapped gifts this way for years and decided it’s about time that I share this money saving process with y’all!
The gift depicted above is for a very dear friend. The recipient will remain a mystery, but I will reveal the contents of these packages. The bottom box contains a re-furbished vitamix, the top box, one of my favorite books, The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England.
Here are some of my tips and tricks to help you reduce, reuse and recycle during the holidays, so that we can protect the planet we are so lucky to live on, while we celebrate!
How to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle During the Holidays
- Make homemade gifts such as healthy cookies, candy, lip balm or a knit scarf or hat.
- If you don’t enjoy making things, go to a local craft fair to purchase hand made foods and other goods and support local artisans.
- Give used items such as books, or if you’re looking for clothing or high end gifts, investigate gently used merchandise on TheRealReal.com or a local consignment store (I shop at Common Threads which has locations in Boulder and Denver).
- Give the gift of your time by offering a massage, babysitting, walking your neighbor’s dog, or gardening for them.
- Give a monetary gift to charity, or offer to do an afternoon of service in honor of a friend or loved one.
The boys know that I don’t like to waste and they regularly wrap gifts to me in newsprint! As you can see, when I purchase envelopes, I buy them in this plain naturally colored shade that does not contain artificial dyes or bleach.
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How do you conserve during the holidays? What tips do you have for all of us? Please leave a comment and let us know!
johnberk says
This is one of the best blog posts I have read about the Christmas. I feel you hit the nail on the head, and I totally agree. I believe it is extremely important to spread messages like this one. I have been doing it for many years, and it works just great. You can even pick some newspaper that has a topic with a message that corresponds to the present. My second strategy that I use is to buy stuff from antique stores. You can find truly amazing stuff there that is good quality and has a lower price than the new one. And one thing I absolutely hate is electronics. In my opinion, it is probably the worst kind of present people can give one to another.
Uros of Fine Stay Slovenia says
I agree. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — Three great ways YOU can eliminate waste and protect your environment!
Petra Korevaar says
We collect all the ends of the candles, from october till februar and melt them and make new candles of them. Also a nice gift.
Lyn says
Looking for open comments; but this is link to one of my favorite recipes:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/166140673727535374/
Gail Marcus says
For years I’ve been using the Sunday cartoons as wrapping paper for the holidays. I also use the colorful, shiny full page ads, like Macy’s, that come with the Sunday papers.
Karen says
I purchase used books when I want to gift a person with a book if I can possibly find it used. This year I am giving three books I love, and two cost a penny on Amazon. (“If You’re Afraid of the Dark, Look for the Night Rainbow, by Cooper Eden; “A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold; and “The Ledgerbook of Thomas Blue Eagle by Gay Matthaei.) One had free shipping the other was 3.99 and one was fourteen cents with free shipping. I make most of my gifts which requires thought and focus all year. When I make the gift, I think of them and how grateful I am for their presence in my life. I try to give gifts of time and experience. This year I am gifting crocheting lessons to someone who has been wanting to learn, and I’m gifting an outing to a local concert to another friend who can no longer drive. It enriches my life as well as theirs because I get to spend time with them. Finally, we use fabric gift bags we make instead of paper for most tangible gifts. My Mom started this some 30 or so years ago and we just make them up as we need them. Some come back and some do not. I generally can find holiday or special occasion fabric at the local Goodwill but I will also recycle clothing to make them, especially if the fabric is embroidered or has sparkles on it. Pretty much anything is fair game to be made into bags. One of my favorites for birthday wrappings was a beautiful butterfly shower curtain overlay. For the neighbors, I generally gift lawn mowing or weeding or errand running. They are 90 and those are much more meaningful to them. I can’t gift them food because I just automatically share that when I cook…… Other neighbors request special foods to them and I accommodate as much as possible because I love seeing the smiles. I love planning ahead and being able to reduce the rush, stress, and frenzy by knowing I have things in order and ready to go. I get to just enjoy the time with people I love.
bob says
I love the idea of gifting lessons! We use fabric bags or reused wrapping for family presents too.
Handmade by Lorna says
I make food hampers for my older children and other relatives and our youngest (he is five) we have got a games console that once belonged to our second son and have wrapped that up for him, saving us a fortune whilst saving it from the landfill and it was secondhand when we bought it! Not all of our family is on board and I am sure they think us cheap but to be honest I don’t really care. I love that you wrap your pressies in newspaper. Have a great Christmas.
Janis S says
Just curious, what is a food hamper? Is it a basket filled with food, which we call a food basket here in the States?
Thanks.
DamselflyDiary says
I am certainly not as creative or ambitious as those here but one thing we started doing a few years ago with our local friends is to stop giving gifts and instead give gifts of experiences.
For Christmas this year, we got together for dinner in downtown Denver and then to the Buell to see a play. For birthdays, the birthday boy/girl picks something they want to do and we all do it together. This year, I picked one of those painting classes. My hubby and a male friend always pick a Nuggets game. Everyone pays their own way so there is no money exchange.
We remember these experiences far longer and in far more positive ways than any gift we have ever given each other.
Gloria says
I like to sew and long before they sold gift bags in stores I sewed a whole bunch of bags in all colors and sizes. I purchased all the cute Christmas fabrics after the holiday in the sale bin. More than 30 years later we are still using them. Thank how much paper that has saved, not to mention my time in wrapping.
LaVonne says
I do this too! I love it when I get one back!
Anna says
Ooh, I love this idea! I think I might start making bags for next Christmas! I hate wrapping presents, though I do enjoy decorating them with bows and things and making them look gorgeous. I too am using reusable ribbon these days though, so reusable wrapping is the next step!
andrea says
We all have a rule that anything given for the holidays should be something already used (a good book, a pot I don’t need but I know my sister does…), or something handmade (my mom has made scarves and oven mitts, my sister has made jams and teas, and I have made lip balms and bath salts). Since we are all adults, this has made everyone happy. We have noticed that giving this way allows us to put more thought into the gifts we give, and less money. We give fewer gifts that are more meaningful. We spend less time opening gifts and more time cooking in the kitchen together!
Heather says
I love this. That’s a cool idea. If everyone is in on it, you don’t feel like the ‘cheap one’. ;)