Dashing Through the Snow, With a Hand-Made Gift to Give

Celebrate the holidays this year by giving something green and buying nothing at all.  For some it’s hard to break the habit of heading to the mall in December, but if you do you’ll be amazed at how nice it is to not spend your weekends fighting for a parking spot, elbowing your way through crowds, or listening to the Little Drummer Boy over and over again.

There is a new movement out there, the buy-nothing movement, and it’s headed away from malls.  Does this mean no more giving – absolutely not.  It’s meant to encourage people to insert more meaning into their gift giving and to give gifts that celebrate things like a healthier environment, rather than commercialism.  So as you start “making your list and checking it twice”, look for environmentally-friendly alternatives to simply buying store-bought gifts.  

Give “green” services like carbon offset credits and green power from organizations like OFFSETTERS and Bullfrog Power.  These programs help people take a step in greening their daily activities and make a unique gift for those individuals who are hard to buy for.

Donate to a charity that supports the environment like the World Wildlife Fund, Jane Goodall Institute or Alberta Ecotrust.  Many organizations offer a holiday service in which you make a donation in someone's name, and the charity sends that person a card noting that a donation was made in his or her honour.  

Offer your time if you are skilled in a particular area like massage or playing a musical instrument.  Even if you don’t consider yourself to be gifted, your friends will likely be thrilled to receive help with the regular stuff like shoveling their snow, spring cleaning their yard or baby-sitting their children.

Bake edibles like cookies, cakes, pies, and jars of preserves.  We all have to eat and who doesn’t love home-cooked food.  By using local ingredients and making it yourself you can help reduce the amount of emissions coming from the transportation of food around the globe.

Get crafty and hand-make something like a recipe book, piece of artwork, ornament or calendar.  Personalized, hand-crafted items are great keepsakes and appreciated by more than just kindergarten moms.

For more ideas and information visit www.buynothingchristmas.org.