We offer you a multitude of ideas for eco-friendly gifts to give for Christmas, as well as tips for choosing useful products, up to ways to wrap them in a more eco-friendly manner to demonstrate that even Santa Claus cares about the planet.
Before delving into the topic of gifts, we wondered what we really want for Christmas! What if we gave ourselves some tenderness?
SOFTNESS FOR CHRISTMAS
We asked our children what "Christmas softness" means to them, and they didn't mention gifts.
For them, Christmas is:
✨ Spending time with loved ones
✨ Lots of blankets
✨ Special meals
✨ Smells of things cooking
✨ A chocolate log
✨ An ice cream log
✨ A day watching movies
✨ Soft reusable tissues if we have a cold (haha, these are definitely our kids! 😆 Be warned! Even after Christmas, we can't do without them because they are so comfy.)
In short, the most beautiful Christmas gift is found in the experiences we share together. We can take the time to cook more to "offer" good meals and allow ourselves cozy days watching movies in pajamas under warm blankets.
Beyond all this, it is still difficult to overlook the tradition of unwrapping gifts. So how do we give eco-friendly gifts?
42 ECO-FRIENDLY GIFT IDEAS
Here are 42 ideas for eco-friendly Christmas gifts.
The most important thing is to offer gifts that will be useful to the other person.
Giving coffee, even if it's the best in the world, even if it was locally purchased in bulk, even if it's organic, fair trade, ethically produced, and cultivated under the best conditions on the planet, to someone who never drinks it... isn't very relevant.
OFFERING USEFUL THINGS
We take pleasure in giving to our loved ones, but we must not forget their needs! Because it's a gift, it seems that the joy of giving often dominates over the usefulness of the gift. What if we went back to basics?
Let's step back this year and offer useful things to the people we love, such as products or services that will help them in their daily lives and could even reduce their expenses. How do we do that?
First, we can rely on Pikkado lists to know their needs! (Or ask people to make wish lists.) After that, it's possible to offer a surprise from the list! If the person doesn't need anything or if we don't really know their needs, we can ask these questions:
- What could help the person in their daily life?
- How can we make their daily life cozier and more comfortable (as long as the product will actually be used)?
- What would allow them to save money in the short or long term (especially in a more challenging financial context these days)?
The answer could be found in beautiful reusable options (like ours), in gift certificates, or even in subscriptions. You know, it's true that giving a Netflix subscription or a grocery gift card is less fancy, but it can lighten the load for some people and is much more useful than a trinket horse.
WRAPPING GIFTS DIFFERENTLY
If we buy a physical product, there's still the question of packaging! How are you going to wrap your gifts this year?
🗞 With flyers or old newspapers.
🛍 Using the good twenty gift bags and tissue paper I've kept over the years.
👘 With fabric (furoshiki technique or fabric gift wraps/bags).
🎁 I need to use up the rest of the 800-meter gift wrap roll I bought at Costco four years ago.
All these options are good for the planet and even for our wallets because they are free options. 🤑 The ultimate goal environmentally is to avoid buying new packaging and/or creating new waste.
In the case of flyers or newspaper, they were going to the recycling bin anyway. We give them a second life before throwing them away. By the way, a cardboard shipping box, with drawings or paint, also works. 👍
Gift bags received during birthdays should be kept preciously! They are packaging that can be reused several times before the end of their useful life. 👍
Fabric, on the other hand, can be bought once and reused for a lifetime! We can even use pillowcases, scarves, or clothes we have at home. We can cut shirt sleeves and, with a small seam at the bottom, make a wine bottle cover. 👍
Using the gift wrap we already have at home is also an option to prioritize. If we have some left, we should use it up. After that, the goal is to never buy more. 👍
IN CONCLUSION
What needs to be remembered is to limit waste at Christmas.
It's best to give experiences, consumable products, or useful items that won't linger for a thousand years in a closet. Then, we challenge ourselves to wrap them without buying paper that will be thrown away the moment it's unwrapped! 😉💚🎄
