Sustainable Christmas – "Green" Gifts

Christmas holidays is considered as the best period of the year for giving gifts to our close friends and family. Many times, however, we have difficulties in finding the right present, ending up buying useless things that will probably be wasted and reach the landfill. Thus, instead of wondering and wandering around the shopping centers, there are a lot of alternative solutions to make presents with a little effort and a bit more imagination; ‘greener’, cheaper and more useful.

‘Greener’ presents will eliminate the waste and the ecological footprint. Here are some suggestions: [1]

1. Locally made gifts need a lot less transportation to reach the customers, reducing the greenhouse emissions and global warming
2. Gifts made out of recycled materials help the reduction of landfill waste, while promoting companies ecologically friendly
3. Battery-free gifts are sustainable. Batteries are one of the most hazardous products when it comes to their end-of-life. Even the rechargeable batteries, eventually, end up to landfilling. About 40% of all battery sales occur during holiday season, so take care of what kind of presents you pick.
4. Make useless, for you, gifts go around is not something wrong. Something that can be completely a waste for you, can be extremely useful to someone else; why not give it a try? But always be careful to be distinctive and not make the person that gave you the present feel awkward.

Moreover, a game like ‘secret Santa’, where a lottery would show who should make a present to whom, eliminates the number of presents to one, creating an interesting game between friends and family, while promoting the Christmas spirit of thoughtfulness instead of consumerism. In addition to this, one average price is usually agreed on the presents to be bought/made, so that it will make things easier for everybody.

Last but not least, an experience can be much more appreciated and enjoyed than an object. A visit to a museum, the zoo, a Christmas market, a nice dinner, getting in touch with nature will be a great opportunity to have fun, laugh, talk, share and get close to our friends and family. Time with our close friends is all we need at the end!

Let’s focus on Christmas as a celebration of caring and expressing it by devoting….TIME!

1. “How to have a ‘green’ Christmas”: http://eartheasy.com/give_sustainchristmas.htm