There’s a wonderful t-shirt for sale at the Marquis Project craft shop that I’ve asked my children to give me for Christmas. On it, there’s a drawing of the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet, opening an empty box as a birthday present and exclaiming: “Wow, Nothing! Just what I’ve always wanted!”
Obviously, we can’t all be like the Dalai Lama who neither needs nor wants materials goods. But many folks today do feel that overconsumption has hijacked the Holiday Season, leaving it devoid of any greater meaning than a gift-giving or gift-receiving opportunity. Our Christmas and Hannukah celebrations often become expensive, junk-filled interludes that can leave people unfulfilled and the environment full of new refuse.
Few of us can completely escape the consumerist trap. At some point, we will find ourselves buying something that will break the first time it is played with, or something that may promote violence or cause illness, or something that is just plain silly. However, here are some suggestions of how you can also give gifts that help people and the environment, bring deep happiness and lasting memories, and will convey your love of family, friends and the planet.
Celebrating a “Green Christmas” is one way to give popular gifts or prepare for the holidays while not harming the environment. Use natural or recyclable decorations or gift wrap. Decorate with popcorn or natural wreaths. Wrap gifts in the newspaper comics or re-useable cloth bags. Don’t wrap every present! After all, a bottle of wine hardly needs to be covered in paper!
You can search out organic or other healthy and non-polluting products as part of holiday giving. Green teas, your own preserves, local organic honey, wild rice, recycled paper cards – there are lots of possibilities. Nature-oriented gifts, such as bird-feeders, houseplants and composting kits will go over well with many recipients.
Someone on your list might appreciate your making a donation to a worthy organization in their name, such as “buying” a few meters of the Trans-Canada Trail, the preservation of a few hectares of rainforest, or to a local group that you know they would be happy to support. Giving a “fair trade” gift is becoming very popular – a craft or item of clothing made outside the sweatshop system of production by fairly compensated workers in a healthy environment. These gifts “give twice” – to the artisan trying to earn a livelihood and to the person on your list.
Offering your personal services is a great gift, especially to seniors or the disabled. Hand them a card pledging hours of help shoveling their snow, digging and weeding their garden, cleaning their house, driving them around town on errands, teaching them computer skills, or just plain visiting with them – the list of possibilities is endless. You can also buy that person a membership in a local fitness club, the public library or pay for them to take a course!
Get creative! What has your loved one always wanted? How about a cash voucher from a travel agency toward that trip they have always wanted to take? Or a gift of memories? Interview some older relatives and give a cassette about your family history. Or put together a scrapbook of photos and commentary that documents your family’s past fifty years! For our 25th Wedding Anniversary at Christmas a couple of years ago, our kids gave us a photo of our wedding day, with a picture of each of our four children at each corner, and the whole image surrounded by a penny dated from each year we’ve been married.
Spending time together as a family or a group of friends, doing something different from the regular routine, creates its own memories. Organize a board game party or go bowling or build a snow fort, or just put together a warm evening of dinner and getting to know one another again after a hectic year of barely touching base.
As a group, participate in a community event that makes your neighbourhood or town a better place for all to live. It might be helping the Christmas Cheer Board with deliveries or serving at a special community supper for those out on their luck. Go visit folks stuck in the hospital over the Holidays or invite foreign students or lonely people to dinner.
The above list is not exhaustive. There are many good ideas on how to celebrate the holidays in a meaningful way. And being good to others and the planet doesn’t need to be confined to late December. A holiday card I once received said it best: “Christmas is not a time of year. It’s a state of mind!” |
