I love giving gifts. A gift is a way for me to say “I was thinking of you” or “I value you” or “I love to make you smile”.
However, Christmas has become a bit stressful. Because so much of the giving at Christmas is just “gifts for the sake of giving” gifts; giving because you have a list to check off gifts. And so, wanting to avoid the consumerist holiday, and stop the mountains of waste generated in the name of love – I have been giving less and less gifts at Christmas. And that makes me sad, because I really do love to give!
So, how do I strike the balance? Here are my top tips for giving generously without the waste
Give Experiences / Time
Many people have all the things they really need – but will greatly value an experience. Maybe they don’t feel able to spend time on themselves – so receiving it as a gift means they get to relax or enjoy themselves guilt free! These are a few things I’ve given in the past:
- Red Letter Day vouchers – for experiences such as the Eden Project in the UK or a hot air balloon ride
- A “Date with Milly & Steve” – these are for my friends with children – the children get a fun date out with us and the parents get a child-free day – a two-for-one gift if you will
- Vouchers to the cinema
- Paid for 6 hours of a Cleaner, to use when needed
The options are pretty endless for this one!
Give thoughtfully curated gift baskets
Have you ever received a gift basket? They look so visually stunning – but then you open them up to find that half of it is stuffing. And thought there are lots of items in the basket – maybe you only like about half of them…
If you want to give a little basket of treats – first find out what are the items that your recipient really likes and values. They may prefer a box of their favourite snacks to the Super Duper Delux Gift Basket that’s marketed as good for everyone!
Find a basket or box at the thrift store and upcycle it to make it pretty.
If it looks a little “empty” – first, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s only a good gift if it looks like it’s overflowing. And if you really want to pack it out a bit – add in a few pretty/novelty dishcloths instead of shredded paper – they always get used!
Give the gift of giving
This one is my favourite. Giving to a non profit as a gift is wonderful, it’s a triple whammy – the recipient gets a gift, the non profit gets a gift, and you get a little endorphin boost knowing the good that’s been done!
Many non profits have an option where you can make a gift in honour of someone else, and they will send a card or an email to the recipient to notify them.
Sometimes, that can feel a little flat though – to open up a card that says I bought you a goat, here’s a picture of it….
So my favourite way to make this gift is via Canada Helps. Canada Helps allows you to be “giving gift cards”. That is – you make your donation of $10 or whatever – and the recipient gets a gift card which allows them to choose which non profit receives the donation. So they truly get the gift of being able to give. I have found people really appreciating having that choice for themselves.
Avoid “stocking fillers” and gag gifts!
There is a whole industry out there that is selling stuff that nobody wants or will every use or even pick up every again after Christmas Day. You know what I’m talking about. The item that has the 2 minute novelty factor, that elicits a quick giggle – but is totally useless and unnecessary to life.
The more we buy these gifts – the more they keep manufacturing useless objects that have a shelf-life of 10 minutes before living for the next century in a landfill. Let’s all agree to stop supporting this!
Choose reusable wrapping
If you’re going to wrap something up – gift boxes and gift bags are a wonderful way to make a gift look good without using single use wrapping paper.
Of course you could go my granddad’s route of painstakingly unwrapping each gift, using tweezers to tease off the cellotape, and ironing the paper to use it next year…. Just be aware you’ll probably amuse and/or annoy everyone watching…
These are my tips – I’d love to hear other ideas!
Milly's Scribblings 