Christmas has traditionally been an important time in the life
of many families. It is a great opportunity for sharing the principles behind
our lifestyles and beliefs with others, especially with young children. But if
your extended families and friends aren’t as environmentally or socially aware
as you are, the commercial hype can be troublesome. Here are some suggestions for alternative gifts.
Children love personalized gifts, so create a simple book about the
child, written and illustrated by you.
Collect all the makings for hand puppets — brown lunch bags, googly eyes,
scissors, markers etc.
Record interviews of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles on audio or
video tape; you can ask them to discuss their memories of the person you
plan to give the tape to, or your family’s history, especially funny or
meaningful anecdotes.
Frame one of your best photographs. Buy a frame from a local business or
artisan. Or make one yourself out of stiff paper or cardboard, decorated
with colored paper, old wrapping paper, beads and/or leaves, small
pinecones, or seeds.
Make your own calendar using cut-out pictures, photos, and/or drawings.
Assemble a collection of favorite recipes.
Get out your video camera and make a film of the kids putting on a play.
Mail it to the grandparents with a holiday song as the finale.
Bake a basket of muffins and cookies and deliver them to neighbors.
Create a hand-decorated coupon for your best friend promising a weekend
of babysitting while she and her spouse take a weekend away from the kids.
Create a coupon book of certificates for your children – ten gift coupons
for them to redeem during the year. One could promise a Saturday afternoon
building a playhouse. Another might be a promise of tennis lessons or an
afternoon of making cookies.
Your teenager could make a coupon to give to Dad, promising to wash the
car or to make dinner three times.
Promise your significant other some special activities – a candlelit
dinner, a massage or an outdoor activity that you both enjoy.
Assemble a gift basket with compact fluorescent light bulbs, forms for
getting rid of junk mail, healthy recipes, some weatherstripping and cozy
slippers (so they can turn down the heat a few degrees).
Give a membership or a donation to a local cause such as a soup kitchen,
a shelter for battered women, a local environment group, etc. Call local
churches, synagogues and charitable organizations for ideas.
Give a membership to your local zoo, museum or art gallery, or "adopt" an
animal at the zoo or to support an endangered species.
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