This is a beginner's tips sheet, I feel like I have only scratched the surface of being less wasteful at Christmas, but here are a few ideas I tried.
Stockings
Kids:
I love the thrill of stockings, and some years they cause a lot of stress. This year I just thought of things that I buy for the kids anyway over the course of the year, that I could put in the stocking. Socks, gummy bunnies, goldfish crackers (both treats!), crayons, markers, watercolor paints, tooth paste, tooth brush, bubble bath, hair gel, peanut butter (his favorite kind!), stickers, vitamins, vitamin holder, toothbrush holder. I had no problem filling the stocking, just browsing the drug store aisles and do they look disappointed to you? :)
Ted;
Ted was a little more tricky, but I ended up filling it mostly at the large grocery store. I bought; tea he likes, yogurt covered nuts, seasonal Lara bars, organic chocolate bars, chili flavored pistachios, packs of Magic cards, aromatherapy joint pain spray and bug spray. Other years I have included travel, or regular size toiletries. Ted does not want sweets, treats, he tries to be useful and efficient so these qualifiers all made it more challenging. Sometimes I feel like giving each other a gift card is pointless because it comes from the same pot, but I guess it sends the message that we really want the other to spend money in this area so sometimes we'll throw those in the stocking as well.
Mine:
Year's passed I have put stuff in my own stocking. Ted insisted he had it covered this year. He enclosed jewelry from a craft fair, goat's milk soap (which I love), natural lotion and some alpaca socks.
Gifts:
We decided early on that we would not inanimate the kids with gifts, we don't want to set that precedent, don't want them to want or expect that, don't want to be frivolous with our money and don't want the CLUTTER! We talked about what each one's "big" gift would be, and found out from the grandparents what they were giving too. We bought Hudson a bike which he needed. Sadie was getting a doll house and a trampoline from her grandparents so we didn't feel the need for a "big" gift for her. I kept a running list of purchases to keep the reigns on. In the last week leading up to Christmas, I will say I panicked; "Will he be disappointed?" "He's such a good boy, will he feel let down that there's not more?" "We didn't get him what he asked Santa for, how is he going to take it?"
Turned out, it was a wonderful day, or rather, a wonderful 3 days of gifts. He didn't ever ask where his remote control car/helicopter was. When asked by his uncle what he got for Christmas he replied "Tangrams and glitter glue" which yes, he did receive, but I love that he didn't even place emphasis on the biggest items!
Teacher gifts:
This was a breeze this year! I have quite a stockpile of Wildtree products thanks to doing a number of holiday shows and farmer's markets. One afternoon I spread out scraps of paper with teacher's names on them, and bundled products together. I know I'm a rep and I sell the stuff, but I really feel like it's the perfect gift because everyone eats! My mom, grandma and two aunts also bought for gift giving and they were well received! Eight gift bags filled with Wildtree.
Stockings
Kids:
I love the thrill of stockings, and some years they cause a lot of stress. This year I just thought of things that I buy for the kids anyway over the course of the year, that I could put in the stocking. Socks, gummy bunnies, goldfish crackers (both treats!), crayons, markers, watercolor paints, tooth paste, tooth brush, bubble bath, hair gel, peanut butter (his favorite kind!), stickers, vitamins, vitamin holder, toothbrush holder. I had no problem filling the stocking, just browsing the drug store aisles and do they look disappointed to you? :)
Ted;
Ted was a little more tricky, but I ended up filling it mostly at the large grocery store. I bought; tea he likes, yogurt covered nuts, seasonal Lara bars, organic chocolate bars, chili flavored pistachios, packs of Magic cards, aromatherapy joint pain spray and bug spray. Other years I have included travel, or regular size toiletries. Ted does not want sweets, treats, he tries to be useful and efficient so these qualifiers all made it more challenging. Sometimes I feel like giving each other a gift card is pointless because it comes from the same pot, but I guess it sends the message that we really want the other to spend money in this area so sometimes we'll throw those in the stocking as well.
Year's passed I have put stuff in my own stocking. Ted insisted he had it covered this year. He enclosed jewelry from a craft fair, goat's milk soap (which I love), natural lotion and some alpaca socks.
Gifts:
We decided early on that we would not inanimate the kids with gifts, we don't want to set that precedent, don't want them to want or expect that, don't want to be frivolous with our money and don't want the CLUTTER! We talked about what each one's "big" gift would be, and found out from the grandparents what they were giving too. We bought Hudson a bike which he needed. Sadie was getting a doll house and a trampoline from her grandparents so we didn't feel the need for a "big" gift for her. I kept a running list of purchases to keep the reigns on. In the last week leading up to Christmas, I will say I panicked; "Will he be disappointed?" "He's such a good boy, will he feel let down that there's not more?" "We didn't get him what he asked Santa for, how is he going to take it?"
Turned out, it was a wonderful day, or rather, a wonderful 3 days of gifts. He didn't ever ask where his remote control car/helicopter was. When asked by his uncle what he got for Christmas he replied "Tangrams and glitter glue" which yes, he did receive, but I love that he didn't even place emphasis on the biggest items!
This was a breeze this year! I have quite a stockpile of Wildtree products thanks to doing a number of holiday shows and farmer's markets. One afternoon I spread out scraps of paper with teacher's names on them, and bundled products together. I know I'm a rep and I sell the stuff, but I really feel like it's the perfect gift because everyone eats! My mom, grandma and two aunts also bought for gift giving and they were well received! Eight gift bags filled with Wildtree.
Family gifts:
Some family members I assembled freezer meals, and gave them the sheet with instructions with the freezer meals. Others I gave movie gift cards. I shopped for two of my nieces this year, and I wish I had started earlier so that I could have bought more meaningful gifts online. I had an Amazon box that never got delivered, resulting in me needed to go shopping to replace the 5 gifts that were missing. If this is the worst thing that happened to me this holiday season, I'm doing pretty well.
We each take Hudson out shopping to shop for members of the family. He picked out earrings for me, and super hero socks for Ted. He also really wanted a gift box for Ted. For Sadie he picked out an ornament, tools toy and board book. While we were out he picked out a bone shaped gift box for his grandma who has 5 dogs. This year Hudson helped with wrapping too. It's hard for 6 year olds to put others first, but he sure has a big heart and just needs a little bit of coaxing.
Charity and Experiences
We had said we wanted to place more of an emphasis on Charity and experiences this year. We haven't done much by way of charity. For experiences, I opted for theater gift certificates. As with all gifts, you never know if it's going to be used, but is it more of a waste to buy a gift card that might not be used than an object? I think not. I will perhaps be more intentional about gift cards to nonprofit or the arts rather than a movie theater or concert.
The theme overall, was less stuff, more fun. This is akin with my recent posts on decluttering .
In the future, I'd like to work on less stuff from China and less wasteful packaging. baby steps!
I've been loving the posts from this place, The Story of Stuff and others on the Joy of Decluttering, and buying nothing new. Apparently I'm a rebel at heart!
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