The holiday season is in full swing, and that means time spent with family and friends. Cue the holiday travel, holiday recipes, and all of that gift-giving. This year, you may be considering some climate-conscious gift ideas, but if you need some more options, check out these thoughtful, sustainable holiday gifts perfect for co-workers, family, friends, neighbors, and anyone else on Santa’s holiday shopping list.
Channel Mother Nature
A great way to give the gift of sustainable holiday gifts is to channel Mother Nature. Gift a planter kit by bundling together seeds, soil, and a planter. Grow and give some fresh herbs or microgreens, or propagate cuttings from your plants. You can also get artsy and make an upcycled planter by painting a container such as a glass jar, mug, tea cup, or tin can. Photo credit: towfiqu ahamed
Do Some DIY Ideas
If you are creative, crafty, and love a good project, consider DIY-ing your holiday gifts. Bake up a holiday recipe and put it in a beautiful glass or reusable container. Think of holiday recipes for bread, cookies, or granola. If you really enjoy time spent in the kitchen, ferment something like pickles, kimchi, or sauerkraut. You can even share some of your sourdough starter. If you have an inventory of glass jars, put them to good use and create kits such as a homemade cookie ingredient kit or a handcrafted hot chocolate kit. You can even make a DIY bath scrub or exfoliator scrub. Another idea is to refill empty candle jars with beeswax or soy wax to create a brand new candle. Photo credit: Julia Pavaliuk
Donate in Someone’s Name
If you are shopping for someone who already has absolutely everything, or perhaps you simply have no idea what to get for someone, consider donating in their name. Pick their favorite charity or organization and give a donation or gift in their name.
Give the Gift of Experiences
One of the best ways to avoid boxes, bows, and gift wrapping (less recycling materials and waste) is to give the gift of an experience. For the foodies in your life, give the gift of a gift certificate to an annual food festival or local restaurant. Perhaps even a community cooking class. For the green thumbs in your life, try tickets to the local arboretum or botanical garden. For the outdoor enthusiasts, try an outdoor adventure. Think of things like a national park pass, canoeing, kayaking, or paddleboarding. For the health and wellness folks in your life, try a gift certificate for a facial, massage, or other wellness service. Perhaps even a trial class or week-long pass to a new boutique fitness studio in town. Photo credit: LightFieldStudios
Shopping
Instead of doing all of your holiday shopping online, consider these tips for all of your sustainable holiday shopping. First, shop at locally owned, small businesses in the community. Think of all those mom-and-pop shops and women-owned businesses! (Do not forget to shop It’s Nola). You may consider shopping at thrift stores or secondhand stores like Goodwill. Visit any church auctions or annual sales as well. Gift reusable items like bamboo kitchen utensils, canvas bags, recycled made linens, reusable straws, travel mugs, and water bottles. Photo credit: marekuliasz
You can also support businesses that are B-Corporations, which meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability to balance profit and purpose. You can shop at brands that give back. Whether it is backpacks, glasses, shoes, or socks, pick your favorite products to give and find a brand that supports a mission you strongly believe in, so you can help give back this holiday season.
Finally, support companies that are fair trade. Fair trade companies put people, the environment, and the planet first. This includes fair payment to the farmers and all of the other individuals who create ingredients and products. In addition to fair wages, Fair Trade also ensures that child labor is not used at any point in the supply chain.
If you really want to order all of your holiday gifts online, follow the rule of just choosing one. Find one ethical store that will work for all of your gift-giving needs this year and place your orders from there. It may sound small, but by choosing one store, you will reduce your carbon footprint by avoiding multiple boxes and shipping materials from placing holiday orders on numerous websites.
Wrapping
After all of these sustainable holiday gifts, you will want to make sure you wrap all of these gifts in an eco-conscious way. Forgo holiday wrapping paper, much of which cannot be recycled, and instead wrap physical gifts in brown paper bags, maps, newspapers, old calendars, or a reusable canvas bag. You can also place gifts in a basket, bin, or reusable mason jars with a colorful holiday bow or ribbon. If you are really creative, wrap holiday gifts in cloth such as a pashmina, scarf, shawl, or throw blanket that can be used as a bonus holiday gift. Photo credit: Marina Komrakova
The holidays do not have to be filled with stressful shopping or wasteful wrapping paper. Instead, give some mindful thought to your holiday gifts and consider using one or all of these sustainable holiday gifts, shopping tips, and wrapping ideas. Happy holidays, everyone!
- Stay Healthy and Happy
Check out @mostlyplantbasedfoods or view our CEO at @itsnolasnacks as she shares recipes via video each month on It’s Nola Reels. Do not worry, even if you are not Vegan, you will still enjoy these dishes. Be sure to tag us @itsnolasnacks so we can see all of your sustainable holiday gifts.
