Christmas and other gift oriented winter holidays - better ways to handle

[kayell]

A huge percentage of yearly sales occur in the month before Christmas. A lot of this is for gifts that people don't use or even want. A lot is in seasonal decorating and trinkets. Clothing with themes suitable for only a month at best takes up a huge amount. Factor in the amount of packaging and waste involved and it's clear that the holidays are benefiting the corporations more than anyone else.

This will be one of our first challenges - holiday shopping is virtually instinctual it has been so ingrained in our consumer culture. Lets support each other with ideas on how to stay out of the marts, and have a non-corporate holiday full of the meanings we want to give it.

A lot of my strategy in recent years has been to make most gifts. Jams and jellies, pickles, seasoned vinegars, simple wood toys, framed photos, spiced nuts, etc. One of my brothers gave one of the best gifts I've ever received - CDs of scanned images from a century of old family photos. My daughter has given a family excursion to see The Nutcracker.

Please post ideas to help us all wean ourselves from the Christmas monster. Ideas for children especially are useful.

[Longhorn]

1. I give everyone in my family a personalized calendar.

I've been doing this for at least ten years. Each year is a different theme as far as the photos that I take with my digitial camera. One year, it was our 25th anniversary trip to California. Another, it was our trip to Hawaii. Last year, it was nature scenes from around Central Texas and this year (2005), it's going to be landmarks of Austin.

In Christmas cards, I send my current list of dates for each recipient and give them a chance to update their list (they usually email or fax their changes.) Then I print the calendar part using Calendar Creator. I bind them with a small manual binding machine. I have to buy paper (this year, I'm using Epson double-sided matte photo paper) and ink, plus plastic spines, mailing envelopes, and postage. It works out to maybe $10 a calendar but everyone loves them all year long and I get to be a hobby photographer.

Here's a photo from last year's calendar from outside my back window:

[Lorien]

2. Beautiful photo

Great idea, too!

:thumbsup:

[K8-EEE]

4. XLNT!

BEAUTIFUL PHOTO!

[Longhorn]

16. Thanks!

A good digital camera can make anyone look good! :D

[Longhorn]

15. Thanks, Jen!

It's fun to do, too, once I know what the theme is going to be. Until then, it sort of weighs on me. I'm contemplating doing one of the county courthouses of Texas. We have 256 counties in Texas so there should be plenty from which to choose but it will take a weekend or two of travel. Should be fun, though, if I get it together.

[K8-EEE]

3. Burning Holiday Music CDs

I have a big collection already of Xmas music from different genres -- but you could get them from the internet too. A dozen really great holiday songs (or any kind of festive songs) make a nice holiday gift that will be re-used year after year.

[fudge stripe cookays]

5. Great idea!

And the more unusual the tunes, (by interesting artists) the better!

FSC

[kayell]

6. Nice list of ideas here:

http://www.buynothingchristmas.org/alternatives/index.html

[Lorien]

7. Baked gifts and contributions

to worthy causes (UNICEF, Defenders of Wildlife. World Wildlife fund, etc.)

I have a collection of historic cookie molds that serve many purposes. I use them for baking spectacular, tasty christmas cookies (one mold is 15" in diameter), I can also make Christmas ornements with them using paper clay or sculpty, and I keep Play Doh on hand for when friends with children stop by; lots of fun for them! They also make nice decorations on my walls.

I got them from a small family owned business: www.houseonthehill.net

Here's a few (actually most) of my molds:

[maddezmom]

8. last year, I purchased glasses in 6pks for 3.99

and handpainted them to make votives. Still have some of the glasses from last year and trying to come up with a new idea for them. The year before I handpainted tin watering cans, I purchased online in bulk for about 2.99 ea.

Thinking of doing herbal garden sets this year...

[Lorien]

9. I love the herbal gardening sets idea!

What all will you include?

[K8-EEE]

10. I Did An Herb Pot In A Strawberry Jar

For a charity auction and it went for something like $80! I got the pot at a garage sale and did everything from seed so that worked out great for me...I did the top with cilatro because it's my fave and nasturtium mixed with chives and just whatever was pretty for the holes.

Here in SoCA we can have herbs outside all year round but for window sills I'm not sure.

[maddezmom]

13. Just thinking of painting a set of 3 Terra cotta pots...

and some seeds, soil and maybe a few recipes. And each set can be color coordinated to match the kitchen or style of the recipient.

[Lorien]

14. Great idea!

another great resource for templates, tags, packaging (all print it yourself) is www.marthastewart.com. Many are free and downloadable.

She's a Dem too (otherwise, she wouldn't be in prison)!

On edit: here's the direct link for the do-it-yourself page:
http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=learn-cat&id=cat2&rsc=sc31360

[LWolf]

34. I have a painted terra cotta pot.

It was a Christmas gift from a colleage 6 or 7 years ago. I used it for awhile to hold nuts, then to hold the rocks I was always coming home with after hikes. Finally I plugged the bottom and started burning candles in it.

I have used this idea in my classroom for Mother's Day gifts; each child paints a pot and plants a bulb in it.

It's a great idea!

[K8-EEE]

11. Gift For Cat Lovers

There is this paint you can get at the craft store, just for clay pots, and it will stay on even outside....I have some from last year because my kids painted clay pots with stripes for gifts.

This year I'm painting my friend's cat's name on a shallow pot and growing special cat herbs and grasses in it, I got the seeds at my local nursery but I'm sure they have them anywhere -- if you don't have time to grow them now in your climate, you can just put the envelope of seeds in the pot with some gravel on the bottom & it will be all ready for them to grow in the springtime.

[SouthPasadenaDem]

12. Here's my plan so far:

With a little planning, I've found that you can make a lot out of Xmas without spending much money. But you have start to plan now: Purchased gifts are for people who didn't get started early enough, have only a week or so left, and haven't given it much thought. Here's what I've been working on so far:

Went yesterday to buy a dozen pint-sized mason jars to fill with homemade marmalade. (Oranges are bioregional to Southern California and will be in season within the next month. Before the holidays, I am sure to see good navel oranges at 3 lbs. for a dollar). I plan to make up gift packages containing a pint of the aforementioned marmalade along with a loaf of fresh-baked English-muffin bread, wrapped first in a layer of foil, then wrapped up in a new dishtowel (I found some colorful ones with an embroidered design for $1.50 apiece at Ross - both attractive and also encourages less use of paper towels by the recipient).

I'll bake cookies and round out the packages with that and boxes of (organic, fair trade) tea or coffee. The overall idea here being that if you design a gift that gives the recipient breakfast for a week, that's a week the recipient won't have to BUY stuff for breakfast.

As for packaging, that will vary by recipient. For example, I found a wonderful old silver serving dish at a thrift shop for my best friend (who, by the way, has for years agreed that gifts are always 100% better and more fun when obtained from thrift shops and yard sales and so we've applied the recycled-gift logic to our giftgiving). I polished up the serving dish with some silver polish (mind you, this darling silver dish was badly tarnished - that's why it only cost $5.12 at the thrift shop - but its real honest-to-God Oneida Community and looks really stellar now that I've polished the thing) and will stack the edible goodies in this sweet silver dish, along with a new bottle of silver polish. Other gift packages will go in recycled baskets (thrift shop again) or in modestly sized (not big grocery-store sized) brown-paper-bags-with-handles (I always save these) with added bits of ribbon and scraps of pine from the xmas tree. This sort of thing takes care of lots of hostess-gifts and work friends.

My father is getting a year's subscription to The Nation, which I know he will love.

My sister will probably get a membership to something like People for the American Way, which she will probably be indifferent about, so I am open to other ideas. She is incredibly difficult to buy gifts for and is not much of a reader, so I am at a loss. I thought I might try to get her interested in gardening by giving different kinds of mixed baby lettuce seeds along with some interesting growing containers/pots (lettuce grows very easily here in SoCal in the winter; I grow it in containers myself out by the clothesline and, as an added bonus the seeds are very inexpensive) but she hates salad (she rejects all food that might even remotely be referred to as health food) and it seems unlikely she will actually do follow through with the idea of this one, so maybe this idea is a gift for someone else.

I also don't know what to do about my 13 year-old nephew. He's always been the easiest to buy new things for, but I am committed to doing otherwise this year. What do 13-year old boys want? I was thinking about some carefully-selected used books (have a wonderful secondhand bookstore not to far away), but this will take some thought, and once again, I am open to ideas.

I have promised myself that I am NOT going to buy any further ornaments, strings o'lights, assorted seasonal geegaws and dustcatchers. After 20 years of adulthood, I have acquired more than enough of these already and am patently refusing to acquire additional ones. No matter how cute. Or inexpensive. Don't need them. Got too many already.

Keep the ideas coming!

[Lorien]

17. Your mason jars idea reminded me of something my mom

has started doing. She puts all the dry ingredients for a batch of cookies (oatmeal, chocolate chip, cherry/ chocolate macadamia, snickerdoodles, etc) or bean soups in a Mason Jar. She layers them so they look a bit like sand art. Then she writes the directions for finishing the recipe (wet ingredients) along with baking temps and times on a nice piece of parchment. She attaches the folded or rolled parchment instructions to the jar with raffia, then makes a decorative lid cover for it with a scrap of fabric and pinking shears. It looks really professional, and the cookies and soups are very tasty!

[canuckforpeace]

27. Nephews

Lots of great ideas there. A few years ago I gave my 13 and 11 year old nephews a Leatherman and binoculars, respectively. They loved 'em and I just read on another thread that Leatherman is pro-dem! I got the items at an outdoor store, they had different models at various prices. A girlfriend of mine with sons the same age said one of their favourite gifts from an uncle was good quality leather wallets with chains to attach to their belt loops, biker style I guess.

[BamaGirl]

37. I am so glad you posted this, since I am seriously broke this year lol!

I've been looking for more personal and less expensive alternatives and this is great! For the adults in my family, I am putting together a family recipe book. I've been collecting everyone's recipes for a few years and it will be nice to have them all together. That won't work for my niece and nephew though. I think I may do them a cookie jar, and some kind of stew jar for our teachers etc.

On edit, this was supposed to be replied to post 17!

[Dem2theMax]

18. I don't have children, or a hubby for that matter. But I normally

get gifts for my parents and some close friends. And of course, I send cards. This year will be different. I literally have NO money to get anything for anyone. So I'm going to be honest with them and send email cards (the free ones) to everyone on my card list that has email. I have old stationery that I can use to write a nice letter to the people who don't (Gasp!) have email. My parents will understand about the lack of presents. They are in a squeeze themselves. And one friend of mine who likes to flaunt her $$, well, no present for her either. Maybe it will be a wakeup call for her that not everyone is rolling in money. Or trying to appear that they are. (that would be her.)

What I can do and will make me feel good is going to:

http://booksforsoldiers.com/

and sending them some much needed things. I'll get my parents involved and between us we can afford the shipping charges. We'll get a lot better feeling for what Christmas is really about and we won't go broke in the process. My Mom and I have a lot of books we can dust off and share with the troops. That will make Christmas feel like I'm doing something good, something that counts. :)
And I won't go into debt in the process!
Or give any $$$ to *'s Amerika. :evilgrin:

[K8-EEE]

22. SUGGESTION for cheap gifts they love!

For awhile I had a female soldier (has gone home now thank God) and she LOVED LOVED LOVED getting magazines. SO I called my dentist & drs office and asked for all their old ones -- send book rate & they're not too expensive. The other thing they loves was any kind of skin care sample. Like even Oil Of Olay foil pouch samples from the mags?

They are better than big sizes since everything gets so dirty and spoiled there. Dust and heat! So I just went around to the beauty supply stores last Xmas and collected little samples of skin stuff. They are so hot, dusty, and miserable and a lot of them are having a lot of skin problems they love any kind of moisturizer/lotion.

[Dem2theMax]

23. Thank you for the wonderful ideas. I'll be using them! nt.

[cally]

19. So many great ideas on this thread

I think I will make up a gift basket for many and also do an herb garden. I would love a gift like that so I assume others will also.

Another two ideas I may try. Buy a piece of silver wire and cut it into small pieces. Then shape it and add beads from broken jewelry and make the wine glass jewelry that is so expensive in stores. Also, I've decoupaged clear glass plates on the bottom. Then you paint over it. It's very easy and inexpensive. You've seen these plates at stores.

[Lorien]

20. A hint for those plates

add gold leaf (or simulated leaf) for an illuminated look. You can also do a light color wash over the decoupaged items to unify the color palette.

A friend of mine does decopaged waste baskets and umbrella stands for friends and family using fine wrapping papers or marbled papers, combined with images of their favoite things (places, pets, etc.).

[grasswire]

26. paper crafts make beautiful gifts

An old postcard or advertisement or photo can be turned into something really beautiful on a brown craft box or wooden tray from Michaels or another craft store. Paint, decoupage goop, some trim of some kind -- that's all you need. If you need inspiration for beautiful artisanal paper gifts, see the magazine "Somerset Studio" http://www.stampington.com/ -- poke around the site, or pick up one of the magazines at a store.

Other ideas: paper cones made of old sheet music cut with pinking shears, filled with some tinsel or tiny candy, hung on the tree with ribbons.

Kids like to make gumdrop trees by covering a styro cone with frosting and then covering it with many-colored gumdrops placed close together. Three of those in various sizes look cute on a kitchen bookcase or shelf.

Another thing I used to do was get a styro wreath and a package of pretty 6-inch paper doilies and some straight pins and then gather each doily into a rosette and pin it to the wreath. Repeat, about an inch apart. It makes a really pretty paper wreath.

[K8-EEE]

28. Oh....You Mean The "Wine Charms"

That is a great idea...the ones I've seen are kind of like labels/jewelry for glasses, they are all different so when you put your glass down at a party you know which one is yours. They're a nice hostess gift, I never even thought of making them, they wouldn't be too hard!

[Lorien]

21. You can get almost anything

especially CHILDREN'S ITEMS on Freecycle: www.freecycle.org

[kayell]

24. Ideas for children

I find this one of the hardest, because children are often sucked in by tv advertising and peer pressure.

Some things I've done or seen others do that worked well.

Homemade:
Long ribbons attached to a handle similar to the ribbons that gymnasts use.
Aprons or painting coveralls with pockets for crayons, brushes etc.
Photo albums with pictures of the child, friends and their family.
Tapes or CDs with their favorite books recorded by a family members voice.
Sock Puppets

Purchased:
A baking set with a small baking sheet, fun cookie cutters, jimmies, etc.
A set of garden tools in childs size and some seeds.
A set of real tools in childs sizes.
Whistles, flutes and other interesting musical instruments from 10,000 Villages (Fair Trade)

Non-Thing gifts
Tickets to a childrens play or a ballet like The Nutcracker
Lessons in something the child is interested in.
Trips to a favorite place like the zoo.

[JaneDoughnut]

25. Gifts of service

For the last several years I have given a lot of family members "gifts of service" from Seva - http://www.seva.org/. This is a really interesting charity because you can be very specific about where the money goes. A $50 gift will purchase midwife training and supplies or a set of books or a cataract surgery. Family members that do mission work really appreciate this sort of thing.

[Lorien]

30. I know a family who does that almost exclusivly

for Christmas. They all contribute to Seva, then they all get the name of just ONE other family member, and they buy that family member a gift that is $25 or under. Everybody gets one thing to remember that Christmas by, and they all seem pretty happy about it!

[pamela]

29. I make jewelry.

It's very easy to learn to make earrings, necklaces and bracelets and there are a lot of bead stores around where you can get the materials you need. I used to have a jewelry design business and I still have tons of beads and findings that I bought wholesale, so I'm getting busy again making jewelry for presents.

If you don't have a bead store nearby, you can buy some beautiful beads and findings on eBay. That's where I get most of my bali silver.

[Lorien]

31. I have one friend who always wants to buy me something

but he's been short on funds for years, and I don't need more "stuff" anyway. Last year I asked for some help with a few chores around the house instead of a gift (peeling wallpaper and planting a tree). He would have been happier to just buy me something, I'm sure, but he did help in the end. Much more appreciated in the long run than some jewelry or DVDs, and it didn't add to his credit card debt!

[foreigncorrespondent]

32. Yeah tell me about it.

It really is busy this time of year. I work in security for a major electronics etc store in Australia, and the stores are really getting busy now. Thank God, I am not working on Christmas eve this year. I am so short that people won't see me and just trample on me. LOL

Anyway, for the last few years, I have teamed up with my mum, and we merge our Christmas gifts together. We only buy for my sister, her husband and children. And what we buy is usually something small, that we know they really do want, and will get a lot of use out of.

This year though, Sapph will be here for Christmas. :) This is also going to be the first Christmas in quite a while, were I have had an income leading up to it, and so, it will be the first Christmas where I can actually go out and get her something which I can pay for with my own money I have been putting aside for it. And that is something I am looking forward to being able to do.

Usually we will ask a few months in advance what the people want or need that we buy for. That way it makes it easier for us when we go to get their gifts. Sapph is the only one I haven't asked what she would like. Simply because I know she would say she has enough just spending it with me, but also because I do have a gift in mind for her. One which I know she will really enjoy, but also would be really touched by. :)

When we get the gift wrap, we usually buy the stuff made from recycled paper. And on Christmas day when all the gifts are open, the paper and packages go straight into the recycle bin.

Mum and I also shop at locally owned stores for gifts rather than the big establishments like Kmart, Target, etc. That way we know the little bit of money we do spend is going back into the community. :)

This year though will be the first time since mum and I moved into this place together last year, that we will have a Christmas tree up etc, so we have spent some money of decorations and stuff. But again, all those have come from locally owned businesses only.

I like your idea of making gifts, but because mum and I both work, we really don't have the time to make anything ourselves.

[crispini]

33. I plan to put this on my Christmas list:

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=18

I also plan to ask for an ACLU membership. :evilgrin:

[LWolf]

35. For children:

Custom cookie dough.

Sugar cookie or "refrigerator" dough; make a whole bunch and divide it into 3 sections. Then "color" each section with food coloring; primary colors. Use as much or little as you wish; just be aware that the more you use, the more you taste it.

Package it up neatly like playdough, and freeze it. They can thaw it, use as much or little as they like, and refreeze it. They can create their cookies just like using playdough; cut out shapes or free-form, their own colored creations.

There is a commercial dough like this available; I bought some sold as a fundraiser, and used it with my grandson, who was totally thrilled. Even though they didn't taste very good. They taste better when you make the dough yourself and add a little coloring.

[miss_kitty]

36. I make jewelry and hope I don't dupe my friends

they can trade or pass it along, or I will give them something they don't have. The guys, I try to get well made tools, something to help with the self-sufficient thing.

Also, you can give a goat to a poor family in Africa. You can give to a recipients favourite charity in their name.

I was weaned off the Xmas monster years ago. After years in retail, I can't bring myself to go into the stores now, because I know how fake it all is.

I would suggest to make purchases in cash. It saves paying usurious interest and really supporting the beast that rules us all, the banking industry. I would say the best Christmases I had were the ones were I owned everything I gave away, because I had a Christmas club account at my credit union. $25 a paycheck went into that account-I had $600 at the end of the year. Plenty.

[BamaGirl]

38. My plans

I'm gathering all my recipes collecting from family members over the years into a book and giving to my parents, brother, sil's, and grandmother.

Bought my husband a nice set of crystal wine glasses and carafe at a garage sale last week.

I think I'll do cookie gift jars for my neice and nephew and stew jars for our teachers.

Best friend and I agreed not to exchange. We're making the husbands babysit so we can spend a day hanging out and hitting our favorite thrift/antique stores. We're browsers more than shoppers, but it's always fun when we can find the time to go together.

My kids are tough. My parents will spend a lot no matter I say, so I won't. We always get lots of books (used usually) and clothes (also usually used). I bought them stuff to make their own teddy bears, and I'll be putting together crafty stuff (paper, markers, etc). I'm also getting a chess set and checkers set. I'm thinking about buying some checked cloth and spray painting bottle caps for the checkers and finding a cool little box they can keep it in. My son (3yo) just wants cars. I'm going to see what I can find in the thrift stores for him. He'll also get clothes and books.

[cally]

39. I'm going to copy your idea about the recipes

for my sisters and nieces and nephews. That's a great idea.