For a while now, I’ve been trying to do my part.
I bring my canvas bags to the grocery store and the farmer’s market. I recycle my newspapers and plastics, and lately I’ve been buying a lot more in glass and going to the local food co-op to refill those containers. And while I’m not a purist, I’m a believer in taking as many “small steps” to help the environment as I can.
And before Christmas, I made a promise to myself: to erase some of my “foot prints” when it came to the packaging and wrapping. There’s just too much paper waste that comes along with the season’s gift giving.
I don’t know about Hanukah, but when it comes to the celebration of Christmas, the mass of wraps, bags, and ribbons would make Wise Men weep.
Why must the environment take a back seat in Santa’s sleigh? Why must gift-giving be so destructive to our landfills?
And that’s when I made a plan for this Christmas.
Now, it’s not Christmas itself, but the wrappings of its celebration that I ‘m talking about. For me, Christmas is about keeping holy the day that begins the story of my faith. It’s about the hope of redemption for Christians around the world. It’s about keeping for our children a religious and cultural heritage.
But consumerism surrounds the holiday, and has for quite awhile. And every year, we seem to outdo ourselves with stuff…the stuff that we get and the stuff we feel compelled to give.
And with all that stuff comes the packaging…the cardboard, the tissue paper, the wrapping paper, the ribbon, and the tinsel, and after its “day under the tree,” it becomes a giant pile of twisted reds and greens in the land fill.
So, here was my plan. And again, this was only a small step plan, but nevertheless, one that would take me closer to a green Christmas.
Of course, I was giving gifts. I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to buy a few clothes for my 88 and 86 year old mother and father who don’t seem to buy any more for themselves. You can imagine their quip “Won’t be needing them where we’re going,” but collars seem to fray and I still shop for them anyway.
But instead of wrapping my gifts, I decided to give them in their store’s boxes.
And, once the opening was done, I collected all the boxes and brought them home. On the day after Christmas, instead of going to the transfer station with bags filled with Christmas debris, I schlepped all the hardly-used boxes back to their places of origin.
Frankly, I went in feeling a little nervous, wondering if they’d even take back their boxes. But I’d neatly refolded them into a flat stack, hoping they’d be persuaded to use them again.
Each time I was greeted with, first a perplexed look, and then a smile and a comment about a “green Christmas” as they accepted my boxes.
It’s the season of hope and renewal. And also we give gifts. But it’s also a time for taking care, and for next Christmas, maybe of bringing to the celebration even more green!
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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That’s a smart answer to a tricky qutiseon
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Many years ago, I made cloth bags of beautiful Christmas fabric ( also color coordinated.) The bags were of all sizes; even super size for those big kid things. We still use those bags. They look great under the tree. We have saved at least 10 years of wrapping paper. An added bonus is that it takes only a few seconds to wrap a gift. That initial expense and effort in construction has been well worth it.
Way to go, Ruth! What a creative way to go green. I believe I will follow suit.
Ruth,
Lovely ideas. I too have been trying to take some small steps to reducing my footprint on the planet and you and the others here have given me some great ideas.
One year, I encouraged my family to pick a different charity to support in each person’s name that was representative of something that each valued (along with a small gift or gift card) We took turns talking about the charity we had picked out to support and why we picked the one we had for them. It was lovely. And definately reduced the amount of trash produced by the holiday, and gave us a good feeling about the spirit of giving and how to extend that to others.
Hope you all have a happy, healthy and wonderful 2010.
Best, Kat
Hi Ruth,
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing it.
Wishing you and your family a healthy and happy holiday season and an amazing 2010!
Pam
I’m amazed at the thought and effort you put into this. Most of us go mindless about our day-to-day business, but your gesture has given me pause. Many thanks. Miriam
My family stopped putting up Christmas Trees and giving wrapped presents several years ago. We have a nice dinner and use gift cards placed within a greeting card. This eliminates the craziness of putting a tree in your home only to be placed in the trash after a few days and having mountains of gift wrapping and boxes. The ultimate benefit is that the recipients of the gift cards get to buy what they want in the After Christmas sales for less than what it would have costs prior to Christmas.
Great idea(s) on a “Green Christmas.” I like to get a few of my favorite things and put them in a new grocery store shopping bag, one they can reuse… such as canvas or the hot/cold type.
Together we can all help get and keep the planet (and our bodies) green, clean & lean!
We did Holiday giving a bit differently this year and it turned out to be very ‘green’. I sent out an email notice to each one of my adult children asking them to join me using this new tradition! (have 5 adults + some with their partners and 15 grandchildren). The rule was to not spend 1 penny on any gift! Tho some initial resistance this first time, we will probably do again next year!
Shopping alone was expensive in time, energy, gas and money. So I asked that we have a ‘regifting’ Christmas. All adults had to go thru their home and personal belongings find to items that were meaningful to the receiver, but without spending a penny! These gifts had to have a sentimental value, humorous twist or have a story tied to it. I gave each of the grand-kiddos (over 3) a small gift certificate to a hobby store and regifted them each with something of mine they could use or cherish. Example… lots of embroidery floss and embroidery pieces I had never gotten to from years ago, tons of colored art pencils and sketch book, my ‘rock-hunting’ equipment, cherished books that kids might appreciate, etc.
My wrapping ‘paper’ was used plastic bags that somehow I cannot escape from entirely. I save them, reuse or turn them in to recycle. This was an easy and quick way to get the gifts wrapped without using so much of time!
This was the most wonderful and heart touching Christmas we have ever had! Gales of laughter, some tears of memories (good melancholy) and sense of appreciation for these very personal choices we all gave or received. The grand kids saw first hand the example of adults sharing the history of each item and saw that ‘giving from the heart’ is truly what Christmas is about. The laughter rang through my small house as we all enjoyed a great ‘green’ Christmas! (and I have the joy of knowing that many things that once took up space in my home, now have a new home!) And we ended the day by being grateful that we were green AND frugal! We created a Christmas holiday that we all will remember!
Karen
What a great idea….thanks for sharing. I love the thought that your posting will touch others to make an environmentally friendly change, which will then inspire someone else etc. etc. There’s hope that one by one, we will certainly make a positive difference.
I resonate with all of your thoughts and feelings about wastage and gift wrapping. In the UK it is rare to receive a box from the store – and more and more places are allowing customers to take away pre-packed gifts in recycled bags brought in by the customer.
.Quite a number of my family and friends (apart from the very young) wrap and unwrap parcels carefully in order to recycle the wrapping paper when possible. My singing teacher is very proud of not buying any new gift paper this Christmas – and asks any of the choir who don’t like to recycle their paper to bring it in for others to re-use. Incidentally her parcels are wrapped with care and look gorgeous.
When giving gifts to my nearest and dearest – I have often wrapped the gift in a sparkly scarf (I possess several) – on the understanding that the “wrapping” stays with me – for the next time.
My elder daughter although greener than I am in many ways – likes to use co-ordinated wrapping and ribbon and labels – and thinks people might be offended if her greenness extended to gift wrappings. Our belief systems differ in this respect. Here we cross over into your mainstream field. What is more important – the green issue – or pleasing people – or dealing with the anxiety about changing the way we behave and impact on others?
Thank you for all your shared wisdom.
Margaret
We use “hollywood” boxes, which are boxes that are wrapped, both top and bottom, so that you can open the gift without tearing the paper. (Shoeboxes work great for this.) They can be used over and over. The only downside is that they must be stored.