At this time of year there’s a gift for everyone and a guide for every type of gift. In fact there’s no shortage of tat to go around. Since I do my level best to reduce our family consumption throughout the year, I’ll be damned if I’mma blow it all for one day! Christmas is a religious holiday that should be all about love, empathy and doing good deeds for others. What I see from an environmentalist perspective is a lot of shopping and an excruciating amount of waste.
Hence I decided to tackle this gift guide malarkey from a different perspective i.e MY WAY. Wearing my Ms Rationality tiara I will share the practical gifts I’ve given my family and friends over the years. The aim here is to gift with the smallest carbon footprint possible. All you have to do is consider these four points before you buy. Do they need it or is it useful? Can I buy it second-hand? Where does it come from? How often will they use it?
A hard-core atheist could quite happily do without Christmas but how would I explain the full-sized tree in my living room? Also I get a ridiculous amount of pleasure from fairy lights and overly decorated homes. Actually we have fairy lights in our bedrooms all the time, not just at Christmas. Equally, I enjoy singing Christmas carols and nothing beats the joy on my babies faces as they open their presents on Christmas morning. It’s true I don’t believe in God but hey I’m no Grinch! Although there’s definitely a way to do Christmas without selling your soul to crazy consumerism and unbridled pollution.
GIFT SITUATIONS TO RE-THINK
CHILDREN
When buying for children it’s tempting to fill their stocking with cheap bits of plastic like shopkins and squishies. Doing this really hurts my heart, all I see is these same useless pieces of plastic floating in the ocean. Fish food FOREVER.
As the Mother of three I’m already doing more harm to the Planet than most people so I try very hard to limit how much stuff my kids get. Consequently they’re raised to consider where these things come from and where they end up. We regularly discuss the impact of what we buy on the environment. I would say almost on a daily basis, it’s so embedded in our lives. Therefore the children naturally assume they’re only allowed a certain amount of tat. In fact my eldest is now fully conscious of consumerism and is able to make her own judgement pretty bang on as I would want. I also try to achieve a practical balance in all things non-biodegradable.
Clearly avoiding plastic or plastic based materials altogether is impossible in the modern world. Indeed more than we could ever use is already out there circulating the planet for eternity. We certainly don’t need to produce any more of it. Then there’s the most useless crap on earth – The novelty gift. What a ridiculous, pointless waste this idea is! Designed for a joke, one thing or one use? Sorry I don’t find that funny at all.
*Jasper excitedly told me about something he’d seen on YouTube that cuts a banana in one motion. “Isn’t this brilliant Mummy?” he said.
“Erm no it is not Jas and do you know why? It only does one thing doesn’t it? What else cuts a banana? And how many other things will that object cut?”
This IS something we CAN stop and it DOES make a difference, especially at Christmas when everyone’s on shopping over-drive. If you can’t think of something to give for a fiver just give them a nice bag of fruit! Sure stick a bow on that bag why doncha.
With that in mind, the kid’s Xmas stocking is limited to four items. One of which is a satsuma. The other three will be small second-hand toys from a charity shop or a practical item such as colouring pencils or winter gloves. Of course the children also get presents from Santa which they find under the tree at sparrow-fart on Christmas morning.
The presents under the tree consist of one special gift and a few small, inexpensive items. A mixture of stuff they need like p.j’s, bedding, socks and undies with games or items to encourage creativity. Musical instruments and art supplies are always a big hit. The main present will be something they’ve wanted all year like a scooter or bike. One Christmas Kiki got her first laptop, that kind of thing. Basically it’s what I’d have bought them if there was no such thing as Christmas. Now for most of the presents I do my level best to buy second-hand, failing that I source from a sustainable/eco-friendly brand.
This year Lucia asked for a kitten. She wrote in her letter to Santa “You can forget all the other toys if you want and just give me the kitten but it has to be a real one!”
Unfortunately as much as I’d love to get the cheeky monkey a kitten, we’re just too uncertain of our future here in America at the moment. Fortunately she also asked to adopt a Polar Bear. This we can do.
GIRLFRIENDS
Full disclosure here – I don’t give my girlfriends Christmas presents. Personally I think Christmas is all about the kids. Instead of Christmas I save a special gift for my friend’s birthdays. The other thing I like to do is wait for the January sales when I can afford to get them something really lovely. This does mean stashing bits away for a while but I’m in the habit of doing that now so it’s no biggie. There’s always a big box of gifts in my loft waiting for their recipients. Once I had three Cath Kidston bags like this one tucked away up there. All heavily discounted from the sale and all earmarked for specific friends. Try to imagine a small luxury item they wouldn’t necessarily buy for themselves. Perhaps the iconic Chanel compact, a professional make up brush or a pretty charm like this one Lisa sent me? How about an inexpensive, unique hair clip or cute key ring? Hair accessories and beauty products are always well received and shouldn’t be underestimated as affordable luxury gifts.
In lieu of a gift at Xmas I prefer to share a nice bottle of wine with my BFF’s. Let’s face it, if there’s one thing we all really need, it’s more time together. Oooh there’s a thought, imagine giving the gift of time?
Dear Friend,
Here is 24 hours for you to do absolutely anything you fancy or nothing at all.
Love Me xxx
If none of these suggestions work for you I’m guessing a fabulous Sweaty Betty sweater will do the trick! In any case for whatever occasion or no particular reason at all these are special gifts for the Women we love.
WORK FRIENDS
Christmas is the perfect time to show your work colleagues how much you appreciate them. We all know the SECRET SANTA is a popular gifting game in office jobs. Usually the set amount to spend is low but don’t let that stop you buying high. No junk from the tat shop here my loves. To be sustainable gifts they should ideally come from a sustainable source, failing that buy something useful. The useful gift is very close to the sustainable one and the next option for the conscious consumer. Trust me, a simple yet lush lip balm is much appreciated, even by men as long as it’s untinted heeheehee. Remember gift buying should be as consciously considered as any other purchase. Whatever you do don’t panic, there’s no reason to drop the ball at Christmas.
This year I actually have co-workers for the first time in over a decade. Four talented Women who’ve generously shared their knowledge of photography with kindness and patience. Without these Women I wouldn’t be a professional photographer now which is a rather extraordinary thought, no? Not only have they welcomed me into their work place, they also teach me something new every time I’m there. Think about it….Artists giving an amateur the inside edge, teaching ME in THEIR chosen field! I have so much respect for that, I cannot tell you.
So this Xmas they all get a pair of socks. Teehee I know right? Not just any old boring socks, these are lush Eileen Fisher socks. Let me tell you those socks are hard to part with. And you all know how much I adore socks!
THE BLOKE IN YOUR LIFE
My Husband Mark is notoriously difficult to buy for. I have no idea why he’s so fussy, I have excellent taste! Anyway I manage to get it spot on from time to time. Funnily enough Mark has the best reaction to the intangible gifts I’ve given him over the years although the Paul Smith wallet and Versace cuff links were both big hits he still treasures. However for Mark to abide the cost of luxury items they must be used every day. He’s merely following #30wears rule subconsciously. Job done. So here’s a list of the Man gift’s that went down particularly well for me. Obviously you’ll have to Google the first three in your location if you fancy giving them a go on your Guy.
1. Full body massage
2. Guitar lesson
3. Pizza making class
4. Cuff links
5. Wallet
6. Scarf
As for my wish list? You can pop back next week for that if you’re curious…
Love, Mx
*More ethical gift guides from other blogs I love – The FT Times | Look For The Woman | Not Dressed As Lamb | The Sequinist | That’s Not My Age
Comments ( 21 )
thehappyminimalistgirl
This post is so helpful! Such great information! loving your blog:)
MT
Thanks gorgeous, that makes me so happy!
Lisa Lennkh
Love this post; I just couldn’t face writing the BUY BUY BUY Christmas post myself, so I fully appreciate the carefully considered gift guide you offer here. I’m going to explore your children’s options. M and I are skipping presents this year and are going to have a few big nights out instead. I am so grateful for your championing conscious consumerism. Just ANOTHER reason to love ya really xxx
MT
Thanks Lisa back at ya babe! I added a link to your awesome gift guide at the foot of my post. It was such a good one to share xxx
Juliana
Great post Michelle. Something for us all to think about as we do our Chrustmas shopping. I often find that the little purchaes for the kids through the year are often when I make the worst decisions – that’s when I’m off guard and looking to get through the tills asap!
MT
I hear you Juliana! Absolutely loathe shopping in stores now, can’t bear the queues 😉
Fernanda
Voicing the problem is not enough but being part of the solution and the example for others, this is a great way of doing so. Great post Michelle 😘
MT
Thank you for saying that Fernanda. I often feel that I don’t do enough, it really bothers me. I wish I could go off grid entirely but with 3 kids that’s never going to be practical. Perhaps when Mark and I are old we will 😉
notdressedaslamb
I LOVE how to install your values into the kids at Christmas MT – I despair when I see the amount of packaging that’s produced on Xmas day just from kids’ toys. I’ve long since banned sellotape and those awful metallic bows and ribbons from the wrapping Keith and I use and I’m trying to get the family to do the same… the message is getting there slowly but surely! I’m quite proud that the young ‘uns in the family now know to sort all the paper, card and plastic for recycling… I’ll maker eco warriors of them yet!
Love your ideas, thank you for continuing to push this message home 🙂
Catherine x
notdressedaslamb
Aaargh typos! “how you instill”, not install #facepalm
MT
Oh wow that is impressive mate, good on you! xxx
melissa williams
Great post and thanks for writing it without the “shame on all of you awful consumers” guilt angle! I love giving (and getting) gifts of wine at Christmas! My daughter is currently in Guatemala and the mail service there is……um…..really bad. As in- packages just don’t arrive. She is hand making all of her gifts this year and they are the most thoughtful ideas I have ever seen. I love her giant heart and creative mind SO much! I need to do a post about her one day- she is one neat chica if I do say so myself, lol. When our kids were little (and we had much less financially) we would plan a trip- whatever we could afford and then they would get “something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read”. They would get loads from the family and we always had a very Merry Christmas. 🙂 Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
MT
Yes you definitely should write about your daughter, she sounds amazing! Melissa if you don’t mind I’m going to steal that phrase/idea from you? It’s absolutely brilliant! Thank you for sharing babe xx
melissa williams
Oh of course! I wish I could take credit for it………not sure where I heard it so many years ago. Merry Christmas!
MT
Mwah!
No Fear of Fashion
I am doing great here as we do not do gifts at all at Christmas. A little boring I agree, but it just isn’t a big thing in the Netherlands. Saint Nicolaas however (December 5) is BIG. As this is really for children and we have no kids, that saint is not stopping at our door either. Nicky, Ron’s daughter is 32 and leads her own life. She would love to exchange gifts at Christmas but Ron has a chip on his shoulder about receiving gifts. So this year: no gifts, to humor him.
We have a tree as you have seen on IG, candles and we see family and friends. Yay.
And I think you are doing greatwith your kids.
I found out today that an eighteen year old guy from the Netherlands invented a “thing” that swoops up plastic garbage from the oceans big time. It is actually made and being tested as we speak. How about that? There is hope.
Greetje
MT
Wow interesting about the Netherlands Greetje, thanks for sharing that. I quite like the sound of your Xmas or lack there of 😉
Ron is such a character, I’d love to meet him one day…
I have indeed heard about the thing that sucks up the plastic. Actually my Son Jasper told me about it recently. Yes there is always hope and as Humans we have big brains to invent new ways of fixing the problems we cause.
No Fear of Fashion
They are not all like us in the Netherlands….there are a lot of people exchanges gifts. We always say that whatever happens in America, arrives here 20 years later.
MT
Indeed I understand. In Australia I think it’s even sooner!
Abby
Sorry for being late to the party, Michelle. I dropped by to wish you and your family Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! And even though you consider yourself an atheist, you’re definitely Heaven sent! This idea with the polar bear, simply brilliant! I mean, I remember seeing a movie during a long plane ride a long time ago, about saving polar bears, but I forgot about it completely. And while we already did plenty of donations to save wild life etc this year, I will make sure to donate to WWF-Canada and have my kids choose their “adopted pet”. Absolutely loved your post! Lots and lots of love!!! xx Abby
MT
ABBYYYY!
How are you my love? It’s so wonderful to hear from you beautiful one. Thank you so much for always being here, supporting me in your kind and intelligent way.
Merry Christmas to you and your family! One day we shall meet again for another glass of champagne and a good old natter 😉
xxx