Tag Archives: thrifty gift ideas

12 eco friendly Christmas gift ideas

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We seem to be heading towards the pointy end of the year and with that usually comes a little gift giving. I love making or giving something that I know can either be consumed, passed on, recycled, is environmentally friendly or upcycled in some way. In giving gifts like this though, you usually have to think a little bit before hand. So no shopping on Christmas Eve for me. (Anyway, I would rather be eating my 10th rum ball and reading Christmas bed time stories to The Monkeys.)

So a few rehashed ideas, in a listy form.

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  Preserves for everyone. Jams, marmalades, sweet chilli sauce and chutneys.  You can make them well ahead of time and easy thing to pop in a little food hamper or given singularly.

Idea: attach an antique teaspoon with some string to the side.

 

 Gnome fairies as a gift or even Christmas decoration. How to make them and where to buy their little wooden bodies here.

A plate of various biscuits for Grandma Esme and Uncle Pollywaffle?

Chocolate Honey Biscuits, Lemon Vanilla Stars, Anzac Biscuits, Chewy Coconut Biscuits, Custard Biscuits  the list is endless. Make them crisper and they will keep longer.

Idea: A plate of biscotti and some beautiful fairtrade tea.

Buy a plate or dish second hand from your local op-shop/thrift shop/charity shop. Beautiful one off antique ones can bought for usually just a couple of dollars.

An afternoon outing, exploring your local botanical gardens or national park with a picnic? Make an IOU card. Can be used for any ages.

A visit to the local zoo for your nephew Buster? A present doesn’t have to be a ‘thing’ it can be an experience.

maybe a Keep Cup for the coffee fiend from work? No more annoying mounting up disposable coffee cups in the bin.

Where to buy some Soap Nuts for Aunt Green Pants and what on earth they are?

Some bubbles for the triplet girls- Aoli, Bellini, and Chia and how to make your own.

Lots of scraps of fabric? Get quilting. There is probably a beautiful new baby that could use a little quilted change mat. Or maybe some new oven mits for the kind lady down the road who keeps baking fabulous brownies and leaving them on your door step.

Some different ideas for wrapping some of those gifts. Gift wrapping doesn’t have to be the conventional rip it up kind.

…and perhaps a card to go with it?

Chocolate wrapping cards. There’s a damn good reason to go buy some of that fairtrade chocolate you saw on special.

or maybe just a simple gift tag?…

Gift tags can made from old cards, cereal boxes, biscuit boxes or just a beautiful old photo.

Lots of possibilities… now go have fun creating and giving.

Chocolate cards

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(I’m going to stick with the gift theme for another post.)

This is a household that consumes rather a lot of chocolate. Not any old chocolate, but still vast quantities of the dark and luscious food of the gods. With that large consumption, comes wrappers. A lot of them.

So with all those wrappers accumulating, I started to collect them and turn them into things. The chocolate of choice that we generally buy is Whittakers, and the wrapping of it really is lovely to begin with, dark and gold with a lovely picture. First came the birthday card and then came the wrapping paper.

For the birthday cards, most people haven’t even realised it was once a chocolate wrapper. I match it with a couple of other coloured papers and card, then stick it down. For the wrappers, they are all just stuck together to make whatever size I need.

I really love beautiful wrapping paper, but hate to see it being ripped and torn as a present is opened. I either see it as part of the present itself or like to see it as something that can be more easily discarded. I was always one of those annoying kids who carefully peeled back the tape on a present, not ripping and then gently refolding the paper for another use. People would go to sleep while waiting to see their gift unwrapped.

I hope people don’t think I’m just being cheap when I give it. As I really do think it looks good and it’s something to do with all those wrappers….I could cut back a bit I guess on the buying and consumption…but nah, that’s not going to happen any time soon.