Holiday Gift Ideas for Eco-Conscious Consumers

Holiday Gift Ideas for Eco-Conscious Consumers

While many retailers would have you believing the holidays are all about shopping, spending money and making sure you have plenty of gifts under the tree, in reality, the holiday season means a whole lot more. It is a time for people to celebrate their religion, participate in random acts of kindness, as well as show their appreciation of family and friends.

Although the holidays may mean something different to each individual, it is true that gift-giving is a tradition around this time of year. Showing people you truly care about them doesn’t have to be done by giving materialistic gifts. However, if you are looking for a gift to give, we have a few holiday gift ideas perfect for eco-conscious consumers.

A Few Do-It-Yourself Gift Ideas

DIY gift ideas are highly underrated in my opinion. Not only are these types of gifts often easy to make, each shows a personalized touch and can bring a lot of joy to its recipient. The following are a few favorites that work well for the eco-conscious consumer, and are relatively green in nature.

• Natural holiday decorations: Not everyone has natural decorations around the holidays to make their homes smell and look great. If you want to show your appreciation to a loved one, neighbor, friend or even a stranger, a DIY holiday decoration may be the way to go.
• Bath and beauty supplies: What’s so wonderful about making and gifting your own bath and beauty supplies is each gift can be tailored to a person’s specific preferences. If your mom likes peppermint, make her a peppermint scrub. If your co-worker is fond of mint, maybe a mint-lime foot soak would be appreciated. From scrubs, lotion bars, body butter, bath fizzies, soaps and more–these gifts are bound to be a hit.
• Repurposed gifts: Gifting doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. If you look around your house, you’ll probably find a variety of items you can repurpose into cool, new gifts. Bed frames can be turned into shelves, coat racks and signs. You can make wine bags, picture frames, candle holders, creative planter boxes, and serving trays, just to name a few.

Giving a Little of Yourself

Gifts don’t have to be bought in a store or made by hand either. Sometimes, the best gifts aren’t physical “gifts” at all. The most thoughtful gifts are those when you give a little of yourself. Making the effort to spend more time with family during the holidays, preparing a home-cooked meal for friends, volunteering at a local shelter or charity, offering to help an elderly neighbor bring in groceries, or simply giving a stranger a heart-felt smile can make all the difference. We occasionally forget this fact, but the little things in life often mean the most.

In most cases, we have no way of knowing what another person may be going through. A simple act of kindness or demonstration of humanity could instantly turn a bad day right around. Giving a little of yourself is something you can do during the holidays, or at any time of year. Showing compassion has not limits and the positive effects know no bounds. Another benefit is that giving a little of yourself tends to have very little impact on the environment, so is probably one of the most eco-conscious gifts you could give.

May your holiday season be as eco-friendly as it can be, and may the remainder of 2015 be filled with love and laughter, kindness and nature, friends and family. From our biofriendly family to yours!