Growing a Green Family » Green Holiday Gifts

Top Eco-friendly Books for Green Families

Jennifer Chait — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:14:28 +0000

If you’re scrounging for last-minute holiday gifts, a good book can’t be beat and is easy to find, even last-minute, so long as you have a local bookstore in town. I’ve reviewed many books, and below are some of my favorites – all are perfect for growing green families too!

If you’re looking for some books for a family that loves to prepare food together, check out my list of green and healthy cookbooks. There are also some books around that I haven’t reviewed yet, but I have read and recommend, that will also make great gifts, such as:

Some green-minded books for the kiddos:

Homemade Memory Game for Holiday Fun

Jennifer Chait — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:00:05 +0000

For Christmas this year, Cedar and I were going to make homemade wool felt play food kits for the kids in our family, as holiday gifts. However, we’re not the best sewers. We made some and did okay, but we need more practice before our sewing crafts are gift-ready. Still, since we wanted to make homemade gifts vs. buy toys or something else, we had some brainstorming sessions and settled on homemade recycled chunky crayons and homemade memory games.

Homemade memory game

If you’re looking for a fun homemade gift project that your child can help with (my ten-year-old easily helped to make these) then this game is a great fit. Memory is fun and educational for young children. This game can help teach shapes, colors and words. You could even make a game with matching numbers or letters to help teach other early childhood comprehension skills.

This homemade memory game is also quick (so last minute if necessary) and allows you to use up excess paper scraps and stickers you have laying around the house. Plus it’s very inexpensive and nice if you’re aiming for a low-cost, non-commercial holiday.

Time taken: About two evenings of concentrated work – all-in-all we made games for three kids in about 6 hours. Not bad. It would have been faster had we used wooden squares vs. stars because there would have been no tracing and exact cutting involved, but the stars are soooo darn cute.

Cost – about $15 for three kids: We looked for a sale and found some wooden stars for about $15 in bulk packs. We had paper, glue and the other stuff laying around the house.

Odds and ends to make your game

Here’s what you’ll need

Wooden shapes. These are easily found at most craft stores. If you’re super crafty and have some sort of wood shop, you could make your own, but alas, that’s not us. Most people go with squares or circle, but for fun, we decided to go with stars. You can also find thick recycled cardboard squares or make some, but after making some game pieces with both wood and cardboard, we felt the wood looked a lot better and felt more sturdy.

Water based glue and sealer.

Scrap paper and some large sheets of matching paper for the backs of the game pieces.

Design items – Stickers, paint or more scrap paper for the design side. I.e. the side with the two matching objects.

Little bags (which you could make with reuse fabric) or small recycled boxes.

Pencil, scissors and a bit of sandpaper.

Be sure to mark odd sized wooden shapes so you can match the shape to the paper

Making your game

If using star shapes trace the stars onto your paper then cut the stars out. Note – because wooden stars vary in size, be sure to mark a little arrow on your star and on the back of your paper so you know how the paper fits onto the wood. If using a uniform shape, it’s a lot easier. Simply trace one piece, then cut the rest of your paper to the same size.

Coat your wood with the water based glue/sealer, then press the paper on firmly. Repeat until all your wood pieces have one side that match (i.e. the side you lay out to start the game).

Then choose matching scraps of paper or stickers or even paint matching designs on the other sides of your wood.

Coat your wood pieces, front and back with two or three coats of sealer – this will make the paper much less likely to come off in little hands.

Sand any rough edges with a bit of sandpaper. This is a good job for a kid helper.

You can put the finished game in a little reusable fabric drawstring bag or small recycled box.

A sweet pink version!

Tips

You can make a memory game like this with real photos of people your child knows. The sealer works on photos.

We’re making our games for kids who are two through four, so we picked easily recognizable designs for young children – i.e. strawberries, flowers, bees, ants and so on.

Fun to stack

Consider making theme games such as holiday, birthday, Easter, Valentine’s day or so on.

Use lots of different matching images

Experiment with different shapes of wood, plenty of color and even different sizes – all of which help young children learn new things. Fun shapes can be used for stacking fun too.

Great for homemade labels

Be sure to add a little label about how to play the game. I found some adorable wooden labels (shown above) stockpiled in my craft drawer which would work great – but you could print out a label on the computer too.

Are you making any homemade gifts this holiday season? What?

Tips for a less consumer-minded holiday season

Jennifer Chait — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:23:45 +0000

Previously I wrote about how the winter holiday season has been over-saturated with stuff and overspending. I’ve been meaning to do a follow-up about how to combat a consumer holiday, but sorry, I got a little behind here. Life has been nuts lately. There’s still plenty of December left though and that means many chances to have a less consumer-based holiday season. Take a look at the tips below. Maybe they’ll help you have a nicer, less consumer, more family focused holiday season.

CONSUMER-FREE ESSENTIALS

Come up with a plan

The best way to combat holiday consumerism is to think things through before hand and to have a solid family focused plan in place. This is tough for a lot of us, myself included. Try discussing the issue with your family and friends early on. Talk about what sort of holiday you’d like to have, plus stuff you’ve liked or not liked about holidays past. If you need some good celebration ideas read I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas and Celebrate Green.

Start creating traditions when your kids are young

Getting older kids to convert from a stuff-based holiday to a more activity and family focused holiday is very hard. Kids raised to value stuff over people will obviously not value holiday celebrations. Encourage kids from an early age that holidays are about hanging out with family and giving over simply getting presents. It’s best to raise kids right from the start, rather than switch it up later. Keep in mind that discussing green holidays and family-based celebrations does not take away from the magic of the season.

Kids can be savvy consumers

Convert older kids and others

If you’ve spent years celebrating gifts and stuff vs. family time, you’ll need to adjust everyone’s train of thought. Discuss how consumer-driven holidays don’t appeal anymore and discuss ways to make changes. This is one of those times that you’ll need to fess up to your child that you’ve been wrong, especially if you’ve been over-showering the holidays with gifts galore up to this point. Change can happen, but don’t expect it to happen overnight.

GO EXTREME

Celebrate a Buy Nothing Christmas this year.

Yup, it’s way outside the norm, but also an excellent challenge and will still be fun to boot. If this seems to extreme, at least take the 2011 Simplify the Holidays Challenge, which allows you to scale back, without scaling back entirely. Need help planning your Buy Nothing Christmas? See the following:

GREEN GIFT GIVING ESSENTIALS

First, make a budget and stick to it this year. Then, before you buy another gift, make sure you have really thought about the gift shenanigans in this country. Once you start thinking about it, you’ll likely notice that it’s a little out of control.

Figure out why you give gifts: I don’t get why we choose specific holidays to give and get things. It really makes very little sense if you think about it and is a little arbitrary. Make sure you’re giving gifts that you want to give, not just giving gifts because it’s expected.

Consider not giving gifts at all: Celebrate another way. Will the world end? Probably not.

Don’t give hundreds of gifts to everyone: Just because you know someone, doesn’t mean they need a gift during the holidays. Teachers, co-workers, friends, family and more – it all adds up. Only give gifts to your immediate (IN THE HOUSE) family and see how that feels.

Don’t give hundreds of gifts to anyone: Kids don’t need a million gifts. No one does, but kids seem to reap the main bulk of gifts in my experience. One or two very much wanted items can easily replace 30 or 40 gifts.

Go thrift: It’s 100% okay to buy a gift from a thrift store. I’ve gotten many a cool item at a thrift store. Of course, not everyone agrees. In fact, check out the debate in the comments at Get Rich Slowly; but I’d bet my life that these folks are in the spend a lot more category of humans.

Re-gift: Some look at re-gifting as tacky. However, what’s more tacky in my opinion is a landfill full of junk that no one is using anymore. Re-gifting is not evil or even slightly bad. WHY hold onto something you’ll never, ever use? Why not give it to someone else who may like it. It’s tacky to keep all sorts of junk around your house just because you think you’ll hurt someone’s feelings or because you feel obligated to hold onto stuff. It’s much better to give an item to someone who will use it, then it is to keep it.

Don’t feel guilty: Tell people before hand that you’re only giving gifts to your immediate family, or just to the kids, and ask them to please not get you anything. If they still get you something, stick to your guns and don’t just rush out and buy some dumb guilt gift. If everyone on earth quit buying meaningless crap for people, think of how many resources we’d save.

Have a name drawing: Some families draw a name, and only give a gift to that one person. See if this could work for you.

If you have a baby: Ask that people don’t get your baby gifts. Babies don’t care about gifts AT ALL and yet, in my experience, they get more than anyone. Ask for free babysitting instead. That’s a gift you can actually use.

Just say no to gift cards: I hate gift cards as gifts under most circumstances. A gift card says, “I feel like I have to get you a gift, but I don’t know you well enough to pick one out.” Wow – why are you getting that person a gift again? I feel like one exception is a gift card that’s necessary because it’s extra personal. For example, you know someone who likes LUSH but scented stuff is so personal that it’s tough to pick stuff out on your own. Or someone loves music but they have so much that you’re not sure what they already have, so an iTunes gift card works. Overall, though I do think that gift cards are very consumer driven gift – why not just hand out cash and be up front – i.e. say, “I have to give you a gift because the holiday mandates that I do.“

GIVE CREATIVE GIFTS THAT DON’T COST MUCH

Instead of giving expensive item gifts, try out one or more than one, of these ideas below.

Give the gift of time instead of stuff.

Make homemade gifts that actually rock, but aren’t that expensive.

Give mixed CDs to everyone. Make cool CD covers with art supplies you already have. If you don’t keep art supplies handy, use old magazines (25-50 cents at a thrift store) to make collage type CD covers.

Buy $20-30 worth of baking supplies, make cookies and chocolate covered cherries with the kids and give treat boxes, plates or baskets out. You can easily snag a ton of recycled candy/cookie boxes on the cheap.

Organize someone’s photo collection for them – seriously, I totally need this gift.

Give coupons for free nights of babysitting, yard work or house cleaning.

Plant a tree in someone’s name – but take them along to do so.

Make a homemade thrift store dress up kit for a child.

Give gifts from around the house. Most typical American kids have lots of slightly (or never) used toys that another child might love. You can make up a box of excess art supplies for a crafty child, give an entire box of books to an avid reader or a collection of DVDs you rarely watch to a movie buff. The nice thing about giving stuff you already have is that you can usually give a little more – i.e. four used DVDs vs. one new one and it allows you to purge.

DIY Less Expensive & Eco-Friendly Day Before Gift Baskets.

Pick up a bunch of felt at a thrift store and make some cool homemade felt food for a child. Get some felt food inspiration.

Give plant cuttings or saved seeds to a gardener.

Make and give homemade reusable lunch kits - useful, inexpensive and green!

Make a batch of homemade organic dough and make ornaments or magnets or any number of other creative things.

Give homemade organic jam and organic bread or another yummy gift from the kitchen.

Make and give pretty DIY recycled holiday luminaries.

Host a dinner or lunch party, sans gifts. It’s better to hang out than give stuff.

GIVE TO OTHERS

You don’t have to give gifts to people in the family. If everyone agrees, you can all get together and make a huge impact by giving a gift (or time) to a volunteer organization. Such as…

Volunteer - Personally I’m not a fan of volunteering on holidays. Mainly because it feels false; like you’re only volunteering this day because it’s a holiday. I’d rather see, for example, people volunteering for Big Brothers & Sisters of American year round (I’ve volunteered with them in two different states, and it’s an excellent organization BTW, if you’re looking to get involved). However, you can volunteer on Christmas if you like – it’s still a nice way to give back.

Donate locally - If you donate goods or cash, I think you should donate locally whenever possible. Why? Everyone I know loves to send money overseas and you see people advocating for all sorts of charities for other countries, but we have major issues with child poverty, the environment, homeless youth and child abuse right here in the USA. Help your neighbors first, you know? Then we can better tackle other country’s issues. Plus, if you’d like to keep emissions low, it’s silly to send goods far away.In PDX, check out the following (if you’re not in PDX, see resources at the bottom of this section).

Give one, get one: If you really still need to give gifts, try the following. Last year my sister had everyone give her a pair of child’s shoes for her birthday. After the party she donated all the shoes to the local foster care system. I think this is an awesome idea that you could try for Christmas too, choosing the charity of your choice of course. You could also do a name drawing so that everyone in the family gets a gift, then have everyone bring one gift for their person and one gift for a charity of your choice, such as a toy drive.

Resources:

Inexpensive Green Stocking Stuffers for Kids – $10 or Less Stocking Stuffers

Jennifer Chait — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:47:41 +0000

There’s no reason to spend a lot of money on stocking stuffers, even if you want to go green this holiday season. There are plenty of delightful green stocking stuffers for teens and younger kids that are $10 or less.

STOCKING STUFFERS FOR BABIES

Dandelion Soft Shaker Bear Toy - This cute rattle is stuffed with fluffy natural corn fibers and made with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified bamboo velour.

Miyim Simply Organic Petite Plush Toy Ben Frog or Annabelle Lamb - adorable little organic miYim dolls, made from all natural materials including organic cotton and plant and mineral dyes.

Small Play Silk - Babies love play silks for peek-a-boo and other games, plus these silks are smaller (baby-sized) and beautiful. Available in 22″ or 35″ squares in a variety of colors, or sets of all six pastel or vibrant rainbows hues. Hand dyed in the USA made with China silk by a woman-owned company.

Under the Nile Organic Veggie & Fruit Toys - Perfect baby teething toys that look like yummy veggies and fruits and are made with 100% organic cotton.

Odd Ducks – Fun galore in the tub and BPA and toxin free. Plus if you buy them in a four pack they’re just around $6 each – great if you have more than one kid.

STOCKING STUFFERS FOR TODDLERS

Wooden Top - A sweet top made with different wooden pieces of different colors, carved into a smooth shape. This product is Fair Trade, made by HSSS, a non-profit organization that works for the uplifting and development of underprivileged artisans.

Cosmic Spinner - Dazzling birch wood spinning tops that are easy to spin and make cool patterns. Each spinner is laser cut in a different pattern. Made in the USA .

Organic Velour Finger Puppet – Made with organic cotton these tiny puppets are cute and interactive.

Plan Toys Mushroom Kaleidoscope in Green or festive Red – Made of natural, chemical free recycled rubberwood and finished with non-toxic water based dye.

Triangular Crayons Extra Jumbo (12 colors) - Made with non-toxic, proprietary materials that color beautifully. These are also ergonomic shaped and won’t roll away from little hands. Bonus, no messy paper wrapper waste.

STOCKING STUFFERS FOR KIDS

Itty Bitty Red and Green Holly Baby - Super sweet itty bitty red and green Holly Babies are small enough to accompany your child everywhere he or she goes. All natural fiber doll. Made by Evi in Brazil – Fair Trade.

Grandpa’s Yo-Yo - Beautifully colored natural yo-yo toys with zero plastic pieces, lights or sounds. Made in the USA by the enchanting and ethical Camden Rose.

Green Toys Recycled Jump Rope - A great healthy stocking stuffer by Green Toys. Made with 100% cotton and 100% recycled plastic handles in the USA.

Magic Wands- An essential small toy for any up-and-coming princess, fairy, magician, or wizard. Made from hardwood and non-toxic paint and finishes in the USA. Color choices: Pink, Purple, or Yellow.

Keeki Pure and Simple - Keeki Pure and Simple uses as many organic raw materials as possible in their products and their nail colors are free from parabens, phthalates and other toxic ingredients. Nail polishes are also gluten-free, toluene-free, vegan, made in the USA and never tested on animals. Many festive holiday color choices available and one of the best priced polishes for tots too.

JJ’s wooden knife kits - A unique introduction to the craft of woodworking, this kit features genuine spring action, unsharpened blades with rounded corners. Easy instructions. Made in the USA with Cherry, Maple or Walnut wood.

STOCKING STUFFERS FOR TEENS

Eco Hackysack/Juggling Ball - A fun tie-dyed, eight-panel footbag/juggling ball. Great for a round of hackey-sack, to display your juggling prowess, or for a game of catch. Made in Romania from 100% eco-hemp canvas and is fully biodegradable.

All The Better To Kiss You Lip Gloss - Yummy eco USDA certified organic lip balm that comes in a vintage tin. Available in Lavender Vanilla, Pepperminty, Pomegranate or Chai Mandarin – also comes in a set. 100% natural, paraben free, cruelty-free. Made in USA and the company plants a tree with every purchase.

Priti Mini Flowers - Adorable little bottles of nail color that are safe for your teen. Completely non-toxic and free from the big bad three – toluene, formaldehyde and DBP’s. A wide color range is available.

No Enemy tri-fold wallet – This No Enemy tri-fold wallet is made of 100% hemp and is a more eco-friendly way for your teen to carry his cash.

Pop In The Bath Bubble Bar by LUSH - Solid bubble bath without packaging waste. There are also Lush soaps that will appeal to teen boys as well, such as Demon In The Dark Soap.

Guitar String Bracelet - Handmade in the U.S. with recycled guitar string, lead-free nickel and brass. Designed by Hannah Garrision & Steve Bernstein.

String Dolls - Cute fun that everyone loves. Fair Trade and awesome.

STOCKING STUFFERS FOR CRAFTY KIDS

Clementine Art Natural Modeling Dough – 3 Pack of Lemon, Lime and Strawberry - Soft, crumble-free non-toxic dough. All natural and washable. Colored with turmeric, carmine and spinach, and scented with strawberry, lemon and lime.

Build and Decorate your own Dinosaur or Steamer - Tiny toys that kids will love to build and decorate. All pieces are already pre-punched on stable, white cardboard and can be put together without glue and scissors. Creative, fun and fully recyclable.

Crazy Crayons Eco Stars (100% Recycled Crayons) - Non-toxic and recycled crayons in a fun holiday shape.

Stockmar Modelling Beeswax Bars - This festive holiday set comes with 2 red bars and 2 green bars. Non-toxic, creative and kid-safe.

8 Holiday Crayon Rocks - Crayons rocks are one of the best small stocking stuffers. Very sturdy (i.e.. won’t break in a stocking) plus fun for little hands and non-toxic.

New Kamibashi String Dolls for Christmas!

Jennifer Chait — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:09:22 +0000

Kamibashi is just about the cutest shop ever, and eco-friendly to boot. I especially love their String Doll Gang.

The String Doll Gang is a band of awesome fun character keyrings, handmade with Fair Trade practices in Thailand. Each String Doll has his or her own special flavor and a power that is positive and helpful, making them a great gift for every member of your family. Every String Doll comes with a double-sided fabric tag explaining their character and a lobster claw keyring. These are safe for kids over eight (some have tiny parts).

Bonus, each sweet little doll is just $10 a pop, so these are perfect as eco-friendly stocking stuffers, but cool enough for a stand-alone gift too. Also, the company service is great. They got me my dolls super speed fast and actually sent me an email thanks you last year after I order some of these for the holidays.

AstroNeil, Ollie & E-Moe String Dolls

Last year for the holidays I gave my son Cedar the adorable AstroNeil. I got two other folks Ollie and E-Moe. This year, if you’re looking for a sweet, small gift, you have to check out their new adorable Gingerbread Man String Doll!

Gingerbread Man String Doll

This new little doll is super cute for Christmas, but if you’re not totally in love with Gingerbread Man, there are other winter holiday String Dolls to choose from too – see the gallery below.

Christmas DreamTeam – Two String Dolls – Santy & Rudy for a special low price! You can also buy them separately.
Snowy
Shredder Girl & Boy
Elfy
Snowflake
Gigi the Panda – not holiday minded, but just in case your kids are panda obsessed.

With dozens of choices, there really is a String Doll out there to suit every personality. Which means you can shop here for all your office mates, extended family and so fourth, for just $10 each and be done with your shopping early! That’s a good gift for you and your friends.

+ String Doll Gang $10 each

Eco-Friendly Plywood-free Play Kitchen Sets at Etsy

Jennifer Chait — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:33:44 +0000

Every year I update my Ultimate Eco-Friendly Play Kitchen Guide for the holidays. This year readers have noted that they aren’t interested in seeing any kitchens containing ply-wood, even if the outer wood is solid. That said, the offerings are more limited this year. This is for a few reasons:

Companies lie (or exaggerate) and say their kitchen is made of “real wood” but when I dig a little deeper, I find out that their definition of real wood is plywood. It’s not a total lie I suppose, but since readers don’t want that, I deleted every conventional-plywood containing kitchen from the list.

Secondly, many companies I’ve contacted haven’t gotten back to me. I’m guessing they don’t make real wood kitchens or they just have lousy customer service. Either way, if I’m not assured by the company that a kitchen is made of real wood or at least eco-ply, I deleted it from the list.

Overall, what I’ve found is that VERY few companies make actual, full on wood play kitchens.

Then I thought, hey, maybe I should look on Etsy. I’m fairly Etsy obsessed anyhow, and I was hoping they might have some crafters selling real wood kitchens. Here’s what I found.

Kulu Wooden Toys play kitchen

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Heartwood Natural Toys play kitchen

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Rewood Toys Mini Wooden Play Kitchen Set

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Hammer & Nails play kitchen

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Sweetie Pies and Monkeys folding fabric kitchen

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Mama Made Them table top play kitchen

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Kulu Wooden Toys – My favorite kitchen was the surreal Kulu toy kitchen made with solid Oak with Cherry and Maple highlights and a beeswax finish. Not only is this imaginative kitchen beautifully, and uniquely designed, but it’s affordable and packed with awesome features, such as folding leaf and pull out drawer. I LOVE this kitchen so much – great curvy lines. Also see their cute compact play kitchen.

Heartwood Natural Toys – This adorable little chef’s dream kitchen is heirloom-quality, made from solid pine with paduak burners. The faucet shown is made from beautiful black walnut; also available in poplar. All kitchens are available with the option of a blue enamel or stainless sink. According to the seller, “All of my items are entirely non-toxic, including the glue and finish. I counter sink every screw and plug all screw holes with pine buttons or oak plugs. All corners are rounded over and sanded. All knobs and faucet turn & move for realistic play and are attached with bolts and lock nuts so they will not come loose. NO paint, NO MDF, NO plastic, NO plywood.”

Rewood Toys – I think their Mini Wooden Play Kitchen Set is 100% adorable. Plus, for once it’s a kitchen made for younger tots. Perfect for little babies and or small spaces. All knobs and faucet are moveable and function like a real stove and sink. Made with Canadian woods (mostly pine, cherry and maple). The bowl is made of stainless steel. Bonus – it comes fully assembled and ready to use.

Hammer & Nails – sadly, this shop isn’t taking any more holiday orders, but you could get this kitchen set in the new year. Handmade from solid, local Oregon pine with rounded, child-safe corners. All items are sanded and finished with a non toxic, all natural beeswax wood finish.

Sweetie Pies and Monkeys – this unique fabric kitchen isn’t wood, but it comes in pattern form, so you can make it out of sustainable organic cotton if you like, or reuse fabric. It’s a cute folding fabric kitchen that won’t take up all your space. The completed kitchen measures approximately 50 inches tall and 25 inches wide when all set up, but can be collapsed down and stored because it folds to approximately 25 x 14 x 2 1/2 inches. Perfect for sliding under the bed or placed in a box with all the play kitchen pots and pans and food.

Mama Made Them – the Little Kitchen is simply adorable and handmade with solid real wood and beeswax finish. It also comes with features galore for such a little thing. Such as rare oven, not usually found in a table top kitchen, four burners, made from solid red oak, a stainless steel, removable sink bowl and a handle for easy portability.

2011 Green Family Holiday Gift Guide

Jennifer Chait — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 07:20:10 +0000

Whether you’re looking for homemade eco-gifts, affordable green gifts, zooming green gifts for kids, the perfect green book or a stunning green play kitchen or eco-friendly dollhouse – you’re 100% covered with this eco-friendly holiday gift guide. Keep this page bookmarked, as I’ll be adding some new treats to it throughout this holiday season.

Green holiday gifts for everyone on your list!

Green Holiday Gifts – General Tips

Ultimate Eco-Friendly Play Kitchen Guide

Green Play Kitchen Gift Guides

Eco-friendly Dollhouses

Wonderful Homemade & DIY Green Gift Ideas

Zooming Gifts for Kids

Mixed Green Gift Ideas for Kids

Eco-Gifts for Adults & Teens

Stocking Stuffers & Other Little Treats

Where to order green & last minute Christmas gifts

Jennifer Chait — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:34:28 +0000

So, Christmas is almost here, and hopefully you’ve already got your gifts in order. However, if you haven’t, then as of today (Sunday, December 19, 2010) you’d better get cracking. Your options are whittling down and trust me most stores are madhouses. Case in point; my boyfriend Dave had to hit the mall to get a pair of glasses fixed today and was out of the actual shop in minutes, but spent 45 minutes sitting in the parking lot, waiting to get out. Insane!

Hitting a smaller store is a good bet, or at least, a less busy than the mall bet, especially if you have a nice inexpensive and green day-before gift basket in mind.

Other than that, you can shop online. Use the following gift guides for help:

That said, you’re seriously running out of time, and/or looking at insanely expensive shipping, if you’re shopping for green gifts online at this point. With that in mind, here are some places that DO offer last minute Christmas shipping, along with my opinion of how easy or hard it is to find green stuff there…

Gift cards almost anywhere: You can get gift cards almost anywhere and have them sent via email for free. Personally, I don’t consider gift certificates all that great, because they don’t say, “I care” they tend to scream “Last minute” or “I don’t know you well enough to know what you’d like, or take the time to figure it out” which begs the question, why get that person a gift? Still, I’ve been known to send a gift certificate IF it’s for something that runs personal, eco-friendly and I know the person would love it, say an email gift certificate at LUSH or an iTunes gift certificate (their term for emailed gift cards).

Amazon.com: Today is the last day to get FREE shipping in time for Christmas, but you can also still ship standard on the 20th or free 2 day with Amazon Prime on the 21st. Amazon has a better than fair selection of green goodies and they make it somewhat easy to find that green via Amazon Green Pages. However, they’re not perfect. Often they categorize green goods in totally weird/wrong places or put non-eco stuff on their green pages, so be careful.

Organic Bouquet: This shop is a little expensive in my opinion, but you can get last minute green gifts here. They also are still offering free overnight flower delivery and free 2-day wreath and gift basket delivery. However, not sure for how many more days – they sort of failed to mention this in the fine print (blah). I picked three decently priced gifts to share, such as…

Barnes & Noble: Offering free 2 day shipping if you order $25 worth of qualified free shipping goods by 11:59 PM ET on December 20, 2010. They don’t have as many green goods as Amazon, but I know some people like them better, so I figured I’d mention them. You can score green books here a’ plenty or even some green toys from companies like Sprig or Idbids.

Beautiful Sweets: Offers super green (and organic) cookies. They have a two day bake + ship deal, so to get a nice gift to someone from this shop, you’ll need to order by the 21st I’d imagine. Right now they’re offering a great deal though, where you can get free shipping on their holiday gift baskets by entering the code ‘sleighride’ during step two of the checkout process. I took a peek, and these gift sets, like the 8 organic cookies, mug & organic cocoa basket, are so adorable and not even as expensive as I thought they’d be.

ReuseIt.com: This shop, formally Reusable Bags, is offering a $12.95 flat-rate 2-day shipping deal until the 21st at midnight. You can score well-priced reusable bags (obviously) but also BPA-free water bottles and many other eco-friendly reusable items.

Oompa: You can get free Ground Shipping for most orders that come to $65 or more at Oompa, but to get goodies in time for Christmas, you’ll need to order by 3pm on the 20th. Oompa offers a fair selection of green toys, but tends to run out of hot items, like the best Plan Toys, quickly.

Giggle: Has a smaller, but unique collection of decently priced organic toys for babies or toddlers. Not much for older kids. They’re offering Christmas shipping with standard delivery until midnight tomorrow (the 20th), but any orders after that will cost you more in shipping to get a Christmas delivery.

ChildTrek: Has some various holiday shipping options to sort though. However, the basics are that you can get stuff by Christmas if you order this week (sooner = less expensive shipping) and you’ll be able to find really nice eco-friendly toys at ChildTrek and many are well-priced.

DIY Less Expensive & Eco-Friendly Day Before Gift Baskets

Jennifer Chait — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 22:18:08 +0000

Green gift baskets make excellent holiday gifts. I think it’s better to shop early (if you do give gifts) because early shoppers tend to be more savvy about green criteria and price. Anytime people are crunched for time and hit the stores, it seems like they buy more than they mean to. However, sometimes you simply run out of time. That said, day before gift baskets are a really good plan for major procrastinators who still want to give green gifts for the holiday.

TIPS

Make sure you take a list when you go to the store AND then only shop from said list.
Before you go to the store see what you already have. You may have some stuff for a gift basket already that a few extra items will round out.
Do not plan on a ready-made basket or gift box. Yeah, they’re easy, but I promise it’ll cost less to make up your own plus you can personalize it.

You’ll need a basket: By basket, I mean a recycled container of some sort. Most people have some around the house (old Easter gear and such) or you can pick some up at a thrift store for a song. You don’t have to use a basket either. A nice recycled bowl, well-cleaned paint canister, recycled colander, reusable picnic basket, large tin, recycled Christmas stocking, reusable grocery bag dressed up cardboard box or other container works too. You can paint or decorate your containers as you wish.

You’ll need a store: What’s key is to hit a store that will have everything you need. Driving from place to place sort of defies “day before.” I’d try a local natural food store first. For example, in my town I’d go to New Seasons Market or a co-op. You could also hit Whole Foods or another mainstream grocer with a decent amount of organic and natural products. Trader Joe’s is a possible choice, but still a last ditch store idea in my opinion because they carry few organics and you never know what you’ll find, which has its benefits, but not if you’re trying to save money.

Choose a gift basket theme:

Once you have your basket and store you’ll need a gift theme. Heading to the store without a theme is asking for trouble. You’ll go to the store, browse too long, ponder too much and very likely over-buy. Pick a theme, set a price limit and then make a list. Now it’s time to go to the store.

Here’s how to create a great inexpensive eco-friendly gift basket on the fly:

Following are some theme ideas, along with stuff that’s super easy to find at a decent natural grocery store. Everything on included on the lists below are things I’ve actually seen at my local natural food store. Note – while I included many ideas under each theme, they’re just ideas. You don’t need a basket filled with everything on the list. In my experience a perfectly great gift basket can be made for about $25-$40 depending on theme.

Healthy theme basket: A nice collection of organic fruit alone can make a great basket. You could also look for healthy green magazines and organic essential oils.

Relaxation theme basket: Organic washcloth or natural loofa, soy tea-light candles, natural handmade soaps or organic scrub, incense, organic essential oils, organic teas and a CD of nature sounds are items you might want to include in a peaceful relaxation gift basket.

Baby theme basket: For new parents or a baby look for Earth Mama Angel Baby products or other real organic products made for baby. There’s also BPA-free sippy cups, small organic teethers, organic baby crackers, biodegradable baby wipes or gourmet organic baby food.

Child-minded theme basket: organic fruit leather , organic animal crackers or other organic munchies, organic and natural candy, organic soaps, nature minded magazine, reusable water bottle, eco-friendly crayons, recycled coloring book or even a small stuff organic toy.

Food lover theme basket: Grab some organic pasta sauce, whole grain noodles, jarred garlic spread, organic crackers, nuts, jams, cookies or other treats to create a basket of yummy items for a foodie. Throw in a natural food magazine or small cookbook and you’re good to go. This sort of gift basket is especially nice for someone who doesn’t usually buy organic, because it’s a good introduction.

PB&J theme basket: Start with organic gourmet peanut butter and jam. Add a container of organic honey, some organic bananas and a loaf of very good organic bread or bagels. This is great for kids and adults.

Green cleaning theme basket: I like making homemade cleaners, but for a newbie, nice green cleaning supplies can be a great introduction to eco-friendly living. Grab some cleaners of your choice, a bottle of natural hand soap, some biodegradable cleaning towels and some natural air freshener or a soy candle. Most stores have Mrs. Meyer’s products, which aren’t, in my opinion extreme green, but they don’t tend to scare off people who are newer to green cleaning – I like the basil scented products best.

Brush green for kids theme basket: Preserve junior toothbrushes plus some Tom’s of Maine Natural Silly Strawberry toothpaste and natural dental floss. Honestly, I’d also throw in some little treats, since now of course they can brush in style, candy is fine. Try some organic apples and chocolate.

Fair Trade theme basket: Anything and everything Fair Trade. I suggest a nice mix of items like coffee, chocolate, shea butter, nuts to munch on and so fourth.

Beauty theme basket: Real organic soaps, essential oils, scrubs, lip gloss and so on, can all be found at a good natural grocers.

Coffee lover’s theme basket: Fair Trade, organic coffee, a reusable coffee filter, chocolate covered espresso beans, a reusable coffee mug and some biscotte or nice cookies. For an alternative do a Fair Trade tea basket theme.

Herb garden theme basket: Some little reusable pots, organic herb seeds (or flower seeds), a nice bunch of lavender, some garden gloves, eco-friendly less toxic sunscreen and hand salve.

Go green theme basket: A reusable water bottle, a reusable grocery bag or two, a CFL bulb or two, reusable produce bags, preserve products plus a green minded book or magazine.

Really, as you can see the sky’s the limit when thinking up themes. You could do a basket for a dog owner, a cheese and wine lover, a hiker, a baker, a basket for crafty people and so on. Just remember, there’s no reason to spend a lot. Don’t go into the store with too grand a plan. Simple is fine.

Organic & Natural Stocking Stuffer Treats

Jennifer Chait — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:19:15 +0000

The other day when I was talking about chemical food dyes, it made me realize that we haven’t looked at edible (safe) stocking stuffers yet this year. If you’re looking for decent companies to buy holiday edible treats from, the list below can help. Remember, if it’s organic, there’s zero fake food dye in it.

Theo Chocolates are 100% yummy and they’re the only organic, Fair Trade, bean-to-bar company in the USA.
Yummy Earth – all their candy is USDA and EU certified organic, gluten-free, peanut-free and tree nut-free and has zero corn syrup.
Equal Exchange – sells Fair Trade and organic chocolates.
Hammond’s Candies – only their all natural collection.
Sweet Earth Chocolates – Fair Trade and certified organic chocolate treats.
Natural Candy Store – sells many types of sweets, not all organic but they disclose all ingredients and make it easy to shop via handy guides such as Fair Trade, organic and nut-free categories.
Pure Fun – sells USDA organic candy.
Strawberry Hill Confectionery – makes organic treats that are fake dye-free and beautiful. Harder to find though. Try the Natural Candy Store or Candy Warehouse.
Endangered Species Chocolate – sells some organic chocolate. You have to read their product labels carefully, because they all look similar, but not all are USDA organic.

Here are some excellent safer stocking stuffer treats…

I like all the Theo Chocolates I’ve had, but my favorite is Theo Classic Organic Dark Chocolate with Cherry & Almond – and I don’t even normally like fruit in chocolate. However, for Christmas, you might want to try some of their seasonal offerings, such as:

Peppermint Stick
Milk & Cookies – We’ve had this one and it’s REALLY yummy – it’s hard to explain, but it’s buttery and has a wee bit of crunch.
Gingerbread Spice – This one is sooooo good. It tastes like a chocolate gingerbread cookie. Amazing!
Nutcracker Toffee

Adorable Santa’s Sweet Treats – 100% organic & Fair Trade, cocoa niblets and 65% charms are vegan & soy lecithin free or equally fun Organic Peppermint Bark – 100% organic and Fair Trade.

Beautiful Sweets creates all organic, eco-friendly and gorgeous cookies. You can order a package, then split them into small wraps or bags for individual stocking treats. Or of course you could make your own organic holiday cookies and do this as well.

Chocolate-On-A-Stick – Fair Trade Certified and organic milk chocolate sticks of fun. For an even more unique and adult-minded stocking stuffer, try Holiday Truffle Pops – super cute, Fair Trade and organic.

Organic mandarin oranges, organic oranges or organic tangerines. These are healthy, yummy and add a nice pop of color to a stocking.
Organic Mint Chocolate with a Delicate Crunch or Organic Orange Dark Chocolate
Annie’s Homegrown Berry Patch Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks
All Natural Mint Lollipop
Organic pomegranate – our kids seriously beg for these. They LOVE them. Plus, organic poms tend to be smaller than conventional, so they’ll actually fit in a stocking easily.
Organic maple candy
Endangered Species Bug Bites, Organic Milk Chocolate
Organic Honey Sticks just remember that babies cannot have honey.
Clif Kid Twisted Fruit Ropes