Dear Santa
I have been really good all year. Please can I have nothing for Christmas.
……said no child ever!!!!!
My boys will be writing their Christmas lists soon and so I am currently trying to work out what I am going to attempt to steer them towards. To be honest they really don’t need anything, but as that is never going to be an option I will instead be trying to dissuade them from asking for cheap, wasteful toys (like most of the hideous things that they see in the adverts). Hopefully with a bit of help they will be able to come up with things that they will use a lot, are good quality and can be passed on when they outgrow them. (Any toys that they do end up asking for I will definitely be trying to buy secondhand.)
As a new tactic this year, I will also be talking to them about things like Merlin passes or cinema and show tickets as I think that experiences are much more valuable and it will give them something to look forward to. (Merlin passes currently include an extra 3 months if purchased before 3rd Dec.)
In terms of other presents, I am going to be requesting to my family and friends that we simply don’t buy presents for each other. I would much rather be given a date that we can meet up and do something nice together and that can be the gift.
I do however realise that this will not work for everyone and so I have been looking for some gift ideas that can perhaps help the recipient live more sustainably and/or the gift can help a worthwhile cause. Here are some of my ideas:
- Reuseable water bottle – you can get lovely stainless steel bottles pretty much everywhere now. Chilly’s Water Bottles even let you choose the colour and personalise them (or you can buy a gift card).
- Safety razor, soap and brush sets make lovely gifts for men and women.
- Loose tea teapot, cup and strainer – we have given up tea bags in our house.
- Bees wax food wraps, handmade soaps, handkerchiefs, reuseable make-up remover pads.
- Bee Saver Kit – Friends of the Earth
Charities and companies that I also like the look of are:
- WWF – you can sponsor an animal or buy some nice gifts such as the 4Ocean bracelet that helps pay for plastic to be removed from the sea.
- Oxfam – have some great donation and gift options – you can even buy someone a pile of poo!
- Surfers Against Sewage is a charity with some cool products.
- The Woodland Trust has some lovely gifts.
- Protect the Planet sounds like a great company and seems to have some good products (though I have yet to buy anything yet). It also gives you the option to plant a tree when you check out.
- https://www.beachclean.shop/
- https://www.wearthlondon.com/
- https://www.peacewiththewild.co.uk/
- https://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/ethical-gifts/
- https://www.babame.com/
With so much choice it could be easy to get carried away and end up buying lots of unnecessary gifts, I will therefore be making sure that I still stick to the overall objective of buying less and any gifts that I do buy will be very carefully considered in terms of what they are, where they come from and where they will eventually end up!
It will probably take a bit longer to find the right gifts this year (especially if I need to find something secondhand) and so I had better get my head in gear and get the boys to write their lists ASAP or they really will be getting nothing!!!!!