The best holiday thing I’ve done in five years all started because Cocoa West ran out of advent calendars. A good friend, Harmony, had been looking forward to getting one for weeks, and was crestfallen on Nov 30th when we went to pick them up and found they had run out. I couldn’t stand to see the disappointed look on her face, so I suggested, well why don’t we just get the chocolates and make the calendars ourselves?? So that’s what we did. I showed up at Harmony’s with a bag of truffles and barks, some scrap fabric and ribbon, and a few alder branches we had foraged. Harmony had stoked the woodstove, put on carols, and brewed us up some hot cocoa with peppermint, and we sat in front of the fire cutting and bagging our goodies, with little one-year-old Maple “helping” and each of us gushing, “Isn’t this FUN?!” We ended up with the cutest advent calendar you ever did see.
That was the best holiday thing I’ve done in five years, and it wasn’t about fancy food, or expensive new stuff, it was about sharing an experience with people who are special to me. And these kinds of things can help reduce our carbon footprints and environmental impact too. Does my coworker really need that set of Santa pens that came in just under the $10 maximum gift price? Will Chris’s niece actually ever wear the sweater he picked up at the mall on the recommendation of the clerk at Urban Outfitters? Does Maple need that shiny plastic toy everyone simply has to have, or will it end up sitting on a shelf by January 10th? Those pens, sweater and toys took a ton of resources and energy to make and bring to us, but they may only be used a handful of times before ending up in a landfill. We don’t need more stuff to dispose of! This inspired us to handmake our gifts a few years ago, and to share this article on how to really experience the holidays - to slow down, get conscious and be crafty.
First, consider going handmade for your gifts this year if you still have people on your list. There are all kinds of DIY projects that are easy, often involving recycling and upcycling, that say, “hey, you’re worth the effort!” Plus, it’s a fun way to spend time with family, and get everyone in the mood for the holidays. If you can cook, bottle up your favorite sauce, pickle, jam or chutney – we did blueberry jam, salsa verde and ketchup this year (we packaged ours in an old wooden box we made from pallets and labelled with baggage tags and jute twine). You don’t even have to can it if that seems intimidating, just make a cute label saying “keep in fridge”. If you can sew, repurpose your favorite old sweater into a coffee cup sleeve or beer can koozie (we used an old grey wool sweater for shark-fin koozies and sleeves). If you can glue, make a display out of a neat antique or old favorite knick-knack (last year my parents made a wonderful, thoughtful gift from a tree ornament my mom had as a kid). If you can use a pen, create a monogrammed mug or glass from an old treasure from the Knick Knack Nook and a bake-on craft pen. There are literally thousands of ideas out there for easy DIY gifts.
If you don’t have the time to DIY this year, don’t fret. Instead of getting people more stuff, consider giving experiences. These will be both more meaningful and less wasteful. For example, for an inexpensive gift, give someone the ingredients to your favorite recipe, along with the promise to make it with them, and then set a date after they open it. Try to think about what you’re good at, and then offer lessons – music, writing, cooking, woodworking, photography, blogging, youtube videos, you name it! Or think about what the person you’re giving to might like, and then buy them tickets for it – comedy, sports, theatre, museums, a dance or exercise class etc. For a big gift, think about something your loved one has always wanted to do but never gotten around to (like sailing around the island or hiking Mt Gardener), and make it happen for them. Or plan a food, garden or art tour (seen the Mastadon?) to take them on as a fun day together.
Finally, let’s reconsider giftwrap. Not only are hundreds of thousands of trees killed to make giftwrap every year and it’s all single use (maybe twice if you’re super thrifty), so hundreds of thousands of tonnes of it ends up in landfills after only one use (most are too thin to be recycled). Not cool, right? So what do we do? Well, there are a few super easy alternatives. Fabric giftwrap is a great option. Simply use big sheets of fabric instead of big sheets of paper. Finish with fabric ribbon or pin on a few sprigs of holly or Douglas fir from your yard. After unwrapping, just fold up the fabric for next year. If you don’t want to make a trip to the fabric store, you can repurpose sheets, pillowcases, even dish towels. If you’re feeling crafty, sew old linens or shirts into simple square drawstring bags that can be used over and over. Or go buy some reusable fabric bags if you’re pressed for time – you can find these all over the place, either for gifts, groceries or storage.
These are just some ideas to help make your holidays more about living and less about stuff, and to help us all make a positive impact for our communities. We hope you enjoy your holidays too!
Michelle Nelson and Chris Mull
