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GIFT IDEAS
TIS THE SEASON 

The holiday season in Sustainable Style without costing the earth

Welcome!

You’ve found your way to the Sustainability in Style ‘Tis the Season’ section of our ‘Take Action’ collection. This collection of posts and it’s home page are loaded with ideas on how you can take action this holiday season to reduce your negative impact on people and planet.

From reducing your food waste, to shopping for gifts in mindful ways, these tips should help inspire you to live life in Sustainable Style during the festive season (minus the overwhelm).

Some of the resources on this page date back to the beginnings of Sustainability in Style’s online journey as a personal blog. We acknowledge that ‘Christmas’ is commonly used in older posts due to our geographical locations (Australia) recognition of this holiday time. However, the term ‘holiday’ is now used as the season of celebration expands to be inclusive of other cultural and religious beliefs.

You’ve found your way to the action-based section of Sustainability in Style. The place and space that shares previous action adventures conducted in Sustainable Style.

Whatever it is that you value, we invite you to explore, connect, and tread a little lighter on our planet holiday season.

Celebrate this season with big love.

Katie

 

IDEAS FOR EVERYONE

There is no avoiding the holiday rush this time of year! The stores are abuzz with last minute gift shoppers, the car parks are full of angry drivers fighting over the closest car space, and grocery stores are packed to the rafters with Christmas treats and consumers. With all the flurry and stress you can be forgiven for prioritising your sanity and leaving your gift shopping to the last minute. Procrastination about gift shopping can actually work in favour of your bank balance and the planet. These are some last minute gift ideas that are thoughtful and won’t create clutter.

 

GIFTS FOR KIDS

We all know that kiddies are some of the most festive souls. Once Santa has delivered the wish-list goodies, Uncles and Aunts, Grandparents and friends of the family can struggle to find something to contribute that’s not going to be a token disposable plastic gift that will lose it’s novelty after the holiday break. These ideas should be well received and won’t be cluttering up the house or landfill as the decorations are packed away in the New Year.

 

  • Theme Park Passes: These days out can be really fun for the whole family, they create memories and wear kids (and adults) out pretty decently! Many theme parks offer special deals this time of year with ‘multi park’,’multi entry’, or ‘Year’ passes. Beware- don’t offer passes to parks without checking with the family members first. Some parent’s don’t love the idea of their kids on rollercoasters and often a gift of an aquarium or zoo pass won’t go down well with a Vegan family.
  • Cooking lessons: Have a look online for kids cooking schools near you. These can be fun ways to teach kids some of the essential skills they will need to develop to be independent and healthy.
  • A herb or veggie garden: If you live nearby the gift recipient why not head to the nursery or farmers markets and pot up some kid friendly herbs or spices and gift them a living present that will reward them later. If they plants die they can always repot something else later.
  • Active adventure vouchers: Most places have jumped aboard the ‘adventure’ boom and offer activities like mountain bike riding, indoor rock climbing, trampolining, kayaking, fishing, surfing, stand up paddle boarding, skateboarding and more! Search what’s available in the gift recipients area and book a time for adventure or purchase a voucher for them to redeem at a later date.

FOR BUSY PARENTS

Got someone in your life with young kids or over scheduled teens? These ideas will be well appreciated and won’t blow the budget. Far more innovative than gifting socks or a block of chocolate.

  • A Date Night Voucher: Offer to pay for a sitter or look after the kids yourself while busy parents can have a romantic night in, or shout them a dinner out!  
  • School pick upWhy not play Uber for the family and offer your pick up and drop off services for a period of time. I’m sure most parents would welcome a day, two days or a week of not having to ferry their kids around to and from sporting practice and school.
  • Pamper pack and a sitter: New mum and dad? Why not book one or both in for a massage and organise someone to watch the baby.
  • Frozen dinner for a weekAre you a bit of a cook? Create a weeks worth of dinners, freeze them, and then drop them off at your friends with thawing and cooking instructions. These will never go astray.
  • Homemade air freshenerKids can get a bit stinky and having limited cleaning time can make things even smellier. Why not concoct your own air freshener spray (this recipe works for an air freshener- I use it in my bathroom, just scale up qualities for a larger bottle) for parents with babies and give it a cute, funny or catchy label- (we all know new parents love a good poo joke).
  • Cleaning, folding, dish washing or ironing: All of us love coming home to a clean house and wish that there were magic fairies that did the cleaning for us. Be that magic fairy for a busy family and they will be thinking all their Christmases came at once!

GIFTS FOR PARTNERS

When it comes to those nearest and dearest to us, Christmas shopping is usually one of two scenarios. Scenario one: you bought the present months ago and find them really easy to shop for. Scenario two: you regularly forget and/or put off shopping for them because it’s too hard. Whatever the case these tips can be add ons to presents you already have, or the perfect solution for those hard-to-gift people we know too well.

  • A promiseCan you think of one thing your partner is ALWAYS asking you to do, stop doing, change, replace, etc? We all have our annoying habits! If your partner has requested that you pick up your shoes off the floor instead of leaving them in the middle (ahem…. I may or may not be the offender of this specific scenario) why not gift your partner the promise of this, and cement it with a official token. My example could be a new shoe rack with all the shoes neatly stacked on it!
  • Quality time: At Christmas it can be hard to see the forest for the trees. While we run around trying to schedule in all the events, parties, and planning we sometimes overlook our romantic partners in the quest of ‘having a happy holidays’. Skip the grocery shopping and order online. Forget the christmas present shopping list and invent some ideas from here instead. Spend the time you regain doing something you both enjoy instead.
  • Movie vouchers or a Netflix subscription: Got a partner who’s a movie buff? Why not indulge their film loving ways with a movie voucher? Netflix is also a great option for those who like a good documentary or TV series.
  • Gym, yoga, or fitness memberships for both of you: If you like to spend quality time together and wish to have a fit and healthy year why not (talk about it first- it could come across as rude to just spring a gym voucher on your partner) sign up to sweat and/or stretch together in the New Year.
  • Money box for joint dream holiday savings: Unless you can already afford to book the dream holiday (if you can that’s a great gift) purchase a nice money box or set up a savings account and deposit the first amount to go towards a dream holiday.
  • Fine Dining at home: We all know that having our needs catered for and our faces stuffed with food out of the house is fun. But if you can’t afford to gift fine dining why not gift the opportunity to dine at home! Set up your own restaurant and cook for your partner at a time of their choosing. Add music, lighting, and set the scene.
  • Book a Glamping get away: When Christmas is all done why not whisk your partner away for a night of fancy camping? Most areas offer a ‘Glamping’ (which is glam camping) option and this means all the fun of being on a camping trip without having to buy and lug the gear. Honestly… unless you are serious campers there isn’t much need to own all that camping stuff. Hire is the fun and non-house-cluttering way to go.

UNI STUDENTS

Who can forget those days where fun was on tap but funds were almost entirely lacking? Uni is tough business for most kids and usually means scrimping on sleep to make ends meet, or eating nothing but ramen for three years in order to get to class on time. This group of gift recipients are likely to be the most appreciative of ANY kind of things you have to offer!

  • Grocery voucher: Boring for most of us, but the most exciting thing you could offer a uni student whose doing it tough
  • Pj’s or a voucher to an ethical sleep wear company: For the uni students that work hard to fund their studies and need something comfy to sleep in and/or wear to exams.
  • Money for text books:  Come end of January any student would be super happy to have any amount of funds (large or small) to put towards that massive text book expenditure!
  • An IOU Dinner or laundry booklet: Short on cash? Why not make a little booklet or card with IOU’s that can be redeemed through the year. Students appreciate food when they don’t have the time or the cash to make it, and laundry for when the uni washers aren’t working or the study crunch hits.
  • Stationery: Pens, pencils and pencil cases add up to the overall uni costs. While it might not seem like much of a gift there is a good chance it will get used!
  • Phone credit or travel passes: These are a no brainer gift. Offer to top up travel cards for buses or trains, or shout a couple of months of phone credit or bills.

FREE

HOLIDAY GUIDE
 Have you seen our Sustainably Stylish approach to the festive season? You can download it as a free PDF infographic. Use it as the background on your phone, or print it on recycled paper and put it somewhere you will see it often throughout the holiday season.

Download Please

GIFTS FOR ADULTS

Grandparents, your own parents, Uncles, Aunties and the like all appreciate gifts that aren’t going to clutter their hall cupboards. Peruse the suggestions below for something that will be the right fit for your adult loved ones.

  • Personal Development Alone time: We all have those things that we really want to pursue but can’t ever make time for. Whether it’s a creative venture, personal reflection, or adventure trying to get the space and time to make it happen means it doesn’t always get prioritised. If you know that your Dad wants to learn guitar or your Aunty is keen on pottery making, find a way to help make it happen for them. It could be signing Dad up for guitar lessons and having someone come to teach him once a week. Or you could offer to do your Aunties gardening once a week while she goes to pottery class. Helping them carve out time for this, and being accountable to you for making the dream happen will give them the nudge they require to make their personal development goals a reality.
  • Book vouchers: As long as the recipient has reasonable eyesight most of us can find a way to spend a book voucher! It’s a nice indulgence to lash out on a new read, either in e-book format or tangible!
  • Music vouchers or premium streaming services: Music is so widely available online, giving the gift of a music service voucher or offering to upgrade the recipients online streaming account to premium for a certain amount of time (you could even offer it as an ongoing yearly thing and save on all subsequent Christmases) can make for a great gift
  • Concert, comedy, or theatre tickets: A  no brainer for those who like to go out and see a live show. Also a great option for partners and uni students!
  • Cake (or lunch) and coffee: If you know some elderly people the gift of time and baked goods is always a good idea. Either buy something to share or make it yourself and schedule in an hour or two for chats. You could offer this once a week or a few times a year to someone you know needs some company. This is also a great option for busy business folk! Bring a lunch and cuppa to your hard-working best friend a few office blocks over once every two weeks. She will be thanking you for it all year.
  • Potted plants: Greenery is one of the easiest gifts to give. Even if the recipient doesn’t have a green thumb you can choose easy care plant varieties
  • Magazine subscriptions: Despite the e-news obsession there is an increasingly large and awesome collection of magazine publications available. Find one that your recipient might like and sign them up for physical or electronic deliveries.
  • Local produce hampers or farmer produce delivery schemes: Pick a hamper of condiments, wine, chocolates or other goodies for a one-off delivery, or check your local area for home delivery of locally grown fruit and veggies for regular delivery.
  • House maintenance time: Handy with a hammer and nails? Like doing some gardening? Share your skills and passions with those you love by offering your services in home maintenance. This is ideal for people who might struggle with their house upkeep due to work schedules or ageing bodies. A delivery of this is as easy as writing ‘I’m gifting you two-day of house painting’ in a card or an email and following up to make sure they redeem it!

TAKE THE HOLIDAY CHALLENGE

BE ECO
If you find taking action over the holiday season a bit overwhelming, why not use our Values Motivators based approach to reduce the ‘where do I start’ stress. It will help you work out if getting a Tofu Turkey, spending Christmas day planting trees, ordering all your presents online from an eco-friendly shopping service, or volunteering at the soup kitchen should get shuffled to the top of your To-Do list.

VALUES MOTIVATORS AND ON-THE-GO WASTE REDUCTION

We know (and celebrate) that everyone’s approach to living life in Sustainable Style is a little bit different. While some of us would be happy to skip gifting completely and spend the holidays off the grid, others may love the opportunity to receive a new pair of vegan leather boots. Here are some gifting ideas based on our unique Sustainability Values Motivators approach to living life in Sustainable Style.

ANIMAL WELFARE AND COMPASSION
If gifting to someone passionate about animals and animal welfare, you might consider the following gifting options:

  • A gift certificate to a vegan cafe. 
  • Donate money to an animal welfare charity. 
  • ‘Adopt’ a wild animal through an NFP or NGO sponsorship program. 
  • Give a vegan cookbook (send an e-reader version if they prefer to e-read). 
  • Hand make vouchers for pet sitting for them when they head on holidays. 
SOCIAL EQUALITY
If gifting to someone passionate about social equality, you might consider the following gifting options:

  • Offer to join them in volunteering for a social charity they care about. 
  • Shopping for gifts for them at charity stores that support causes they care about. 
  • Shopping at local craft and artisan markets for gifts that serve a purpose in their life. 
  • Purchasing books or resources that aid in expanding awareness of racial and social injustices and inequalities. 
  • Gifting or purchasing resources that provide micro-enterprise or sanitisation in developing nations. 
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
If gifting to someone passionate about environmental sustainability, you might consider the following gifting options:

  • Ask them if they want or need anything. If they say no, offer to spend time with them in nature instead.
  • Plan a hiking or camping trip and pack what you need to collect litter along the way.
  • Plant a tree in their honour.
  • Work on a zero-waste craft project (like this one) gift that will help reduce their environmental impact.
  • Create an eco-minded playlist and name it after them. We have lots of ideas on our Spotify.
SIMPLICITY AND STREAMLINED LIFESTYLE
If gifting to someone who likes things streamlined and simple, you might consider the following gifting options:

  • Sign them up to a meal prep delivery system so nutritious meal plans are delivered to their door (eco-tip: ask what packaging the food is delivered in).
  • Book a gardening service for them. 
  • Meet your busy friend on their lunch break with a picnic lunch- don’t keep them any longer than their usual lunch break duration. 
  • Offer to be an email angel for your trusted friend or colleague and take over replying to their emails while they are on holidays. Responding to the emails that you can, then filing the others in order of importance or urgency for their return. 
  • Make coupons for childminding services and let them redeem over the year as required. 

 

 KISS ECO-OVERWHELM GOODBYE

Is Sustainably Stylish living during the holiday season got you feeling a bit stressed out? We’ve got you covered with FREE resources to help you combat eco-overwhelm.

Click here to find out about our unique approach to caring for your Sustainable Self (including our eight-part toolkit) as you live life in Sustainable Style.

HOPEFULLY YOU FOUND THIS VALUABLE. HAVE YOU GOT ANOTHER EASY GIFT SUGGESTION THAT FITS IN ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES? IF SO PLEASE SHARE IT BELOW.