A site I’ve recently discovered is Magic Cabin
. Their selection is just stunning. Their play silks come in seasonal colors. The Kraul Science-Craft Kits
look like a delight. I love being able to teach my kids a touch of science in a fun way.
One of the really cool things is the Play Teepee
. I love the idea! I don’t have the budget, for all these cost less than many a video game system. $239 right now for the largest size, which is 12 feet tall, and you don’t have to keep buying or renting cartridges. It may not compare to kids who really want the video games, but I know of a lot of children who would be delighted to have something they could be so creative with.
Their range is a lot of fun to go through. Travel games, connecting toys made of wood, craft felt and so on. I rarely get this kind of reaction to a store since my “I don’t need it” radar is set to high, but this is exactly the kind of stuff I want my kids to have.
One of the most difficult things about gift giving to green up can be the gift wrap. So much wrapping paper ends up in the trash every year. Wrapping paper is potentially recycleable, but many people don’t bother, and some of the papers can be challenging to recycle.
So how do you make your gifts look beautiful without wasting so much?
- Buy recycled
Gift wrap made from post consumer waste is out there.
- Reuse
Any gift wrap that isn’t too badly torn can probably be saved for next year. With young children a lot will be pretty badly torn, but think as you unwrap your own gifts and save what you can.
- Make your own
This is especially fun if you have kids. Get some butcher paper, brown bags, newspaper, etc., and get creative. Draw on it, stamp it, just have fun with it.
- Use a basket
A good basket can be a lovely way to present a gift. Try to skip the plastic wrap like you see in the stores.
- Reuse gift bags
Just like gift wrap, gift bags can be used over and over. In my family these can go back and forth for years.
- Make the wrap a part of the gift
Get a cloth shopping bag and put the rest of the gift in it. Put gardening supplies in a garden bucket or watering can. Get creative.
Best of all, many of these ideas, including sometimes wrapping paper and gift bags, can be found at secondhand shops like Goodwill. People often don’t finish and sometimes don’t even start rolls. You don’t have to buy new if you shop early enough.
I think of these as a nice gift for a couple to get for one another, or possibly a nice wedding or housewarming gift. Sheets aren’t the perfect gift for everyone, but they can be wonderfully comfortable.
Organic cotton or bamboo sheets are great choices. You can generally find them in your area, or shop online. Amazon of course carries both organic cotton sheets
and bamboo sheets.
Bamboo for sheets can really sound funny, but I’ve felt them, and just as soon as mine are too old, that’s what I want for my next set. So soft!
The advantages to these are of course in their relative impact on the environment. Organic cotton is a definite improvement over regular, and bamboo grows incredibly fast. The catch can be how the bamboo is processed into a fiber. Green Cotton’s blog has some good information on bamboo processing considerations.
Technorati Tags: green gift ideas, organic cotton, bamboo sheets
I spotted yet another article on how we need to make electronics more recycleable. This one was on Wired’s website. And it’s quite true. There’s so much innovation, but little interest in taking care of the mess created as people buy new electronics whether or not the old are any good.
Worse is how many break down in just a few years.
I think this is one of those topics we really can’t afford to let go of. Electronics are a major part of modern life, and I don’t expect or want them to go away, but we need to think more on the long term impact.
Technorati Tags: electronics recycling, old electronics, wired
