Green Options

The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists!

This is the very last installment of the 2009 Handmade Holidays, and we’d love to hear from you! Tell us all about your handmade holiday adventures!

Christmas is just a couple of days away, and if you’re anything like me you’re pulling together a few last-minute gifts for the folks on your list. In case you’re feeling stumped, here are a few ideas for you!

There are plenty of reasons to cut back on your holiday shopping this year: the lousy economy, needless waste, insane (and sometimes deadly) crowds and the heavy cost it all imposes on the environment as well as on our wallets. So I’m engaging upon a personal challenge: the Zero Dollar Christmas.

OK, I’ll probably end up spending a little bit on Christmas gifts this year — with a five-year-old in the house, it’s hard not to meet at least a few of the wishes on his list. Even so, though, I’ll aim to keep most of those purchases in the used/recycled/eBay/Craigslist categories.

Every December I am stumped on what to gift my children’s teachers with. Last year, with one child in daycare for the first time I was doubly stumped. Knowing just what to buy and how much to spend (or not spend) is always a hot topic among my parent groups. As the Parent Teacher President at our school, I’ve gained a bit of insight as to what our staff enjoys.

It is important for the children to be involved in the decision making and gift creation, I enjoy gathering the kids around the table for a gift giving huddle. Together, we brainstorm. What does each teacher/caregiver like? It always amazes me how many artists & crafters are found among the school staff and doesn’t shock me one bit how many drink coffee all day long. Once we’ve decided, the kids get to work assembling and creating their gifts.

Here are some ideas, please feel free to add yours in the comments. If you are a teacher, what gifts do you especially enjoy?

[Image Credit: Jessica Merz on Flickr under a Creative Commons license]

The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists! Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be posting about recycled gifts you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale.

A mason jar full of cookie mix is a pretty traditional handmade Christmas gift. This project gives the idea a green face lift using a delicious vegan cookie recipe. Cutting back on eggs and dairy can help folks lower their carbon footprints by avoiding these animal products. The recipe in this project is based on my favorite chocolate chip cookies: Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. These things are foolproof, and no one ever suspects that they’re vegan. It’s a great way to help folks see that vegan baking can have delicious results!

The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists! Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be posting about recycled gifts you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale.

The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists! Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be posting about recycled gifts you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale.

So you’re getting those handmade gifts together, and you’re wondering about green gift-wrap ideas! A pretty basket or other reusable container gives your present a little personality while reducing waste. Fabric gift bags are easy to make and encourage the recipient to reuse the wrapping, instead of tossing it in the trash. The following tutorial is on making a bag for a bottle of wine, but you can change the dimensions to match whatever you’re giving!

[photo by Becky Striepe, used with permission]

The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists! Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be posting about recycled gifts you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale.

A bottle of wine makes a great hostess gift for holiday parties, but the wine industry is far from green. Between the fertilizer used to grow the grapes, fossil fuels to run farm equipment, bottling, and shipping processes, it takes a lot to get that wine from the vineyard to the package store. Instead, you can pick up organic grapes or berries and make your own with a custom, upcycled labels! Details after the jump!