Taryn de Vere shares her tips for making Christmas gifting not only more affordable, but sustainable, too, with these thoughtful gifts that anyone can make.
It's that time of year when I start thinking about what gifts I’m going to buy or make for Christmas.
We’ve a long tradition of making gifts for loved ones in our household. Each year I try to come up with affordable ideas that are actually nice, rather than just making something for the sake of it. With global warming charging on, another factor these last few years is the environmental impact of my gifts.
It seems like a high bar to set, affordable gifts I can buy or make - that I’d be happy to receive myself - that are also sustainable, but it’s doable. I’ve come up with some suggestions that will hopefully inspire your Christmas present ideas this year.
BUY:
Charity Shop Presents
There are things in charity shops in Ireland that you’d be hard-pressed to buy anywhere else in the world. Charity shops offer the opportunity to buy someone something different and thoughtful, like a vintage painting, vinyl records or retro jewellery.
I’m in the habit of picking up bits through the year as I see them, however, to make it fair and to show you what’s available - for this article I bought everything in the last week from the Irish Wheelchair Association Charity Shop. (I washed everything before packaging them up in the gift sets.)
Hot chocolate gift set
I bought the box and mugs in the charity shop then added a hot chocolate mix and wrapped up a few marshmallows. The whole gift came in at €6, (most of the cost was the hot chocolate).
Children’s baking set
All of this I bought in the charity shop. I washed the apron and ironed it first. You could cover the whole thing in cellophane if you have some in your house already. It cost me €5.
Tea set
If you have a tea lover in your life this is a lovely thoughtful gift. My friend loves herbal teas so I’ve added a lovely warming herbal tea with the mug. I used a box I already had at home and added some tinsel from my collection. This cost me €4.
MAKE/DO:
A dinner
If you have any elderly people to buy for, or parents of children still living at home then consider giving an early Christmas present. One of the best presents I’ve ever been given was when my friend turned up at my house one day a few weeks before Christmas with a huge family-sized homemade lasagne and a delicious dessert. It remains one of the best Christmas gifts I’ve ever received. It was kind, thoughtful, and generous.
Art
Everyone's an artist even if they don’t believe it. If there’s an artistic discipline you’re drawn to, give it a go. YouTube has a tutorial for everything these days and being gifted someone’s creative output is an honour. I’ve received beautiful poetry, paintings, collage, drawings and even had a song written for/about me as a Christmas present (admittedly it wasn’t the most complimentary song in the world, but it did make me laugh a lot).
If you’re really down on the idea of letting out your inner artist, consider commissioning a local artist to make something, or buy a lovely card or postcard from a local artist and frame it with a frame from the charity shop. If you have kids you can outsource this one to them, kids are all natural artists and they require very little by way of materials too. All you need to do is supply the frame.
Give plants
Instead of spending lots of money on plants in shops, ask a green fingered friend to help you propagate from offsets (succulents are great for this) or grow from cuttings. All you need to grow your offset or cutting is a bit of soil and a pot plant holder.
I recommend using plants like Aloe Vera as they grow mini Aloes at their base (offsets). Aloe is easy to look after, plus it has lots of medicinal benefits. Tie a bow around the plant, give it a silly name (Benjamin? Yvonne?), and write a little info about the plant and what it does.
If you’ve a way with words you could even write a whole backstory for the plant: "Benjamin has social anxiety and prefers quiet places, he abhors the colour magenta and requires whalesong to help him sleep…"
Take people places
If it’s kids you’re gifting to, take them somewhere instead. Borrow a book from the library about Irish birds and take the kids birdwatching some afternoon before Christmas. Tap your contacts for anyone with interesting skills, do you know someone who works in a museum or art gallery who could give your kids a private tour? Know a forager who might take you out foraging? A beekeeper?
Kids love being taken places for experiential learning. My aunty took me places and taught me about history, because that was her area of interest. I believe I got my love of history from those day trips she took me on. What’s the thing you love to talk about and share? How can you share it in a fun way? Many of these ideas aren’t just for kids, they apply to curious adults too.
Hopefully these ideas will get you thinking about how to have a more sustainable Christmas. Remember that the best gifts are the ones that are the most thoughtful and that share something of yourself with the recipient.
