No Purchase Necessary
Celebrate
the holidays without burdening the earth or your wallet!
Ahhh, the holidays.
Cheery visions of mistletoe and happy families sitting around a fire,
right? Wrong. For many people the holidays are filled with
financial worries and family stress.
They can be tough for anyone….but modern holidays are toughest on Mother
Earth. All those UPOs (Unnecessary
Plastic Objects) purchased as holiday gifts and wrapped up to look more
special. The aftermath continues for years as gifts are tossed out because they
stopped working and cannot be repaired or someone just didn’t like them. Any holiday (Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa,
Solstice, New Years, etc) can be recreated to be stress-free, compassionate and
sustainable.
We vote with our dollars. Every time we spend money on something, we
are supporting an industry. Are we
creating the Good Life or the Goods Life?
Regardless of what the ads say, we cannot buy the perfect holiday with
money.
Many traditions that say “happy holidays” to some
of us, mean suffering for others. Items
that are produced with sweatshop or slave labor, use non-renewable resources or
cause suffering to other species are in abundance during the holidays.
Traditional celebrations are often centered around
a large piece of animal flesh that is meant to say that the host cares. I overheard a woman at a party telling about
her wedding. She and her partner wanted
the wedding to be totally vegetarian/vegan because they did not want their
celebration to mean unnecessary suffering for others. When they announced their plans to their
parents, the families got very upset because many people would be coming from
so far away. In her mother’s words,
“People will think you don’t care about them if you don’t serve meat.” Holidays and celebrations can be the toughest
times to live by our values. It is not
easy to be the one in the family who breaks tradition by serving up a
plant-based meal or donating money in the family’s name instead of buying and
wrapping gifts for everyone. But, it is
often this same person who helps everyone step outside the traditional box to
create a more meaningful celebration.
To Tree or
Not to Tree:
This past year, in the
Say “No” to the buying things
frenzy
When
shopping, use the Compassionate Consumer Wallet Card and ask yourself the
questions before spending money on items, services or entertainment.
Have
peaceful easy holidays doing what you love with the ones you love.
Gifts for Children:
1-Boxes that you personally decorate filled with:
-Art supplies (include recycled items that can be used in art, such as
old video tape ribbon and bottle caps).
-Dress up clothes: Old dresses, high heel shoes, boots, scarves,
hats, and jewelry you find at resale shops or in your own closet!
2-Create a story and make a book with that child as the main
character.
4-Rather than buying a winter scarf, give them knitting needles and yarn
and take time to teach them to knit their own scarf.
Homemade Gifts for All Ages:
1-Homemade personal coupons that you provide. They can redeem them
anytime for a massage, game, movie, home-cooked meal, babysitting, day at the
museum, garden help, day of learning some new craft together like canning or
soap making, a bike ride and picnic, etc
2- Homemade cookbook with your favorite healthy recipes.
3- Arrange a monthly date and make a fun certificate to let them know. This can be as simple as meal together or a
phone call. It is great for elderly
friends or relatives.
4-A homemade calendar using special pictures/photos/drawings you’ve
collected.
5-Wrapping: comics, old maps, colorful fabric, old
video tape ribbons.
6- Re-gifting: All that good stuff in the
back of a closet or gathering dust-let someone else enjoy it!
A Yankee Swap: These are a blast.
Have a potluck with it for a total celebration!
Everyone finds and wraps something that they already have in their home. Pile
the items in middle of the room.
Everyone picks a number from a basket with enough numbers for everyone
there and no duplicates. Number 1 starts
by picking a present to open. Once everyone sees what it is, Number 2 can
either steal the present from Number 1 or pick a present from the pile.
If they take Number 1’s gift, then Number 1 gets the gift number 2 had.
This goes on with each successive person getting the option to either pick from
the table or steal any of the already opened gifts. For example, Number 9
can take the presents of Numbers 1-8 or can pick a new one. One final
rule: a present can only be stolen three times, and then it stays with the
person holding it. (Detailed rules:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant_gift_exchange)
Still feel
like spending money on those you love?
This year, Americans
will spend an average of $923.36 on holiday gifts, which includes $106.67 on
me-too purchases, which are the impulse buys that people make for themselves
while they're shopping for gifts. Wouldn't be great if that $923.36 could go
towards giving the people you love a gift, and making the world a better place?
Here are a few ideas for those special someones.
(When donating money to
organizations check them out thoroughly.
Many that seem to be socially conscious are not. Go to websites like http://www.humaneseal.org/search to
find a list of compassionate charities.)
1-Have a tree planted in their honor through organizations you can find
listed here: www.friendsoftrees.org
2- Give a donation to a local cause such as an animal shelter/rescue
group, a shelter for battered women, a local environmental group, etc.
3- Support local artists by buying their work.
4- Purchase a share for friends or family at a local CSA farm.
5- Support local independent businesses.
6- If your family takes a holiday trip together, consider a vacation
that involves volunteering for a project. Here are a few of the many sites
might help you decide where to go and what to do: www.voluntourism.org, www.habitat.org,
www.network.bestfriends.org.