Christmas Gifts 2010: Non-Material Green Presents

You know the feeling. It's December 26th. The gift-giving fury has ended, and all you have left is the carnage of plastic wrapping, boxes, gift paper, and... the stuff. All those material items you bought for each other. The jewelry you'll lose, the video games you'll get bored of, the clever tie you'll never wear, and the plastic toys that'll break, as all plastic toys must.

Then again, you will probably lose interest before any of this stuff even gets to the breaking stage. Because that's what happens with most material items. We long for them until we have them. Then we feel a rush of short-lived excitement. And then we lose interest and start creating a 2011 wish-list.

So this year, we present to you a (relatively) material-free gift guide. Some of these gifts have sentiment, others will foster memories, a few are simple feel-goods, and most have a pretty darn low carbon footprint. Here's to less plastic carnage on December 26th!

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Adopt

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There are some great things to “adopt” this Christmas (none of which involve children, although we of course support that as well.) On behalf of your gift recipient, you can Adopt a Rainforest, a Tree, a Coral Reef, or even a Manatee. Visit my.nature.org/gifts for more ideas on unique gifts from The Nature Conservancy.

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There are some great things to “adopt” this Christmas (none of which involve children, although we of course support that as well.) On behalf of your gift recipient, you can Adopt a Rainforest, a Tree, a Coral Reef, or even a Manatee.

Visit my.nature.org/gifts for more ideas on unique gifts from The Nature Conservancy.

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No One Wants This Going On My Wishlist!

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Comments

[Kristen1975]

07:06 PM on 12/21/2010

Here Mom, I present you with this "monologue" for Christmas and not the iPod speakers you actually wanted. Lame.

[BannedNBoston]

10:26 PM on 12/20/2010

Hey Sam Adams Winterfest, Shipyard, Tuckermans Ravine Pale Ale are still welcome Good canadian whiskey BOURBON (american wonder) Scotch is still the best gift...

[endearingnoises]

04:09 AM on 12/20/2010

I would be happy to accept some non-material gifts from those girls.

[FilthyHarry]

12:56 AM on 12/20/2010

Head

[ben616]

10:56 PM on 12/19/2010

I like number 2. Asian p@ssy!

[JustBNice]

10:47 PM on 12/19/2010

Read the article on HuffPost about: "NPR reports that a nonprofit in Harlem, N.Y., "Getting Out and Staying Out" was founded by retired cosmetics executive Mark Goldsmith and has assisted more than 1,500 young men. The nonprofit helps them prepare for job interviews, find a place to live and, in some cases, help them pay for college or vocational school. Only 20 percent of those who go through the program return to prison."

That's a gift that will keep on giving back. For all of our benefit.

May others find the time, understanding and compassion to do similar good deeds.

[Ponderous]

10:10 PM on 12/19/2010

Wow - what a waste of an article. This is exactly the kind of stuff that makes the environmental movement look silly and ridiculous and trite. Wow - please stop writing articles. They are not helpful to the cause.

[Andrea K-J]

10:02 PM on 12/19/2010

A few inspired last-minute Christmas gifts that I like:

I have used all of these - especially great if you want to avoid malls in the last week before Christmas.

1.) Give the gift of time: Make e-coupons for things like dog walking and babysitting. Because they're e-coupons or e-cards (there are lots of online tools to help you do this quickly) you can email them right up until Christmas Day.

Gifts of Remembrance:
1.) Use gold markers to write everyone's name on an ornament, draw an image that relates to them and add the date so every year you can put that ornament on the tree and remember a special Christmas and the people who shared that Christmas with you. You can even make ornament decorating a Christmas Eve activity - fun for kids and everyone.

3.) One of the best symbols of Christmas is the tree. What better way to remember this Christmas than planting a tree in Africa, Haiti or North America? (A great way to replace the one you just cut down for your livingroom.) Who doesn't love a tree planted in their honour?
You can order personalized tree planting certificates for friends, family and colleagues – and support Love Trees children's tree planting and environmental education projects around the world! I order these every year because they're fast, easy and everything that Christmas is about: http://www.lovetrees.ca/wp/tree-shop/

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

[DRaymond]

07:01 PM on 12/19/2010

How is a LED flashlight not a material gift?

[GustavoRejivik]

06:00 PM on 12/19/2010

While the Green news here is Yoga and weight the World is entombed in ICE.

The real story here is how much of the World is experiencing a severe bitter cold, unseasonably cold temperatures so early in the year ... negating any warmer temperature records that built up early in the year ...

The "Gore Effect" is in full force !!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1339149/Big-freeze-Temperatures-plummet-10C-bringing-travel-chaos-Britain.html

[MagicalPossibilities]

11:01 PM on 12/19/2010

Geez you climate change deniers are dense. Extreme weather is a sure sign of CLIMATE CHANGE! And when referring to global warming it means AVERAGE temperatures throughout the globe.

[merlinspinoza]

05:14 PM on 12/19/2010

Merry green christmass, the great light of peace

[Said One]

05:07 PM on 12/19/2010

1) A cd containing interesting GIMP resources like brushes, tutorials and plugins and tons of these things - for non-mainstream graphic designers

2) An IT course from Microsoft or Oracle.

3) Sand from different countries - all in one bottle. Layered

[mmsuki]

04:32 PM on 12/19/2010

You forgot donations to the Human Fund.

[veritas88]

11:11 PM on 12/19/2010

Money for people.

[jplanner]

04:12 PM on 12/19/2010

I am getting cheese, yes CHEESE (four bucks) for a eleven year old boy I know. He's a vegetarian, a budding gourmand and cook, loves trying new food. I observed him frying (cheddar?) cheese because he loves when it browns and gets all melty. I told him about living in a Hispanic neighborhood and that there is a special Mexican cheese made just for frying that is amazing. I said I'd get him some and he actually CHEERED as much as he did when he got a new game for his Wii! It's the thought that counts. You think of the person and what they'd really like that they dont' have or have enough of or have access too. It doesn't even have to be expensive.

[cucumber]

07:18 PM on 12/19/2010

...wait until he learns about veal calves and forceful removal of mothers from babies on every commercial dairy farm, on the day of birth. If he's vegetarian for ethical reasons, he'll need to become vegan.

[Ponderous]

10:09 PM on 12/19/2010

Wow - this guy sounds unstable. Cheering for cheese. I would get him some help right away.

[jplanner]

04:00 PM on 12/19/2010

I'm gonna say something that may not be popular. If you have friends or family who really struggle finanially, I'd advise you that they may not fully appreciate gifts that are given to someone else in their name. Such as charitable gifts in their name that give something to others where they personally receive nothing materially themselves. I have a longtime friend of means with whom I exchange presents and she often gets me a "gift" of something for someone else. Unless your lower-income friend or family member has a paticular interest or soft spot for that particular issue, they may have mixed feelings about your "gift". Alot of people have cut back so much that they cannot treat themselves to luxuries or pamper themselves even a little bit.
I feel like an ogres saying this but honestly my friend who can get her nails done and facials and massages and private pilates lessons...when she spends money for charities she wants to give to (when I can hardly afford to give financially to charities I myself care about, tho I do give my time), I don't even feel like I am getting a gift from her. I do thank her for thinking of me as she did. But I do not feel I received a gift. I'd prefer a little something for myself as things are so tight and I am sure many are in my shoes. Even movie tickets would feel nice. She knows my situation.

[cucumber]

07:20 PM on 12/19/2010

that's a good point - and gift giving should be thinking about the recipient, not just what the giver wants to give. For lower income people gift certificates are thoughtful.