As the winter days grow darker and shorter, the barren trees and snow-dusted earth take on a raw beauty, and the holiday season nears, it’s natural to gravitate toward comfort, light, and levity. It’s been a normal part of human history for millennia to mark secular, religious, and spiritual traditions and celebrations with food, gift-giving, and gathering. However, industrialization, marketing, the mass and often unethical production of cheap consumer goods, and the rise of internet- and social media-fueled online shopping has made it especially challenging to be conscientious consumers whose purchases better support the health and safety of workers and the environment. As with all home organizing and household management routines, bringing awareness and intentionality to our gift-giving rituals can imbue them with a profound sense of rootedness, authenticity, compassion, and joy. 

Here are some guidelines and invitations for navigating the hypercapitalism, competitive present-giving, and instant gratification of the holiday season with grace and ease:

• Consider not giving durable goods, such as toys, clothes, electronics, and kitchen gadgets, and instead give the gift of:
  • Time–Give the gift of being present with your loved ones by showing up with your active listening skills, your sharing of your genuine self, and your good cheer.
  • Food–Buy or make a cup of coffee or tea or a meal for friends, family, or colleagues or bring a dish to share at a gathering. Make a little extra effort to source local and/or organic ingredients from a local grocery cooperative or store, a farmer’s market, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share, a cottage food producer, a forager, or an herbalist.
  • A walk–Invite a loved one for some fresh air and movement at a park or nature preserve. Most city and many county parks are free, and state and national parks sponsor occasional free entrance days. 
  • An experience–Make a date with someone to see a film, concert, opera, play, art exhibition, lecture, or comedy show or attend a class (yoga, meditation, gingerbread house making, foraging, wood carving, home organizing, cooking, painting) together. Many museums have weekly, monthly, or quarterly free nights. Also we all need to be mindful to avoid buying aspirational experiences for ourselves or others that pressure us to be someone we’re not, to keep up with others for social status, or that stretch us financially. Remember that experiential consumerism (and the massive carbon footprint that comes with travel) can also become problematic if not approached with moderation and care.
  • A card–Source a card from a thrift store or one created by a local artist without glitter so that it can be recycled by the recipient. Make your own card with paper odds and ends headed toward the recycling anyway.
  • Flowers or a plant–Buy some flowers and plants from a local plant store, preferably grown locally, that can be composted. Gift them in a thrifted pot or vase.
  • Money–In some cultures and eras, monetary gifts can carry the stigma of a social taboo; however, in most circumstances it’s appropriate to sit with that guilt and discomfort and accept that often our best gift-giving intentions go awry anyway when recipients are stuck with possessions they don’t really want or need. I choose to give a lovely locally purchased and/or artist-made card with a personal note and money to the young people in my life for their birthdays and holidays. They can buy something they want or need or save it up. 
  • A service–Treat a loved one to a home organizing service, a toy or tool lending library membership, a housecleaning service, a gym or sauna membership, a gift certificate for a massage therapy appointment, or offer to watch the kids while parents enjoy a night out.
• If you do give material goods, do your best to buy from thrift stores, consignment stores, antique malls, small locally owned shops stocked with locally made goods, craft fairs, farmer’s markets, museums and cultural institutions whose mission you support, or one of my favorite options, secondhand or local bookstores.
• Be mindful of packaging, and do your best to avoid commercial wrapping paper, single-use plastics, and other harmful and unnecessary waste. Use those tote bags, limit the online shopping, and consider not wrapping gifts or simply wrapping them in reusable fabric or recyclable newspaper or Kraft paper.
• Pause, breathe, and consider before buying: Is this an essential purchase? Is there a gift alternative that’s not a durable good? Is it local? Is it sustainable? Is it ethical? Is it kind to people and the planet? 

Wishing and your loved ones health, happiness, peace, and gratitude this holiday and winter season! 

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