IDEAS FOR A PLANET-CONSCIOUS HOLIDAY SEASON

 In the holiday season, we are thinking of gifts we will get for family, friends, and loved ones. This year Unity of Flagstaff is trying to be more aware of our impact on the planet, as well as being a good neighbor. Here are some ideas for gift-giving that are beneficent, i.e. doing or producing good.

There are gifts that come from local organizations. Giving the Unity of Flagstaff Calendar not only provides a beautiful local scene each month, but helps support the church. Also available to support the church are Prayer for Protection coffee mugs, Unity masks, and affirmative gift wrap.

Membership in the Museum of Northern Arizona, the Arboretum or Lowell Observatory are examples of gifts that support local organizations, as well as provide interesting, inspirational experiences throughout the year, and are tax deductible. Other experiences to give are NAU and local theater or musical production “tickets” which allows the holder to attend virtual performances while supporting our local artists.

Speaking of local artists, there are art shows at the Center for the Arts, and the Epiphany church as well as local galleries such as the Artist's Gallery, Fire on the Mountain and AZ handmade. These often have websites and will ship your gift for you as well.

And of course, a gift card to a local restaurant, coffee shop, or book store is always a welcome gift that supports our local businesses as well as eliminates shipping and handling. Check out Bright Side Bookshop’s website for instance. Or how about a gift card for hair styling or a massage.

So think outside the box; in fact, no box is needed in most cases. When thinking of giving a gift, think about how it might be one that supports our local community, has little impact on the planet, and uplifts us all. 

Do you have a fabric stash and an idle sewing machine? Make fabric gift bags with ribbon drawstrings. They can be made in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on fabric available and shape of the gift. This year my stocking stuffers will be reusable gift bags. Here are a few of the many links available:

http://www.sewingsupport.com/sewing-how-to/free-patterns-and-projects/bags/gift-bags.html

https://sewverycrafty.com/how-to-make-fabric-gift-bags/

Rolls of plain brown kraft paper are available at stores in the gift wrap section. 

Newsprint end rolls can be purchased at the Daily Sun. Both are recyclable. 

Creative ideas: Add embellishments that can be easily removed to recycle most of the paper wrapping.

• Wrap 3 squarish boxes in white paper and stack into a snowman. Add a hat, arms and a face.
• To a box wrapped in brown paper, add a large red pompom, 2 round black eyes and antlers. Rudolf.
• Glue evergreen trimmings onto a wrapped package to create a tree.
• On a brown paper wrapped box, tie with twine or string, add a “delivery tag” from the North Pole.
• Tie on sprigs of evergreen trimmings. Add a small fir cone.
• Use ink stamps to decorate a wrapped package. 
• Tie on a greeting card saved from the previous year, with the sender’s name, message removed if needed.
• A paper doily or paper snowflake can be a decorative “To—From” tag.
• Tie on ornaments to decorate a package.
• For last minute gifts, paper gift bags are widely available in many sizes and themes at many stores. Although not recyclable, bags can be reused.
• Colorful Sunday comic pages are great for covering children’s gifts and over-sized gifts.