Green gifts

[maxkone]

Does anyone have any good ideas for any sort of green gifts for Christmas? Preferably under 100 bucks.

[RiHadj]

an idea is to do an inexpensive bundle of green
i.e. Whole Foods has some fun reusable bags for only $1... you can buy someone a couple of those - put them in the bag itself, and then add green cleaning products, or organic makeup products - or even accessories made from recycled products - like bracelets and stuff...

and more from today's Washington Post tips...
- Offer parents of little ones a free night of babysitting.
- Bake a favorite treat and present it with a hand-written recipe card, or get a recipe box and fill it with hand-written cards of all of your favorite dishes.
- A magazine subscription can cost under ten dollars, but will last all year long.
- A small potted plant in a pretty container can be enjoyed well past the holidays. An alternative: A nice container, a few packets of seeds and a gardening tool.
- Search area flea markets for one-of-a-kind vintage items, like ornaments, monogrammed linens or cup and saucer to pair with a favorite herbed tea.

[RiHadj]

One of the ways I try to minimize waste is to not buy gift tags - rather reuse the front of one of my cards from previous years - you can cut it up in to any shape - and write the person's name on it. Green, fun, and creative!!!

[simplicity]

Food is a great gift item: a jar of good quality honey, a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, homemade muesli or granola, excellent spices and herbs from Penzey (fabulous cinnamon etc).

Also, during the year shop the flea markets and yard sales for baskets which you can line with a tea cloth and fill with your gift of sweets, grains, olives etc. Large tins from flea markets and yard sales also work nicely for cookies and chocolates.

[SkywlkrSnd]

Saw this online on msnbc.com: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28194288/

(A word of caution, I had a hell of a time getting the page to load correctly on either FireFox or Safari. Needed to resort to Internet Explorer to be able to read it....you can thank the MS in msnbc for that one. :mad:)

Some on the list are kind of lame, but my favorite is the "Reopener" from Alchemy Goods: a beer bottle opener made from a seat belt clasp. Buckle up! :)

[Green Vixen]

Food is certainly a great gift idea - no wast there! Another ultragreen thing is to buy clothes or accessories, that are refashioned. Like sweaters morphing into cozy mittens, chips bags get transformed into really cool reusable bags... I'm just all into refashion right now: keeps things out of the landfill, looks hip and supports local artists. Check out a few things at www.thegreenvixen.com . You'll love it!
Oriana
aka The Green Vixen

[KraftyGreen]

I have a great gift...it kind of like giving an appliance to your wife but if ther is someone that is trying to go green I think this might be good. Check it out if you want.

http://www.wowgreen.net/Default.aspx?ID=12541

[sweetR22]

We are always on the go, so I think these are a great green gift. A little more than you wanted to spend- but really worth it- for the right person.

Monster Cable uses this thing called "GreenPower" which is a type of surge protector that helps conserve energy. Basically it works by cutting power to specific devices that normally keep using it (even when they're off).

I love them, because nothing drives me nuts like when you think you have something "off" and it still wastes energy!!

Check them out online!

[ecoguy1]

I have two ideas for you. On Livingecho dot com, there are two things that stand out as extra cool. One would be the Chocolates and Flowers In One. Organic, vegan chocolates in a recycled paper seeded box! When you are done eating the chocolate, you plant the box, and wildflowers grow! The other would be the Garden Bon Bons on Livingecho. The Bon Bons are packaged like chocolate, but the box is made of recycled paper, and the "candies" are actually seed balls. When you plant them, various herbs grow. That site has a bunch of ideas in the eco gift section.

[litesol]

Food is a great idea, but how about organic soap, shampoo, perfume. You can put the gifts in a recycle bag that you decorate yourself.

[Luke Scott]

What a great thread- So much excellent information :P . One option is giving them a gift cert/card to a green company.

Two years ago someone gave me a gift certificate for a cleaning service to come clean my home- The service was awesome. My home was basically new and the job was done with 100% organic, earthfreindly cleaning supplies(not to mention the cleaners had so much information about living green it was inspirational)!

The company name was Great Green Cleaning- I don't know how much the gift cert was but it was worth it!!!!

I found their website and I'm totally gonna pass this gift on-

www.greatgreencleaning.com