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Sarah Finnie Robinson, Practically Green:

I realize that most people have already done their holiday gift-giving for this year, but I want to share my epiphany on the subject.

A little email from my cousin Martha the day after Thanksgiving got me thinking. It was just a short note to family and closest friends:

“WE WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU OUR GREEN PLANS FOR THE HOLIDAYS... Probably we all have many things at home that we are not using, that we think someone else might enjoy… If you would like to share gifts during this holiday season, please look around your house, your garage, or under your bed... Thank you for all the wonderful gifts you have given us over the years and for the gifts we receive every day by having you in our lives.”

This idea was startling to me, a relatively sane woman who carries on like some caffeinated elf/witch between Halloween and December 25th every year: making lists (complex displays on Microsoft Excel), checking them not twice but twice a day; shopping for all that stuff via every conceivable venue – on foot, on the phone, via email; wrapping all that stuff, and shipping some of it; decorating the house as though Martha Stewart herself were expected for nog (nog as in homemade; organic; grated nutmeg, dollop of sherry).

One year the tree was so laden it simply fell over in its stand.

Now I asked myself, does all this fuss and stuff make me happy every year? Does it make my family happy? Am I happy to know that I, the supposedly mature, adult role-model, exemplify a holiday season of materialism, trash, debt, OCD, sleep-deprivation, weight-gain, and stress? And do I enjoy those bloated credit-card bills in January?

No and no, a thousand times No!

So let’s peel this onion:

What is the best holiday gift imaginable?

Easy: The best holiday gift is a baby. A baby in your own family, a baby pet. A fresh beginning: an engagement between two soul mates. A healthy diagnosis. A homecoming. These are truly reasons to celebrate. And yet they have nothing to do with a wrapped object under a tree.

With the true spirit of celebration in mind, I propose some gifts that are more than mere objects -- and which probably won’t wind up under a bed.

• Plants. Why? They’re beautiful. They’re fun to take care of. They change! They improve your indoor air quality. (Did you know that spider plants can filter Formaldehyde? See this report from NASA.) Consider giving a plant that can go outside now or later, depending on where you live, to beautify the surroundings and suck up Co2 And even if they die, they’re still useful in the compost heap.
• Gift cards to do something healthy and fun: skiing lessons, yoga weekend, gymnastics class, cooking workshop, ice-rink privileges.

• Toys. Kids of all ages need toys that get them moving. Bikes, tennis rackets, ski gear. Some of this stuff can be bought second-hand and all of it promotes exercise and group fun. (I’m researching a ping pong table. Craig’s List looks promising.)
• Games. Not the kind you click by yourself on your phone; the kind you play with other people. Laurie David lists a bunch of these in her excellent book The Dinner Table. Some of our family favorites: Balderdash, Boggle, Scrabble, Twister, charades, sardines. How about a fresh pack of playing cards that comes with an offer to play gin rummy?

• Consumables, inhalables, and spreadables. Food, wine, all-natural aromatherapy candles and body-care items are always great healthy choices, especially if the packaging is recyclable. Yesterday, our gourmet-chef friend Kristen gave us a re-usable jar of light-as-clouds Pfeffernusse cookies.
• Homemade-ables. Kristen is also an artist, and she makes a CD every year. And so can you! Pull together a playlist from your music library. Search the iTunes store for relaxing lullabyes for stressed-out Uncle F. My husband likes a photo book assembled via Apple to remind him of the year’s highlights.
• Books: a thoughtful book choice is an excellent gift. Even the littlest kids love them, because so often it means a grown-up has to stop rushing around obsessing over where to hang the mistletoe and actually sit and read with them.

How about substituting STUFF with EXPERIENCES?

Newborns aside, the best gift of all in this crazy world is time with our loved ones -- time when we’re not distracted or trying to get out the door, time when we’re not slapping together lunchboxes and coordinating schedules: time to relax and enjoy the people we love most, and who know us best: our family. With that in mind, I’ve finally decided what I’m getting my family this Christmas: a vacation together in the New Year.

P.S. I sent Cousin Martha an amaryllis. Because I know she didn’t really mean it 100 percent.

For more healthy & eco-friendly how-to's for gift-wrap, presents, decorations, and cards, see these actions at Practically Green!

 Author Note: Sarah Finnie Robinson is the Director of Social Programming at Practically Green, a new website that coaches people on making eco-friendly and healthy everyday decisions. Join them on Facebook and on Twitter @practicallygrn.

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