Creative Christmas Day 3-Gifts/Wrapping

picture by intermissions

As you have heard me say before that this year I have not been much of a mall-goer...I have been trying to get creative. Here is a list of unique gift giving options that I came up with and also got inspired from an article in this month's issue of Mothering.

1) Buy Handmade of course! Check out the gift guides on Etsy there are tons of ideas for just about anyone from the tech lover-to the sports fanatic-to the home chef-to the person who has everything. Or if you are wanting to be the artist but need some inspiration check outInstructables or Martha's page. Some of these websites can be a bit overwhelming if you are like me and want to try everything...but they are fun. :)

2)Look for items that have a Fair Trade label...<Fair Trade is an organized social movementand market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability. >-Wikipedia. There are many places to shop fair trade, sometimes even your local supermarket will carry fair trade items, but a popular place to shop is Ten Thousand Villages. Also check out Earthlover.

3)Give a gift card that supports a worthy cause. For example Tisbest.org TisBest Philanthropy is a registered non-profit corporation in the state of Washington and qualified as a 501c3 charity by the IRS. (It doesn't seem like you need to worry about charity schemes). This would be particularly good for kids so they can maybe choose which charity that is associated with their own interests.

5)Even if you are giving a gift card there are many ideas on how to make it personal. Check out these handmade giftcard holders.

4)Give the gift of service!- A gift doesn't have to be an object. You could cook a meal, clean someones house, babysit, write a song, give a back message, etc.

I can't think of a reason why I would need to buy wrapping paper this year when I have loads of crafting paper, paper grocery bags, etc laying around my house. Plus the Internet has tons of crafty bloggers of course with tons of inspiration. Not to mention a few... :)

1)fabric gift bags

2)Seasonal Delights- cards and gift tags

3)Tip Junkie- tons of unique ideas!

4)Olivemanna-textiles and paper goods.

5)Use pine cones or holly (careful if it is poisonous) instead of a plastic bow.

6)Decorate paper grocery bags with stamps or markers.

7)Make use of the newspaper comics.(I remember this always being a hit at birthday parties when I was a kid)

8)prettytape has tons of fun tape and don't forget to mark it handmade when you are done.

Any other creative ideas?