How To Make Holiday Gifting More Sustainable

Last year, we shared some of our favorite gifts for travelers and those trying to be more eco-conscious consumers. This year, we have heard from many people who hope to shop a little less and make the holidays more sustainable. So below, we are sharing some of our favorite alternative gifts/gifting ideas that are meaningful and make a difference! 

Participate in #Giving Tuesday –

• Make a donation to an organization in honor of your loved one and let them know by email or in a holiday card. At Happily Ever Exploring, we are supporting one of our favorite organizations, Engage Globally in their environmental education, school garden, and native tree planting efforts in Northern Ghana. 
• Global Giving – supporting over 6,000 mostly small organizations, Global Giving offers holiday gift cards and matching funding on Giving Tuesday. And if you’re looking to support an organization this Giving Tuesday, Engage Globally would love to have your help earning matching funding!
  • A $25 donation provides one month of education including a daily school lunch, uniform sewn by vocational training students, and learning supplies. $75 funds a local teacher’s salary for a month. Teachers are graduates of our youth education program.
• Spend time together volunteering at a local organization or creating something an organization can use like photos or crocheted blankets.

Gift conservation of the outdoors –

• We love to support nature and to spend time outdoors with our friends and family. One of our favorite gifts is the Annual National Parks Pass, which comes with lots of great educational information about U.S. Parks. If you already have national park passes, consider a state park pass or donation to a local park. We use our National Park passes throughout our travels, including our most recent trips to Joshua Tree and Haleakala National Parks. 
• Give a gift card to a local, native plant nursery – this helps a small business and is a great way to look forward to planting your spring pollinator garden!

Gift time together –

The last two years have been a challenging reminder of how valuable time with our loved ones is. Gifts that share time and experiences can be especially meaningful (and helpful to local arts, culture, and businesses). Seth and I are especially excited to see the new FUTURES exhibit here in DC and shhh- don’t tell him, but he’s probably getting a Smithsonian Museum Membership as a stocking stuffer. We also love to give these gifts to friends. 

Create your gift –

Remember when you were little and you handmade cards, pictures, and other gifts in elementary school for your family and they loved them? Personally created gifts never go out of style. Some ‘adult’ versions include:

• Print photos from the best moments of the year
• Plant a native plant and decorate the pot for the holidays
• Go to a make-your-own pottery or painting shop 
• Consider giving consumable gifts such as homemade jams, organic chocolates, fair-trade coffee, or a selection of teas
• Cook someone their favorite meal and enjoy it together

Participate in Gift Exchanges and Registries –

By setting a spending limit and providing guidelines, gift exchange participants can focus on finding one meaningful gift rather than several. Other options include encouraging participants to buy their gift(s) ‘pre-loved’ or create a gift registry, where items or experiences that align with one’s values can be listed. This approach ensures that everyone receives items that they truly need or desire.

Need a gift for a child?

• World Wildlife Fund symbolic species adoption – comes with a cute stuffed animal and educational packet
• National Geographic for Kids – this is a year-long gift and you can choose from early reader and older child versions.  
• Ranger Rick magazine – National Wildlife Federation offers several versions of its monthly magazine and wildlife themed books for children. 

Need a gift for a teen?

We love 4Ocean’s upcycled plastic water bottles, bracelets and other products. Purchase of each item funds removal of plastic from beaches and oceans. 

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Sustainable gifting is a meaningful way to express your love and appreciation while minimizing your impact on the environment. By opting for experiences, supporting sustainable brands, giving consumables, organizing gift exchanges, and/or donating to charitable causes, you can easily prioritize thoughtful, ethical, and eco-friendly gifts and foster a more sustainable and mindful approach to giving.

With that said, I hope you found these suggestions useful. Please let us know if you used any of these ideas below. And, if you have other suggestions, we would love to hear them!