Eco Friendly Gifts

Choosing eco-friendly gifts is an easy way to send less waste into our landfills this holiday season.

Eco friendly gifts—those that are reusable, homemade, or don't create any waste at all—are a great way to be a thoughtful gift-giver and give back to Mother Earth this holiday season.

Remember that the best gifts come from the heart, not a department store. With these eco friendly gifts, you can reduce waste while making merry this holiday season.

Shop Online for Eco Friendly Gifts

E-commerce (think Cyber Monday) is an easy way to reduce holiday gasoline consumption while still shopping this holiday season.

But it's not necessarily waste-free, so be sure to choose items that won't be excessively padded for shipping. And if they arrive with packaging galore, reuse what you can and recycle the rest.

Give Gifts from the Heart

Remember that the best gifts come from the heart - not necessarily the department store.

If you do choose to buy something new, look for gift items made from recycled packaging or materials from an antique store, estate sale, or flea market, or those that can be recycled and reused:

Encourage others to use less stuff. A book about crafts created from found or reusable items, reusable tote bags, a cookbook for getting creative with leftovers, gardening tools, a refillable thermos bottle, a battery recharger.

Give gifts of recycled packaging and materials. Possibilities include a solar battery charger or water-conserving shower heads.

Create sustainable gifts or those that will get used up. Candles, homemade cookies, cakes, bread, or jams; a plant or tree.

Go with a gift certificate for a grown-up if you're not sure what she wants. For that hard-to-buy-for person, make sure your gift doesn't miss the mark and end up in a landfill. It's hard not to hit a holiday bullseye with a gift certificate, or by donating in her name to a favorite charity.

Give kids eco-friendly gifts for their future. Start a savings account, or give them their stocks or bonds. It's a great lesson in financial conservation for kids who learn while watching their money grow.

Environmentally-Friendly Tokens of Affection

These gifts don't generate trash and come straight from the heart.

Go away. For your significant other, consider giving a weekend getaway to a bed-and-breakfast (you can go, too) or a bike-riding excursion.

Get out. For kids, consider creating a certificate for excursions such as whale watching or camping trips.

Eco-friendly gifts - Does it get any more heartfelt and festive than this?