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Give Great Green Gifts!
Giving great gifts requires only attention, listening skills and creativity. From there, how much you spend, or how much effort you put in is optional.  As you're making your list, here are some questions to get you started.
What can you DO?
We are all amazing, abundant people with our own unique ways of seeing, our own experiences: passing that on , giving of ourselves- that IS the gift. For example- we like giving family “lessons”- this year, one son is teaching us to do stepdance, my sister’s leading team cooking in making an intricate Indian dinner where everyone helps. I think we’ll be learning the perfect cheer. We like planning activities- my husband’s doing a scavenger hunt for the little ones, our daughter’s organizing the under 14 set in putting on a play. Just being goofy together, you know? Loving. Fun. Seeing each other in new ways. Letting people shine.
Want more ideas? Garden advice, how to blog, how to make a short movie for the web, how to swear in French- getting in the groove on this now.... Once, in a particularly difficult time when I was trying to be so compassionate, but steaming inside, I received a gift from a friend that included a calling card, and a "free pass" for several hours of uninterrupted listening to me vent about the ex- good only between the hours of midnight and 5 am. Now there’s a person who knew me well at that moment in time!
Songs are great. Turning people on to your discoveries is great. The best wines you’ve found. Your 10 favorite new plays. Find more ideas on gifts of time, effort and experience here!
What do they need?
This is were the listening part comes in. Here’s an example of what we’re doing for mom: She wants an irrigation system. So John’s a yard geek and he designed it, and the older boys arranged a coordinated time to be at her place in the spring, the rest of us chipped in on the cost- and in 2 days next May, they’ll put it in for her so she can lose the hose- which saves water, saves time, and creates beauty. That’s a great gift- for her, for the planet, and the guys get another chance to work together. The trick is, it takes listening and observing what people really need and want.
What is beautiful?
An important question, and so unique to each person. But authenticity is always beautiful, things from the heart are beautiful. Investigate. What evidence do you have of what the other considers beautiful?
Does this sound like a lot of work?
We think it's no more work than standing in line at the mall for hours, and you’re going to feel so much better than if you’d been overstimulated from the incessant pulls to buy, and your overdose of café mochas and cinnamon buns, and definitely less work than spending the next 6 months if not more paying off bills. It’s the deepest play, actually. Tapping into your co-creating spirit.
What Makes a Gift Green?
More Resources for Alternative Gifting
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