Green Gifts

Green Gift-Giving Tips

Create memories by giving tickets, season passes or memberships. Here are some ideas to consider:
Fremont Peak Observatory Association
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Yosemite Annual Pass
County Parks Annual Day Use Pass
California State Park Annual Day Use Pass
Monterey Museum of Art
National Steinbeck Center
Elkhorn Slough Gift Membership
Monterey County Agricultural & Rural Life Museum
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Certificates reflecting a person’s interest or everyday needs can be a perfect way to ensure your gift is as useful as it is gracious.

For kids, start a savings account or give stocks or bonds. It’s fun to watch money grow and it teaches children the value of financial conservation.
Examples of gift certificates that will be appreciated:
Local Coffee House
Gardening Store/Nursery
Elegant Dinner / Favorite Restaurant
Music Store or Online Media
Earth-Friendly Products Store
Book Store/ Used Book Store
Grocery/Specialty Foods Store
Art Supplies
Ice Cream Shop
Cultural Center
Sporting Goods/Outdoor Store
Hardware Store
Car Servicing
Car Washes
Cinema / Theater
Prepaid Gasoline Cards
Music Concerts
Sporting Events
Symphony
Opera
Theater
Art Gallery/Museum
(Natural) History/Cultural Museum
Cultural Festival
Gym/Fitness Center/Health Club
Dancing Lessons
Martial Arts /Self Defense Training
Tai Chi/Yoga/Meditation Classes
Ski/Snowboarding Pass
Scuba Diving/Snorkeling Lessons
Whale Watching
Kayaking Tour of the Bay
Gardening Workshop
Vocational Training Workshop
Professional Workshop
Massage/Hot Spring
Art Class (Painting, Photography, Ceramics, etc)
Cooking Class
Music Lessons (Instrument/Singing)
Writing/Poetry Course
Computer Training
Observatory/Planetarium

Always look for products that are made from Post-Consumer Recycled Content or consider green products that address other or additional environmental or social concerns, like Fair Trade practices, organic farming, or donating proceeds.

Shop at Thrift Stores, Antique Shops, Flea Markets, Used Book Stores and the like for unique gifts that save resources by promoting reuse.
Make a dress-up kit for kids with old clothes and jewelry.
Create an idea-box for young inventors with tools and gadgets.
Adopt an animal from a local shelter.

Donating to a charity in someone’s name shows not only your care for someone, but also your recognition of the values they cherish in their own lives.
In the spirit of giving, donate used items in good condition to local reuse organizations.

Purchase something consumable and sustainable; treat them to locally made chocolates, honey, organic wine and cheese.
Buy cut flowers from your local farmers’ market or even better, a blooming perennial plant that will bring happiness year after year.
If you’re shopping by mail order, remember to cancel the catalogs you don’t need.  Remember, junk mail is recyclable!
Bring your own shopping bags.
Consolidate your purchases into one bag rather than getting a new bag at each store on your shopping rounds.
When you buy electronic toys and other portable items that require batteries, buy rechargeable batteries to go with them.

Give gifts that encourage others to use less stuff, like reusable shopping bags and reusable cups. For the coffee enthusiast, include a pound of their favorite beans, or a gift card to their local coffee house.
Give something you’ve made yourself from reused items, like repurposing a unique item (like a teacup or seashell) as a container for succulents. Be thoughtful about their hobbies and interests.
Reuse packing cartons and shipping materials such as peanuts, wood shavings, shredded newspaper and bubble wrap.

Use old gift bags, boxes, newspaper, magazines, posters or pieces of fabric to disguise your gift.
Alternatively, hide the presents in the house and create a gift hunt using clues.
For the even more adventurous, have your gift go naked!
Think of gifts that don’t have to be wrapped at all: tickets to concerts, museums, or sporting events, gift certificates, house plants, or gifts of time together.
When giving oversized gifts like bicycles, instead of wrapping them in paper, just tie a bow around them.
Kids’ artwork is a perfect wrapping for presents to proud grandparents.
Use brown paper grocery bags to wrap small-to-medium size boxes that have to be mailed.
Make the wrap a part of the gift: Putting cookies or baking ingredients in a mixing bowl, wrapping bubble bath in a towel, or hiding jewelry in a new pair of gloves will keep your gift under wraps and the wrapping out of the trash.

Wrapping paper (not foil, or cellophane type paper) can be recycled in your Curbside Recycling Bin.
Just remove excess tape and bows (save bows for reuse).
Don’t forget to recycle those holiday cards, excess magazines, catalogues, paper and cardboard.
When you get or give new electronics, recycle your old electronic items properly.

Set aside gift boxes, intact wrapping paper, gift tissue paper and bows.  Save these items and reuse them for future holidays, birthdays and parties.