Enough
For those keen to de-commercialse Christmas and respond in a meaningful way to the overconsumption thats common, try a Buy Nothing Christmas.
Here's a few ideas of how this could be possible:
Make stuff
- Give a home-made voucher to exchange for your time – cook a meal, do the garden, create a home compost or veggie garden, look after the kids, give a massage.
- Make something yummy. For all those who can bake.
- Make something crafty. For all those who can knit, sew, spin, pot.
- Make your own something incredibly original. www.instructables.com
Buy less
- If your family is up for it, do a Kris Kringle - each person only buys one present; names from a hat determine the recipient; make sure you set a spending limit.
- The Gift of Nothing. A very cool book. Mooch the cat desperately wants to find a gift for his friend Earl the dog, but Earl already has everything. "What do you give a guy who has everything?" Mooch wonders. The answer, of course, is nothing! (Available at Booktopia).
- Have a movie screening with friends. "What would Jesus Buy?" follows Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shop-apocalypse.
Give an experience
- Movie, theatre,
adventure, pamper, gourmet treat. Take your loved one's out. Make
it your own customised gift, or do
a package
Be inspired by Sasha Milne's story - she spent 12 months buying nothing new. If you'd like to take this a step further and explore living in a new way, watch A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity
More Shop Ethical Christmas ideas
