Essential Christmas gift ideas

Let's just say it, 2020 has been a very long and difficult year for most of us. It has made us all reevaluate what is really important in our lives. When we were on lock down for the first time I really looked at my house and at the items that had. It forced me to reconsider what I thought was important. Did I really need so many movies that I don't watch? So going into Christmas I really didn't want to spend money on items that were not necessary or didn't stand up to my own values in life. This year instead of getting a bunch of stuff that people are not going to use, let's get items that mean something and support the things we value.

A great thing to get people is a subscription. Most places have one time boxes you can get or you can get them a 3 month or 6 month subscription to something that you know is important to them. A great subscription is one called Mighty Nest, at https://mightynest.com. It is only $114 for a whole year. They will get a delivery every month that has items to help them live a more green and ethical life. Items like bees wax wraps so that they don't have to buy cling wrap. If you know anyone that is considering living a more sustainable life, than it is a great way to introduce them to things slowly so that they don't get overwhelmed. Another great subscription is a company that is called trulocal, here in Canada, at https://www.trulocal.com. They do have monthly subscriptions, but they also do gift boxes for the holiday season. They do a subscription box with meat from local farmers. It's a easy way to get meat that is better for you, for the environment and supports local. If you are in the US than a company called butcher box does the same thing. For meat eaters I think it is important to get your product that is of the best quality and supports local. Items like grass feed meat which can be expensive and hard to find in local stores. If you know anyone that is having a hard time this year, that has lost their job or just struggling, then this is a great gift that will really help them out.

For me the thing I look forward to the most is the stocking. It's always filled with useful items that I would normally have to buy anyways. Doing a stocking is a great gift that will really help someone out. Great way to get stocking items is at the dollar store which a lot of times has some great brands. Also a great company to get products from is Lush, at https://www.lush.ca. It has hand made bath and beauty items. You can also bring back your old containers so that they can reuse it. Having recycled packaging is such an important part of what you buy. We throw out too much packaging and we need to support the companies that are trying to do something about it. Their bath items are top of the line. Getting someone a bath bomb and bath products is a great gift for any age. If you are buying items for a kid that doesn't like taking baths, then Lush's bath products really get kids excited to take a bath at night.

If getting local is something that is very important than there are still some ways that you can find local even if you are in lock down. Some areas are still having local fairs, farmers markets and christmas markets to try and support local businesses. Look into your area to see what is being opened so that you can support people who really need it. Another great way is to ask on Facebook. There is facebook marketplace as well as so many groups that you can ask. We all know that the large companies are making money hand or fist. But it really is the small businesses that we need to support at this time.

A great thing to do is to give them a experience instead of a gift of more stuff. Of course it depends on your area and what is open. You can purchase them a hotel for a night. Even if you get them a gift card so they can use it later when things open. You can get them a craft or experience set. Like a cheese making set that I sow in a store. It allows them to do something and given the pandemic sometimes that can be the best gift of all. You can also get some gift cards that will let them ne out an experience of their choose from a list of local places. Here in Canada you can get them at Shoppers Drug Mart at different values.

I know that times are hard. For people who can afford items than we need to make sure that we support the people that matter to us and stand for the same thing that we do. If you know someone that is struggling this year than just look at what they really need. If it's food that they really need, get them a gift basket with some food. Don't be ashamed to get them a gift like that, and we shouldn't be ashamed to accept it. In fact I think that this year it is the best gifts that we could give. The last thing that we need is to have more useless stuff.