Stick with a non-thing
Christmas, birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Eldest Sibling Day, Youngest Sibling Day – there are endless occasions when we need to get gifts for people. But rather than traipsing round the shops and buying socks, bath salts or something else that they probably won’t like, why not get them a service thing, not a product thing – in other words, a non-thing?
- Fancy a spa treatment but not too keen on dressing up in those funny white towelling robes? Then find out how to do one at home using these here tips combined with these ones.
- Stop trying to teach that old dog of yours new tricks, and try learning some yourself. Try Indian head massage, Swedish massage, or even garden design.
- Bone up on some hardcore work or life skills before gifting them on, with these marvellous free online courses from Auntie, or these from, err, Alison.
- Give gifts that keep on giving with home-delivered organic vegetables, a magazine subscription to someone who cares about the planet, or breakdown cover for the American cycling enthusiast in your life.
- Best of all, give a present to help change the world at the aptly named Changing The Present.
More info from the Green Thing wiki >>
Here’s a thing… every Christmas we spend a whopping £1.2 billion on 87.6 million gifts. Breaking that down further, that’s 22 million pairs of socks, 17 million ill-fitting, itchy jumpers, 12 million dressing gowns, 23 million assorted bath salts and smelly things, and 13.6 million electronic fish that dance to old pop songs. What a load of rubbish.
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