
December's here, woolies are out and we started the festive season with a lovely day on Saturday. Little M was impressed by her first ever advent calendar - a basic cardboard, picture-behind-a-door affair but beautifully designed and a novelty for her (from managed forests and printed with vegetable ink in case you were wondering...you weren't?). We also had great fun visiting Stratford's Discover Story Centre. A friend who is always clued up about lovely things to do with little ones in London invited us along to their Christmas show for 3 to 6 year olds - The House Where Winter Lives by Punchdrunk Theatre Company. Martin and little M had a brilliant time being whisked through an enchanting, interactive performance. It was a it too adventurous for babies so little L and I went to Snow Baby storytime at the same venue. Twinkly lights in a cosy white den and a story featuring every type of 'snow' you could imagine - rustling, feathery, shimmery, floaty, cold, soft - and of course the snow baby itself. Great stimulation for tiny tots. What better way to kick-off December? I'm definitely in the mood for Christmas now.
And for once I'm feeling like my Christmas shopping is reasonably under control. I don't want to give too much away about presents, as family members read the blog from time to time, but I would like to share a few thoughts on things I enjoy giving and receiving that are greener, or a bit more right on than your average bottle of perfume.
1. Top of the list has to be time. If your life is leisurely, your time will probably be the most welcome gift you could give to the busy bees you love. Make your own vouchers for baby-sitting, DIY, gardening, debugging the computer and so on, throw in box of choccies (or some jam) for good measure. People know they can ask their family and friends for favours, but most of the time they don't, so give them the budge they need. If you're a busy bee, perhaps you could do with some time outside your usual routine. Taking time to do something for a loved one might be more doable than you think. I've got my thinking cap on!
2. A close second...home-made jam, chutney, or other tasty treats. Even hand-made by someone else if you'd rather. Spread some Christmas cheer to someone who earns their money from selling hand-made, posh jam rather than to the giants of the internet and the High Street! And the recipient can have happy thoughts on toast for weeks and weeks. If you're making your own goodies, why not spread even more cheer and use some organic, local and Fairtrade ingredients.
3. How about a local food and drink hamper? I came across the enticing looking Hackney Hamper recently. I guess traditionally, food hampers have been either a local, countryside thing or a very high end affair from well know purveyors of posh nosh in cities. But actually there's loads of exciting foodie stuff going on in London right now. Who wouldn't want some Dalston Cola, Jamaican Jerk Biltong Bites from Shoreditch Kitchen, and a few bottles of craft beer from one of London's many small brewerys? What intriguing goodies can you get round your way? Any good jam?
4. Membership of something interesting or worthy is always good, and most sensible organisations are savvy to the gift market and throw in a good freebie. We usually get joint membership of the London Cycle Campaign from my sister - great cycling book freebie last year. Sustrans are a good alternative for bikey people outside London. But the world is your oyster really - bats, bugs, badgers, and British Co-federation of Freemasonry apparently (it's a link to a newpaper story in case you're wondering)!! National Trust is always good but unfortunately your membership doesn't get you any discount on their very fine jam.
5. And don't forget about sponsoring a child, a chicken, a goat, a well, a night in a homeless shelter or pretty much whatever charitable item you want these days. Add some homemade goodies, like jam, and I think even the miserliest relative would find it hard to moan. A few good ideas in this supplement last year's Guardian. It's not big, it's not new, but it is clever.
6. I love to give and receive carefully selected second hand vintage finds. I started my Christmas shopping last weekend with an ebay flurry. I've given people things from my local Charity shop before. I'm always looking for an excuse to browse the amazing second hand shops near where we live, or check out some new ones further afield. Use 'em or loose 'em folks. Think it's tight to buy second hand? Well get people bigger and better presents than you could afford when buying new - everyone's happy. No jam here I'm afraid, unless you find some vintage jam jars to fill up!
7. You can't go far wrong with stuff people need anyway. Little M spent most of last Christmas day prancing around in her new winter coat - one of her favourite presents. We could buy her one at some other point during the winter but it was nice to make it into part of the Christmas fun. She's due for a new raincoat and a restocking of her stash of tights this year. I think the trick to pulling this off for kids and grown ups alike is to use it as an excuse to by something a bit more special than people would buy themselves or you might buy for your kids. Socks get a bad rep, but posh socks are alway good in my book. Wiggly Wigglers apparently have a Christmas rush on their posh goat socks!
8. For kids, arts and craft materials are good. Let stocks run a little low before Christmas (or use them up with lots of Christmas crafting!) and then package up some basics with one or two newer novelty items. Making a fuss of arty stuff should hopefully stimulate a creative burst in January. If you're feeling really nifty and thrifty you could transform old junk into ready made art materials, such as cutting out shapes from old wrapping paper or attractive pages from old magazines, ready for tots to have a gluing session. Or create your own project kit including both new and recycled things. Collect all the boxes, bottles, cardboard tubes etc. that kids would need for a specific project. Unless you have loads of space to stash lots of junk I'm guessing it's a pretty rare occurance to have perfectly sized boxes and a tube from gravy granuals all handy at the right time for that steam train project! How about jam jar snow globes?
9. You can't beat plant cuttings for their green credentials. Been eyeing up someone's finest greenery? Put your request in early and you could have a piece of it for your very own come Christmas day. One of the loveliest presents I ever received was a small scented geranium grown from a cutting by a friend, a plant I had never actually smellt before - now one of my favourites. I tried my very hardest to keep it alive but didn't manage more than a couple of years I'm sorry to say. I treated myself to a new one this year and it always reminds me of the friend who introduced me to this lovely plant with her special gift.
10. And if all else fails there is always M&S to fall back on. You can't help but love a bit of Plan A (their sustainability programme). I'm still waiting for the first M&S post Christmas refunds queue wedding - it's bound to happen one day that love will blossom for two dissappointed souls whose eyes meet over unwanted pyjama gifts.
I'm sure there are some people out there that think my suggestions sound a bit stingy, or are saying I'd never get away with that with my 'xyz' year old. I'm not saying that we shouldn't ever buy new stuff, or the latest toy. When can we induldge a bit if not at Christmas time. What I'm saying is use a bit of imagination and Christmas can be special when we tread a bit more lightly.
Why not mix it up a bit? You don't want to become known as the one that always-gives-us-tat-from-a-charity-shop or find yourself on the receiving end of less than enthusiastic 'jam...again' glances. Of course your talent for finding vintage treasures or making tasty treats may be so legendary that people become disappointed if you revert to standard gift giving practice. I'm proud to say I've already had a request for "more of the those chocolates you made please" - obviously I did something right last year!

I'm also proud that I've very nearly finished a homemade present each for our two little ones. Little M will have her own name-in-the-sand picture, taken on the beach on holiday this summer framed in an old photo frame decorated with shells we collected together on the same beach. Daddy already has a seaweed one and next year it will be little L's turn. Little L will get the blanket I knitted for her when I was pregnant. It's just starting to be cold enough for it, and I've only just about finished sewing some edging tape on it! Better late than never eh? Not particularly green but very lovely and very satisfying for me to finally finish something!



How are your Christmas preparations going? What's your favourite gift to give or receive?