Give a sustainable gift this Christmas

Involve your children in choosing gifts for family and friends and teach them it really is the thought that counts.

In the classic American story Little House on the Prairie, sisters Mary and Laura were delighted when for Christmas they received their very own tin cup each. Just think, before that Christmas, when they’d wanted a drink, they had to share a cup! Fast forward to today and many families have trouble fitting all the cups in their kitchen cupboards! We’re drowning in stuff! Research by Australia Institute estimated that in 2023, 6.1 million Australian adults received Christmas gifts they would never use and these gifts ended up in landfill.

Now that doesn’t mean you have to be a Grinch at Christmas. But before you join the crush of shoppers at your local shopping centre, put your thinking cap on and see if you can choose gifts that really are worth giving. Here are some ideas:

Help someone in need

Experts agree that giving makes us happy. It improves our mood, reduces stress and increases our self-esteem and sense of belonging. So, giving a gift that helps someone should be doubly good, right? Charities such as Unicef or Tearfund allow people to contribute toward a child’s early childhood education or to buy a chicken, clean water or help train a teacher. You can give your recipient a card explaining how the gift has helped, so they can feel good about it too.

Adopt an animal (symbolically)

Teach your children about endangered animals and let them choose which species they’d like to help protect. Organisations such as WWF offer adoptions for koalas, penguins, eastern quolls (so cute!), platypus and more.

Children’s art

You’ve probably got a whole stack of pictures and paintings your child has made. We know, because we send them home every day! Ask your child to pick their favourites and pop them in a frame to gift as art.

Baked goods

Homemade treats make great Christmas gifts. They’re thoughtful, perfect to share and, because they get eaten, they don’t take up any space! Kids love to help decorate gingerbread men or shortbread stars or you could make rocky road, hot chocolate bombs or Christmas bark.

Handmade Christmas tree ornaments

Making ornaments from salt dough is hands down one of the easiest (and cheapest) craft activities to do with small children. It’s like playdough, but when you bake it, the shapes set hard. Buy or borrow some Christmas shapes, such as trees and stars, and help your little one mix, knead and roll the dough and then cut out shapes. Glam them up with a little gold paint and tie on a satin red ribbon for hanging. You can use a silver or gold pen to write your child’s name and the year on the back too. Here’s the instructions.

Tickets

There’s endless options for what you can buy tickets for today, from the cinema, to a show, skydiving or a cooking workshop. You can choose to give two tickets for the recipient to use as they please, or make it an experience to share and choose something you can do together. Now that’s priceless.

Click here for more Christmas gift ideas, arts and crafts, and recipes!