There is a Better Way to give and receive!
You are probably already thinking about what to gift your loved ones, friends, neighbours and even co-workers.
Perhaps you can’t even think of anything suitable. (We might be able to help!)
Expressing appreciation is a beautiful part of human nature, but seriously, holiday season can really get stressful!
So what if we did things differently this year?
What if, instead of buying the usual and often expensive gifts, we choose to be creative, resourceful and meaningful and also not send even more of our cash to the giant corporations.
We present our take on gifting:
The Great Freeset Gift List
Let’s Go Great Freeset Gifting
We put our heads together to come up with a list of ideas that will include something for everyone.
It is a positive experience to give as well as receive and showing that you have put some thought into it will bring others more joy (and you’ll feel good about it too!).
1. Gifts Created by You!
- Arts & Crafts hand made by you
- Greeting card made by you
- Gift a basket of teas
- A fruit, nuts and seeds basket
- Write a poem as a special gift
- A lovely picnic with food you make (or a raincheck)
- Make a beaded item of jewellery
- Craft a memories photo album
- Hand made clothing, made with love
2. Original Presents Given with Thought and Love!
- Buy a gift from a charity/thrift store.
- Re-home something you love but rarely use.
- Give the gift of heirloom (non-GMO) seeds.
- Give some seedlings or a home grown house plant.
- A thoughtfully chosen book. See below for suggested ethical book stores.
- Gift a membership to a class or activity e.g., sports, yoga, meditation, crafts, etc.
- Gift an experience to a concert, show, outdoor activity, or something else they’ll love to do.
3. The Greatest Gift of All – YOU!
- Gift a day out with you to a favorite location.
- Gift someone special time together at a place of worship or spirituality or share meditation time.
- Prepare a dinner for family and friends.
- Visit an art gallery together.
- Offer babysitting as a gift.
- Offer IT support.
- Do some gardening as a gift.
- Sing a special song you all enjoy.
- Offer a cup of tea and a conversation.
4. Gifting Above and Beyond
Random acts of kindness and of beauty
Also, consider giving to those you don’t know but who would appreciate your gift.
- Gift an act of kindness to a homeless person – for example, create a care pack or provide a meal.
- Gift a bird feeder and seed.
- Gift a rescue pet a home.
- Offer to run errands or fix something once a week or month.
- Teach someone about natural, indigenous, and innovative health. A good source is the World Council for Health’s Asia summit.
- Illumination is a gift – share a link to our Better Way Conference to inform and inspire – see box below.
- Offer to give a lesson in something you know well.
- Gift a subscription to an independent magazine or newsletter.
And here are some other ideas:
Support independent media
Gift a subscription to support honest journalism such as Substack and others.
A Special Gift from the World Council for Health
The entire library of the Better Way Conference worth £30 is now available for free. A gift for everyone!
Hours of fascinating top class speakers and discussions to widen perspectives. We can’t think of a better way to spend time over the holiday period and into the New Year.
Ethical Book Shopping
In addition to your favourite local bookstore, consider buying from these:
book store info
For starters…
- Commit to at least one of the great ideas in the list above
- Share this article to encourage your family and friends
- Share this great flyer listing the 24 ideas above
- Translate it if you can, so we create a movement!
Or try ‘Advanced’…
- Commit to not buying any ‘things’ but rather gift time and experiences
- Challenge your family and friends to do the same, they can do it!
- Repeat this Conscious Gifting experience throughout the year
- Estimate how much money you save and use it to get off the grid!
Let us know how you get on!
Suggested further reading
The Great Freeset is not responsible for the content of any outside links suggested here
A site with lots more ideas for gifting and reducing ‘stuff’!
Some fabulous ideas for non-toy gifts for children
