Tree Hugging Family » eco-gifts

Green Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for Kids

Jennifer — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 04:00:45 +0000

Before shipping deals for a green Valentine gifts end, here’s a round up of neat eco-gifts for little ones.

For babies:

Conversation Heart Rattles – Fair Trade, eco-company, knit sweethearts for babies.

Lovebird Baby Shoes – sadly, you can’t get these in time for Valentine’s Day, because they’re made to order, but they’re so cute I have to share. Made by eco-friendly Diddle Dumpling and perfect for upcoming spring (not just Valentine’s Day).

Duck: Luvee Duck from Bud: 100% phthalates free and virtually indestructible for a long life span.

For kiddos:

Wheely Bug – Small – Ladybug – made from sustainable wood. Ages 18 months + and for littles up to 50 lbs. A large size for kids up to age five is also available.

Baker’s Dozen – fun pretend wooden cookies on baking sheet – perfect for pretend play and non-toxic.

Bamboo Collection Creative E-Racer Suzuka Red – bamboo and water based paints.

Memo Hearts Game – from eco-friendly Haba.

Mr. Ellie Pooh Paper Heart Boxes – The Mr. Ellie Pooh company sells paper made of 75% Sri Lankan elephant dung (Ellie Pooh Paper). All Ellie Pooh paper products are 100% recycled, 75% Pooh
and 100% kooky fun.

Also see:

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

This Year Give Reusable Bags for the Holidays!

Jennifer — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 02:00:17 +0000

Reusable bags make awesome holiday gifts. You can stuff them with candy treats or cookies, and this is a gift that can be, and actually will be used for years and years. You can help your friends and family stay green or go green with a great bag.

I found some really nice reusable bag options – pretty ones that would make great gifts this year…

Wild Flowers Organic Cotton Eco Lunch Bag from Art And Philanthropy

Eco-friendly Hemp Bag with Queen Anne’s Lace (Pistachio) from Uzura.

Set of 3 Waterproof Eco-Friendly Snack and Sandwich bags from LMarcacci.

Peace Paisley Tote from Blue Monday.

Super cute Eco-Friendly Tote Bags from Mountains of the Moon which I first saw at The Greenset.

If none of these is quite your bag (pardon the pun) check out the Tree Hugging Family Green Holiday Gift Guide or read the following posts for more options.

Why yes, Tree Hugging Family DOES have a thing for reusable bags. Did you notice?

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Homemade Eco Gifts You Can Make for the Holidays!

Jennifer — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:57:39 +0000

Green gifts can cost a little more; but not if you make them yourself. I’m going to give you some ideas for homemade eco gifts that won’t cost too much to make and that people will actually adore. Some are from Tree Hugging Family’s past, and others are new.

If I see any more over the next couple of weeks, I’ll post those too.

Great little homemade green gifts for party hosts:

Pennyroyal, Cinnamon, & Lavender Air Freshener

Flower & Spice Table Toppers via Family Corner

Organic homemade beauty gifts:

Following are some of the organic beauty recipes I’ve posted here over time. These make great low-cost homemade eco gifts. If you’re going to give one of these as a gift, make sure you spice it up. Put the product in a nice vintage looking jar or bottle and be sure to label it. You can make a wonderful custom label on your computer, or for say grandma, have your kids make the label with crayons and markers.

Lemon Bath Cookies

Organic Facial & Body Cream

Organic Cleansing Creams

Homemade Sugar Body Scrub

Homemade eco crafty gifts:

Solar Art Project – if you can find some sunshine, a solar print makes a great gift when matted. Image via Sunprint Gallery.

Make some homemade paper, then bind it into a journal with a beautiful cover. To learn how to make a homemade journal watch one of the following videos – Junk Journal (a pop and his daughter make a journal out of recycled trash!) or Basic DIY Book Binding Demonstration.

Make everyone a homemade reusable shopping bag out of old clothes or fabric you already have on hand.

Yummy green homemade gifts:

Cookie and Brownie Mix In a Jar – replace conventional items with organic.

Cornmeal Rosemary Biscotti or Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Get Out Those Canning Jars – by the timely Linette who must have known I was going to post about this.

Great homemade eco stocking stuffers:

Homemade Organic Paint Soap for Kids

Homemade Recycled Stickers

[image via here]

Recycled and molded crayons: Grab those broken crayons and learn how to mold them into cool shapes (use holiday molds).

Bonus homemade joke gift for bad co-workers, mother-in-laws, or your lame ex: Homemade Anti-Tree Hugging Beauty: Bacon Soap!

Stay tuned because soon we’ll also be looking at some more homemade gifts (hopefully) plus eco-friendly wrapping ideas. In the meantime, Eco Street had a great post last year -7 groovy handmade recycled gifts to make and give, that has plenty of cool ideas, even for pets.

November current events at Tree Hugging Family – themes, reviews, news, and more…

[image via stock.xchng]

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Last Minute Green Gift Guide: Online Solutions

Jennifer — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:41:13 +0000

Christmas is almost here. I’m hoping you’ve shopped before now. However, if there are a few of you (like me) who haven’t exactly finished yet here are some ideas.

There are a few places online that are still taking last minute holiday orders. Shipping may cost you but it’s possible to still save because you aren’t in your gas drinking car driving around frantically. If you’re going with online solutions check the fine print of the shop’s shipping policy carefully.

Here are a few online ideas:

Dirt Candles: First off, these candles are soot free (yippee). The perks just go up from there. Each candle is made from organically grown American soybeans and natural essential oils. Recycled glass and papers are used for packaging. Plus a portion of profit from each candle goes to a select charitable cause. Also they come in crazy fun scents:

Bah Humbug: bayberries and cranberries with a top note of fresh crushed cinnamon bark and a hint of orange.
Catch 22: patchouli, sandalwood, spice and fresh Spanish moss
Slow Poke: fresh lavender and vanilla
Old School: begins with old-fashioned notes of natural bergamot, galbanum, lemon, petitgrain and lime, leading to a sweet-spicy middle of amber, vanilla, nutmeg, and clove, with rich bottom notes of ambergris, balsam peru and sandalwood (WOW; can someone send me Old School!)
And many, many, more.

Soaptopia: Eco friendly, delicious scents, and as they say, “100% junk-free” body products that come in a seriously large array of selections. Also, they’ve got some killer holiday sales and shipping deals going on. Just look what you can find:

Build a MACHO Gift: Fun for the guys; choose from various eco -friendly and manly bath products.
Festival of Lights: Shea Massage Candle, 50/50 Body Balm, 2 Soap Bars, Allota Bubbles, Salt Soak and Remi Mitt.
Way more soaps than you can believe (on sale – $5 for $25) in cool slices like: Candy Cane, Blue Pearl Jam, Soap. Revolt!, Tequila Sunrise, Lean Mean Tangerine, Staying A-Lime (shown to the side), and more. Go look because the real fun is seeing these soaps; each one a work of art. Amazing shades and textures.

Soaptopia also offers lovely eco-gift wrap. Free!

And in super easy chocolate gift giving is the Endangered Species Chocolate of the Month Club. Almost everyone will love this gift. And bonus, no wrapping. Just send. This gift includes a 3-pack of 3oz. all-natural chocolate bars and a 3-pack of 1.4oz. organic chocolate bars each month. You can choose between dark chocolate only or a mix of milk and dark chocolate. Available in both 3 and 6 month gifts.

Next up some green gift solutions you can find right in your own town — for the brave few waiting until this next weekend to shop.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Green Holiday Gift Guide: Eco Express

Jennifer — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 19:09:19 +0000

I’m thinking this is the last week for offering any green holiday gift suggestions. For the most part if you haven’t finsihed holiday shopping soon then you’re really behind schedule. Maybe more than a gift guide can help. Still lets take a look at a few more items this week and then perhaps a round up next weekend.

Eco Express has many quick earth-friendly gift ideas. Like…

Organic Gingerbread Men or Organic Iced Holiday Cookies

3 Herb Organic Wreath — unless you live in Oregon or Canada. For some reason they won’t ship this there.

Lastly, there’s this really cool gecko puzzle — made in Sri Lanka out of rubber trees and painted with non-toxic colors.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family