Chirstmas gifts that arent a waste?

[u/meatsbeth27]

Any thoughts on gifts that are made to last? I am very new to this style of living and I'm trying to make an impact and effort when it comes to gifting. We use cloth to wrap gifts and have for years, its nice to bust out the same cloth year after year, but we are starting to evolve and want to purchase less and less. Any ideas on good gifts for the family that don't require packaging and might help support local economy? Ages range from one year to 95 so any and all thoughts on this are welcome. Thank you for your help with this!

[u/wobbegong0310]

I am not even close to self-sufficient, but it sounds like you're open to buying at least a little (support local economy). My gifting rule of thumb is to always get something functional. For me, that means paying attention to the people I care about (not a hardship) and knowing what they'll use or appreciate.

I don't always prioritize things that are "made to last": often, consumables are preferable, because many of the people I'm close with dislike accumulating clutter and have very developed personal taste. Also we are a high-anxiety bunch who get stressed about getting rid of stuff we don't like, so I try not to bring anything unwanted into someone's life. So my rule is always "will the recipient get use out of this?" For a second rule, I ask "am I gifting someone responsibility?" A plant-lover might like to get a terrarium or a pot of succulents, but someone with no plant husbandry experience might just kill the plant and feel bad about it, so that's a bad gift. If plants are too much responsibility, I definitely would never gift someone a pet.

My aunt and uncle are big into gardening and bread making. Fancy seeds for heirloom cultivars of their favorite veggies, local organic compost, ingredients for artisan bread, cookbooks, and gardening books are all good choices for them. My sister likes to be surrounded by coziness, so blankets, quilts, and rugs might be good choices for her (although I also often sew her a specific article of clothing she's mentioned wanting and not been able to find in-store). My parents have everything, so they prefer donations to charity made in their name and/or to have experiences planned for them, like a family day out hiking or a trip to the aquarium. My girlfriend loves surprises and opening presents and always wants to be surrounded by things that reflect her personality, so I find a bunch of little things I think she'll like (art, trinkets, crafting supplies, etc) and usually bake something for her, and wrap everything individually and put it in a big box so she can dig through it and pull out one thing after another.

For me, gift giving really comes down to bringing people joy, which I accomplish by paying attention to people and knowing what they'll like. If it's something I can source locally or make myself, so much the better. But sharing your own good fortune is another great attitude for gift-giving that might be more in line with the self-sufficiency lifestyle. For example, if I kept bees, I'd probably give everyone honey.