Tag: holiday

zero waste advent

Zero Waste Advent or Seasonal Calendar : Simple How To

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zero waste advent calendar holiday hippie in disguiseLast year, I shared a photo on my Instagram stories of Sen opening one of his holiday advent calendar gifts. This post generated a lot of questions and interest related to how we do our holiday advent for the children. So, here’s a quick post explaining how we do our zero waste advent calendar that we make ourselves and reuse each year.

When I was growing up, my parents got each of their three children the typical chocolate filled advent calendar — and we loved them so much! For one month each year we all couldn’t wait to get out of bed in the morning and start our day with a bite of chocolate. I do think we loved these 99 cent calendars every bit as much as our gifts under the tree.

With advent calendars holding such a sweet nostalgic place in my heart I knew that I wanted my children to enjoy the same experience — but I wanted it to involve no plastic and less waste. It took a few years to figure out what worked, but finally I landed on something that works really well for us, is reusable each year, has a nice homemade feel and is totally customizable to each child.

zero waste advent calendar holiday hippie in disguise

What We Do:

From a branch, we hang little cloth bags (they are actually reusable cloth tea bags) that we fill with treasures and treats, tied to the branch with pieces of yarn and string that we reuse each year. For the first few years we didn’t have the money to invest in 24 (then 48) cloth tea bags, so I would fill all that we had and every few days re-stock the branch with bags that I refilled from previous days. So, if you can’t afford to buy 24 bags, get creative and reuse them. We started off with 8-10 bags and slowly added to our collection over the years (we still don’t have 48).

In terms of what sorts of treats and treasures, I personalize this to the child. Some favourite treasures over the years have been: colourful beads for making jewellery, marbles, shiny stones and fancy rocks, a few eco playing cards (Sen loved the anticipation of getting 2-3 cards each day and building toward a full deck), eco crayons. Don’t underestimate the fun of splitting up a gift (pack of cards, pack of crayons, etc) over a few days, this really build excitement! In terms of treats, I try to get as much as I can in bulk so that it is package-free, such as tamari almonds, jelly beans, gummies, chocolate dipped pretzels (easy to make!). In Canada, Bulk Barn is now allowing people to bring their own containers and bags to fill with bulk goods, which is great news!

Something that my children also love getting are notes. We usually slip a personal note or an inspiring quote into a few of the bags. This year, Ro suggested she’d love to be surprised with experience coupons like “Tea date with mama” or “Face massage”, I’m sure Sen would love to get “Extra story at bedtime” or “Scooter date with papa”. For folks with budget limitations and/or an ability to invest time, these are great options.

Now, I know that some families have, what I perceive as extravagant, advent calendars with wrapped gifts each day — doing this is not a reality for us both in terms of cost and time investment. Let me tell you, though, our children LOVE the calendars we put together. They do not feel under-whelmed at all. Each year, they ask if we can do an advent calendar to count down to spring and summer and fall, so that they can continue with the fun.

A Few Final Tips:

  • To distinguish which bag is for which child, we designate particular colours of yarn for each child. But you could also look for different coloured bags (or plant dye them!) or personalize the bags with a fabric stamp or embroidery.
  • We do not compel an order for opening the bags, the children can choose which one they want to open, and this is part of the fun for them. They feel the bags, smell them, look at the shape and decide for themselves. I personally recommend this because it seems to add to the fun of it.
  • Over the years we have added some seasonal, natural decorations, like pinecones and dried orange slices to hang from the branch. For other seasons, you could add flowers and leaves or your favourite natural treasures.

For some other zero waste holiday ideas, please check out my post about How to Wrap Gift with Fabric (super easily!), and How To Do A Botanical Advent with Children.

You might also want to share my Zero Waste Gift Guide with friends and family.

Follow me on Instagram @hippieindisguise to keep up with our daily adventures and ask me questions. Thanks for visiting!

Zero Waste: Wrapping Gifts with Fabric

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About 10 years ago, Matt’s mother decided to wrap all the Christmas gifts she was giving in fabric. A frugal, creative woman she didn’t enjoy, nor see the point, in wrapping a gift in beautiful paper only for it to be torn off and wasted, it seemed like a bit of an obscene luxury and careless of the environmental impact. For a few years already, Matt and I had been carefully unwrapping gifts so as to be able to reuse as much of the paper as possible, but admittedly it took a little fun out of the whole gift exchange. The fabric wrapped gifts she brought, on the other hand, were beautiful and appeared fancier than traditional paper wrapping and bows, and no extra special handling was needed to unwrap them. Win-win!

Photo not mine, view it and it’s source via my Pinterest board

A few years later, and I don’t remember how I came across it, I learned about the practice of Japanese fabric wrapping using a wrapping cloth known as Furoshiki. I’m certainly no expert in furoshiki, but  I can tell you that from the idea of furoshiki developed a set of wrapping techniques, where fabric is used to package things for transport or gift giving. It is said to have been developed out of a sense of waste consciousness and caring for the environment.

Since this time I’ve used fabric to wrap gifts when I have some on hand (otherwise I reuse paper).

If you ask Google you’ll find there are different techniques for boxes and bottles and other general shapes too. There are also lots of tutorials if you search ‘furoshiki’ on YouTube and I’ve pinned some favourites to my ‘ g i f t ‘ board on Pinterest.

Aside from gifts, there are also techniques for wrapping picnic lunches and meals for transport, where the fabric folding and wrapping comes out looking like a little basket. There are also folding techniques for shopping bags, flower bouquets and more. All this to say, if you want to wrap something in fabric as a gift or to travel with, then there is a furoshiki technique that can do the job. All you need is some scrap fabric (old sheets, scarves, silks, linens) to work with. No tape, no string, no glue. Although sometimes it’s fun to embellish the wrapping with a scrap of ribbon or yarn.

Photo not mine, view it and it’s source via my Pinterest board

Don’t be fooled by how pretty the furoshiki wrapping looks and assume it is complex. Every technique is simple and involves very basic folding and knotting. Gift wrapping in under 2 minutes — 1 minute for a pro.

This year I used some of Ro and Sen’s play silks from Sarah’s Silks to wrap gifts. The play silks we have are long rectangles, so I folded them over in thirds so I could work from approximately a square shape, but there is no great precision required in the size of the fabric relative to the size of the wrapped object, but generally a bigger piece of fabric is easier to work with. Using play silks to wrap gifts for children has the added bonus that the wrapping is a gift itself. Imagine a child unwraps a gift and is just as excited about the wrapping!

sarahs silks play silk furoshiki zero waste gift fabric wrap

Photo care of Sarah’s Silks

Overall, gift wrapping with fabric is easier (and faster) than wrapping with paper as you don’t need tape, ribbon or scissors. In my experience, people react positively to fabric wrapping: children find it extra fancy and adults usually have an ‘aha’ moment, like “hey, what a great idea!” In addition, fabric wrapping is more economical, encourages reuse and repurposing, and is environmentally friendly. Win-win-win! Try it out and please share the idea!

Make sure to check out my Zero Waste Gift Guide, which is great as a zero waste starter kit or for experienced zero wasters. Lots of ideas!

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Zero Waste Holiday Season: Join us for a Botanical Advent

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Around this time in 2014, my friend Emma (on Instagram as @takeapicturelady) invited her friends and followers to participate in a botanical advent. She had started one, somewhat spontaneously, the year before and, as is often the way with Instagram and other social media, it’s more fun when people join in.

The idea of the botanical advent is to work with flowers and plants (or other natural / botanical materials) to make an arrangement each day of the advent. For example, many people arrange petals and leaves in the shape of a number (the day of the advent). I personally was challenged enough by the idea of coming up with an arrangement each day, that I didn’t need the added challenge of making a number. Instead I enjoyed playing with colour (as I do!), texture and pattern to come up with a botanical arrangement to mark the advent each day. Beside being a beautiful, simple creative activity, it is a fantastic alternative advent for children and families who want to have a holiday a

dvent that is zero waste and plastic free, no to mention sugar free and healthy!

I soon realized making an arrangement each day was even more of a challenge than I expected, with very little daylight in December (and me away from home for all but about 20 minutes of daylight) it was hard to get an arrangement done and photographed in so little time — each day. Then there’s the fact that we don’t buy cut flowers or pick plants; we only collect. We soon realized we had not sufficiently collected enough natural materials over the fall to have a lot of variety to work with in making the arrangements. And then there are those days, when you don’t have creative inspiration. Some days I pushed myself through and made something anyway, and other days I asked Ro or Sen to make an arrangement for me. (Of course, I gave them full credit!)

botanical advent flower art

Botanical heart advent in process

botanical advent flower art heart

Botanical Heart Advent, by Ro

It turned out to be an excellent idea to ask Ro and Sen to contribute to the botanical advent making. Ro loved having a fun early morning project to wake up to, and Sen was very proud to do as his big sister and make “beautiful flower rainbows like Rowee.” He loved, too, that he was trusted to handle the delicate dried flowers. I was particularly delighted to see how gently he handled the fragile dried flowers and the fine motor skills he used to arrange tiny dried berries, the patience required to move a berry back to its place 4, 5, 6 times when it rolled away. After the advent was done they both continued to ask to play with the flowers over the course of the winter. (Previously we had mostly done this outside in the summer making nature mandalas and natural story boards.)

botanical advent flower art

botanical advent flower artSo this year, having learned from last, I’m involving the children from day 1, we’ve gathered more natural treasures (pinecones, flower petals, dried leaves and so on) and are ready to start our botanical advent on Tuesday, December 1st. Please join us! And, feel free participate even if you can’t do an arrangement every day.

Visit the posts that were tagged #botanicaladvent to get an idea of the arrangements people shared last year.

botanical advent flower art rainbow

Flower Rainbow, by Ro

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More Zero Waste Crafts, Projects and Inspiration:

DIY: Make all natural temporary tattoos from flowers

DIY: Citrus herbal play dough

DIY: Floral egg-shaped bath bombs 

DIY: Mother Nature costume made of leaves

Inspiration: Ecominimalism and an Interview with Robin Kay

Minimalism and Zero Waste: 7 Books to Inspire and Inform

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A Thoughtful Guide for Children’s Gifts

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Update: I developed this list for December giving, however it is suitable for any season or occasion, including Valentine’s day and birthdays. 

It’s that time of year when many people are thinking about gifts for the children in their life. So I decided to share my best recommendations in the interest of thoughtful acquisition. We are very minimal when it comes to gifts: for birthdays it’s one gift, for Christmas it’s two gifts. Over the years the children have grown a nice collection of thoughtful toys, books and play things, that are sustainably made, high quality and heirloom worthy. This list is based on our favourites (and a few wish list items) that both Ro (age 10) and Sen (age 4) enjoy now and did so at a younger age too.

 

Full Children's Gift Guide 2015

I didn’t include any clothing on the list because my children get little enjoyment from what they wear, but if you are looking for clothing recommendations, you can always email me or leave a comment, or check my Label Love series of posts, featuring ethically made, sustainable clothing.

  1. Studio Escargot Doll – small, soft loveable dolls that are beautiful but can still be played with, handmade by Sophia Smeekens, available here
  2. Mozartkugel Music Ball – handmade in Germany from sustainable wood sources, this wooden ball contains a wind up music box that plays Mozart, beautiful sound and beautiful to look at, available here
  3. Once Upon a Balloon – written by Bree Galbraith, a story about the magic and whimsy of childhood imagination, widely available, but you can find it here
  4. 12-piece Wooden Rainbow – made by Grimm’s Wooden Toys, this toy is deceptively complex and yet simple enough for a toddler to enjoy, hours of creative fun, available here (note: the entire line of Grimm’s toys is amazing, you can’t really pick something your children won’t love)
  5. Play Silks – hand dyed silk and cotton play scarves and scapes, hours and hours of creative fun, your children will never cease to come up with something new with these scarves, available from Sarah’s Silks here (note: you can’t really go wrong with anything from Sarah’s Silks)
  6. Global Guardian Project Learning Capsules – monthly digital magazine (including videos, podcasts and art downloads) for children and families to learn about global stewardship. Each month features a different country’s wild life, landscape and challenges, and includes art projects, activities, meditation, recipes and more! You can use my discount code: HIPPIEINDISGUISE for 10% off  and find them here
  7. Felt Bee Costume – handmade felt bee wings and mask from Wishing Elephant and Opposite of Far collaboration available here
  8. Ocean Warrior Necklace – handmade necklace made from amber and sterling silver, a reminder of our connection to the health of our waters and planet, from Tribal Dreaming available here
  9. Dancey Pants Disco Doll – sweet homesteading, yet adventurous dolls handmade by Michelle Housel available here (but often sell out quickly, so keep checking)
  10. Felt Vegetables – handmade felt vegetables, a friend of mine made Ro and Sen a set and they have been enjoyed for hundreds of hours, you can find the set shown as well as many others on Etsy from Little Farmer Felt here
  11. Slingshot with Felt Balls – handmade wooden and felt toy, made in Canada from sustainable wood source with eco paints, by Des Enfantillages and available here
  12. Swurfer Swing – handmade wooden surfing swing, watch some videos here to understand how fun and versatile this swing is, available for purchase here
  13. Blank Notebook – always in use for drawing, taking notes, blank notebooks are a staple, but always exciting as a gift, our favourites are from klt:works available here
  14. The ABCs of Homesteading – a fun, beautifully illustrated book with a hand screen printed cover, written and illustrated by McKenzie E. Ditter available here
  15. Jump Rope – handmade adjustable length wood skipping rope, made from sustainable wood and rope, water based paint, in Canada by Des Enfantillages and available here
  16. Toy Camera – handmade wood and recycled bamboo and finished with oil, made by Park Wood Shop available here
  17. Coloured Pencils – our favourite colouring pencils are made by Lyra, beautiful colours and great hand feel, widely available, but you can find them here for sure
  18. Binoculars – handmade wooden toy binoculars made by Fanny and Alexander and available here
  19. Sonya’s Chickens – beautifully illustrated book about love and nurturing, the realities of nature, life and death, written and illustrated by Phoebe Wahl available here
  20. Pencil Case – young artists need to be able to travel easily with their pencils, handmade from upcycled materials and available in a range of styles and colours, made by El Quiltro and available here

My favourite toy shop in Canada is Three Little Monkeys, they are located in downtown Ottawa, but have an amazing online shop and ship everywhere, so check them out.

Check out my Thoughtful Women’s Gift Guide — good for any season or occasion.

*Full disclosure: I’m not compensated for purchases or clicks to sites. I’m recommending these gifts because my children enjoy them, they are durable, sustainably made, and are likely to be kept and passed on to their children. They are heirloom quality gifts that children will thoroughly enjoy, that inspire creativity, open-mindedness, care and nurturing. UPDATE: I have updated some links on this page as Amazon Affiliate links, purchases made from links to Amazon from my site I will receive a small commission for.

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