• Browse vintage boutiques and thrift stores
• Visit your local ReSource
• Put out an ask for a particular item on Front Porch Forum or your local Buy Nothing project

• Friends and family love the outdoors?
  • Offer to take friends or family on a trip to your local public lands
    
  • Offer to pay the entrance fee for a national, state, or local park you know they would enjoy
    
  • Purchase a gift subscription to All Trails
    
• Friends and family love to learn?
  • Gift a trip to one of Vermont’s many wonderful museums! Great options for kids alike
    
  • Gift access to an online class – private tutoring, self-paced, and group lessons on almost any topic are out there!
    • Search for near-by tutors at Care.com
    • TakeLessions 
    • Udemy
    • Masterclass
    • Kidpass
      
  • Gift access to an app-based or online language learning program
    • Pimsleur (has an app)
    • Babbel (has an app)
    • Rosetta Stone (has an app)
    • Lingoda
    • Groupon offers discounts on courses from various online academies

Looking for more ideas? Check out this Gift Guide from the Center for Biological Diversity

Consider stuffing stockings with reusable and/or plastic-free replacements to common stuffers and other household items*

*LRSWMD is providing examples but is not endorsing any particular product or company

• Toothpaste tablets
• PFA-free floss or, even better, biodegradable floss
• Machine-washable makeup remover pads and cotton swabs
• Plastic-free toothbrushes
• Plastic-free hair ties
• Bar soap or shampoo bars (tons of local options too!)
• Natural loofahs
• Beeswax wraps to replace plastic wrap , zipper plastic bags, and foil or DIY
• Muslin bags to replace plastic/plant-based produce bags (and they’ll make your produce last longer, too!) or DIY
• Reusable snack bags

Each year, an estimated 1.3 billion holiday cards are sold in the US (enough to fill a football field 10 stories high!)

• Instead of a traditional card, consider a handmade card on recyclable paper, an e-card, or a telephone call
• If you do purchase holiday cards, look for ones made of recycled paper and avoid those with glossy, shiny, or gold foil coatings since they can’t be recycled
• Save the cards you receive this year and cut off the front pictures to reuse as postcards or gift tags next year

• For an eye-catching gift tag, cut off the front of any holiday cards you received in the previous year and write the recipient’s name on the blank side
• Save on gift wrap by reusing intact pieces from the previous year, or by opting for a more durable material that you can use again and again, such as a cloth bag. Or use old textiles to make beautiful Furoshiki cloth wrappings.
• Wrap small gifts in colorful pages torn from magazines
• Wrap large gifs using old maps or the Sunday comics
• Look for wrapping paper that is made of recycled paper and is itself recyclable
• Unwrap gifts carefully and save wrappings for reuse next year
• Save the ribbons and bows you receive on gifts and reuse them this or next year

Hosting a gathering this year? Check out the Guest-imator, which can help you plan shopping and portions to reduce unwanted leftovers

Here are a few tips for reducing food waste this season:

• Try not to over prepare food; instead try to prepare “just enough”
• Encourage friends and family to take leftovers home
• Practice “stem-to-root” cooking (for example, turn carrot tops into pesto or create a slaw out of broccoli stems)
• Put your oldest leftover holiday up front in the fridge so you remember to eat them first
• Store leftovers in the freezer to enjoy after you’ve had a break from them for a little while
• Search “holiday leftover recipes” online for new ideas

Check out our page on local food donation options