Although written initially for Christmas Holiday gift-giving season, this guide to zero-waste gifts, digital gifts and experience gifts you can get last minute, is just as relevant at any time of year – whether for birthdays, Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, a colleague’s leaving gift – you name it.
Every suggestion on this list would be gladly received and even considered more thoughtful than another bottle of whisky, or scented candle.
Sometimes it feels as if technology is evolving so fast, our traditions aren’t able to adapt in time. Christmas Holiday Season is still renowned as a time of gift-wrapping and chaotic shopping for gifts that often end up being stored in our basements.
The holiday that is about giving and spending time with family members has turned into a festival of consumerism and has unfortunately become hazardous for the environment.
In the UK alone, 27,000 miles of wrapping paper are used every Christmas, often ending up in landfills, while only 1% of the gifts wrapped in it are still in use after 6 months. It’s time to reevaluate how we shop for presents and come up with better, more environmentally friendly ideas.
One way we can avoid contributing to the waste being produced each year is to switch to digital gifts. Zero-waste, and with the added benefit of serving as last-minute options for those of us who haven’t had the time to plan ahead, getting our loved ones presents that don’t come in material form can be a step in the right direction.
Even if you still find it awkward to give gifts that come in digital form, you can still contribute to more sustainable holidays by gifting experiences, instead of the usual bow-wrapped presents.
Here are 9 gift options perfect for everyone on your gift list, that are completely zero-waste, followed by 7 ideas for experience gifts:
1. A Udemy course: For the friend hungry for knowledge and skills
Education is the best tool that can improve our lives, time, and time again.
Udemy is a comprehensive online academy offering 130,000 courses, with categories ranging from art to programming. The time that we spend learning can prove to be the best investment of our lives and gifting your loved ones with an opportunity for growth will be much more rewarding than an ugly sweater.
2. The Headspace meditation app: For the friend on the path to enlightenment
While we all enjoy using apps, the subscriptions for all those that we’d like to install can come with a hefty price. Some apps can be incredibly useful and are worth every cent, but getting an app subscription instead of a physical gift is rarely considered. Now is the time to change that – and a meditation app subscription is a perfect place to start.
Headspace offers hundreds of guided meditations, sleep sounds and introductory animations that can help bring peace and mindfulness to the life of the receiver.
3. A Criterion Collection subscription: For the film connoisseur
We all love Netflix, but there are also other streaming services that offer quality content.
The true cinema lover will certainly appreciate a subscription to the Criterion Collection that boasts over 2,000 critically acclaimed titles. From film noir, classic Hollywood or nouvelle vague films, this streaming service will keep subscribers entertained all year.
4. Guitar lessons: For the budding rockstar
You know that friend with a dusty guitar who is always saying that next year is the one they’ll finally master the six string? Getting them guitar lessons is the perfect way to help them achieve their goal.
Marty Schwartz is one of the best teachers online, and his website offers plenty of free material, but going premium really helps give a good, guided strategy to start playing riffs in no time.
5. Online yoga lessons: For the friend who desperately misses their weekly yoga class
Getting online yoga lessons during a social distancing Christmas season is truly a blessing.
We could all use a little more exercise in 2021, and there’s never been a greater variety of online yoga classes to choose from, for all levels of yogi. Shop for a gift card on Alo Moves, or support a local studio that is branching out online to make ends meet during the pandemic.
6. Music albums: For the soulful friend
Remember when it was standard to find some CDs under the Christmas tree? Perhaps even tapes or vinyl records? Well, since we’re now pretty used to listening to music online nowadays, maybe it’s time to normalise gifting albums in the digital form as well?
The effort that artists go to to craft a listening experience from start to finish is often lost in these days of Spotify playlists and Youtube-ing the hits.
If you’re doing so through iTunes, click on the arrow next to the buy option and simply scroll down to click Gift This Album. Alternatively, get an iTunes gift card.
7. Digital publication subscription: For the friend that likes to stay in the loop
The best way to help media stay independent is to help them through funding so they don’t have to resort to clickbait titles. Independent news sources also safeguard unbiased and accurate reporting, so paying for subscriptions is also investing in better media.
Gift a subscription to the New York Times or better yet, a smaller publication. It also helps keep newspapers far away from landfills!
8. A travel gift card – for the family member you miss terribly
This holiday, we might end up seeing family only through Zoom. OK, so family gatherings can be stressful and sometimes not as much fun as you’d wish, but we appreciate them more when they’re no longer an option.
So if there’s a family member you can’t wait to see again, get them a gift card so they can come visit as soon as possible when this pandemic is over.
9. Task services – for your overworked or overwhelmed friends
If there’s someone in your life who has fallen behind in basic chores like cleaning, washing, or has been putting off painting their house for months, getting them a task subscription service can be a wonderful idea that ends up making their life easier and gives them more time to focus on what they enjoy doing.
And if you’d rather gift an experience to remember…
1. Local experiences
Help your friends and family discover new places, people and adventures within their local community with local experience gifts.
New platforms like Yuup (Bristol, UK) are serving as digital portals and marketplaces for a broad array of experiences – from foraging, to cooking classes, photography lessons, beehive workshops and almost anything else you can think of.
AirBNB Experiences, too, offer similar options in towns and cities across the globe.
Times are tough for local businesses, so why not do your bit to support creators and experts in your community, whilst giving family and friends something they’ll truly remember?
2. Theatre tickets
As soon as theatre is back to operating normally, your culture-vulture friends will rush back to enjoy their favourite plays.
Why not get them tickets for the show they’re anxious to see? It’s a thoughtful gift, and a great way to support struggling culture institutions.
3. Cooking classes
Learning to make mouthwatering meals is not only good for our tastebuds, but also our creativity.
Perhaps you know someone who’s trying to make the switch to eating vegan? Get them a plant-based cooking class to support their New Year’s decision!
4. A trip to a national park
Some of us who really miss travel or would simply enjoy a day in nature might really appreciate a pass to a nearby national park.
A great way to continue exploring while respecting social distancing guidelines, national parks are gaining popularity and could serve as a wonderful gift.
5. Museum passes
Cultural institutions have suffered a terrible hit this year and we all miss nurturing our minds with weekend museum trips. Buying an annual museum pass is a great way to support culture and put a smile on our friends’ faces.
6. A massage
Whether you choose to get a professional massage, or give one yourself, a massage can make for a unique, relaxing gift that the receiver will appreciate way more than a wrapped box under the Christmas tree.
If you decide to go DIY, you can make the experience even more special by lighting candles and using essential oils.
7. Quality Time
Often we spend so much time and money trying to find the perfect gift – when actually the thing that our friends and family would appreciate the most is spending quality time with us.
zeit-statt-zeug.de/en is an experience inspiration site with a difference – for all the experiences listed are things that we ourselves can do with our loved ones, without spending a penny.
Give the site a visit for ideas like planting together rather than gifting a bunch of flowers, kick-a-bout a football instead of firing up the games console, repair something instead of buying a new one, or browse old photo albums together instead of tuning out to Netflix.
