November 25, 2022

My 2022 Plastic-Free Holiday Gift Guide

The holidays are here and along with spending time with those you love, it means a little bit of holiday gift shopping. To prevent the excess waste that comes with the holiday season, here are some plastic-free, low waste gifts to consider.

Before we dive in, when shopping this holiday season think about your fondest memories and what you love about the holidays. It’s rare that our favorite memories are the presents. Our best holiday memories are usually something hilarious our best friend did during a holiday party or the smell of Christmas dinner your grandma cooked. Cut yourself some slack and keep this in mind when contemplating a gift.

Spend Time

First, consider spending time with your friends and loved ones instead of buying them a gift. My best friends and I stopped exchanging birthday and holiday gifts years ago and instead have a nice dinner, grab some drinks, or go dancing together. It’s cheesy but the memories with my best friends are worth more than any gift. (I know, I’m a cheese ball.)

Some other ideas of how to spend some quality time with friends and family are:

See local holiday lights
Ice skating or broom ball
Cook a new meal at home
Make Christmas cookies to give to neighbors
Make mulled wine together
Volunteer at a local food pantry
Go on a hike
Be a tourist in your own town

If you have a big family or group of friends consider doing a White Elephant Gift Exchange instead of buying each person a gift. This way you still give and get one gift but you’ll have fun doing the actual gift exchange.

Experiences

For your friends and family who don’t live nearby, consider giving them experience gifts. Help them create memories (and not clutter) by giving them:

surf lessons
kayaking tour
scuba lessons
yoga or dance classes
tennis lessons
indoor skydiving
a round of golf
art classes
calligraphy classes
cooking classes
bartending classes
wine tasting
tickets to an escape room
dinner at a local restaurant
create a hiking guide or give a local trail book
concert tickets
sporting tickets
passes to a museum or zoo

Memberships

Similar to experiences, does your friend love their local museum, zoo, or local non-profit. Gift them a membership! For the ocean lover on your list, the Surfrider Foundation is an organization dedicated to the protection of our ocean, waves, and beaches. They have gift memberships of all different levels!

Consumables

Consumables are items that can be used up and thus don’t contribute clutter to someone’s home. Can you tell I’m not a fan of clutter? I mean who wouldn’t want some cookies or a bottle of wine? Some other great consumable gift ideas are:

holiday drink kit (alcohol & mixers)
homemade holiday cookies
candles
fresh fruits
BBQ spice rubs
hot sauces
shampoo and conditioner bars
solid perfume

Be sure to aim for consumables packaged in glass, metal, wood, paper, or nothing at all!

Plants

Not going to lie, I love plants. They add a little life to your living space, give us oxygen and have been shown to boost our happiness! Why not give your friend or family member a little happiness with an orchid or house plant?

For the plant novice, these plants are low maintenance:

snake plant
spider plant
English ivy
pothos
rubber plant
succulents

Olivia for the Ocean - Plastic-Free Living

Gift Cards

Give a gift card to a small business they like to frequent. This helps support local main street businesses which are always competing with big box stores.

Some examples of local businesses are:

toy shop
book store
nail salon
hair salon
spa
restaurant

Yes, this might involve a plastic card but it’s better than buying them a physical gift that they’ll never use and they’ll feel guilty leaving in the back of their closet. Like they say, it’s the thought that counts!

For Kids

When buying presents for kids, try some of the tips above. Is there a local play place or children’s museum, or aquarium in your child’s or your friend’s child’s town? Buying an experience, membership, or consumable gift avoids adding more clutter to the child’s room–something I know their mom or dad will appreciate. (Or at least this mom and most parents I know appreciate).

If a physical item makes sense, aim for something that allows the child to be creative, to build, or spend quality time with their siblings or family members.

Some examples include:

painting supplies
rubber stamps
crayons
paper bead kit
wooden blocks
LEGOS
board games
card games

Choose paper, wood, metal toys first and if plastic is the only option, choose a durable plastic.

My Favorite Things

Following tradition, my annual gift guide wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t put my Oprah hat on and share a few of my favorite things! I don’t get any commission from sharing these items, I’m just sharing things that I’ve using and loving a lot!

Sand Cloud Towel

This summer, I was swimming 2 -3 days a week and now that it’s much colder, my goal is to swim one day a week. I love that Sand Cloud towels are light-weight, compact, and dry quickly. This makes them perfect for traveling or for your pool or gym bag. The one shown above supports the Surfrider Foundation and there are other designs that support Surfrider here.

Aloha Collection Splash Proof Bags

Another a few items I use while swimming and traveling are my Aloha Collection Splash Proof Bags. I put my wet bathing suit in the pouch shown above after I’m finished swimming and use the bag below as my gym bag or extra bag when I travel. I also use the large pouches to pack socks and underwear for my kids or myself. While they’re clearly made of plastic, I love the design and function of the bags and pouches and they’ve lasted me a few years already.

For more about what I pack on vacations, check out this post:

Hotel Lobby Candle

Finally, I’m not normally a candle person but one of the influencers, Lindsay Silberman, I follow started Hotel Lobby Candle. She wanted to capture the scent of different hotel lobbies she had visited around the world. My person favorite is the Island scent which smells like a tropical paradise.