During the holiday season, most of us yearn for relaxed, meaningful times with friends and family. But all too often we end up in a harried frenzy of shopping, cooking, wrapping and doing. Wanting to please the people we love, we buy things.

Things in boxes. Things with bows. Things with bells and whistles. Almost always, things with lots of wrapping and wasted paper and resources. The commercial aspects of the season tend to take over and we end up buying things even when we are unsure that they will be wanted.

The average American family buys and wraps 30 presents each holiday season, generating heaps of wrapping and packaging waste. Garbage collectors pick up 25% more trash in the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year than they do during the rest of the year. For example, in Lane County, Oregon, a family of four makes nearly half a ton of waste for the holidays! Is this any way to say "peace on earth"?

Make a positive shift by bringing some of these easy holiday gift ideas and tips home:

1. Green Gift Ideas

2. Even GREENER Gift Ideas (ones that don't involve "stuff")

3. Gift Wrapping Ideas

1. GREEN GIFT IDEAS

Northwest Earth Institute -- Give the Gift of Eco-Knowledge

NWEI sustainability education and action guides are a great gift for the holidays!  Give the gift of Voluntary Simplicity, Menu for the Future, or Reconnecting with Earth.  In addition to sharing these enriching resource guides with your family and friends, your gift supports the work of a non-profit working to create more sustainable communities.  To give a "Gift Guide", please call NWEI's office at 503.227.2807.  You can also give a gift of a yearly membership. Give your family and friends the opportunity to learn more about living lightly and sustainably - instead of giving more "stuff"!  Visit www.nwei.org for more information on the guides.

These National Wildlife Federation ReProduct cards feature magnificent photography on the front with a one color imprint available inside. ReProduct cards come with a two-way envelope that provides return postage paid to Shaw Industries where the cards are 100% re-used in the manufacturing of carpet backing. Both Shaw's Eco-Worx carpet and ReProduct greeting cards are Cradle to Cradle certified as a technical nutrient. Buy them online today for your last-minute holiday cards!

Oregon Natural Desert Association -- Show off Oregon's most beautiful spots with a calendar -- and protect them, too!

ONDA produces one of the best Oregon nature calendars out there -- this year's 2010 Wild Desert Calendar showcases some of Oregon's most remote and scenic desert areas. Pick one up for $15 in select stores or $16.90 online with shipping. Also, ONDA gift memberships are $35 per individual. Get both at www.onda.org.

The Wetlands Conservancy -- Cocktails Will Help Wetlands

This holiday season, visit Cafe Nell (1987 NW Kearney St., Portland) for an Oregon Royale. Until January 1st, a dollar from each cocktail sold will benefit The Wetlands Conservancy. The Oregon Royale is a sparkling wine cocktail topped with Clear Creek Distillery's Cranberry Liqueur, an eau de vie made from Oregon cranberries grown along the Southern Oregon coast.

Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides -- Promote a Pesticide Free Zone

Make everyone aware of your (or a loved one's) prized pesticide-free garden! NCAP has a 'Pesticide Free Household' membership package -- a $50 donation to NCAP comes with this adorable (and not-too-big) ladybug metal lawn sign. Sign up online for NCAP membership or call 541-344-5044.

Oregon State Parks Trust -- Give a calendar (we won't tell your mom it was free!)

Download and print a free Oregon State Parks calendar (.pdf) from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, which makes a very inexpensive and fairly green holiday gift.

The Nature Conservancy -- Get nature-friendly products online or in Portland

The Nature Conservancy has an online marketplace: http://shop.nature.org/. There you'll find clothing, backpacks, and an endless supply of other useful items that benefit The Nature Conservancy. On this site is a line of apparel from a new Portland company, U4E (U4E / Portland Apparel Development Co-op). Buy online or go to their store (2515 NW Nicolai Street, Portland) and skip the shipping costs!

Friends of the Columbia Gorge -- Give a truly gorge-ous gift this season
Your gift recipient can wear her love for the gorge on her sleeve (and shirt, and hat) when you give something that benefits the Friends of the Columbia Gorge. Buy men's and women's apparel and hats, a stunning Columbia Gorge 2010 Photo calendar, and books and DVDs celebrating the Gorge. Shop online now.

Audubon Society of Portland -- Visit the Nature Store in NW Portland
If you want a great gift for a hiker, birdwatcher, or all-around nature lover -- start your search at the Audubon Society of Portland's Nature Store! The store features books, field guides, toys, bird feeders and houses, bird seed & suet, and a great selection of highest-quality binoculars and spotting scopes. At this store, all the profits are for the birds! (5151 NW Cornell Road / Portland, OR 97210)

The Environmental Center -- Greening the Holidays in Central Oregon

This year, those of you living in Central Oregon can shop through The Green Spot, The Environmental Center's year-round directory for sustainable products and businesses.  There, you'll find a wealth of practical local gift ideas, Central Oregon holiday green tips, and more resources.

Bicycle Transportation Alliance -- Useful (and good-looking) bike stuff!

2. EVEN GREENER GIFT IDEAS (that don't involve "stuff")!

Give a membership to an EarthShare nonprofit!

Many EarthShare member organizations -- both in Oregon and nationwide -- offer gift memberships to their organizations. These may include not just a charitable donation, but sometimes extra eco-friendly incentive gifts, and year-round education and information. For example, if you give a membership donation to Oregon Environmental Council, your gift recipient will get updates on results made possible through this gift.

• Have a tree-hugger on your list: see our list of forest protection organizations!
• Know a surfer or beachcomber: look what groups are helping our oceans, rivers and wetlands!
• See all our areas of conservation and environmental action -- and choose a group that matches your gift recipient's favorite places and issues.

Audubon Society of Portland -- Take a wild thing under your wing -- Sponsor a bird!

The Audubon Society of Portland Wildlife Care Center provides a permanent home for several non-releasable native birds. Each of these birds came to Audubon with an injury so severe that they would be unable to survive in the wild. Sponsoring one of these birds is a great way to learn more about these incredible creatures, while at the same time helping us meet their food, medical, and housing needs!

In turn, these birds act as ambassadors for their species and for Portland Audubon, in classrooms and at events. When you sponsor one of the Audubon Society of Portland "Wild Things", you are providing care and treatment for our resident native birds and helping the sick, injured and orphaned native wild animals that are treated in our Wildlife Care Center.

Friends of Trees -- Tree lover in your life? Give trees in their honor!

Leave a legacy for future generations by giving Gift Trees as memorial gifts or to celebrate friends and loved ones. For a donation of $35, Friends of Trees will plant a young native tree in honor of a friend and send an acknowledgment card to the person you choose. A $100 donation will help us plant a grove of six young native trees. Your order will be processed within three working days.

Friends of Trees' Gift Trees program supports green space restoration in the Portland Metro area. You are welcome to join us as a planting volunteer at any of our plantings between November and April. Because of the sensitive nature of our restoration sites, we cannot label the trees.

Friends of Trees photo by Chijo Takeda

Oregon State Parks Trust -- Make wildlife viewing available for kids at Oregon State Parks

Make a donation to buy binoculars for kids' outdoor programs and activities at Oregon State Parks (including their Junior Ranger and Junior Beaver programs).

A donation of $135 buys a pair of binoculars for use at the park. Right now, the binocular company will match all purchases one-for-one. So, if you give the funds for one pair of binoculars for the kids' education programs, the supplier will donate a second pair free.

We'll provide a gift card for you to send to the person you want to honor. We'll send the donor a thank you and tax receipt letter and the donor and person being honored will also be acknowledged on our website and in our e-newsletter.

The Nature Conservancy -- Adopt an acre of rainforest, or even protect a coral reef!

If someone you care about loves forests or coral reefs, you can give them the gift of protecting some place precious. Go to http://adopt.nature.org/ and choose an acre in Brazil, in Africa, in Australia, in the Appalachians, in one of 10 different worldwide locations! A gift of any amount will help The Nature Conservancy protect somewhere special.

A gift membership to Oregon Wild not only buys one year of great information about Oregon's wild lands and waters -- it also gets the recipient a year of free hikes and excursions guided by hike experts and scientists. Print out a gift membership form at http://www.oregonwild.org/about/donate/gift-membership. Oregon Wild's wilderness, old-growth forest and clean rivers/watersheds programs protect pristine drinking water, unparalleled recreation opportunities and fish and wildlife habitat across Oregon.

EcoMetro Chinook Book Green Gift Guide

Find and give great local experiences instead of hitting the mall for gifts this year. EcoMetro's Portland Green Gift Guide has ideas for things like memberships to OMSI, Portland Japanese Garden, and tickets at many local theater and arts organizations. Don't put more stuff in the world -- give an experience to remember!

Download the PDF of this guide HERE.

Gifts of your time and talents are especially cherished, don't need to cost a dime and offer endless possibilities. How about a certificate offering a service such as a home-cooked meal; babysitting or relief caregiving; a massage or footrub; yard work or help planting a food garden in the spring? Make the gift monthly and you've created a gift to rival any.

Help your child make a booklet of coupons redeemable for household chores.

Give a gift that will grow (and eventually pay off). Opening a modest college fund, savings account, or even investments in a worthy fund or business can cost as little as $25.

Give a gift that teaches: Lots of people are interested in learning new skills or trying new things but hesitate to spend the money on themselves. How about a gift of:

• a class at Portland Community College, Lane Community College, music or language lessons
• tuition for a class in sustainability
• a private lesson with an experienced sports coach or personal trainer
• an art class at Eugene's Maude Kerns or a recycled craft workshop at SCRAP in Portland
• for young naturalists or scientists:

• workshops and classes at Nearby Nature, Mount Pisgah Arboretum or WISTEC in Eugene
• a winter break day camp session at Portland Audubon Society
  
• give the gift of VIP status with Mother Nature: purchase a national or state park pass. 

Buy coupons for kid-friendly family activities:

• In Eugene: Lane County Ice Center, Splash! Lively Park Swim Center or a roller rink
• In Portland: Oaks Park Roller Rink, North Clackamas Aquatic Park, a Portland Parks Community Center

• Save all the wrapping paper you receive and use it for next year’s gifts. Start a family tradition to see just how many years you can keep using the same piece! Of course, save all the bows, ribbons and other decorations too.
• Open up grocery or other larger bags and decorate them with paint, glitter, rubber stamps, fall leaves, pressed flowers, a collage of magazine pictures, or children’s drawings. 
• Boxes that once held cereal or other things can be taken carefully apart, turned so the blank side is out, glued back together and decorated. 
• Many brands of chips are packaged in a type of plastic that looks like aluminum foil.  Just open it up, wipe clean and voilá! -- a wonderful shiny silver wrap for a small gift.
• Coffee cans, plastic yogurt tubs, round oatmeal boxes and many other kinds of packaging can be decorated to hold gifts too. 
• Out of date maps, old posters, charts, calendars or even pieces of fabric make interesting wrappings.
• Re-purpose old Easter baskets, decorative tins or shoe boxes
• Baskets can be made to look especially festive by using a small crochet hook to pull ribbon through the weave, or coiled around the handle.
• Department store gifts often come in elegant boxes or bags suitable for gift giving as-is. 
• Using a gift to wrap another gift is fun—napkins, handkerchiefs, towels and tablecloths all work well for wrapping small gifts. See step-by-step instructions on the Japanese tradition of gift wrapping with pieces of cloth.
• Instead of buying tissue or gift box filler, just use the papers you've shredded for security reasons as padding and fluff. Selectively shred certain colors or try shredding those foil-like plastic wrappers to make a delightful basket filler.
• Last year’s greeting cards make perfect holiday accents throughout the house by either cutting out individual images from the card or just cutting the card in half and using any parts that do not have last year's message. These work great as gift tags, place cards, ornaments, added to wreathes and garlands
• And if you can’t kick the Wrapping paper habit, make sure you buy wrapping paper with the highest percentage of “Post consumer recycled content” Most important, ask your salesperson for it, let stores and vendors know that you will buy it if they would stock it. 
• If wrapping gifts, choose alternatives to the norm such as scrap fabric, reusable boxes or tins, pretty bows or dried flowers, or re-used and/or recycled-content wrapping.
• Send e-cards or post-consumer recycled paper cards.