{"id":12497,"date":"2016-12-12T22:19:26","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T22:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sparkvisionnow.com\/\/?p=12497"},"modified":"2016-12-12T22:19:26","modified_gmt":"2016-12-12T22:19:26","slug":"recycled-holiday-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunneez.com\/sparkvision\/recycled-holiday-gifts\/","title":{"rendered":"Recycled Holiday Gifts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Embrace Eco-Friendly Gift-Giving: How to Start a Fun and Meaningful ‘Recycled Holidays’ Tradition<\/h1>\n

It\u2019s that time of year \u2013 holiday parties galore! White Elephants, Secret Santa, and perhaps even the expectation of buying holiday gifts for your whole tribe. Whether you love it or hate it \u2013 it\u2019s inevitable.<\/p>\n

Back when I was in college and my parents were going through a brutal divorce, I decided that I just wasn\u2019t up for gift-giving. My mother, sister and I were all pinching pennies and really didn\u2019t need anymore \u201cstuff\u201d in our lives. We were adults and if we wanted something, we\u2019d just get it. Thinking back, we might as well have pulled out $50 and circulated it around to one another. Why go through all the \u201cI hope she likes it\u201d dance each season?<\/p>\n

At the same time, I love to open a present! And it would have been mega-depressing not to have anything to exchange as a family. That was when the \u201cRecycled Holidays\u201d were born in our household.<\/p>\n

The recycled holiday gifts rules were simple:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. You could not spend any money.<\/li>\n
  2. The gift had to come from your own possession.<\/li>\n
  3. It had to be of good quality.<\/li>\n
  4. You can make it, but it can’t cost anything.<\/li>\n
  5. Thought needed to be put into the gift receiver and their interests.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So basically \u2013 we were going to become the titans of \u201cre-gifting.\u201d The only difference was it wasn\u2019t necessarily from a gift we had once received. It could have been an impulse buy that never came out of its packaging. A piece of art that doesn\u2019t have a good spot in your home anymore. Or maybe even a partially used gift card with a random balance on it that you haven\u2019t gotten around to cashing in.<\/p>\n

    Over the years, it has served several pleasant purposes. I can make a small dent in cleaning out my basement while also turning on my creative juices. I get to reflect on what I don\u2019t need in my life anymore and who would really appreciate having it in theirs. Because really, who doesn\u2019t
    \nhave a bin of \u201cone day this will be useful\u201d stuff lying around your house?<\/p>\n

    I\u2019ve since adopted this tradition with my closest group of friends and even made it a reality in a past workplace. Bottom line, it\u2019s been fun!<\/h3>\n

    It\u2019s really entertaining to see what people have squirreled away and their selections for everyone. I\u2019d say 90% of the time, I love the gift, and 10%, I\u2019m pretty sure they just wanted to get rid of it.<\/p>\n

    Two of my favorite recycled holiday gifts came from the same friend over the years. He\u2019s an amazing cook, and one year, he pulled out all his favorite recipes and put them into an old binder he had. Then, last year, he took my new business card (having just started SparkVision) and stuck it in a frame he had. Two totally different gifts, but extremely thoughtful and cost him nothing! I cherish them both.<\/p>\n

    And if you want to think outside the box and take a playful jab \u2013 a friend once gave another an eviction notice they wrote up after he\u2019d been crashing in their spare bedroom just a few weeks too long. We all died laughing when he read it out loud.<\/p>\n

    For adults out there who don\u2019t need the latest widget, without hesitation, I\u2019d empower you all to let go of long lines at the mall, holiday budgets, and stressful checklists. Try an eco-friendly, unique, and hilarious new tradition like the \u201cRecycled Holiday Gifts\u201d to make the season more about presence and less about presents!<\/p>\n

    Please note:<\/strong> I do not recommend this for kiddos. This is a fun twist for us mature folks who don\u2019t send wish lists to magical men at the North Pole!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Embrace Eco-Friendly Gift-Giving: How to Start a Fun and Meaningful ‘Recycled Holidays’ Tradition It\u2019s that time of year \u2013 holiday parties galore! White Elephants, Secret Santa, and perhaps even the expectation of buying holiday gifts for your whole tribe. Whether you love it or hate it \u2013 it\u2019s inevitable. Back when I was in college […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,10,13],"tags":[2,3,19,62,4],"class_list":["post-12497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-experience","category-leadership","tag-culture","tag-engagement","tag-experience","tag-gift-giving","tag-leadership"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRecycled Holiday Gifts - Sparkvision<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Try 'Recycled Holidays' for unique, budget-friendly holiday gifts. 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