Ideas for a sweet and eco-friendly holiday season

If there is one time of the year when our environmental conscience takes over more easily, it is during the holiday season. While this often intense moment is intended as a moment of sharing, good times spent with family and friends and small and great pleasures, it can quickly become a mad race against time to buy countless gifts. and research to find the rare pearl that would please the children we cherish so much. But let's be honest: the effect is not always expected and the pleasure is often short-lived. Our discovery sometimes drowns in the flood of other gifts received and, in the end, we realize that quantity takes precedence over quality and the pleasure of pleasing the other. With this in mind, I thought I would share with you some ideas that have been proven to offer gifts that are a little more sustainable and ecological, while transmitting beautiful values ​​to children.

Advent calendar of good deeds

This year, let's put aside the best-known Advent calendar (the one containing surprises and sweets!) and try to focus on gestures and moments that make others happy and that bring our family members closer together. Altruism and benevolence are values ​​on which I put a lot of energy and time in my household, and of course I want my children to be sensitive to the people around them: picking up an object that is not ours on the floor, holding the door, saying thank you and please, smiling at others, encouraging them in their challenges and congratulating them when something good comes up, etc. Thus, when December arrives, we use the Advent calendar of good deeds, which encourages each member of the family to show generosity on a daily basis through small gestures. There are, for example, thanks to offer (to the postman, to the firefighters, to our bus driver or to our educator), gestures that are easy to accomplish and to integrate into our daily lives (smile at someone, help parents in a household chore) and other actions that require more goodwill than money to come out of our pocket. It is not this tool that will change the world, but sowing small seeds of kindness and recognition towards others will certainly lead children to appreciate what surrounds them.

DISCOVER THE GOOD DEEDS CALENDAR

The Advent calendar of sweet moments spent with the family

This is a golden opportunity to finally take the time to take the time! We often say that we lack it and that it is in a hurry and December is the ideal month to stop and have a good time with our kids. What child won't be happy playing in the musical bed, going for a drive to look at the Christmas lights or calling their grandparents to tell them about their fondest Christmas memory? We bet that these moments when we set family time will occupy a special place in the hearts of children.

DISCOVER THE CALENDAR OF SWEET FAMILY MOMENTS

A greener than green Christmas

Offer a gift for a period of one year, have you ever thought about it? Subscriptions to books or magazines can be a good idea to encourage early reading. In addition, children like to receive something in the mail in their name every month or sporadically. It's a lasting choice that can last over time, because we come back to it according to the time of year or the tastes of the children. In addition, it transmits well to younger children or to cousins ​​and friends. There are also subscriptions to turnkey DIY boxes that we can receive directly at home and which allow you to spend a sweet moment with the children.

To save money and to allow our beautiful planet to breathe a little, the classified ads for used objects are also an interesting solution. What you find there is less expensive and the over-packaging of new toys is not there: a pretty solution that is completely in tune with the times and which promotes zero waste.

The gift of time

We are often told that spending quality time with your child is an important part of child development. To make a change or to vary the gifts we offer, here are some gift ideas that will leave memories of good times spent TOGETHER:

• an outing in town
• a day outdoors with an impromptu picnic
• take a “coffee break” at the local café
• discover a new corner in the countryside
• a trip to the cinema
• go get pampered (beauticians often offer treatments for children)
• eat a cone in the middle of winter
• take out our DIY paraphernalia and tinker during a family evening
• to go to the museum
• learn a new sport
• go to the theater

Pass on the sharing as a gift

Helping those less fortunate and less fortunate than oneself during the holiday season and throughout the year also makes young and old aware of how lucky they are and provides everyone with instant pleasure and certain reflection. This is the time to dip into our pantry and our pharmacy to offer non-perishable food and various products for those who cannot afford it.

Happy and responsible holidays

Christmas rhymes for many with magic, sharing and family, and I believe that it is possible to achieve this without falling into overconsumption which harms the Earth, which clutters our house and which does not necessarily make the youngest happier. It is certainly possible to offer gifts and keep the holiday spirit, while keeping in mind our concern for the preservation of the environment!