Christmas Presents

Gift giving was around long before the Victorian era, and even before Christianity.

With Christianity, gift giving is a symbolic presentation of the gifts the three wise men gave to baby Jesus, but it had roots in pagan rituals before that. In ancient Rome, citizens were known to exchange presents during Saturnalia, their winter solstice festival. Their celebrations included giving gifts to friends and family, believing the generosity would bring good fortune in the year to come.

The inspiration for Santa Clause came from a 4th Century Christian bishop who would often hand out gifts to poor children and was known for his generosity and kindness. After he died, the 6th December was dedicated to celebrating his life.

In the Victorian period, gifts were limited to a single present which was usually homemade. And while Christmas was domesticated in the US in the late 1800s – even around 1840s - it was still associated with paganism.

By the end of the 19th century, Christmas Eve became the most common date for gift-giving in Western culture. The British royal family still observes this tradition, laying out their presents on Christmas Eve and exchanging them at teatime.

And now, on to my gift of information for you - my 12 Days of Christmas, #ecoedition continuing with Day 3! Check out the quiz question at the bottom of the page and stay tuned for the answer tomorrow!

QUIZ ANSWER FROM DAY 3: True or false…department stores initially suggested people rent lights for Christmas? True - this was due to the cost of them.

Did you know:

This is a selection of interesting facts about money and gifts collected together for you.

• Amerians are the world’s biggest spenders when it comes to Christmas with almost $150bil going to online retailers and over $1tril for the period

• Brits spend about £380 per year on presents but a total of £1,116 for the festive period

• Consumers spend more than $5mil on pets over the festive period

• Money Advice survey revealed each person gets presents with an average value of £54 that are unused and goes to waste each year

• 1 out of 10 of secret santa gifts end up in landfill every year

• Britons are said to receive a total of 81 million unwanted presents annually, with each household receiving three on average

• Americans are said to have spent $15.2bil on unwanted gifts

• According to a Finder.com survey of 2,009 British adults, 1 in 10 of us deliberately buy a gift for someone we know they won’t like

• Over $1bil in gift cards goes to waste every year

waste less this season

Why not try one or more of the below ideas to help you cut your gift waste down. After all, if I was buying for people, I would prefer it was something I knew they wanted or needed.

The last few ideas are some of my personal favourites.

• The 4 gift rule; something they want, need, to wear and to read

• Experiences – days out, a trip together, explore a new wood. Maybe a future token for when lockdowns have eased. Something fun to look forward to when you can see eachother again

• Buy them a voucher for something useful – bike or car tune up or a cleaning service in their house. Even a takeaway delivery for them to have a night off cooking through lockdowns. Petrol / gas or even a voucher for their weekly food shop

• A massage for their shoulders from being hunched over the computer at home using any space as a work space.

• Drop off homemade cookies / biscuits / chocolates / jams or crafts

• Buy eco friendly and / or fairtrade items. If possible, help support local and small businesses

• Seasonal items that are good for the wildlife too and provide some good garden watching – bird feed or bee saving kits

• Give them the gift receipt to the present

• Pick items that will last them years, not 1 season (avoid trends), and choose companies that are thinking about the life cycle of their products. For example, if they offer to repair them or take them back at the end of their life

• Host a gift swap happy hour - this will need to be online but you can host a party and post the gifts off to friends so they go to a good home

• Regift something you received that is suitable for someone else

• Ask them if they have been building a list of specific items they may need or want to replace due to damage / wear. For example, my trainers are falling apart so that is an item I don’t mind someone buying for me - but I am asking for a specific trainer from All Birds due to their eco credentials.

• Sponsor their favourite wild animal. Try Wildlife Trust or WWF or Smithsonian’s National Zoo. I have adopted turtles, lions, elephants and even squirrels fro friends and family

• Make a donation to a charity they support

• Buy a subscription or a membership for them to something like the National Trust, Woodland Trust or Surfers Against Sewage

• Make a scrapbook or video of you and your family wishing them Merry Christmas or sing them their favourite Christmas song

• Plant a tree for them

what about no gifts?

More and more people are saying to others ‘No Gifts Please’. To find out if this is something you want to do, even just with friends, check out these 10 ways to say this to friends and family.

It makes sense with many people struggling financially due to Covid19 but I know many people are really looking forward to this season. And because we likely won’t be able to see many of our loved ones in person, I predict people will want to do something to show they are thinking of them.

FUN QUIZ QUESTION - find out the answer tomorrow!

What items top the list as the most unwanted gift?

Good luck and happy gifting!

Please note, I am not affiliated with any company mentioned in this post.