Does this look like Christmas shopping to you?
Well, it actually is. The babe and I (on the left) and Mr. Green Scene went to the Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival on Sunday, where we started on working on our big holiday list. This marks the earliest ever beginning to our personal holiday season.
Mind you, we didn’t actually buy anything (except some kettle corn and a rad Pantheon popsicle–my God, have you tried them?). But here’s my thinking. It’s important to me to come up with gifts that do not involve big-box shopping, nor Internet shopping, as it tends to involve massive amounts of packaging.
Instead, I like to give handmade, local gifts, or even better, stuff I’ve made myself. (Given that I do not sew, knit, paint, or perform any other type of crafty activity, that is a challenge. Nobody in my circle wants any more pickles, I’m sure.)
These greener gift options don’t happen at the last minute. They take planning. So checking out fine local artisans at an event like the Crozet festival is a way to get the creative juices flowing. We collected lots of business cards, and we collected ideas.
There will be plenty more opportunities to shop local for the holidays. The Bridge often has a great holiday market; there’s the Craftacular; the Artisan Studio Tour; the Holiday City Market; the November and December markets at the Rockfish Valley Community Center; sales at various local schools; and others that I’m missing. Every one of them more fun and less stupid than going to the mall.
Where do you like to buy green for the holidays?