Green Gifts for the Greene Family

Grönt är skönt! by Jonas N (CC BY-SA 2.0)

‘Tis the season for giving gifts, so why not make them green. Popular websites and blogs, such as treehugger.com and Inhabitat, have listed some of their favorite gifts and now it’s my turn! Think of this as my green wish list and gift list! I need to get gifts for my Mom, Dad, grandparents, brother Zippy, best friends, and my dog.

My Mom is usually the hardest to shop for, so I always start with her! Mom loves books, relaxation, and things for the home. I have narrowed it down to three different gifts for her. I just need to choose one:

1. A Moss Carpet: It may sound strange, but Mom loves her bath and fresh grass! This carpet by Yanko Design is a clever and modern design for any bathroom. It’s said that walking on fresh grass even increases your blood circulation. By having living grass in your home you can possibly increase your health and the environment! I could probably also make her one too…

2. Eco Lighting: I was also thinking of getting my mom a really cool eco lamp or light fixture. You can see some of these here. They are super cool and really do work. I like that most of them look like flowers.

3. An Ecosphere: I have seen these around and they look awesome! You can grow things such as shrimp and algae without any upkeep. The coolest part is that you could put them almost anywhere (as long as there is light), and they won’t tip over and spill.

A growing ecosphere seems like a good gift (Photo by notphilatall)

My Dad is a tech kinda guy. He loves reading magazines for the newest gadgets out there. Since he has like everything it’s usually hard to shop for him, but this year I found the perfect gift! It’s called the Voltaic Amp Solar Charger. It will charge all of Dad’s gadgets in a greener and more portable way! All you have to do is find some light, plug in your electronic, and just watch it charge. It is said that with this charger, one hour in the sun will give you three hours of talk time on your cell phone.

The solar charger put to use (Photo by richardmasoner)

My Grandparents. They are always giving so much to me, I thought I would give them something in return. I am going to get grandma a herb garden maker since she loves cooking so much! She can now grow her own herbs and have them whenever she needs them. For grandpa, I am getting the Solar Sun Jar. Every summer he tells me stories about how he used to collect fireflies when he was my age. In California we never see any. I figure, with this gift, we can pretend we caught fireflies together! All you have to do is put the jar out in the sun during the day. It will create an LED charge and save it for nighttime.

Fireflies in action (Photo by Otto Phokus)

Zippy loves biking everywhere, but he’s always complaining that he runs out of clean water. I have the perfect present for him. It’s called the waterbobble! The bottle looks like a plastic waterbottle and it comes with a colored filter. I think I am going to get him the blue one… that’s his favorite color. He can fill it up wherever he finds water, and the bottle will filter it for him. SO COOL!

The waterbobble put to use (Photo by ceonyc)

My friends and I just love getting dressed up! I was thinking of getting them purses. The Ecoist creates bags from name brand products such as M&Ms and Lays chips. We can all go to the mall with our matching bags. It would be so much fun!

I was thinking of getting my puppy a recycled toy. It’s called the Recyclebone! It’s made from scraps of other dog chew toys… I love it!

Happy Holidays!! (Photo by ♪ Sleeping Sun ♪)

It’s always a good idea to give donations and gifts that give to others. If you want to find out more check out some green gifts that give! Giving is always one of my favorite parts of the holiday season!