Gifting can be Noxious or Nourishing
Update: December 11, 2019
As Christmas draws nearer, the days become darker and colder as well. Here in the Pacific Northwest, darker, colder days often come with rain, lots of rain. Instead of surviving the holidays and the dreary weather (as many people tend to try to do), my family has developed a soothing rhythm of Hygge – embracing the season for its’ opportunities for indoor coziness, togetherness and nourishment of body and soul. This season allows us to enjoy togetherness and warmth created by relationships, time spent together and a heart-warming home. I believe we thrive on the beauty and hygge-inspiration of this season, just as we do in the spring and summer when we get to do the outdoor things we love and eat from the bounty of the growing season.
It’s this enjoyment and nourishment of the season that I desire to share with others, whether it be in my home or in the gifts that I choose to give at Christmas.
So often there is a shopping frenzy driven by marketing that is intended to SELL and not necessarily nourish or benefit the recipient. Many gifts bring with them toxic substances like fragrance, radiation, textile processing chemicals and other toxins that just aren’t obvious to the eager shopper. But I’m here to help!
Maybe in your press for time, you just aren’t sure which gifts will bring the true intent to the recipient…I think it’s safe to assume you want to benefit those on your gift list and not fill them and their homes with potentially toxic gifts.
Add some ‘Merry and Bright’ to your list
Ensuring your gifts are non-toxic can be simple. Using my ideas for non-toxic Christmas gifts may even bring simplicity to your shopping list!
What’s the best Christmas gift for everyone on your list? Something that is truly non-toxic, nourishing, and thoughtful.
Non-toxic Christmas Gift Ideas
Toys
HABA & Hape toys are the toy brands that I prefer my kids to play with, especially when they were young. Many of their high quality toys are made from wood, even bamboo, (not unknown plastics), water based stains, using sustainable sources. In addition to them lasting through a lot of play, they don’t require batteries…typically making them toys that encourage creativity, which nourishes the mind.
Clothing
Pact & Hanna Andersson Clothing
Chemicals coming from the manufacturing of clothing is something most of us don’t think about when we’re shopping. According to this MindBodyGreen article, clothing retailers “are not required to disclose any of the chemicals used in the production process, even though by some estimates there are upward of 250 “restricted substances” used in textile manufacturing that pose potential health concerns.” These chemicals contribute to the toxic soup that we easily get mixed up in, so I believe its best to avoid them as much as possible.
Stink the Movie, a documentary about fragrance in our society, exposed the addition of fragrance to a popular brand of girl’s clothing, through the investigation of a concerned Dad, with no accountability from the manufacturer.
Unfortunately it’s true we can’t avoid all of it, but why not avoid what we can and support the companies who produce products with a conscience?
Pact and Hanna Andersson clothing brands tend to be accessible and reliable when it comes to safety (and quality). Most Hanna Andersson clothing is certified STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®, which means they’re tested down to the very last strand of thread for over 100 harmful substances using strict European certification standards. Hanna clothing is mostly for children, but they do have matching family jammies! Hanna can be found at HannaAndersson.com, Amazon and sometimes Costco. Pact clothing has clothing for men, women and children and is made from certified organic cotton. They have great sales going on right now and are also available on Amazon!
Home
I typically focus on replacing cleaning products for the home with with safer, more natural alternatives. Since most people aren’t really thinking about cleaning ideas for Christmas, let’s focus on the home health environment from a different perspective. Two types of toxins that we all deal with at home, but few of us are aware of the health effects are indoor air pollution, caused by a wide variety of household products and activities and electromagnetic radiation (EMF/EMR) from appliances and wireless devices.
I realize I said this could be simple and air pollution and EMF/EMR don’t really sound simple nor do they sound like they can inspire gifts that sparkle. Fortunately Christmas is a time when people really do desire and acquire gifts that promote health! And unfortunately many well-meaning people don’t realize that the popular wireless technology based gifts can actually cause harm to the recipient. If you want to learn about the concerning health effects of indoor air pollution and EMR, please read here and here. Here’s a handy info graphic from BASF about Indoor Air Quality.
Now, on to the gift ideas. Yes, this can be simple! Your gift recipients will surely be wowed with your thoughtfulness for their well-being!
Air Purifiers
Blue Air Blue Pure air purifiers are considered top performers by Consumer Reports. Blue Air 211 is for a larger space and Blue Air 411 for a smaller room. We used the 211 during some kitchen remodeling and I didn’t notice any adverse odors from the work being done (like I usually do). I intend to use the 411 for my son’s nursery before he’s born to thoroughly prepare the space and once he’s born to keep his air as clean as possible.
Book
For EMR reduction, Nicolas Pinault’s book The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMF’s is the perfect gift for adults, parents and older kids. It’s a simple how-to household book that examines scientific research and then step-by-step, room-by-room teaches the reader how to make safer use of technology. Love it! I’ll be purchasing a few of these this Christmas. Great for anyone with a home!
Battery Operated Candles and Tealights
For increasing Hygge and decreasing potentially harmful airborne contaminants from candles (scented and non-scented) I recommend battery operated candles and tealights. Don’t forget the extra batteries!
Chocolate
Theo organic chocolate. Let your gift of chocolate stand out from the rest! I toured the Theo chocolate factory with my daughter this summer. And since it’s also available at grocery stores locally, I’ve tasted a lot of Theo. I love that the ingredients are organic, no pesticides included. And since they know their cacoa bean farmers personally, their high quality beans really are full of all the good health benefits that we love to believe about chocolate (especially when its a truly dark chocolate!). You can’t go wrong with Theo! To the delight of my children, my pantry is currently stocked with the holiday bars.
Beauty
Spread the fragrance-free non-toxic love with Alaffia products like Whipped Shea Butter and Coconut Oil or their Everyday Shea Foaming Hand Soap to protect and nourish hands this winter. I’ve found that most people believe that hand soap only comes with fragrance. Not so! It is possible to clean and nourish hands without a fragrant after-smell. Yay! Alaffia is a great fragrance-free brand! As with even the best non-toxic brands, I recommend checking the label for any unwanted ingredients.
100% Pure keeps beauty simple while providing everything one might want! Choose a gift set (on sale now!), a gift card or anything from their full line of products. Read about their story, values and definition of “Natural” here. Your gift recipient will be delighted and can be sure that what they are putting on their precious skin is nourishing and safe.
And for the perfect home and beauty gift combination, don’t forget about my Cleaner Clean, Better Beauty Consultation – helping reduce toxins in your cleaning and beauty routines. In my Balanced Baby consultation, I offer a complete set of recommendations to ensure that babies and small children aren’t exposed to harmful chemicals from all the products marketed for them in their earliest days of life. I can’t think of a more valuable life giving gift for a family! When you check out, just let me know its a gift and I’ll take care of the rest.
I am not an affiliate for any of the above companies. These are simply non-toxic Christmas gift ideas that I trust enough to recommend to anyone seeking a safer gifting season.
With a few safer gifts, our Christmases can truly be “Merry & Bright”. Here’s to yours!