Giving More By Giving Less

Presents piled high under the tree has long equaled a joyous, smile-filled Christmas morning. I too enjoyed plastic toy ladden holidays (I had a serious My Little Pony collection) and have had great fun being a part of holidays where kids and adults have received big gifts they didn't expect.

What if we restructured our giving and receiving expectations? Sure you could use the down economy or the handmade pledge as motivation, but dig a little deeper.

We start traditions in our own families based on what we experienced or wished we experienced as kids. So, why not start a tradition of less? Our children, friends, and family are not permanently hardwired to have to receive a certain number of gifts or a large scale item every year. Why does a dollar value have to equate to affection during the holidays?

And for the products we do purchase, why not consider leaving on the shelves the ones that have too much packaging. Manufacturers won't shrink their packaging and wasteful habits unless consumers vote with their dollars.

This year I'm continuing to make an effort at thoughtful gifts, so I thought I'd share a few shops and ideas that I love in hopes that others might be inspired to find just the right gift rather than a lot of so-so gifts to go under the tree or for eight crazy nights.

Paloma's Nest- Absolutely gorgeous ceramic work that can be custom made.

Belle & Boo- Great illustrator out of the UK with my absolute favorite images of late.

Nudo- Adopt an olive tree in Italy for a year and receive the olive oil it creates in return.

A Bushel and a Peck- Vintage bits used to make fab brooches (place a custom request for each).

Adagio Teas- Create a custom blend and gorgeous label for the tea drinker who has every flavor.

Matthew Stewart- Hand blown glass birds that you can custom order in just about any color.

Locality- these custom signs are awesome, a bit pricey, but so perfect for a special gift

Pennies for Peace- If you've heard of Three Cups of Tea (the book), this is part of the real organization.

Blurb- the best site for making photo books, and they have gift certificates.

And of course books. My favorites for kids this year include The Giant Jam Sandwich, Zen Shorts, The Pet Dragon (paired with a cool Buddha board), "Stand Back!" said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze", and Is Your Mama a Llama?

What do you love this season?

So Fresh and So Clean

The ammonia based glass cleaner from our neighborhood co-op is horrible. Our windows and mirrors this summer were a horror of streaks and smears from cleaning them. I think the dog nose prints actually made them cleaner. So I finally caved (even with a half a bottle to go) and picked up the new Nature's Source windex and while I was at it the bathroom cleaner too (it said it fights soap scum).

I am frankly relieved that they both actually work and I am ignoring the bottle of the offending product still under my sink. I have not managed to break up with my Clorox toilet bowl scrubbers. I know the little scrubby uses more product that if I used a brush and cleaner, but swear I still get better results.

The wood floor swiffer is also still in my life. Yes I vacuum my base boards ( I heart my dyson) and try to get up excess before I swiffer, but it sure beats being on my hands and knees cleaning the hardwood every week. I feel like I'm channeling my mother when I'm on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor for extended period of times. Shudder. The issue of course is that each time I use the swiffer on the hardwood, it takes three refill pads to do the whole apartment and probably every other month I have to refill the special hardwood floor cleaner it uses. Lots of wasted non-recyclable product being created. Other hardwood cleaning options welcome.

Fetching Organic for Fido

Woof. Owning a dog, a large dog in particular, introduces you to a whole series of products and choices you really didn't care to ponder previously. Up front, let me clarify that our dog (all 75 lbs.+ of him) does not wear clothing, get massages, or ride in a stroller. He's a dog. We love him and his long, blue ears, but we are not trying to turn him into a toddler. (Not sure what toddler goes to the spa, but somewhere, someone is totally thinking about this.)

However, our four-legged friend has continuously presented us with a series of challenges as it relates to his diet over the past few years. During one of his training classes we were guilted into changing his food from Iams to Nutro because it was a healthier choice. He lost all of his hair along his back a week later. Turns out after a frantic trip to the vet, he's allergic to lamb. Awesome. After special pulverized, centrifuge food- the kind you can only buy from the vet, we eventually settled on Blue and Mason's been enjoying the sweet potato and fish for a couple of years now and still has all his hair.

Now, there are far more organic choices out there, including the raw food diet that I flat out refuse to entertain for my dog. By some accounts, this makes me a bad owner. I'm willing to deal with that. I don't think the pup is deprived.

Separate from food, I've recently begun evaluating the other products we buy for him. Take treats for example, if the product has too much excessive packaging, it's off the list. If it contains artificial coloring or superfluous processing forget-about-it. And then there's the dog bed. The reason I thought this post was worth writing at all.

We've been perfectly happy with his dog bed from L.L. Bean for the past four+ years (I can't speak for the dog, but he seems agreeable). We even ordered a replacement cover at one point. But a few months of listening to the dog turn, and turn, and turn, to try and nest in the bed made us realize maybe the stuffing is a bit worn out.

But what to buy? Crazy daisy, there are a lot of beds out there. We were inspired by our hip friends in KC to look at eco beds. We ended up with a West Paw Organic Bumper Bed that is 100 percent recycled plastic soda bottles. It is currently en route from Montana to our door step. Was it worth it?

Does my buying organic dog products really matter? How large can that supply chain be anyway? Well, at least I know our weim won't be poisoned by his own bed. Now his polyester chew toy that he can't live without is a whole other matter.