Green Living Gift Ideas for Easter

Easter is a time when spring is starting to bloom. As winter departs we start to ponder the beauty of the earth as the green grass starts to return and flowers start to bloom. Thus Easter is a wonderful time to give gifts that show an appreciation of green living and working to help the environment.

Essential Oils

There are many different uses for essential oils. They can be placed on lamp shades to add scent to the air. You can also mix an essential oil with a base oil to create a massage oil. It is also lovely to place a tiny bit of essential oil on a pillowcase to waft off to sleep to a wonderful aroma. Also, put a drop of essential oil on a cotton ball and tuck it in a drawer or closet to add a nice scent.

Essential oils come in wonderful scents from nature such as lavender, lemon, juniper, pine, vanilla, jasmine, eucalyptus, cinnamon and rosemary. Only give essential oils to adults. They are not safe for teenagers or children.

Seeds or Flowers that Feed Birds & Bees

Some flowers contribute greatly to the chain of life during the summer months. Flowers like sunflowers provide a large amount of seeds for birds to eat. Other flowers like red bee balm, foxglove, cardinalis, lupine, Columbine, morning glory, coral honeysuckle and scarlet runner provide a feeding spot for hummingbirds. Flowers in red or pink shades attract hummingbirds to visit your garden. Other flowers that provide food for birds include cosmos, floss flower, purple coneflower and larkspur.

Hyacinths

A gift of a hyacinth is an easy way to get someone started with gardening. This flower comes in a range of beautiful colors and has a lovely scent. After the gift hyacinth has bloomed inside plant it outside and it will bloom for years to come. It is one of the early flowers to bloom as spring is arriving. Hyacinths add a lot of joy to a yard.

Gift Certificate to Thrift Shop

Thrift shopping is chic now. It is budget conscious and a good green living strategy too. Used clothing does not fill the home with toxic fumes that new clothing often emits. Also, buying used items to decorate with means those items are saved from ending up in a dump.

If your local thrift shop does not give gift certificates, take the person on a shopping expedition there and pay cash for the gift they want.

Tree Seedlings

Websites like Arborday.org and E-bay.org have a wide variety of tree seedlings for sale. Start a new Easter tradition by giving out tree seedlings. Then as the years go by you will have the joy of watching the trees grow in the yards of whoever you gave them to. A tree helps the environment by cleaning the air. It also gives birds a place to find shelter. The holly tree provides berries for birds to eat. Bulky trees like pine trees give a safe shelter to birds.

Flower Pots

Flower pots are another great gift idea for someone who is into green living. It is always fun to have a new pot to fill with flower seeds and watch them burst into bloom. Easter is a perfect time to get pots filled to prepare for summer flowers.

Tote Bags

Giving someone a cute tote bag to carry groceries reminds them to stop using plastic bags. This helps prevent the plastic bags from ending up as trash blowing around the environment.

Volunteer Vacation to Help Environment

A wonderful gift idea is to pay for a volunteer vacation to help the environment. There are many volunteer vacation opportunities to take trips where the work done helps the environment. To see some program information about ecotourism volunteer vacations go HERE. Or read about volunteer programs to help the environment with the Sierra Club HERE.

Recipes

Buying commercial foods results in a lot of wrappers and plastic trays that take up room in dumps or recycling centers. Teaching someone to cook by sharing some favorite recipes gets them started on a green living strategy that will improve their health and budget too. Cooking at home is an easy way to go green and forego products that use lots of wrappings.

You could create a book of the recipes or make a wooden box to hold recipe cards. Sharing recipes also makes for a nice sense of bonding. As someone starts to cook your recipes they will probably be very grateful for the new skill.

Sources:

Personal experience.

Wild Bird Watching

The Garden Helper

The Daily Green

Sierra Club