A serving of holiday spirit!

What can you do?

  • Look at some of the videos on the Story of Stuff website:  https://www.storyofstuff.org

  • Follow the suggestions of snother of our favorite advocacy groups.  The Plastic Pollution Coalition offers this fantastic gift guide: https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/2023ppcgiftguide

  • Check out this website with sustainable toy suggestions for the young children in your life: https://wapo.st/3sycAht

  • And just in case there may be another TP shortage, consider giving a box of “Who Gives a Crap” toilet paper as a gift.  You can use the paper wrapping each roll for gift wrapping and origami. It also makes a great conversation piece: https://us.whogivesacrap.org/collections/all

  • Story of Stuff offers a way to opt out of catalogs and junk mail:  https://www.catalogchoice.org/

  • Call a friend, invite someone new for dinner or out to lunch so they know they are appreciated.

  • Give the gift of an experience.

  • Plant a tree in honor of someone you love.

  • Give to a favorite charity such as any of our favorite organizations working to tackle the world’s plastic crisis.

 When you do buy gifts, please don’t wrap them in plastic!!  Here are some fun alternatives:

  • Eco Kraft paper, fabric, burlap bags, reusable mesh produce bags or chico bags (see gift guide), old maps, glass jars, baskets, or newspaper.

And finally, as one of our very favorite anti-plastic advocates, Gert-Jan Van Dommelen of End Plastic Soup shared. . . give something with emotion from your heart.

Enjoy a wonderful holiday season!

The holiday season is upon us and we McSisters wish you a most joyous season.  Our family is quite diverse in our beliefs and how we celebrate the holidays.  Some of our family members are Jewish and celebrate Hanukah, some are Christian celebrating Christmas, and some do not follow a religion and just enjoy the season.  Given this, our family spent years volunteering to make and serve meals on Christmas Day to unhoused people, which sadly ended with the COVID pandemic.  During the holiday season, we enjoy walks, playing games, soup parties, concerts, and our mother’s traditional dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with family and friends.  The most inspiring of all is to be in touch with our friends and family and make sure they are not alone for the holidays.

No matter how we celebrate, we are all barraged with hundreds of ads to BUY stuff. We often feel pressured to buy gifts for children, grandchildren, spouses, friends, co-workers, pets, and more.  Black Friday sales start early in November and continue for weeks. Much of this stuff ends up in the garbage, on a back shelf, and potentially in our oceans.

Much of this stuff is made with plastic and/or packaged in excessive amounts of plastic.  We are all learning the terrible impact all this plastic is having on ourselves, our environment – the wildlife, the climate, the oceans, and those communities reeling from industrial facilities spewing poisons to make all that plastic. 

One of our favorite organizations is “The Story of Stuff Project” and it has some great ideas to reduce our impact on the environment this holiday season.  Their latest newsletter is titled “Less Stuff, More Joy” with this message: “This holiday season, we’re encouraging everyone to buy less, buy better or buy nothing. Let’s focus less on stuff and more on joy!” Here are a few of their holiday suggestions:

  • Go for a walk or read that book you’ve been meaning to start.

  • Write personalized holiday messages for those closest to you.

  • If you are buying gifts, shop secondhand or support small businesses.

  • Invite loved ones over for a home-cooked meal and games.

  • Try an experience: check out a new restaurant, movie or concert with friends.

  • Donate to or volunteer for a cause you care about.

  • Participate in a community exchange like your local Buy Nothing Group.

We McSisters invite you to say NO to buying all that stuff and instead to make a difference for others and for the environment. 

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