Gifts for Sustainability

By Cathy Shouse, Photos provided

For many, the holidays are the highlight of the year, and gift-giving is the cherry on top. Yet a reality check begs the question: What is a good gift? One that doesn’t add clutter or feed a landfill? For Sara Ward, an author and marketer from Fort Wayne, it’s about considering the person’s unique desires. “It’s sometimes hard to know,” she said. “One person’s clutter is another person’s special gift!” Ward, married to husband Sam for 24 years, has two kids, ages 5 and 16. She sometimes goes for experiences with others, and several others may chip in to cover the expense. “We’ve given escape room tickets, and one of the most fun was planning my husband’s birthday, which is New Year’s Eve, where I gave him a day with his brothers doing fun stuff,” she said. “Since we live far away from them, it was one of his favorite gifts yet!” Ward has been on the receiving end of concert tickets, dancing lessons, and restaurant gift cards. Partly, gifting means setting intentions. “We try to emphasize the gift of Jesus with our kids and always do the Jesse Tree each year, where we hang an ornament on the tree associated with a Bible story and read that story,” she said. Ward uses and reuses gift bags. For lovers of wrapped boxes, consider using newspaper, be mindful to reuse bows and ribbon, and avoid foil and glitter, which can’t be recycled.

Giftsfor sustainability Plus, maybe edit the gift list. “We do draw names on one side of our family because it’s a very large family, and we always adopt a theme. We’ve also done donations to the charity of choice instead of drawing names,” Ward said. Ward, whose pen name is Grace Worthington, sometimes gifts books, which can be shared or donated to the library. “Whether it’s one of my books or another author’s book, I like to include a special note inside that explains why I picked it for them. In a sense, you can personalize a book this way.” Fort Wayne resident and debut author Sandi Baron will give her book on being a schoolteacher in 1960s New Orleans to some friends. She is also an artist, so she creates mini paintings with a poppy or a pear which have a scripture or quote on the back. She individualizes to the person’s interests. A program called Buy Nothing helped Baron get to know her neighbors within five miles and she will be gifting many smaller items. Cooks in the group make extra helpings and share. She’s gotten pretty vases from the site to gift flowers in. “I don’t want to buy anything,” she said. “To me, that’s more thoughtful than a $20 gift card for coffee. Not that I don’t appreciate that.” She likes it when someone invites her to coffee, and they set a time to go together. “I love to see people’s faces when I say, ‘Surprise, here’s something special because you’re special,’” Baron said. a