Last-Minute, Non-Material Gift Ideas

Looking to ditch the consumer gift-giving trend without feeling like a Scrooge? There are several non-material gift options that are perfect for the mall-phobic and landfill-conscious.

Care2′s alternative gift guide offers giving options like planting a tree, providing a life-giving goat and saving a polar bear. With a donation purchase, you can send a personalized card or e-card to your gift recipient — perhaps a refreshing change from the generic Christmas-sweater gift!

Home-spun gift certificates are another great non-material gift option. Offer a loved one a free massage, house-cleaning, home-cooked meal, art lessons, or a getaway, and present it to them with a homemade gift card.

Whether you give a coupon, donation, or experience, feel better knowing that you’re avoiding the inevitable landfill-fate of the billions of dollars worth of stuff being given this year.

Find more consumer-less gift ideas here.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Jessie D.

1:26PM PDT on May 1, 2012

thanks!

send a green star

1:25PM PDT on May 1, 2012

J.L. A.

9:07AM PDT on Apr 23, 2012

good to remember

Douglas S.

2:22PM PST on Feb 29, 2012

Thanks

Eternal G.

7:02PM PST on Jan 14, 2012

Non-materialistic I suppose? Awesome.

Loesje v.

1:28AM PST on Dec 29, 2011

Thank you for sharing and Merry X'Mas Megan! :)

Gloria M.

7:09PM PST on Dec 27, 2011

Yes, let's stop giving "stuff."

Sheri P.

2:25PM PST on Dec 26, 2011

Thanks...

Nina A.

4:43AM PST on Dec 26, 2011

thanks.

Donna H.

10:10PM PST on Dec 25, 2011

Beware of some charities; the 'gift' you select is not where your money always goes. As a vegetarian I am opposed to sending goats and other animals to individuals who may slaughter them, often in inhumane ways. I therefore elected to send a gift of seeds and gardening implements, however I discovered in the charities small print the following year that they will spend your donation whereever they think fit and NOT where you wish it to be directed. Had this information been available to me at my time of purchase I would not have donated.