Last year around about this time I pondered consumerism around Christmas, whether a levy of spend is a good idea or not. This year, for the past month, I'd intended to look at the choices we can make for giving, but life kind of got the better of me.
And for all the good intentions I had, I didn't put them into practice because of time constraints, circumstances and something having to give. I'm ok with that. And quite enjoyed some one stop shop (shopping centre) shopping which got me out of the house when spirits were low and made me rather pleased that my worry not to get presents in time was quickly kicked into the very back drawer. And you know what? I think I got rather nice presents that suit their recipients, and will be used - at least I hope.
However, in an ideal world, I'd like to have a handmade and recycled/upcycled Christmas, one where none of the presents given are bought from a chain store. There are so many alternatives. Handmade items from etsy, folksy and other incarnations of the same idea. Local businesses upcycling, just look at Glasgow Wood Recycling's range as a great example. Charities with shops often have a lovely selection of fairtrade or environmentally sound presents - Oxfam, Amnesty International and Save the Children are just some examples.
I've also come across online shops with a difference, such as Gifted People, or some other ethical store like Natural Collection.
It's really the same idea as giving someone the gift of a service, which you could do locally as well. Something like the felt making workshop I gifted myself for my 40th birthday, which in turn supported crafting people passing on their skills, but which also means that I now have a new skill myself, something that's going to be very lasting and not gather dust.
Then of course there is also the possibility of second hand. Now, personally, I have nothing against getting something that is second hand. I'd be very happy with that, as it gives an item a new lease of life rather than going to landfill, and it avoids the making of the same item again, which in my eyes is a waste of limited and precious resources.
The problem is that of course we don't have a culture where giving second hand items is acceptable. Yet. While I'm happy to announce that I'd rather get something second hand than new, would I give a second hand item to friends or family? I'm hypocritical that way and most would be I expect.
There's also the pressure element. Some time ago I announced that I felt there were too many presents going around and it was getting a bit over the top and how about reducing it all and just do less but let it be handmade? The thought behind this not being that we have to all make every present, but to give less, and make or buy handmade. The idea was to reduce the pressure to buy so much, not to add another pressure. But of course, for many, this does result in a new pressure, maybe because it's easier to stick with the shops you know, maybe because handmade takes more time, or if bought, is more expensive.
Personally, I always feel that a present given that is not used is a waste, not of money but of resources. Yes, I do appreciate that it's the thought that counts, but if I give a present that I don't see used, I'd rather not have given it. Look at toys for instance. They're all over the place in our house. Yet Cubling hardly plays with them at all. When I think of the amount of money that goes into them and how better that money could have been used, I get a bit flustered. It's not about my money being wasted, it's about money in general having been wasted, because it could have been spend on something more worthy, as well as resources to make the thing that just sits and doesn't get used.
So in the Christmas spirit, and I know I'm a bit late in throwing this thought into your Christmas shopping, do we really need all that we buy? Would we not be better off being a bit more selective, even offering to friends and family to not gift quite so much? In a time where most of us just buy what we need anyway, what is it we need really? Not another thing, but surely time together, help where we don't manage something ourself. Do you know more ethical shopping outlets that you can share, including handmade and upcycling initiatives? Please do share them in the comments! And finally, could you imagine to give and receive a second hand present?
My plan, again, for next year will be to give handmade, home baked, ethical and maybe even second hand. At least to some extent, because some is always better than none. In this spirit, some of my Christmas shopping did in fact come from some of the places mentioned. I also made some presents. Next time it will be more I hope.
Mummy do that!
Showing posts with label presents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label presents. Show all posts
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Decopatch Vase
The presents I like best at Christmas, whether received or given, are those where a lot of thought has gone into and those which are handmade. In an ideal world, and maybe in years to come, I'd like to have a handmade Christmas, where all I give and decorate has been made by me or someone else (i.e. bought on etsy or folksy).
Of course, the reality is that we're all busy and something has to give. I have less time for crafts than ever but I still sneak it in here and there. My approach is to do as much as I can myself (which is rather little), and above all, not to get pressurised into doing more than I can manage, and stick with the stuff that I find easy to do.
Which is why I'd like to share an idea for a handmade present that doesn't take much time or effort, but looks beautiful. The technique goes by the name of decopatch. You will need an item to decorate - any blank surface will do (a plain glass vase, a mirror with a decent sized frame around it, a picture frame, a box, a reused glass jar, anything goes really - Ikea has lovely and cheap basic items that you can decorate, such as vases and mirrors with a decent sized frame that can be decorated), decopatch paper (it's thinner than normal paper), PVC glue, scissors, a paintbrush and decopatch varnish. The last item on the list is the most expensive one but it will last you and make the finished product more durable. It's not essential though.
I get my supplies from Damselfly on Great Western Road in Glasgow, who also run craft classes in decopatch (this is not a sponsored post, and I'm sure you can get supplies through many channels, but I like to support local shops which have done me well).
Cut the decopatch paper into different sized and shaped pieces.
With the paintbrush, apply a layer of glue to the item you want to decorate.
Glue the decopatch paper pieces onto the item, brushing it with the glue. Make sure to overlap, you can also add second and third layers (because you apply glue while brushing the paper flat, further layers will stick). Feel free to add decorations, like a cut out flower from a different decopatch paper, sequins etc.
Let dry for a few hours or overnight.
Apply the decopatch varnish with a brush.
Done. One present ticked. If you can bear to give it away that is.
You can decorate vases:
Mirrors/frames:
Glass jars and make them into candle holders:
Or even your toilet seat. The technique is so simple that pre-schoolers or older children will be able to help.
Of course, the reality is that we're all busy and something has to give. I have less time for crafts than ever but I still sneak it in here and there. My approach is to do as much as I can myself (which is rather little), and above all, not to get pressurised into doing more than I can manage, and stick with the stuff that I find easy to do.
Which is why I'd like to share an idea for a handmade present that doesn't take much time or effort, but looks beautiful. The technique goes by the name of decopatch. You will need an item to decorate - any blank surface will do (a plain glass vase, a mirror with a decent sized frame around it, a picture frame, a box, a reused glass jar, anything goes really - Ikea has lovely and cheap basic items that you can decorate, such as vases and mirrors with a decent sized frame that can be decorated), decopatch paper (it's thinner than normal paper), PVC glue, scissors, a paintbrush and decopatch varnish. The last item on the list is the most expensive one but it will last you and make the finished product more durable. It's not essential though.
I get my supplies from Damselfly on Great Western Road in Glasgow, who also run craft classes in decopatch (this is not a sponsored post, and I'm sure you can get supplies through many channels, but I like to support local shops which have done me well).
Cut the decopatch paper into different sized and shaped pieces.
With the paintbrush, apply a layer of glue to the item you want to decorate.
Glue the decopatch paper pieces onto the item, brushing it with the glue. Make sure to overlap, you can also add second and third layers (because you apply glue while brushing the paper flat, further layers will stick). Feel free to add decorations, like a cut out flower from a different decopatch paper, sequins etc.
Let dry for a few hours or overnight.
Apply the decopatch varnish with a brush.
Done. One present ticked. If you can bear to give it away that is.
Mirrors/frames:
Glass jars and make them into candle holders:
Or even your toilet seat. The technique is so simple that pre-schoolers or older children will be able to help.
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
A Reverse Competition of Christmas Spending?
I came across a blog post today that tickled me in so many ways that I decided, rather than comment, to continue the discussion here. MrsW over at Clinically Fed Up elaborated on the middle class malaise of a competition of minimalism when it comes to Christmas spend on the kids, and a competition for the handmade which may or may not link in with this minimalism. Of course, I'm summarising here and I do encourage you to read her post before you continue to read mine.
Well, as you can imagine, as someone who has blogged about the senseless consumerism which seems to gnaw at our very existence (though it wasn't meant as a criticism of purely Christmas spending), as someone who tries to include as many handmade items as I can, and as someone who's been rather struggling financially this year, you can imagine that MrsW's post whirled up a bit of sand in my slightly scattered head. It really got me thinking. Am I contributing to the pressure on parents to be picture perfect and have a handmade home? Is my attempt to cut down on spending decidedly middle class (a question I ask myself almost daily)? Can I afford to spend but decide not to because I'm stingy?
To be clear: I find the £50 limit on spend per child artificial. This year, we spent more. In spite of being broke. Last year and the year before it was less, but that was because Cubling was too young and had more toys than she could play with anyway and I truly didn't see the point. The £20 limit is just daft. I spend more than that on other people's kids. The inverse competition isn't something that I've come across, in fact, I've never discussed with even my best friends how much they spend on their child. However, I can relate to so many examples linked to the minimalism of spending.
This year in particular, I've been found to complain about the abundance of presents. Not just for the kids, but for us big kids too. We (Mr and Mrs Cartside) are in our late 30s, yet we are given presents by relatives and friends, who now also give an additional present to our daughter. I know that for some, this is a significant expense, and I'm not comfortable with this. On the other hand, being given presents undoubtably creates a pressure to give presents in return and it does get rather difficult finding a present for people who actually have all they need (or don't disclose what they do need and have not). It's no secret that I hate waste, and the thought of any present, regardless of value, not being used, makes me question what all this present giving is about.
I only need to take my father as a glowing example. Every single present I've given him since time immemorial has been unused. He's my dad and I can't seem to be able to come up with a single thing that he may appreciate. I've tried. Rarely, I've been successful. His own approach is that of monetary gifts, one that I don't particularly like but at least he's (brutally) honest and tells me he can't be bothered imagining what people may want and he really doesn't want any more tat even from other people.
On the other hand, there's the financial pressure that I am under at the moment. It's temporary, so it doesn't worry me the way it worries others. But I know plenty of people who've recently lost their jobs and who still may give presents. It isn't right. I don't want them to give presents, I do appreciate the gesture very much, but really, it's not necessary. We have all we've got and a visit, a phone call, some time together is the best gift there can be. There is also the sad fact that those who struggle the most will still spend to make Christmas special, and end up in debt. Serious debt I may add.
Add to that my very real concern about the temptation of quick buys in cheap shops, the consumer society we live in which produces stuff that is not needed on the expense of natural resources that are limited, I have come to the conclusion that I can only try and address this in some way. So, yes, my way has been to try and increase the proportion of handmade items. Handmade in the broadest sense. Of course MrsW is very right in saying that a) handmade is actually not necessarily cheaper, especially if you look at my favourite sport, knitting; that b) it takes a lot of time and it's not realistic to make a handmade only Christmas; and that c) most of us aren't talented enough to make it anything that someone may appreciate. I struggle with c), really, I love making things, but the only thing I'm reasonably good at is knitting. Which takes ages. I could never ever knit enough to make even the smallest of presents for those closest to me.
As to b) the time involved in making things - that is a very important point. As much as I do like to increase the proportion of handmade items, it doesn't work because I work. Simple as that. I work 4 days a week, sometimes evenings and weekends, I'm the cook in our family, I keep the house tidy (barely let me tell you) and I also help out at another household. There is only so much time in the day and more often than not, my energy just about suffices for a quickly scribbled blog post.
So why do I try? Well, it is about trying to somehow break the endless consumerism I'm surrounded by. If I knit a baby hat, I know that I gave it 2 full evenings of mine. But evenings where I was able to relax. It does make me appreciate the real value of things. Because, even though you can buy a knitted hat/cardigan etc in the shop for a fraction of the cost of yarn, nevermind the time, I also know that the shop hat is cheap because of exploitation, cheap labour, pollution, consumption of natural resources (yes it takes oil to make a baby hat). And I try to opt, where I can, not to buy, not to consume, not to create more stuff. And yes, I'm acutely aware that this attitude is decidedly middle class which makes me very uneasy a lot of the time.
I also want to make sure as of the year to come that anyone who wants to give us a present knows that we are happy if they chose not to. That we appreciate a very small token and are open to agree not to give presents. And as to the kids, well, it's a hard one. I love giving to kids, and so do others. But truth be told, my daughter plays little at home - she's either at the childminder or at her cousin's house, or we are out and about. She already has more toys than time to play with them, and when she plays she actually prefers to help me cook, to play with empty kitchen rolls and other random items. She is great at imagination - e. g. she'll play hairdresser without any toys, she just imagines soap, hair dryer and scissors. I really feel, as much as I hate to say it, that the £30 (I'm guessing) play house that she played with a few times and doesn't now touch, was money wasted.
Therefore, for birthdays and Christmasses to come, I hope our friends and relatives do not feel obliged to buy the latest pink toy for our daughter, or anything at all for us, the parents. And, radical as it may be, second hand is just fine when it comes to presents. The bottom line is that it's hard to tell what will be played with. I'm very happy to spend a lot of money on one item if this is something that will be cherished (which is why we bought a large item for this Christmas) but would rather do without the stuff that won't get played with. And for us - well, do we really need anything? Have we not got more than enough? This year, I've made some handmade presents, some knits, lots of biscuits. They will come in lieu of gifts to relatives who we feel have been burdened with our badly selected gifts in the past.
Surely, food is always appreciated. And if it's homemade, it doesn't have the "I didn't know what to get you so I bought you a box of biscuits" feel to it. I do pledge to do more of this next year. Not as a reverse competition (we will always be happy to spend a lot if it's an item that is appreciated and will be used lots), but as a way of getting the balance right. And not making people thank us for another useless item that we randomly selected for them.
Well, as you can imagine, as someone who has blogged about the senseless consumerism which seems to gnaw at our very existence (though it wasn't meant as a criticism of purely Christmas spending), as someone who tries to include as many handmade items as I can, and as someone who's been rather struggling financially this year, you can imagine that MrsW's post whirled up a bit of sand in my slightly scattered head. It really got me thinking. Am I contributing to the pressure on parents to be picture perfect and have a handmade home? Is my attempt to cut down on spending decidedly middle class (a question I ask myself almost daily)? Can I afford to spend but decide not to because I'm stingy?
To be clear: I find the £50 limit on spend per child artificial. This year, we spent more. In spite of being broke. Last year and the year before it was less, but that was because Cubling was too young and had more toys than she could play with anyway and I truly didn't see the point. The £20 limit is just daft. I spend more than that on other people's kids. The inverse competition isn't something that I've come across, in fact, I've never discussed with even my best friends how much they spend on their child. However, I can relate to so many examples linked to the minimalism of spending.
This year in particular, I've been found to complain about the abundance of presents. Not just for the kids, but for us big kids too. We (Mr and Mrs Cartside) are in our late 30s, yet we are given presents by relatives and friends, who now also give an additional present to our daughter. I know that for some, this is a significant expense, and I'm not comfortable with this. On the other hand, being given presents undoubtably creates a pressure to give presents in return and it does get rather difficult finding a present for people who actually have all they need (or don't disclose what they do need and have not). It's no secret that I hate waste, and the thought of any present, regardless of value, not being used, makes me question what all this present giving is about.
I only need to take my father as a glowing example. Every single present I've given him since time immemorial has been unused. He's my dad and I can't seem to be able to come up with a single thing that he may appreciate. I've tried. Rarely, I've been successful. His own approach is that of monetary gifts, one that I don't particularly like but at least he's (brutally) honest and tells me he can't be bothered imagining what people may want and he really doesn't want any more tat even from other people.
On the other hand, there's the financial pressure that I am under at the moment. It's temporary, so it doesn't worry me the way it worries others. But I know plenty of people who've recently lost their jobs and who still may give presents. It isn't right. I don't want them to give presents, I do appreciate the gesture very much, but really, it's not necessary. We have all we've got and a visit, a phone call, some time together is the best gift there can be. There is also the sad fact that those who struggle the most will still spend to make Christmas special, and end up in debt. Serious debt I may add.
Add to that my very real concern about the temptation of quick buys in cheap shops, the consumer society we live in which produces stuff that is not needed on the expense of natural resources that are limited, I have come to the conclusion that I can only try and address this in some way. So, yes, my way has been to try and increase the proportion of handmade items. Handmade in the broadest sense. Of course MrsW is very right in saying that a) handmade is actually not necessarily cheaper, especially if you look at my favourite sport, knitting; that b) it takes a lot of time and it's not realistic to make a handmade only Christmas; and that c) most of us aren't talented enough to make it anything that someone may appreciate. I struggle with c), really, I love making things, but the only thing I'm reasonably good at is knitting. Which takes ages. I could never ever knit enough to make even the smallest of presents for those closest to me.
As to b) the time involved in making things - that is a very important point. As much as I do like to increase the proportion of handmade items, it doesn't work because I work. Simple as that. I work 4 days a week, sometimes evenings and weekends, I'm the cook in our family, I keep the house tidy (barely let me tell you) and I also help out at another household. There is only so much time in the day and more often than not, my energy just about suffices for a quickly scribbled blog post.
So why do I try? Well, it is about trying to somehow break the endless consumerism I'm surrounded by. If I knit a baby hat, I know that I gave it 2 full evenings of mine. But evenings where I was able to relax. It does make me appreciate the real value of things. Because, even though you can buy a knitted hat/cardigan etc in the shop for a fraction of the cost of yarn, nevermind the time, I also know that the shop hat is cheap because of exploitation, cheap labour, pollution, consumption of natural resources (yes it takes oil to make a baby hat). And I try to opt, where I can, not to buy, not to consume, not to create more stuff. And yes, I'm acutely aware that this attitude is decidedly middle class which makes me very uneasy a lot of the time.
I also want to make sure as of the year to come that anyone who wants to give us a present knows that we are happy if they chose not to. That we appreciate a very small token and are open to agree not to give presents. And as to the kids, well, it's a hard one. I love giving to kids, and so do others. But truth be told, my daughter plays little at home - she's either at the childminder or at her cousin's house, or we are out and about. She already has more toys than time to play with them, and when she plays she actually prefers to help me cook, to play with empty kitchen rolls and other random items. She is great at imagination - e. g. she'll play hairdresser without any toys, she just imagines soap, hair dryer and scissors. I really feel, as much as I hate to say it, that the £30 (I'm guessing) play house that she played with a few times and doesn't now touch, was money wasted.
Therefore, for birthdays and Christmasses to come, I hope our friends and relatives do not feel obliged to buy the latest pink toy for our daughter, or anything at all for us, the parents. And, radical as it may be, second hand is just fine when it comes to presents. The bottom line is that it's hard to tell what will be played with. I'm very happy to spend a lot of money on one item if this is something that will be cherished (which is why we bought a large item for this Christmas) but would rather do without the stuff that won't get played with. And for us - well, do we really need anything? Have we not got more than enough? This year, I've made some handmade presents, some knits, lots of biscuits. They will come in lieu of gifts to relatives who we feel have been burdened with our badly selected gifts in the past.
Surely, food is always appreciated. And if it's homemade, it doesn't have the "I didn't know what to get you so I bought you a box of biscuits" feel to it. I do pledge to do more of this next year. Not as a reverse competition (we will always be happy to spend a lot if it's an item that is appreciated and will be used lots), but as a way of getting the balance right. And not making people thank us for another useless item that we randomly selected for them.
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