So this year, for a variety of reasons, I’ve decided to try and be super-duper green and non-consumerist and either make presents for my friends and/or buy vintage or reused items as my gifts.  Except for a very few items for people (i.e. my niece and nephew, who probably won’t really appreciate the whole “green” thing, considering they are 2 years old and 4 years old…).  So for all of you guys who were expecting a gift card for a chinchilla fur coat… you’re out of luck.

Sounds like a big task, but my family isn’t SUPER into Christmas, so it’s turning out to be more manageable than I thought.  My friends are also pretty chill… hopefully you guys will read this and choose not to buy me a huge present, because when I give you my macaroni picture of two hands shaking, you may feel a little ripped off…

Here are some ideas that I’m toying with (sorry for spoiling any surprises for my friends…).

1. COOKIES!
For some peeps, I’m thinking that I’m going to make a bunch of cookies and put them in a nice reusable jar or something, and attach the recipe.  May sound a bit chintsy, but the love and care I put into the cookies will CLEARLY outweigh the money that would have been put towards purchasing a bottle of scotch.  Right?  Right.  Eat the damn cookies.

2. Drawing a Picture
Sooooo, I’m not an ‘artist’ by any means, but when I want to get my art on, I can be pretty awesome.  I once took this picture of my mom and drew it on a huge canvas for a big birthday she had, and I’m pretty sure it’s the best gift I’ve ever given anyone.

3. Buying some weird-ass, totally hard to find vintage item
Every Time I’m in Value Village or Goodwill, I always see weird and totally cool items (as seen in this post, where I saw tons of awesome weird-ass shite).  I’m going to take a few treks to different second-hand places and try to find some fun things for some friends who just moved into new houses and have space to fill!

4. Personalized Items that I Make For You!
Ever thought “Wow, I wish Natalie would make me a really cool accent pillow with my name embroidered on it, or maybe with some funny saying or something or maybe a picture of my face made from pieces of discarded felt?”  WELL THIS MIGHT BE THE YEAR, baby!

Hmmmmmmm.  Those are all the ideas that I have right now, but I hope that I can think up more soon!

Do you have any ideas?  TELLLLL MEEEE!