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If you’re looking for holiday gift sets, you cant get any better than the Naturity organic bath and body gift pack.

This peppermint essential oil scented set comes complete with:

• 8 oz Peppermint Organic Sugar Body Scrub – Made with organic sugar for gentle exfoliation and organic sunflower seed oil, which softens skin with a silky radiance.
• Peppermint Herbal Bath Blend (tin contains four 1/2 ounce bath bags) – Organic herbs and organic essential oils comes together in an organic herbal bath tea infusion that relaxes the mind, body, and spirit.
• 8 oz Peppermint Organic Massage Oil – This organic massage oil combines certified organic sunflower seed and sweet almond oils for a smooth slip and the added antioxidant benefits of certified organic extra virgin olive oil.
  Recycled Paperboard Box and Recycled Paper Shred

All Naturity products comes packaged in reusable glass or tin which is perfect if you want to reduce plastic consumption!

This seasonal organic holiday gift set is only available at Green and Chic until the end of the month.

Don’t know what to get your loved ones for Christmas?  These bath and body gift sets from Green and Chic makes a wonderful, compact, and affordable gift when you simply  can decide.

All Deep Steep products are completely free of artificial ingredients; instead, only the finest organic essential oils, botanicals, and vegetable oils are used. All Deep Steep products are paraben free, fee of chemical preserves, 100% Vegan and cruelty free.

The gift sets also make a handy travel kit complete with:

2 oz Bubble Bath
1 oz Body Lotion
1 oz Body Wash
1 oz Body Polish
1 oz Body Butter
.5 oz Moisture Stick
Signature Print Bag

Want to try Deep Seep, but don’t want to make a huge commitment? The gift/travel sets are a great way to try a variety of Deep Steep products without making a large purchase.

You have a choice of five 100% essential oil blends:

Grapefruit | Bergamot
Honeydew | Spearmint
Lavender | Chamomile
Rosemary | Mint
Tangerine | Melon

$17.50 each

To get 10% off any Green and Chic purchase until December 17th, enter code GHOLIDAY at checkout.

Cloud9DesignStudio is a pretty cool online resource for earth friendly, hand screened apparel. A few weeks ago, I found out about their giveaway for $30 credit for their Etsy store and actually won!  I browsed all of the products that they carry and found some really cute apparel for men, women, children, babies, and maternity.

I was also impressed at the customer service. The package made it to my mailbox in less than a week of placing the order.  Communication with Amber is very easy and response usually happens within a couple of hours via email, Etsy, or Twitter.  She has a 100% positive Etsy rating and deserves it! You can also read more reviews and ratings at shopcloud9design.com/kudos.

I ended up ordering one of the woman’s hand screened t-shirt.  The woman’s Ts are “one size fits most” and very soft and comfortable, I can almost sleep on it!

Holiday Gift Guide

Their new Holiday Gift Guide at Cloud9DesignStudio is also well done. Besides the hand screened t-shirts and other clothing, this guide includes handmade made to order apparel from other designers,  vintage apparel, clothing for women (including maternity), Yoga clothing,  gifts for him, jewelry, accessories, items for baby, home accessories and more.

So if you’re going to buy one or two gifts or totally spurge, at least buy handmade (and/or eco friendly) and support independent designers and artists.

Shop
Holiday Gift Guide
Blog
Portfolio
Web

Photo credit: bhollar

(OK, I am  sick of the word “GREEN”, and I will elaborate on that in a future post.)

I decided that its about time for me to write the obligatory “Thanksgiving dinner” post.

This Thanksgiving will be spent with my partner and a few or our friends when its normally just the two of us.  Figuring out what to to make wasn’t that difficult given the fact that I cannot eat soy, gluten, most other grains, legumes, refined sugar and dairy (except for a little butter).  They, on the other hand, eat just about everything.

Turkey seems like the best and easiest choice for the “main course”.  Since I was originally going to feed just one other person, I purchased an organic, free range turkey breast because I didn’t want to have turkey leftovers until the end of May.  Now with four people, a small turkey is a more economical idea, but you live and learn.   I would list some resources as to where to buy local, humanely-raised, free range and/or organic turkeys, but its a little late for that now.

Instead of the usual cranberry sauce (which I never liked anyway), I will probably make something out of pomegranates since there are plenty of flavorful organic ones available this season at the local markets.  I haven’t figured it out yet, but it should be tasty whatever it is.

I have a thing for yams (not to be confused with the sweet potato).  I like to cut them up, sprinkle sea salt, cracked pepper and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil before baking at 400-450 degrees until they’re brown. There is a local creamery that makes some of the best butter I’ve ever had.

Veggies will either be chard and/or collards complete with caramelized onions and garlic.  A big salad will be severed while I finish getting everything else ready.  My daily meals normally consist of about 75% vegetables, 25% protein and little to no starch and this meal will not be much different though yams are a treat for me.

Dessert will probably be local, seasonal, organic fruit; maybe persimmons and whatever else is available at the farmers market this Tuesday.  If I feel like we need something else in addition to fruit, organic, fair trade dark chocolate is always a great choice.

For beverages, I will serve Blue Bottle Coffee at the end of the meal.  In terms of something a little more exciting, I have been doing some experimentation with organic wine, but I don’t know much about that genre of wine yet.  I may pick up a bottle or two from my local wine store, Vintage Berkeley or Whole Foods.  I also have a bottle of Pierre Chermette Beaujolais 2007, and it goes down pretty easy – a little too easy, and this light, low tannin red will go well with turkey.

All in all, everything will be local, seasonal and organic (except for one of the wines).  I also wanted to keep the meal simple, both for me and my dinner guests.  Since I’m a pretty efficient cook, it will be a low stress, low fuss, low mess meal.

Green Thanksgiving Tips

Though we only have a few days until Thanksgiving, there is still time to apply a lot of the tips listed below and even pick out a new recipe.

Earth First 10 Tips for a Green Thanksgiving

Eat. Drink. Better. for How Local Will Your Thanksgiving Be?

Vegan/Vegetarian Thanksgiving Links

Veg Kitchen for vegan Thanksgiving recipes

Vegan Dad Blog has a recipe for Setain Roast with Wild Rice Chestnut Stuffing

Veg Cooking Blog presents: Vegan Recipes for a Canadian Thanksgiving (I’m sure you don’t need to be Canadian to enjoy these dishes)

The Organic Mixed Greens Salad with Toasted Pecan Vinaigrette posted on Vegan Fusion Blog sounds wonderful!

What are your plans?

Have a happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving!

Photo credit: harakiri

Previous posts in this series touched on homemade gifts and giving a limited amount of gifts to help reduce or eliminate the stress, pressure and financial burden of the holiday season.

How about NO gifts?
Having a no gift policy may seem like a downer for some people, but it can be a welcomed change. There is no pressure to shop for the “perfect” gift, you don’t have to have a Christmas gift budget, no standing in line at the retail stores and post offices, and no clutter from useless gifts. Another policy could be gifts for the kids only.

Present the idea to your immediate and extended family in a positive way and highlight the benefits of a no gift policy.  Emphasize spending the precious (and many times short) time with friends and family instead of feeling the pressure of gift giving.     It could make it easier financially for everyone to get together during the holidays. The gift of family.  The gift of love and togetherness.  Maybe you can pool the money together and help out a family member who is in dire need.

You can also donate the gift money to a charity of your choosing individually or as a family.

I also love the idea  Marelisa wrote in her comment from the previous blog post on holiday gifts.  Offering services such as babysitting, housecleaning, shelving snow, etc in lieu of a material gift is a wonderful idea that would definitely be put to good use and not go to waste.

Buy Nothing Christmas ’06 has 59 alternatives to spending money this holiday season.

Instead of being a happy and joyous time of year, Christmas (and the holiday season in general) tends to add more stress and anxiety to already stressed out and busy lives for a lot of people.  Whether is financial concerns or the pressure to find “the perfect gift” for a loved one, many people get overwhelmed from the pressure and emphasis placed on holiday gift giving.  Messages from the media constantly reminding us that we are in or heading towards a recession and at the same time being told that there are X amount of days until Christmas can really talk a toll.

In my previous post in this series, I touched a little on homemade gifts.  For a lot of us…or some of us, making gifts can be very relaxing and rewarding for both the giver and receiver. If you don’t have the time, patience, and/or skill to do that, here are some more low stress, and potentially money saving ideas.

Give only one gift.
A relatively low-stress, time, and money saving idea is to give one gift per friend or family member, including one gift for the children.  You can also just give one gift, period.  Just like many workplaces organizes a Secret Santa, this is something that can be done with friends and family.  A Secret Santa is when you put the names of all of your friends, family, co-workers, group members, etc into a “hat” and everyone draws one name.  You have one person to give one gift to. That’s it. Typically there is a price limit (usually around $15-20) for the gifts, but you can set the price limit to whatever you’d like as a group or family unit.  For simplicity, you can use this free online service: Secret Santa; which is very useful for family and friends who are out of the area.

Give something you already have
I have a fairly large Kitchen Aid mixer (the biggest model they make)  that I purchased with high hopes several years ago. I loved to bake and did it often.  After being diagnosed with Celiac Disease and Insulin Resistance, my love of sweets and breads are over (for the most part) and I don’t make nearly enough gluten free alternatives to justify owning a huge mixer. There are many alternatives I can make, but its not something I do often since I very seldom share such foods with others.  The mixer is in excellent condition and will make someone who also loves to bake very happy. Since it is very heavy, this will go to someone in my local area to avoid the high cost and hassle of shipping.  Do you have items such as small kitchen appliances, books, baby items, etc  that are in good condition you no longer need that someone else can use?

Staying green
One way to reduce waste during the holiday season is to not create waste.  This year I won’t be using any wrapping paper, but instead, I will wrap gifts using any stray tissue paper I collected over the past few years, scrap fabric from my sewing projects and finding creative ways to use ribbon or yarn to “wrap” gifts. Wrapping paper is not necessary, especially since it will end up in the recycling bin by the end of the day.

Here are some unconventional gift wrapping ideas at eartheasy.com.

If you must use wrapping paper, you can try tree free wrapping paper and recycled paper wrapping paper.

Reducing Christmas waste when it comes to decorations is also essential.  All That Glisters is Not Green from Guardian UK

Next post in this series: “Not buying it”.

What is your opinion regarding holiday gift giving in general?

Photo credit: AnnaKika

I usually don’t think about holiday gift giving until around December 21st, but wanted to share a few ideas for this season.  Gift ideas that are useful and reduce cost and clutter to both the giver and receiver.

Handmade gifts: This is definitely not a new concept and I’m sure many of you are already ahead of the curve on this one.  Time and skill are two issues that usually come up when thinking about handmade gifts.  For this reason, my favorite item to make are knitted scarves.   I’m by far not an expert knitter.  Throws, blankets, scarves; anything in a straight line is pretty much all I can do.  In terms of time, using large needles and comparable yarn would help you get your project done in no time.  Public transportation, waiting in line at the grocery store, lunch breaks, steeling five minutes here and there – anytime you have to wait for something are great times to get a small knitting project done.

Knitting blogs or blogs that occasionally speak about knitting:
Stitchywich
Carrieoke
Show and Tell: “Use it or Lose it” knitting
Okay Knits

How to knit
How to knit – The basics (YouTube)
How to knit a scarf
Knitting Help

Vogue Knitting | Chic Knits | Knit N Style If only I can knit like that! Fashion knitting is a skill I would love to have, but I think I will stick with blankets, throws, and scarves for now. 

More on handmade gifts.
Tsh at Simplemom.net has a few sewing projects you can get started on now: Holidays by Hand: Celebrate the Season With Your Sewing Skills

Also, Green and Clean Mom Blog presents: 2008 Green Holiday Gift Guide
Getrichslowly.org/blog offers a host of ideas tips in A Do-It-Yourself Christmas: 34 Great Gifts You Can Make Yourself

http://craftingagreenworld.com/

Does anyone have more homemade gift ideas?  Candles, soaps, handmade cards – anything?  Please share what you do (or would like to do) and any related links.

If you use a microwave, do you stand ten feet away when its on because of the radiation?  Do you avoid using sponges at all cost because of germs? Do you avoid eating certain foods or produce if you don’t know for sure if its organic or not to avoid pesticides?

On this blog, I do write a great deal about toxic substances that are used in our day-to-day lives, but also want to keep it light and (hopefully) fun.  Baring allergies, intolerance’s or illness you or your family members may have, sometimes we can get too caught up up in whats “deadly” .The question is, how do you find that balance once you become aware that certain habits you’re used to may not be healthy for you and your family?

My guess is you have to pick and choose whats most important to you.  For me, its the use of artificial fragrances in personal and home care products because of my allergies (perfumes gives me migraines).  Also, I avoid certain foods to a point.

Between news about what Sarah Palin is wearing and what the stocks are doing, there has been some headlines about the safety of our food (again), specifically chocolate candy.  The Cheeseslave blog wrote a couple of great posts on this issue: Very Scary Halloween Candy

More on Potentially Tainted Halloween Candy

Personally, this scares the crap out of me given there has already been deaths associated with melamine.  Its been quite a while since I’ve had mainstream chocolate, but my concern is for others and their children.  Other people may not be that concerned however.

Other things people are concerned about may include, mattresses, clothing that isn’t organic, the use of plastics, cosmetics, cell phones, and much more.

How do you find your balance when it comes to keeping your and/or your family healthy and safe?

Though we’ve heard about “Halloween safety” year after year for as long as some of us can remember, its always good to be reminded; especially when it comes to children.

Here are some great tips and ideas from Source News Papers to keep your Halloween happy, healthy and safe.

Halloween tips and tricks

The only one I DON’T agree with is:

“When purchasing costumes and accessories, look for “Flame Resistant” labels.”  Here is a  previous post on the matter:  Fire retardant chemicals found in toddlers’ blood

One way to reduce the risk of fires is to avoid candles all together.

If you must light up:

-Keep candles out of reach and walking space of children and avoid putting them in places where they can be knocked around  (small tables, etc).

-Make sure there is always adult supervision.

-Trim wicks prior to each use to within ¼-inch from the top of the candle.

-Keep a non-expired fire extinguisher near.

Also read National Geographic – Green Guide – Halloween Safety; an oldie but goodie!

If you have any other tips, please let us know.  Stay safe everyone!