* * * Green Gifts * * *

This year I gave Green Gifts to my family and friends. I stamped the plain bags with a Christmas tree stamp I made. I added some canned goods , all homemade and from the garden this past summer , Kosher Dill Pickles , Salsa , Jalapeno Peppers , Strawberry Jam. A couple of jars wrapped in tissue paper were tucked in the gift bags.

I recycled some of my past holiday cards for gift tags.
Each tag said ....

Help me
Help Mother Earth

Please reuse your jars or return to me.

Recycle your bag next Christmas ( add your own decorations )
and pass it along.

Merry Christmas !

I'm looking forward to next year , wonder how many will actually decorate their bags and pass it along. I know one of my friends was really thrilled about it and said her bag would be heavily embellished next Christmas.

I'm not sure if I should have asked them to return the jars to me if they didn't reuse them , but I will use them and don't want them sent to the landfill. My ancestors were called Indian Givers because of this practice , but they believed if you were given a gift and didn't use it , the gift should be given to someone who would. It wasn't considered rude to ask for it back , if they weren't using it or for the person receiving the gift to give it back if they didn't need it. This wasn't considered ungrateful or rude , it was handled in a respectful way.

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. I will be posting more about my Green Christmas in the days to come.