Column: Gifts that can help others and planet Earth

With just three Sundays until Christmas, it’s time to offer some holiday ideas that are good for the planet and good for you.

We have spent the last nine months in an altered state of life as we knew it. Many folks are working from home, many folks aren’t working at all. Kids are attending school on occasion or not at all.

Many of our favorite activities, like sporting events, eating at a favorite restaurant, attending church or singing in a choir, travel, getting together with family and friends have changed and there doesn’t seem to be an end until June of 2021.

The last nine month, your county landfill has seen a significant increase in household trash and our convenience sites have more residents utilizing our recycling services.

Many have taken this down time to de-clutter and “Marie Kondo” their homes. I know many people who have re-designed home spaces to accommodate work or school spaces and many time have repainted just for a fresh look as we spend more time at home.

As you think through your holiday gifting and spending, keep in mind that this is the perfect year to not add more stuff since we just spent nine months reducing our stuff!

I am sure that homemade gifts will warm lots of hearts, and not hurt your gift-giving budget. This is the perfect time to reuse a container for holiday cookies.

Just think how nice it could be to get cookies in a cleaned salad box. Maybe there are other plastic containers that you have saved from other take-out meals that are causing more clutter in the kitchen.

Kate Mercer is the chief food director for many magazines including Good Housekeeping, Women’s Health, Country Living and others. She published a recipe that would fit nicely into a salad box, Gingerbread Rolls that are made with yeast (https://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/a25439646/gingerbread-rolls-recipe/). They take a little time, but smell and taste like Christmas.

I am also one who has a hard time recycling glass jars…you never know when you need a jar for something special. Well, now could be the time to re-purpose all of those jars stored in my pantry.

I have found a wonderful recipe for Golden Honey Granola in Country Living that can be doubled and provide a healthy and satisfying snack or breakfast for family and friends. It combines old-fashioned oats, almonds, dried apricots, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, butter and honey. Sounds pretty wonderful as a gift.

You can always include a copy of the recipe, tied to the mouth of the jar as another way to share your gift. A very good friend of mine, who we lost a few years ago, Carol Lewis, would make Russian Tea as well as a hot chocolate mix and reuse glass jars.

I would be willing to bet that this was pre the days of the very popular jar mixes that we can find today. Her Russian Tea was wonderful, and included tea mix, Tang, lemonade mix, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. A couple of teaspoons in a hot mug of water, and you are set!

There is also a lot to be said for a gift of cash. Especially in this time of a pandemic, knowing that a neighbor or family member might need extra help with just the everyday things. Maybe a gift card to Aldi’s, Walmart or your favorite local business…helping that business as well as the gift recipient.

This is certainly the year to look beyond the online shopping and find real meaning in gift-giving.

If you have any skills like sewing, crocheting or knitting, there still may be time to whip up some homemade goodie.

Who couldn’t use another handsome mask right about now? Any maybe if we get lucky and actually have some colder weather, how about a toboggan to wear as we socially distance outside at our fire pits?

We can find ways to work through the current pandemic and still have the best holiday season that we can.

Nan Kirlin is Gaston County’s recycling coordinator and her column appears in The Gazette on Sundays.