Having trouble finding that terrific green holiday gift? Need some holiday tips to help save money and the environment? Look no further than here.
Colorado and USA Green Gifts
When you support local businesses, you are giving back to your community.
Green Services
Offer to have a friend or family member’s home green cleaned by Healthy Clean located in Highlands Ranch. They provide green cleaning services to residences and businesses throughout the metro area.
Health and Beauty
Buy locally made organic and natural health and beauty products. This examiner recommends Queen of the Meadow, which offers a wide variety of scented and unscented soaps, bath salts, lotion bars and much more! This business is located in Fort Collins.
Living Tree Soaps also offers a wide variety of natural and organic soaps and lotion bars, plus candles, massage oils and many other skin care products. They manufacture their products in Wheatridge.
Gifts for the Birds and Bird Lovers
Do you have a bird lover in your family? Consider purchasing a bird house, feeder or bat house made from Colorado beetle kill pine. These houses will blend right in your backyard. Tim Ewal’s feeders are also squirrel-proof and made in Broomfield. Please find a photo of his work in the slide show and contact him directly for more information at (303) 884-8766.
Gifts Which Give to Others
Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church has a charity which helps victims of domestic violence, the homeless, protecting children and offering support at the Tennyson Center, a residential treatment program.
The organization called “Pillow Hugs” sews small pillow cases for travel pillows and pillows for small children. They also sell the pillows. The pillows and cases are excellent for camping, traveling or for preschoolers. Call Jo Ann Zimmerman to learn more at (303) 238-2482.
A local non-profit called Earthlinks is supporting community gardening and offers a Micro-Enterprise Workshop Program for low income and homeless people in the Denver Metro Area. The program teaches individuals to grow food, bee keeping and making handmade crafts like rain barrels, soaps and lotions, flower bowls, bat boxes, dog coats, cards, bookmarks and more. Support local citizens!
Local Artisans
This examiner discovered a creative gift made in Colorado. If you know someone who is a geology buff or someone who loves rocks, check out Rough Around the Edge. This local company creates stone oil candles, including menorahs, lazy susans, cutting boards and stones for keeping food warm or cool. These polished stones are not only useful but a decorative accessory for any home.
Peggy Corpeny offers a variety of still art pieces. If you love dogs, she paints colorful water colors like “Paws for Peace” and takes scenic black and white photographs. Corpeny has her own art studio called Heart Bow Studio in Indian Hills and will do commissioned portrait pieces of your cat or dog.
Do have a loved one who loves birds? Find exquisitely detailed wood art by Al Amon. Amon carves a wide variety of birds, which are hand painted like black-necked stilts or blue birds. Contact Amon at (719) 94-9237.
His Beautiful Canvas offers works by Tina Rodholm from Woodland Park. This examiner purchased a photo of three great horned owlets. Rodholm has many Colorado wildlife photos to choose from: moose, owls, bears, etc. Plus a variety of still life photos from the Colorado Rockies and one of this examiner’s favorites is of water droplets.
Leanin’ Tree greeting cards and gift bags are made right in Boulder. They feature western and wildlife art. They also have new 2012 calendars available. You can visit their gift shop and museum in Boulder or purchase items online.
Energy Efficiency Gifts for the Home
Buy a gift that keeps on giving, like an insulating blanket for a water heater, compact fluorescent light bulbs or light emitting diode holiday lights from your local hardware store. CFLs last twice as long as incandescent bulbs and use half as much energy. LEDs not only have brilliant colors, but one string of 50 LEDs only uses about one kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity compared to about 12 kWh for incandescent bulbs. LEDs come in purple, blue, green, orange and bright white from HolidayLEDS.com or find more limited varieties at your local hardware store.
Clothing and Accessories
Solmate’s mismatched socks are made in the USA! Plus, they are made from recycled cotton. They also produce mismatched knit cotton winter hats.
Cooking Accessories
Need some spices to accent and season your dishes? Thom’s Colorado creates gluten free all purpose seasoning blends for dips, meats and even corn on the cob. Some of Thom’s blends are hot and others are mild. The seasonings contain no preservatives, flavor enhancers or fillers. Call to order at (720) 540-9413.
Homemade & Used Gifts
Make your own ornament from items around the house or visit your local craft store for some artistic ideas.
Give a book you have read, gently used items from the thrift shops, or a stuffed animal or toy your child no longer wants.
Green Gift Wrap
Use old calendars to wrap your gifts this holiday season or decorate a box with old holiday cards or magazines. Or decorate a plain paper bag with catalog or magazine pictures for a long lasting gift bag.
Use a bandana or blanket to wrap a gift, which creates two gifts in one.
Find some used holiday tins, boxes or gift bags at your local thrift store.
Support Colorado and American made products this holiday season!
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