If you missed part one GROWING GREEN KIDS – A Fair Trade Lesson,  be sure to check it out!

Green Gifts  and green gift giving are an ENORMOUS part of kids’ lives. While they are learning to always say thank you, how and when to express appreciation, and how to give and receive gracefully from you, we think it’s also a great chance to take a second to talk about the different parts of giving green gifts  and how to be more conscientious about selecting them.

For example: THE (Green) WRAPPING OF Green Gifts!

We think that one fun idea is to have your children cut open paper shopping bags and paint the inside for instant re-cycled, handmade green wrapping paper.  You can use colored plastic bags cut into strips for ribbon on top of the package. This is a creative way for them to learn how to value the time and effort it takes to make something by hand, introducing the concept of handmade green gifts, while also teaching them to recycle!

Appreciation for handmade green gifts using recycled materials can be increased by showing examples found on our website of green gifts created by fair trade artisans.

handmade recycled telephone wire bangles

Another great recycle teaching opportunity can come from gifts that have already been received by your child.  Before reaching for the trash bin you could take a few seconds to let your kid(s) look through the wrapping paper after a birthday party or holiday.  Old Christmas cards, birthday cards, wrapping paper and even newspapers, magazines and scrap paper can be recycled by sorting the items and taking them to your local recycling center!  Of course, we prefer the idea of collecting the scraps that made us happy once and re-using them again! Creating a Creativity Box for you and your child you store these things in can instigate family time through fun weekend craft projects like a collage. But coming around full circle to the  teaching message of green gifts, those items can also be reused to make household decorations such as ornaments, wrapping paper, new cards for someone else to enjoy or again, a handmade artistic creation made by your very own budding Picasso or Kahlo.

Creating a world where items (and people) get a second chance to spread joy and love ( the greenest of green gifts) is high on our agenda at GGN. The more people who think that way the more plausible an option this will become.  The earlier kids start considering ways to re-use and recycle the better for our future.

Dancing Girl Pin Handmade with Recycled Materials

After all, it’s their planet too.