Recommend any presents which are not "stuff" (i.e. material goods)?

[HoHoHopelessDad]

Two main reasons we want to give and receive presents which are not "things":

1. I hate getting things we do not need already I am pretty embarrassed by the loads of toys and crap the DKs never use from one week to the next - it's just wasteful, and
2. We have an urban dwelling with just about sufficient room to swing one of the rodents who occasionally stroll disdainfully across our living room floor when it's too wet outside.

Suggestions so far:

Dedicated tree from the Woodland Trust
Oxfam Unwrapped
An acre of land from the World Land Trust

BTW, if you hate adverts as much as I do, look at the video What would Jesus buy? from the Adbusters website.

By the way, did you know tomorrow is "Buy Nothing Day"? I might start a new conversation on that one...

We are getting cinema gift vouchers for one family with older chidren and gift vouchers for local playzone for another family with lots of littlies. We've asked for kids' season tickets to a local activity farm.

You can also make your own cheque books for good deeds eg babysitting being the most priceless I can think of.

Some things which are still things but take up less room and less packaging:

Here is a good place to get magazine subscriptions (gives charity donation) although they don't do Viz or The Idler which are my top pressies for men .

Also, home-made hampers are good, anything you don't like you donate to next school PTA thing or other local charity.

Shopocalypse !

I posted yesterday about the menno's spend nothing christmas. Its fascinating stuff ,but a bit too hardcore for me (this year anyway...)

I have reservations about the charity gifts etc ,because I think that still encourages you to think that christmas has to cost a certain amount .
But just to contradict myself I was thinking of giving to crisis at christmas this year. (sorry I'm rubbish at links)

Its crisis.org.uk if anyones interested ,and you can donate online . They are wonderful

hoho - no real suggestions, i'm sorry, but shall watch with interest.
have asked my parents, grandparents etc not to buy for dp and i this year, for much the same reasons as you.
added to that, it has become far too commercial, when the real pleasure for me is spending time with the famiy.
....think everyone may get a shock this year

Last minute.com do Experience Vouchers. I had a red letter day cruise down the Thames with my DW, which was great - the food was very ordinary for the price, as was the music - spending a good few hours with no distractions and nothing to do but talk however was wonderful.

Have you noticed how difficult it is to ask for no presents without people thinking that you're being sanctimonious? I hate that.

I love the Mennonites buy nothing catalogue filled with things you already own! Class.

I'm get ds1 a subscription to audible.co.uk. Have given subscriptions to some DVD place that included computer games to a nephew. And family membership to the science museum IMAX went down well too.

At the Rainbow Trust you can buy an assortment of things for life threateningly/terminally ill children including art stuff, respite care, dinner and a bear.

I think you're completely right. Every year I find the present buying more and more pointless amd it irritates me. I don't want anything. I'd rather have a big family day with no presents and nice food. I like the idea of the tree from the woodland trust but I have a bit of a problem with the oxfam unwrapped stuff which I'm not sure I can explain properly but it feels wrong to be choosing out of a catalogue something that is so important to someone's life. I know that it's not to be taken literaly but I'd rather someone donated to charity for their own sake or really for the sake of the cause but not for my sake. Just doesn't seem right.

Anyway, I doubt my family would ever buy the no gifts idea so subscription / membership to a particular venue sounds good idea

Just another thought about the charitable gifts thing. I think a concern is also the fact that people are not really engaging with the charity or the cause. I'd just rather people didn't spend any money in my name and donate to charity themselves if that's what they want to do.

Second magazine subscriptions (my fave pressie last year) and cinema / theatre tickets.
We get the adults in our family bottles of wine / wiskey or nice food.

Also smellies or jewlery for the ladies.

How about membership to a farm/park or zoo?

The Woodland Trust so a Nature Detectives club which I got someone to subscribe my dd to for her birthday this year.

Adopt an endangered animal? There are many sites like this and this that do this sort of thing.

How about a voucher for a personal service you could do for someone - like babysitting, or cooking a special dinner?

I saw something in WH Smith yesterday - it is £20 and the money goes towards building a school in errr can't remember where - somewhere in the "third" world.

Smiths do the tree thing too

i saw a lovely rose bush the other day as i walked past a florists. when i went back tho, it was gone think i may hunt for something else along those lines for my nan and aged auntie. theyve got everything else anyway and am sure they dont want anymore tat stuff!

A great 'toy' for a young child are play silks. Basically long pieces of coloured silk. Good colours are blue (to make water) green (grass)and red (fire). They basically use them for props, building houses, costumes etc. They're cheap and easily passonable when child is too old for them! I like the idea of a gift that requires them to decide its purpose...

A big family outing to a show?

We (five of us) are taking my sister, BIL and their three children plus my parents to the Christmas show on horseback in the stables of the Musée Vivant du Cheval in Chantilly on Boxing Day as a Christmas present. We'll all have a lovely time together and lots of memories but no junk.

sorry, ignore my post didn't notice you don't want material things.

Would you be interested in sponsoring a child in the developing world?
Plan International is widely respected for its work with communities in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Balkans
Or, if you are a Christian, you could donate towards the restoration of a church building (our stillborn ds is commemorated as the piccolo organ pipe in an English cathedral, something arranged for us by dd's godmother)
I like the Mennonite perspective more with every passing year I have to say

We got DS membership to our wildlife trust for his birthday. Its only about £14 per child or you can have a family membership for about £35. You get entry to the wildlife trusts across the whole country plus You get a magazine throughout the year and the kids get to join wildlife watch which means they also get stuff through, can attend a monthyl club and you get invited to holiday activities which are FABULOUS. Gets you out doing things with the kids, stuff coming through the post etc and its a good cause.

I also think one off treats are greats, tickets to see something - or what about a family railcard.

I think Lipsy's idea is brilliant and may have to steal it!

this is what my Dad's requested this year

when my mum stopped doing a stocking for me when I was 10, I asked if it was the bother of doing it that she minded, and she said she couldn't afford it. so we agreed that for one more year, she would find things around the house that I already had (or other stuff) and wrap those up for a stocking, as I cared a lot less about 'new stuff' than about the ritual and excitement/surprise on Christmas morning.

it was great tbh. you could even enlist a friend or neighbour who feels like you and swap stuff between you. but it would be amazing to find anyone conveniently near who feels positive about Christmas but negative about commercialisation.

i'm quite sad that 'buying for' seems now to be a synonym for 'giving to'.

oh also, locally we have a Waste Watchers Group who organise 'bring and take' days - i.e. bring all the stuff you never use, take somebody else's that hopefully you will use for a bit, anyway. No money changes hands and it feels quite nice. Like freecycle without the hassle.