It’s the season for gift giving; homes will be filled with plenty of gifts, which come with wrapping paper and boxes. Unfortunately most of the wrapping paper and boxes will end up in the local landfill causing a 30% bump in landfill waste due to these gift add-ons over the holidays. Here are a couple ideas to minimize the waste and be more environmentally friendly.

Use some left-over fabric to make a gift bag. If you can sew, put together a 2 or 4 sided bag with some handles. If you can not sew, just take a large towel, lay the gifts in the center and then tie the top together with some ribbon and other decoration of choice.   These fabric gift bags can then be used later throughout the year by the one receiving the gift.

Use reusable shopping bags that are now becoming quite popular. Shopping bags come in an assortment of styles and colors.  Yes they may have a company’s logo or an ad on the side, so what, it shows you are a leader in being green.

There are many ways to make the wrapping part of the gift.  Don’t just give a movie DVD, give a movie night. Place the DVD, popcorn, bottle of wine and maybe some cheese into a large mixing bowl or food container.  You can also use scarves, bath towels and handkerchiefs to help decorate and package your items in the container.

This year, think outside the box.

We all have times when we need to buy gifts for both our friends and our
families. Some of these occasions will come along regularly once a year such
as birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas. Other occasions may not happen
that frequently but they still merit a gift. For example, you might buy
gifts for weddings, christenings, baby showers, exam success and graduation.
Sometimes these occasions that come along warrant an extra special gift.
You only pass your driving test or get your first job once, after
all.

Choosing the right gift

Buying the right gift does require some thought. A successful gift will
appeal to the person who gets it simply because they will like it. This
doesn`t mean that you have to give something obvious such as something that
relates to a hobby or interest. It simply means that you should put some
thought into what they would like to receive.

So, for example, you should think about the age and sex of the person who
will receive the gift. On paper your 90 year old grandmother may really like
a special box of chocolates but may not be so happy with the home brewing
kit that your father might prefer! But, if your grandmother likes home
brewed ale then this could be a good choice. Sometimes the personality and
likes/dislikes of the person you are buying for will buck standard
trends.

Conclusion

Finally, don`t forget about the card you choose here to go with your gift
which can enhance the overall message that you want to give. The verses
written inside, for example, can often be useful to look at here whether you
are looking for 1st anniversary gifts and presents or something suitable for a Golden wedding anniversary.

Roy at A1 Gifts

An Organic Party, this is the theme of many trendy parties since people have become more aware of the need for a greener and ECO friendly environment.  You would normally think of getting organic meat and vegetables, how ever organic beer and wine are fast becoming more available.   I like the idea of being organic but I can’t really taste the difference between organic and non-organic food products.   The organic beer also seems to be similarly priced as non-organic.  With providing better health and being more environment friendly, buying organic makes a lot of sense.

Certified Organic food must be made with at least 95% organic ingredients to follow standards of the USDA.  Organic food products are grown without using pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics or growth hormones, are free of animal and industrial waste and processed without radiation and food additives.   So this can’t be a bad thing.  If the product is produced locally, this also helps keep your dollars local, another big advantage.  However you should understand a little about what being organic means.

Organic Beer

Organic beer is usually from small regional microbrewers but increasingly national brewers like Anheuser-Busch,  Miller and New Belgium now all provide organic beer products.  The Stone Milol Pale Ale and Wild Hop Lager from Anhewser-Busch labeled by the Green Valley Brewing,  Miller’s Henry Weinhard’s Organic Amber Premium Ale are a few examples from the big brewers.  New Belgium has the Mothership Wit organic wheat beer that is very good.  Two other beers for smaller breweries are Butte Creek pilsner and Bison’s pale ale.  American organic beer totaled 40,000 barrels in 2006 and over 50,000 barrels in 2007, a 25% increase.

Beer has fairly simple basic ingredients; hops, malt, yeast and water.  Water comprises more than 90% of the beer and can come from different sources; rivers, springs, wells.  The malt comes from the barley that can be grown organically.  The hops are from a flowering vine that adds flavor and aroma to balance the malt sweetness.  Yeasts are micro-organisms that convert the sugars into alcohol and by nature are organic.

According to the USDA, non-organic hops can be used in “certified organic products” if the organic version is not “commercially available.   So many of the larger brewers will use non-organic hops and the beer will still be certified organic.  So the best bet to get fully organic beer will be from your local microbrewers where there is a better chance they will be using organic hops.  The larger national brewers may or may not be using organic hops.

Organic Wine

Organic wine is a little more complex since it requires not only organically grown grapes but also different processing methods.  These differences can alter the grapes traditional taste, aroma and color but still be very good wine.  Winemaking techniques are very difficult to make organic since faster processing time, fermentation steps and little or no sulfite additives can be used to control the yeast and protect the wine from oxidation.  Most organic wines will contain low levels of sulfites from natural sources.  Not using the synthetic sulfite compounds also will help reduce the common headache associated with drinking wine. Wine made with lower amounts of additives and modified processing are usually called Natural wines.  Many of the organic wines will be made using organic grapes but with the more traditional processing techniques.

Organic wine will have a different meaning based upon the country of origin.  Different countries have their own certification standards, so what may be considered organic wine from one country, may not be in another country.

A good wine is due to many factors and a good organic wine only adds to the complexity of the process.  Organic wine usually comes from a healthier soil environment and provides a fruitier flavor.

It has been my experience that finding organic wine is harder than finding organic beer.  A couple US organic wines are from the NY Four Chimneys Organic Winery and the CA Paul Dolan Vineyards.   Many more are available by checking with your local wine store.

A new iPhone application Snocator, as in snow locator, provides your current location on a trail map while on the mountain at your favorite ski resort.   Snocator is from the Denver, Colorado company Useful Networks that specialize in mobile location applications.

Snocator is like an interactive trail map guide that gives the skier information while on the mountain.  Need to find the closest restaurant for a lunch break?  Looking to find your friends on the mountain (not yet available)?  How about finding the fastest non-black trail down at the end of the day when you legs feel like mush?   A skier just needs to tap away on their iPhone to get their locations on the trail map.

Other nice features are up-to-the-minute weather forecasts, mountain camera views and snow reports.  Trail maps are available for 60 plus resorts in 12 US states and Canada this season.

Snocator works anywhere there is cell phone or WiFi access.  It is best to download the trail maps before you are on the mountain in case you are in an area out of reach by the cell phone towers.  Having the 3G iPhone with GPS capability provides the most accurate location information.

The application costs $5.99 and needs to be updated each year.  Snocator application versions are planned for Blackberry and phones using Google’s Android operating system.

According to their web site, features coming in the future are keeping track of others on the mountain and the capability to log your speed and vertical drop.