June 29 2019

The not-full-of-plastic-crap kid’s party bag

My son turned five last week which means I spent several days in the lead up to his birthday party, deliberating on how I can successfully be Fun-Mum as well as Ethically-Sustainable-Mum (so naturally I’ve descended into Guilty-Mum and I’m-Not-Good-Enough-Mum territory slightly more often than usual).

For those of you who’ve read my ‘War on Christmas‘ rant, you’ll know I hate plastic crap. I really hate plastic crap. And my heart sinks when my kids come home from a birthday party with a gift bag full of plastic novelty items that are no use to anyone.

So, with this in mind, I did solemnly swear that I would make up party bags with items that the kids would get joy from, that had a use and would last longer than five minutes before they broke and got chucked in the bin.

And… they had to be affordable. Because, as much as I’d like to give every kid a brand new pair of organic cotton dungarees… not gonna happen.

A tall order? Actually, no.

Something Sparkly

My starting point was some tumbled stones. I love crystals, my kids love crystals and, given how popular fossicking in sandpits at events seems to be these days, I’m pretty sure all kids love crystals. And, you can generally find them for a buck or two each.

And as luck would have it, there was this new little pop-up shop in town that was selling citrine crystals for a dollar each and she had the exact number that I needed.

When I got them home I wrapped them up in squares of ‘Who Gives a Crap‘ toilet paper wrappers so that they looked like lollies. But they’re not lollies. They’re better than lollies.

Right?

Something to Grow

Next up – seeds. Kids love to plant, grow and pick stuff. Here was a gift that would just keep on giving, many months from now.

I had my heart set on purple peas because purple peas are even more exciting than normal peas, but the man didn’t have any so I got snow peas instead.

I love Greenpatch Seeds because they’re heirloom varieties, often organic, untreated (ie not sprayed with horrible fungicides etc) and non-GM. They have sooooo many varieties to choose from.

I bought two packets and split them between the 9 goody bags that I had to make.

And because the crystals looked so cute in the toilet paper wrappers and because it’s oh so thrifty, frugal and upcycle-y, I wrapped the seeds in the WGAC loo roll paper too.

Don’t they look adorable?

Something Cute

Ok, the bags I bought were quite a bit too big for my amazing not-plastic gifts and they looked pretty pathetic sitting there in the bottom. I needed some filler.

I had the idea of buying a cute little succulent for each kid because they’re easy to look after and are just really, you know… cute.

Then I remembered I had a butt-load of succulents IN MY GARDEN! And around a thousand plant pots that I’ve hoarded over the years ‘in case I needed them’. Turns out I did (well, nine of them anyway).

Long story short, into each bag went an adorable succulent which didn’t cost me a penny AND made the bags look really, really full.

Something Sweet

Because… Fun-Mum, remember? But, not chemical-loaded sweet treats filled with sugar, colourings, preservatives and other weird shit. No, these kids got Banjo Bears which doooo have sugar (but then so did the birthday cake – I’m not a complete a-hole) but other than that are pretty much hunky-dory from a health perspective.

What do you reckon?

If you’re wondering how much each bag cost, they came in at around $4.50 per bag (including the bag – and that’s Aussie dollarydoos, btw). I don’t know how this compares to a bag filled with plastic novelty items, but I think it’s money well spent.

I hope you’ll agree, I’ve earned a certain amount of time being Smug-Mum because I totally nailed it. The kids loved them and the parents loved them.

And, so long as we all keep going to the toilet, I never need to buy wrapping paper again.

What not-plastic-crap do you put in party bags? (I need ideas for next year). Leave me a comment below!

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December 7 2017

My War on Christmas

mashieldhouse Lifestyle, Minimalism 5

Ok so it\’s not really a war on Christmas. After all, who could be mad at this?

Or this?

What I\’m mad about is the consumerism and materialism associated with Christmas. I\’m mad about the constant message that we need to buy stuff (as if we didn\’t have enough \’stuff\’ already). And what I\’m the most mad about is that our kids are the ones being most affected by this.

The media convinces them that they absolutely can\’t do without the latest piece of plastic crap that is made in a sweat shop somewhere overseas and will be broken before the day is out. It\’s a waste of our money, a waste of the Earth\’s resources and a waste of our children\’s innocent wonder and curiosity of the natural world around them.

I\’m one of the few, lucky parents whose kids aren\’t exposed to TV ads plus I\’ve been homeschooling for the past year so my two have no idea what the latest, coolest, must-have toy is. In fact we only discovered what a fidget spinner was about two weeks ago (when Leah started her new school…).

Despite this, I still witness each year how my kids open one present and then barely glance at it before moving on to the next and the next and the next. How has it happened that my beautiful children have become so ungrateful? Too. Much. Stuff. It\’s like some crazy addiction where they just keep wanting more.

I don\’t know about you but I don\’t want my kids to have an addiction to \’stuff\’, thank you very much.

And \’more stuff\’, by the way, does not lead to \’more sharing\’ and \’more choice\’.

This post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified healthcare practitioner with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Please don\’t sue me.

When I see my kids fighting over an empty cardboard toilet roll whilst ignoring the boxes of toys strewn about the place, I\’m reminded of Little House in the Big Woods $\"\"$ by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Mary was bigger than Laura, and she had a rag doll named Nettie. Laura had only a corncob wrapped in a handkerchief, but it was a good doll. It was named Susan.

And I think to myself, \’one day I\’m going to throw out all of their toys and make them each a doll out of an empty toilet roll, wrapped in a handkerchief.\’

So what is to be done at Christmas with the expectation/threat of more stuff arriving in your home from well-meaning friends and relatives?

Ask for experiences instead of stuff. Chances are your kid is not going to remember or appreciate yet another stuffed toy half as much as a trip to the zoo or the beach.

For the kids:

A trip to your nearest zoo or aquarium or, even better, a family annual pass so you can go whenever you want to.
Swimming lessons (or ballet lessons, guitar lessons, trapeze lessons…)
A picnic at the beach.
Tickets to a show.
Tickets to a sports game.

For the grown-ups:

A massage.
A fishing trip.
Tickets to a show or a sports game.
A cooking class.
A workshop.
An open invitation to babysit your kids so you can have a night out.

When I really need to buy \’stuff\’ such as books, craft materials or things to put in the advent calendar, I get most of it from second-hand shops. Not only does this save me a ton of cash but I feel good that the gifts have a low carbon footprint and the money I pay for them are going to a good cause. And the kids (especially the little ones) don\’t care one bit whether their gift is brand new or not.

How do you achieve a more minimalistic Christmas? Or do you love all the excess? Let me know!