On the twelfth day of Christmas my living-room gave to me, a mountain of packaging and wrapping that... The amount of trash that Americans produce jumps 25% at Christmas, as much as 25 million extra tons of trash are produced at Christmas time.

Okay, maybe that's a little too-scroogy, and I'm by no means a scrooge. I have hung stockings by the chimney (with care) and decked all of our halls with glass balls handed down from my grandmother. But, I am really and profoundly bothered by the rampant materialism and wasteful environmental disaster that is Christmas in the US. I'll spare you my rants, I promise, because, in true JUST CAUSE fashion, I have solutions that make everyone happy, and I'm gonna share with you!

It gets down to 3 things:

1. Give the gift of charitable experiences. No, not to The Human Fund (for all you Seinfeld fans,) but give the gift of local experiences. For instance, my husband and I both LOVE film. So, this year, I bought him a family membership to the Northwest Film Forum, the fancy one that includes free popcorn. The gift? A year of date-nights for my husband and I (with popcorn!), doing something we love, AND a nice donation to a local charity that supports local arts and artists. Win. Win. Win.

My daughter is getting a class at Bikeworks, during which she will learn to repair bikes. But, more than that, she will fix bikes that go to kids who can't afford them. And after she uses her new skills to fix someone else's bike (which is a revenue source for this incredible non-profit organization) she will be given a bike. She's getting skills, creating community, supporting a cool non-profit, and she gets a new bike.

Think about the people on your Christmas list, and think about what they like to do. I guarantee you that, wherever you live, there is a very cool local non-profit that will offer them a fabulous experience. An art class? A cooking class? A museum membership. I'm not a huge fan of the donation to the large impersonal charity as a gift. I think that a gift should acknowledge the lifestyle and personality of the recipient.... so find a local, experience-based, non-profit near you and give the gift of experience.

2. Re-gifting. Yes, I'm serious. Why is it that, in a country that claims to be obsessed with recycling, re-gifting still has such a bum rep? Has your cousin Sally always loved that bracelet that you've had for 10 years? Give it to her for Christmas. What could be more personal than that? It's honest, it's personal, it's sharing something - and it isn't adding to the materialism and waste that is Christmas.

Now, there's a trick to re-gifting, for sure. It has to be even MORE personal than regular gifting. And it has to be honest. Don't try to foist of a fruitcake from last year onto your neighbor this year.... But think about the things in your home, the people who you know love those things, OR the things you acquired on a shared experience with someone else... Those are gifts from the heart. Last year, I received a piece of costume jewelery, from a cousin, that had belonged to our grandmother. It was nothing fancy, but it meant the world to me.

3. Bag it. Hello! Wrapping paper? What a waste!!!!!!!! Unless you are using the Sunday funnies (which aren't nearly as funny as they used to be) the amount of waste generated from wrapping paper alone is astonishing. And most people just tear into it, which means it doesn't get reused. Thus, the non-themed gift bag. Buy (and reuse the ones that are given to you) nice solid colored gift bags that can be saved and reused throughout the year. If you have time on your hands and crafty genes, you can even do (or have your kid do) art projects on the brown paper bags from the grocery store.... But really, let's 86 all that wrapping paper. It's crazy. And bags can be just as pretty (and a whole lot easier to wrap with!)

Okay, I know, it's really nice to buy and give gifts. Even I like to, and do. So I'll let you in on my personal shopping secrets.

1. Buy local. I try to do as much as possible in the small, locally owned stores, many of which sell stuff made by local artists. It's one way to be sure you're getting something original, and not just giving the same old stuff that everyone is giving and getting.

2. Buy Charitably. As I've said before, I'm a huge Goodwill fan. The money raised goes to support education programs, and the transactions themselves provide job-training for people trying to move into the workforce. But, wherever you live, there are thrift shops that support good causes. And in those thrift shops you will find funky, quirky, vintage treasure that can be immensely personal. Salt shakers that remind your sister of that cute deli you went to as kids, earrings like the one's worn in your best-friends favorite movie..... You name it. It's like a treasure hunt, that supports charity and does not contribute to global waste.

3. Art by artists. One of my favorite places to shop is etsy.com. Etsy is heaven for people who like handmade gifts. It is the largest collection of gifts handmade by local artists. Where else will you find a bracelet made of rainbow Gummie Bears? A belt buckles made of a bike chain? Hand made felted wool bags.... It's heaven in there. (All year round.) And although you are, yes, purchasing NEW stuff, your purchases support individual artists. And anything that keeps art (and artists) alive is good by me!

And on that note, I'm off to a Christmas party. In an awesome vintage lime-green sparkly sweatery thing that I got at Goodwill.

I do love Christmas. I love sharing and giving and eating and being lazy. Life's a gift. Share it. No need to wrap it up!