NO MORE

I am done with wrapping paper. DONE!!! It is SO wasteful. For all of the recycling reducing and reusing we do.... it doesn't happen with WP. But that is not my main argument against WP. I won't mention the horrible effect on the environment that the production, consumption then destruction WP has... I know I can't change the world. That is not my job.



What IS my job, however, is to raise and teach my children. I can no longer sit idly by while reams of paper enter my house only to be ripped to shreds and tossed out in seconds. How indulgent!!! With all the work we do to counter act the message of consumption and waste that our children receive (from multiple sources), birthdays and holidays seem to slip pass the radar. But that is when it should matter most. How many more generations of children will be taught to BUY something that is made to be seen as an obstacle then thrown away. Birthdays are about celebrating the individual and their life. Christmas (and all other winter gift giving holidays) are a time to celebrate religion, culture , nature, history and humanity. NOT about spend, get, consume.

Mothers of my generation are starting to understand this. We talk about limits on gift giving. No junk toys, furniture that grows with kids, money given for lessons or books. And with all this I am saying NO MORE WRAPPING PAPER.

But we face resistance. From within our very own ranks. Our elders. They LOVE to shop for our kids. LOVE to spoil them with toys, clothes and junk. They bristle at our attempts to limit gifts. They think we are crazy when we ban plastics, and toys from china. They think we are being elitest when we sugest that we would like Grandma and Grampa to buy "Little Johnny" gymnastic lessons instead of one more piece of junk that will sit on the shelf.


" Hey, (place family members name here), I have been thinking, and we are trying something different this year. In an effort to reduce waste we are asking that any gift that you send the boys to be left unwrapped. We will use fabric to wrap the gifts before they go under the tree (or out for the birthday)."

I thought this was a much easier plan then asking them to buy special paper or to use their own recycled WP. Plus most of our family sends presents, and the wrapping paper gets ripped and torn and the bows get smooshed.... I thought it would be a win win....

I was wrong (I should have known). It was like I was asking them to walk across hot coals naked in front their worst enemies.

I was told that I was robbing the giver the pleasure of the gift giving experience. That people like wrapping up gifts and that I was being selfish. "These gifts are for the boys, not you. You don't get to dictate what happens to the boys." Actually I do "get to" dictate what happens to my boys. That is a primary aspect of my job. I dictate what they eat, watch, learn, read, drink, play with, ride in, sleep on. Why should this be any different? But it is... it is a generational thing. They just see it differently. (like thank you notes -which is for another post) they don't see the waste and the negative message of consuming which is tied up with the gift giving.

So, I've pulled back. I am starting slow this year. I am going to try it with the gifts we give. Quiet example can be a much more effective tool of change than making a racket!

I want something that is reusable. At the moment I am thinking of fabrics that can be kept from year to year. I am still working out all the kinks of this new plan.... and I will keep you abreast of all new info.