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Great Christmas gifts are not always the traditional piece of jewelry, video game or new cell phone. Go for green gifts this holiday season and be remembered for unique and thoughtful gifts as you help the environment. You can find these gifts locally in most towns and keep your money in your neighborhood as you save on gas.

*Give a Recycled Gift

How much greener can a gift be than one made of recycled items? Stemware, clothing, shoes, handbags, furniture, linens and artwork are just some of the items you can give as gifts that are made of recycled goods.

*Pizza Garden in a Pot

Buy seeds for foods you would put on a pizza, such as basil, oregano, tomato, onions and peppers. Place them in a large decorative planter with plant food, name stakes made of Popsicle sticks and a recipe for pizza. Include the dry ingredients for pizza crust in a jar.

*Seasonal Passes

Seasonal passes to local theme parks, sports events, live theaters, National Parks, museums and gyms are gifts that keep on giving the whole year through. No part of this gift will ever harm the environment.

*Handmade Paper

Use up the junk mail you receive to make beautiful, unique handmade paper. It's easy to make and creates great stationary, gift cards and scrap-booking pages. Learn how to make it at http://www.wipapercouncil.org/ makepaper.htm

*Bath Basket

Create a bath basket filled with earth friendly products such as a natural loofah, sea-salt body scrubs, natural fiber bath mitts and earth friendly soap and shampoo that were not tested on animals.

*Green Toys

Wooden baseball bats, doll houses, wagons, building blocks, rocking horses and child-sized table and chairs are all green gifts for children that are usually made by local craftsmen. So too are stuffed animals, rag dolls and doll clothes made from recycled fabrics.

*Give a Bicycle

Give a recycled bicycle to that couch potato teen instead of hard plastic games that will one day find their way to a landfill. It's a gift of fun, exercise and low maintenance transportation.

*Eco-friendly Art Supplies

Paper mache supplies and instructions, seed art kits and earth friendly watercolors make wonderful green gifts. Modeling clay is easy to make and kids love it! Learn how to make it at http://www.creativekidsathome. com/activities/activity8.html

* Solar Chargers

Someone on your list is bound to need a charger for his or her cell phone, Ipod or blackberry. Why not give them one that uses the sun's power instead of electricity?

*Mother Earth Magazine Subscription

You'll be giving a whole year of usable articles on self-sufficiency, green living, organic gardening, cutting energy costs and much, much more. It's so green and Eco-friendly, it's sure to be appreciated and you can buy the subscription from a local club's fund raising drive.

Use your imagination and choose to go for green gifts this holiday season. Discover just how easy it is to save money, help the planet and give unique and wonderful gifts to everyone on your list.

Learn more about this author, Pamela Kay.
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