One of the best ways to green up your Christmas gift giving is to give time rather than things. This works for many of the people in your life.

Time for the Kids

It’s easy to let day to day life mess with the time you have available for your children. Make a part of your gift to them be some special times together, doing something they love to do or share one of your interests.

Camping trips can be good for helping kids to really appreciate nature, for example. Winter’s not the best time in many areas perhaps, but it’s not too early to start thinking about where you’d like to go. Even just heading out to a local campground can be an adventure if you don’t camp a lot.

Hiking is another good choice that is rather less time consuming. Find a beautiful, natural place in your area and start hiking. It’s a great time to talk with your kids too.

You can also plan activities around the home. Do a craft, build something together, play a game, just talk.

Time for Your Parents

If your parents are still alive, and reasonably accessible to you, make the most of it. You can give them time with you to just talk, or you can help them with running errands. You can even combine time with your parents with time with your kids and go camping or hiking as an extended family.

Time for Your Friends

If your friends have young children, giving them the gift of time can take the form of offering babysitting for their kids. What parents don’t appreciate the chance to get out without the kids for a bit?

Just Remember… It’s Not All About THINGS

Giving the gift of time is a great way to remind yourself and the people you love that there’s so much more you can give one another than just things. Clutter.

The gift of time can have so much more meaning than almost any other gift you can give.