We don’t need to look at the calendar to know gift giving season is upon us.  We are inundated with gift ideas in the media, shop windows, stores, and from the younger people in our lives. 

As a child, I would sit at one end of the living room couch, next to the lamp made out of a British shell bucket, and bury myself in the several inch thick Sears Christmas Catalogue.  This annual showcase of riches was a treasure unto itself.  I would convey my wishes to Santa when sitting in his lap and underscore them in a later letter.  My parents also received word of The List.

I received The Lists from my Midwest-based tween niece and teen nephew over the weekend.  Like Charlie Brown’s sister Sally in A Charlie Brown Christmas, my nephew included money in his list.  Gift cards from national chains peppered both lists.  Certainly, they have more than enough stuff.  When they were younger, I struggled to come up with gifts they would use to enjoy some facet of the natural world.  As they’ve gotten older, I’ve found it harder to succeed in this effort.  After all, I’m not there to encourage use of the gifts with an insurmountable enthusiasm, join them on adventures of nature, and, hopefully, pass on my undying sense of wonder and love of the outdoors.

I think many of us have this goal and struggle to achieve it.  I’d like this blog to serve as a resource for nature-based gift ideas.   Share your ideas.  If you’ve seen proof of a successful nature-based gift, all the better! 

One idea, one that doesn’t cost anything up front, is a homemade book of adventure coupons.  Each adventure coupon describes one outdoor adventure you and the gift recipient will experience.  Be fun and creative!  Identify one adventure for each of the next twelve months, an outing to a neighborhood park or a weekend camping trip.  How about volunteering at a local land trust’s trail maintenance day or park cleanup?  Pull out crayons, glue, glitter, and yarn.  Use pictures from magazines or photographs you’ve taken.  Make it personal.  Mark the dates on your calendars.

Snowshoes or cross-country skis are fun to use and enhance one’s ability to explore the winter world.  Sleds, skates, birdfeeders, field guides, binoculars, magnifying glass, a map and compass, membership to an organization.  One of my on-line go to places is the Acorn Naturalists.  A California-based science and environmental education supply company, it offers a wide array of items.  Three of the many headings are Science and Nature Games, Animal Tracking Tools & Techniques, and Astronomy Activities.

I’m anxious to learn your ideas.  Please share them.  I’m sure many are looking for ideas to encourage young and old to get outside!

Tags: Gifts, Ponderings, Tips