going green for mother’s day

Just a few more days until Mother’s Day.  And we’ve been thinking that many of the mommas in our lives including the four of us love the idea of less is more and being conscious of the fact that the material things and gifts just don’t matter as much anymore.  That time spent together chit chatting over home cooked meals, enjoying the warm sunshine and cool breeze of spring kicking a ball around and silly tickle wars before bedtime are happiness enough.  Still, which mom doesn’t love being pampered and treated like royalty on the one day designated just for her?!  This year, we’re thinking a little outside the traditional box and giving you last minute easy ideas to go green for the moms in your lives.  If you’re still looking for the right present for mom, look below for inspiration and ways to be kinder to Mother Earth at the same time.  xoxo.

• First off, if you already have a present…don’t gift wrap it using new gift paper.  Recycle old gift wrapping paper, bags and ribbon, and brown paper bags or newspaper decorated using crayons and markers into gift paper.  Or you can hide the gift(s) around the house and give mom clues as to where she can find her presents…that would be fun (or not for momma!).
• Don’t go commercial with the cards.  Recycle and repurpose drawings and pictures that the little ones create at school or home into cards.  These can be used not just for Mother’s Day but for any holiday or birthdays.  E-cards are another easy way to go green.
• Instead of buying a bouquet of flowers, pick a stem or two from the garden and even better…
• If you or mom have a yard, a great idea is to pick out a flowering plant or tree and plant it together on the special day. If you’ve lost your mother, this is a nice way to honor and remember her.  Plants are a beautiful symbol of life, of growth and what a touching way to preserve her memory.
• Donate in her name to a charity that is close to her heart.
• And finally, if you feel you must buy momma something on her day then pull together an at home spa retreat for her.  Pull together a package of a bamboo bristled dry brush, an organic cleanser and moisturizer set, a couple of soy candles and a bar (or two!) of fair trade dark chocolate.  She will be in mommy heaven.