Father's Day
Father’s Day in the UK is celebrated in mid June. In 2019 Father’s Day falls on 16th June. And, this post will help you celebrate it whilst still following a Zero Waste ethos with suggestions for Zero Waste Father’s Day Gifts.
Father’s Day originated in America and has been celebrated there since 1910. It was started by a woman called Sonora Dodd who was inspired by the American Mother’s Day celebrations to plan a day to honour Fathers.
And, it’s thought that Father’s Day in the UK was just another custom imported from America.
However, there are also some suggestions that the idea of Father’s Day may originate in pagan sun worship. As the summer solstice occurs around the same time of year as Father’s Day and some branches of paganism see the Sun as the father of the universe, some people see a link between the two.
Whatever you believe the origins of Father’s Day to be it’s nice to show our Dad’s a little bit of appreciation once a year and make them feel special. By taking the time to choose the right gift or token you can do this whilst still following a Zero Waste ethos.
10 Zero Waste Father's Day Gift Ideas
When you’re choosing a gift for Father’s Day it really is the thought that counts. Here are 10 of my Zero waste Father’s Day Gift Ideas.
Experience Gifts
You can choose from so many experience gifts now.
The experience gift needs to be something that you know they’ll enjoy. For my Dad it would have been something to do with driving or golf. But it could be anything from a day of photography, I love the one they do a Port Lympne, to a course on smoking your own food which G bought for Mr J one year.
There are so many great things to choose from. And, you could even choose something to do together to make it even more special.
Theatre or Concert Tickets
Everyone in our family enjoys music and the theatre. My Dad was a huge Frank Sinatra fan and he also loved going to musicals. We enjoyed some lovely trips to the theatre together so I know he’d always appreciate theatre tickets as a Father’s Day present.
If you don’t want to buy tickets to a specific event you could always buy a Theatre Tokens so that the person you’re giving the gift to can choose their own tickets.
Gift Promise Note
And, remember it doesn’t have to be something you buy to make it a wonderful gift. You could make your own promise note for something you know that your mum or someone would really love. It could be as simple as offering to give the house a spring clean or cook a family meal. You just need to choose something that you know will be appreciated.
Homemade Gifts
What Dad wouldn’t enjoy a homemade cake.
There’s an endless list of homemade gifts that you can make and it’s so nice to receive something that you know has taken someone time and effort to make.
You could try making jam or homemade fudge. And, you can package your homemade items in a reusable tin or jar.
Subscription and Memberships
You can buy subscriptions for so many things including monthly magazines, wine clubs, beer clubs etc. And, if you buy a subscription to a monthly magazine a lot of them are now digital, so even more Zero Waste friendly.
But, one of my favourite subscriptions is an annual membership to the National Trust or something similar.
The possibilities are endless it just takes a little thought and research to find the right one.
Zero Waste Gift Set
If the person you’re buying for hasn’t started on their Zero Waste Journey why not put together a small Zero Waste Starter kit. You could either do one for the Bathroom with a safety razor, bamboo toothbrush, reusable face wipes, lovely handmade soap etc. Or, maybe do one for when they’re out and about with a reusable cup, some organic cotton produce bags and maybe a reusable straw.
If you do decide to give them a Zero Waste starter kit make sure it’s something they’ll use as you don’t want to buy something that will go to waste.
If you take a look at TMG Zero Waste Shop you’ll find lots of ideas and everything comes in plastic free packaging 🙂
Vintage / Second Hand
You don’t always have to buy new when looking for presents. And, these days you can buy virtually anything second hand from books to bikes. Etsy is a great place to look for vintage or upcycled gifts.
A nice pair of second hand cufflinks, a vintage tie or tie press could make a nice present.
Why not mooch around a couple of second hand shops to see what you can find.
Tree or Plant
If the person you are buying for has a garden then another nice present would be a plant or a tree if they have the space.
If you don’t want to buy a plant for their garden you can also make a donation to the National Forest and you’ll get a gift certificate to say you’ve planted a tree and you can even go along to the planting.
Books
Books make wonderful presents and I still love holding a real book to read. And, I love browsing in book shops.
If you want to buy a book as a gift but don’t have time to go to a book shop you can still support independent book stores by buying online from Hive. This is what Hive has to say:
We give independent bookshops a chance to be seen online. We hope it will help them to reach new and different customers. We help them benefit from the sale of all kinds of stuff.
Buy Unpackaged Gifts or Zero Waste Friendly Packaging
And, remember these Zero Waste Gift Ideas are just to help you start thinking about the perfect Father’s Day gift. When you’re looking for gifts be a mindful consumer and think about what you’re buying.
Is it something that will be useful? Think about what it’s made from, is the packaging it’s sold in easy to dispose of.
You should be looking for gifts that are unpackaged or if they do have packaging then it should be minimal and preferably compostable like cardboard.
Handmade soaps, books, a nice scarf all make lovely presents.
When it comes to buying a card for Father’s Day make sure that if you buy one that you buy it from an independent shop and it’s not wrapped in plastic or covered with glitter. You don’t even have to buy a card you could write a note or poem on a postcard or even a nice piece of writing paper.
Be a conscious consumer this Father's Day
I hope my Zero Waste Mother’s Day Gift Ideas has given you some inspiration.
Remember giving and receiving presents should be fun and half the fun in giving presents is choosing them.
Make sure you’re a conscious consumer and I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day.
Homemade gifts can always be a good idea. You can tailor them to the persons taste that way. It is also good for keeping costs down as sometimes gift buying costs can get out of hand.
Yes, I think homemade gifts are so much more personal
Great ideas. I love that razor set, I think my husband would love an experience day more than anything!
These are all such lovely ideas and more easy on the waste aspect. I think you have given me a very good idea with the tickets one as living abroad I need to find things I can either do from a distance or are postable and I think my father would like to see a play
I am all about homemade gifts and experiences, these I feel are more memorable.
I like homemade gifts – think my dad is happy with food gifts! Great list for zero waste too!!
Those were a lovely gift ideas. My dad would be so happy to have a concert ticket of his favorite artist.
I love this approach to a gift guide! We often go with home made gifts, though this year the boys have chosen to give daddy a DVD of a superhero movie. One they themselves also want to see. A completely selfless gift (not). Haha.
Sounds like a great idea 🙂
These are great gift ideas. Experience days are always a great present.