Ever feel like holidays leave you swimming in oceans of plastic and non-recyclable gift wrap? Don’t fret, my eco-minded fellow traveler. You’re not alone in wanting earth-friendly gifts for Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or whatever the heck you happen to celebrate.

To help make this your most sustainable holiday gift exchange ever, here’s your eco-conscious Bend gift guide for 2023.

Grab some upcycled goodies

For that special someone on your list who loves biking and saving the planet, look to The Salty Boob. This Bend-based company crafts custom bike frame bags from upcycled kitesurfing kites and sails at the end of their adventure life. It’s a one-of-a-kind gift that helps keep retired gear out of landfills.

Love locally-made, upcycled jewelry and designer consignment clothing? Hit Cosa Cura in Northwest Crossing where they stock tons of unique accessories made by local artists, plus vintage clothing. I’m willing to bet they’ve even got the perfect outfit for that holiday party you’re dreading.

I love perusing The Workhouse for locally-made crafts, including lots of upcycled items and gifts made from recycled materials. The recycled leather, paper, and wood ornaments caught my eye on a recent visit, plus you’ll find jewelry, clothing, food items, and tons of unique household goods.

Want to combine holiday shopping with some recycling of your own? The Bend Visitor Center stocks all sorts of locally-made goodies from candles to guide books to reusable water bottles. We’re also one of only two spots in Bend where you can recycle those pain-in-the-butt plastic can carriers so popular these days on beer, cider, and kombucha. Swing by with your reusable shopping bag filled with PakTech plastic, dump it in our bin, and leave with your bag full of great gifts. 

Multitasking for the win!

Get a gorgeous photo book for a great cause

It’s tough to know where to spend your charitable dollars this time of year, with so many great causes in desperate need of aid.

Allow me to make a small plea for the Bend Sustainability Fund? 

In a nutshell, the Bend Sustainability Fund supports projects that create or enhance sustainable projects in and around Bend. Recent examples include things like river restoration projects or a plan to restore the historic Warm Springs Commissary to create space for food, art, education, and tribal history.

Awesome causes, right?

And here’s a clever way to contribute. Visit Bend produces a stunning coffee table called Ineffable. This sustainably-produced photo collection features Central Oregon’s landscapes, people, recreation, and urban settings. We’ve got volumes from several seasons for sale at $15 apiece, or buy three or more for $10 each. Then divvy them up among your favorite people on this year’s gift list. All funds from the sale of Ineffable go to the Bend Sustainability Fund, and you can grab your copies when you swing by to drop off those PakTech plastics.

Give the gift of a Bend experience

Several years ago, my family shifted to buying mostly experience-based gifts instead of tangible stuff. It’s now our favorite habit, and even though that post I just linked to is a few years old, I refer to it each year for ideas on experience-based gifts.

Last year, we planned a post-Christmas forest bath with R’oming Yoga, and can I just say this was THE. BEST. TREAT. It was a lovely family bonding experience exploring the forest with a gentle, patient guide who led us through touching, smelling, and fully experiencing everything the woods had to offer. It was an extraordinary way to downshift from holiday chaos and I can’t recommend it enough.

Other experience-based gifts that wowed my fam over the years include a family snowmobile adventure, hatchet throwing at Unofficial Logging Co, and a family escape room experience at Puzzle Effect. This year, we’re contemplating renting Nordic skis for a family outing on the cross country ski trails near Bend.

One year when funds were lean, we spent five bucks per family member for an hour of vintage arcade game play together at Vector Volcano. We laughed, we competed, we found our holiday spirit somewhere between the pinball machines and Ms. Pac-Man.

It really isn’t the price that matters. It’s the chance to do something together with your loved ones in the winter wonderland that’s Bend.

Fill your belly full of goodness

For the culinary adventurer in the family, nothing beats a gift certificate for a Bend restaurant. It’s not just a treat for the foodie in your life, but helps support Bend restaurants struggling in the aftermath of the pandemic and a recession.

Look for dining spots committed to sourcing local meats and produce, like Jackson’s Corner, Chow, or Deschutes Brewery, which embraces sustainability by using spent grain in some of their baked goods as well as in cattle feed that eventually produces the juicy burger you’ll enjoy there.

I’m a huge fan of the sustainability initiatives at Mountain Burger, which has a complete climate action plan aimed at reaching net-zero emissions by 2025. Worthy Brewing is another spot with impressive sustainability initiatives, including solar powered operations and the use of Salmon Safe hops cultivated using practices that protect watershed health. 

Consider locally-made stocking stuffer snacks like scrumptious popcorn from Brown Bag Popcorn Co. (OMG, the black garlic truffle!!!) or HolmMade Toffee (the Himalayan Pink Salt…mmmm!)

Though the Bend Farmer’s Market isn’t happening in the dead of winter, buy a gift certificate for your loved one to use when the market runs May through October next year.

Or hit Central Oregon Locavore, which is basically a big indoor farmer’s market operating year round. They’re committed to supporting an ecologically stable and socially just food system in Central Oregon by improving access to fresh, nutrient-dense local food, as well as supporting local farmers and educating the community about the benefits of sustainably produced food. Pretty good mission to pair with a pile of locally-made snacks, right?

Go green with gift wrap

If you’re hunting for quirky-cool wrapping paper and gift bags, try locally-owned Newport Market or Paper Jazz in Downtown Bend. The latter even sells paper in small quantities so you only buy what you need.

Keep in mind what’s actually recyclable when making your purchases. Tissue paper, foil wrapping paper, plastic ribbon, plastic packaging, and photo printed holiday cards cannot be recycled at Knott Landfill’s Deschutes Recycling Center. A trend known as “wishful recycling” or “optimistic recycling” actually creates more problems if folks send goods to be recycled when they can’t actually be processed that way. There’s a high risk of contaminating actual recyclable goods, not to mention increasing processing time and overall costs associated with recycling.

You can recycle non-foil wrapping paper, paperboard packaging, cardboard boxes, paper holiday cards, and ripped or otherwise unusable gift bags.

Fun as it is to tear into wrapped gifts like you’re a rabid dog, consider handling them with care so you can reuse wrapping paper and gift bags. 

You can also try wrapping gifts with recycled shopping bags or sheets of our local newspaper.

While we’re talking green…

If your idea of “giving the gift of green” involves a trip to your favorite Bend dispensary or cannabis shop, I salute your love of the devil’s lettuce.

But actually, I meant plants.

One of my most cherished Mother’s Day gifts came from my now-18-year-old child, who proudly marched into Somewhere That’s Green and bought the mammary inspired planter she knew I wanted. I’d show you a picture if I didn’t think I’d get spanked for posting naughty pics on the blog (and speaking of spanking, Pretty Pussycat has plenty of great gifts in that realm).

But I digress.

Gifting houseplants comes with a whole host of health benefits, from stress reduction to improving the quality of your indoor air. Plus, I’ll be honest––there’s something so soothing about the space at Somewhere That’s Green that I’ve taken to going there on bad days and strolling around until my shoulders relax. Then I treat myself to a sweet $5 succulent that makes my home office feel nicer.

Besides, all that lush green is bound to remind you of Central Oregon’s sprawling forests. Inspiration for planning another Bend adventure? Yes, please!

DIY for the win! 

If the “experiences, not gifts” plan resonates with you but you still want something tangible, how about a do-it-yourself gift experience?

Schedule a cooking class for you and a loved one through Kindred Creative Kitchen or Kara’s Kitchenware. You’ll go home with a full belly and a new set of culinary skills.

Book a class at DIY Cave in Bend and learn everything from jewelry-making to woodworking to blacksmithing to homebrewing and more. I bought my husband a gift card for a welding class here a few years ago and he still talks about how much fun he had.

Stop by AD Glass & Design to set up that special someone with personal glass blowing lessons. Make it extra personal by using ashes from a departed pet or loved one to create a one-of-a-kind memorial piece.

Hit Studio Create or Synergy Ceramics to create your own special pottery item for a loved one. You’ll also find a cool schedule of classes at The Workhouse if you’d like to learn figure drawing or another art form in the coming year.

Play outside together

Perhaps the most precious gift you can give your loved one is time.

While that’s tough to wrap with a big bow, you can channel your love of Bend’s wild places by planning a one-of-a-kind outdoor adventure.

Book a cave tour or moonlight snowshoe adventure, or plan ahead with a gift card for canoeing this summer with Wanderlust Tours.

Gift your favorite bike enthusiast a fat bike adventure with Cog Wild, or set up your sweetie with some Mt. Bachelor lift tickets. An ATV adventure with OutridersNW might be the perfect hit of adrenaline for your whole fam.

If money’s tight, try gifting someone a Bend hiking guide. My personal fave is Bend Overall by Scott Cook, and we sell it in the Bend Visitor Center. Flag a few pages of hikes you’d like to try, then hand it to your loved one with a card pledging to explore outdoors together.

Or what about making a hand-drawn card, printing a map, and pledging to hike one of my favorite Bend winter hikes  with your lovebug? Pack a picnic to make it extra special.

Happy holidays, everyone! Let’s make it our most sustainable celebration evah.