If you are like us, your family has already started asking you what you want for Christmas/Hanukkah/insert your mass-consumption holiday of choice here. And while we like getting presents, we really, really, honestly, we promise, do not need that much more stuff. Which is why we’re glad to see SoKind, which Treehugger describes as “a new and improved gift registry aimed firmly at those who value experiences over material goods, handmade crafts over mass-produced gadgets, and gently used and carefully selected pre-loved goods over things they’ll probably use once and never see again.”
Ooh, ooh, that’s us!
While everyone knows that there are all sorts of gifts that you can give that are not stuff, sometimes it’s hard to remember what they are. SoKind’s got some ideas. Here’s a partial list of things we may or may not personally want:
Cooking lessons, canning lessons, massages, yoga classes, dance classes, museum passes, climbing gym membership, hot springs pass, CSA membership, tickets to a play, skydiving, carbon offsets, homegrown fruit and jams, secondhand board games.
This tool isn’t just useful for holidays; say the word “registry” and you’ve got the attention of anyone getting married. One of the very nice features of this tool is that you can register for “day-of-event help” — instead of asking for china plates you’ll never use, you can ask for a set-up crew, a videographer, a DJ, a wedding organizer, or a volunteer rehearsal dinner host. Just imagine: You might even end up with a beautiful wedding that you didn’t go into debt to host! And bonus: no crystal bowls you’ll never use. (Well, probably one. There’s always someone who goes off-registry.)
