Culture

How to give a sustainable gift this holiday season

Seven mannequins dressed up behind a table with flat laid accessories.

Pavement sells clothes in recent styles and vintage, plus a wide selection of accessories. | Photo by @pavementaustin

The holidays may be the most wonderful time of year, but it’s also the most wasteful. Americans generate 25% more waste than average from Thanksgiving to the New Year, and a lot of the waste has to do with our favorite tradition: gift giving.

We prepared a few of our favorite — and some reader-suggested — tips for giving eco-friendly gifts.

Thrift your gift ♻️

Half Price Books | Multiple locations | Give the gift of knowledge, in the form of used books, records, and games.
Moss Designer Consignment | 705 S. Lamar Blvd. | Peruse through racks of luxury brands in-store or vitually from your couch.
Pavement | Multiple locations | Sort through vintage and recent styles at this local chain, which is famous for its fill-a-bag sales.

You can also visit the City-Wide Vintage Sale Saturday, Dec. 10-Sunday, Dec. 11 at the Palmer Events Center for a full market comprised of used goodies.

Make your gift 🪡

Bonus points if you buy your material from Austin Creative Reuse, located on 2005 Wheless Ln., where you can find reclaimed and used art supplies for quite literally pennies on the dollar. This spot is a favorite of reader Sheila G.

Wrap your gifts with something reusable 🎀

Wrapping gifts in something reusable helps cut down on waste, plus it has the potential to look even better.

Use fabric scraps, tote bags, ribbons, or anything that can be stored away for future use, and encourage the recipient to reuse them. Some stores, like Lush, sell gift wrap made from recycled paper or cotton.

Dispose of waste properly 🗑

Reader Judith F. recommends using Ridwell. The company will pick up the items from your doorstep and redirect them to local nonprofits to either be recycled or upcycled for a monthly fee of $12-16.

Have a green holiday, Austinites!

HAVE A GREEN HOLIDAY

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Friday, Dec. 2

Two-Step Night | Friday, Dec. 2 | 7-9:30 p.m. | Jester King Brewery, 13187 Fitzhugh Rd., Austin | Free | Learn how to two-step for the first time or brush up on your dance moves with instructors from Dancin’ Austin.
Winter Wanderland | Now-Sunday, Dec. 25 | 12 p.m. | Austin Motel, 1220 S. Congress Ave., Austin | Free | Sip seasonal drinks while floating in the hotel pool, watch holiday films, and take photos with “Hunky Santa” at this month-long lineup of events.

Saturday, Dec. 3

Austin Diamond Room Open House | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | The Austin Diamond Room, 9390 Research Blvd., Austin | Free | This private “upstairs jeweler” is opening its doors to the public for the first time.
Fairmont Austin Tree Lighting | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 5-8 p.m. | Fairmont Austin, 101 Red River St., Austin | Free | This holiday celebration and tree lighting ceremony will benefit Dell Children’s Medical Center this year.
Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells | Saturday, Dec. 3-Sunday, Dec. 18 | 11 a.m.-1 p.m. | Austin Scottish Rite Theater, 207 W. 18th St., Austin | $15-20 | This on-stage holiday story brings to life the beloved characters of Barbara Park’s Junie B. Jones childrens’ series.
SantaCon 2022 | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 2-6 p.m. | Rainey Street, Austin | $20 | Don your Santa suit or finest holiday attire for a pub crawl benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas.

Sunday, Dec. 4

“Miracle on 34th Street” (1947) | Sunday, Dec. 4 | 2 p.m. | The Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Ave., Austin | Watch the classic film on the big screen to get into the holiday spirit.

We have a calendar filled with events and activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

100+ MORE EVENTS

Weather

73º | Morning showers | 34% chance of rain 🌧
Austinites got a little bit of everything from last month’s weather with three days of highs in the 40s, a week of highs in the 80s, and 18 days that were cooler than originally forecast. All in all, it was the 28th warmest November recorded. (KXAN)

Community

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce has named former board member Kerry Hall as interim president and CEO after the current president, Laura Huffman, announced she would step down by the end of the year. (Community Impact Austin)

Event

Calling all cat people — traveling cat festival POP Cats 2022 is making a stop in Austin this weekend from Friday, Dec. 2-Sunday Dec. 4 at the Palmer Events Center. Tickets start at $20 for access to pop art, cat adoptions, merch, music, libations, and more. 🐈‍⬛

Award

The 2022 Eater Austin Awards are out and we have some dining to do. Winners included Canje for Best New Restaurant, Vintage Bookstore & Wine Bar for “Best Combination That Needed to Happen of 2022,” and Tiki Tatsu-Ya for “Best Spectacle.” 🏆 (Eater Austin)

Ranked

Austin’s workforce is young. A report by LinkedIn’s Economic graph team showed that 10.5% of hires in Austin in 2021 belonged to Gen Z. Austin’s total was the second highest on the list, sandwiched between Madison, Wisconsin, and Boston. Read the full study. 👩‍💻

Announced

Funny festival Moontower Just For Laughs Austin announced a sneak peek at its 100+ comic lineup in preparation for its April return. Expect to see big names including Trevor Noah, Ben Schwartz, Chelcie Lynn, Chris Distefano and Seth Meyers.

Shop

Your holiday music just got better. 1byoneaudio sells high quality and easy-to-use turntables equipped with incredible sound quality and hi-fi speakers, plus some that connect to Bluetooth headphones. Think: a great gift for the record lover in your life (or even an early present for yourself). 🎶*

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Culture

Bring a furry friend home for the holidays

A woman holding a little brown and white puppy.

All pets are included in December’s promotion. | Photo courtesy of Austin Pets Alive!

There’s no place like a warm and fuzzy home for the holidays.

Austin Pets Alive! and Austin Animal Center have reduced adoption fees to $31 for the entire month of December, so if you’ve been wanting to add a little fluff to your home, it’s the perfect time to give yourself a gift.

The deal includes dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens — we’d like to introduce you to a few of them.

Dogs 🐶

Kit and Kat | These one-month old black lab mixes were rescued with their mom, 2-year-old Lindsey, who is recovering from a gunshot wound and also up for adoption.
Soba | This puppy loves to nap on the couch and is the ideal age to begin training.

Cats 🐱

Evil Meowpac | The attention-loving Evil Meowpac, named after the popular Twitter account @EvilMoPac, is 1 year old and lives with Feline leukemia virus.
Periwinkle | This talkative tabby kitten’s meow sounds like a tiny squeak.

MORE ADOPTABLES

THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Figi.

Editor’s pick: I’m so impressed with how crafty Austinites are when it comes to sustainable choices — reader Caren K. said she’s made 150+ cloth shopping bags with thift store fabric to give out to fellow shoppers. Be like Caren. ♻️

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Sip your way through the holiday season with our list of pop-up bars, here.

Connect with us.

Editorial: Laura Figi, London Gibson, Dayten Rose, Josh Kranzberg, Emily Shea | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

Sales: Camille McLeod | Advertise with us.

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