Whichever holiday you celebrate, we wish you and your family the best this season from bynature.ca.

Image © Alina Shilzhyavichyute | Dreamstime.com

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Do you feel that temptation to stay indoors and cozy up in front of a fire for the next week? Don’t do it! Well, not the whole time, anyway. Bundle up and go outside everyday, even if you are anxious to return to your warm house.

What happens when young children aren’t tired enough when bedtime comes? You know the answer, don’t you. They keep tired parents from sleeping. Especially with little kids, outdoor activity can make us tired enough to sleep well during a mostly lazy holiday. Better yet, when you come in from the cold, it is a perfect time to have hot chocolate or wassail.

My family will be spending the rest of today with friends. If there is enough snow, we will go snowshoeing; if not, we will go hiking. Either way, we anticipate windblown cheeks and cold noses as we unwind our scarves when we return to the house and to the sweet smells of lunch. That feeling is one of my favorite parts of the holidays.

8 Outdoor Activities for Your Family Holiday

Go for a Walk. Make it a habit to walk after lunch. My family has two fuzzy dogs, so our walks through the snow mean dogs covered in little snowballs like Christmas treat ornaments. The dogs have a great time romping like puppies, and we have a great time chasing after them. No matter whether you are in town or in the country, a walk is a great way to spend a part of your vacation days.

Build a Snow Fort. If you pack the snow tight enough, your fort can last long after most of the snow is gone. Last year, our whole neighborhood contributed to one snow fort, with adults and dogs included. This can be an ongoing activity.

Make Snow Angels. Drop down onto your back in the deep snow and swim your arms and legs back and forth until you create a wings and skirt. Toddlers love this activity. The first year my husband spent in the heavy winter after growing up without much snow, I convinced him to fall into several feet of powder. I fished him out and told him, “Welcome to Winter!” I’m a bit more careful with my children, but they still do this.

Scavenge for Winter Nature Table Decorations. Are there still evergreens, pinecones, winter berries. Children will tromp from place to place not even realizing that they are actually on a walk.

Sledding. Whether you have an old-fashioned sled, an old tire, or a cardboard box lid, you can probably find something slippery around the house for sledding. We have quite a few steep hills near our house, but we have another version of sledding that involves my husband grabbing tight to the rope on the sled and hauling children around. It worked better when they were little, but everyone still wants to see who can pull the rest of the family. If you celebrate Festivus, this could be one of your feats of strength.

Moon and Stargazing. The moon is past the quarter and will be full next week. If the sky is clear, you should have enough light for a late night walk. During the most recent full moon, my son stared out the window and said, “It’s so light! I wish we could go outside.” I asked, “Why can’t you?” He had no answer, and within minutes we were all bundled up for a midnight walk under the full moon. I was back in quickly, but they just sat in their tree swings, swinging patterns in the snow and talking for nearly an hour. Little children might not be able to take a long walk in the extreme cold, but the adventure of a nighttime walk can awaken the senses.

Bundle up and make sure snow can’t sneak into boots or mittens. Stay out long enough to have fun but not so long that children become miserable. The cold helps you and your children appreciate the warm. The activity helps you appreciate the opportunity to curl up with the family without the stresses of every day.

Happy Holidays and warm fingers and toes to your whole family.

Image © Miniimpressions | Dreamstime.com

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Christmas, birthdays, and other big, gift-giving holidays are a perfect time to ask for those very nice gifts you wouldn’t necessarily buy for yourself every day.

Do you end up buying your own gifts? I do. I ordered mine yesterday, and I don’t mind. I don’t really need much, and I don’t assume my husband can read my mind about what I want. I would be terribly disappointed with jewelry, flowers, chocolates, or any of the gifts I see marketed to men for women. My son wanted to buy the gift himself, but he finally asked me yesterday to help him. He and my husband are both very happy that I’m happy with what I get. Plus, buying for myself makes getting that very nice gift even easier.

So, here is my suggestion for you if you have family members who are still looking around at the last-minute for the right gift for you: a Buckwheat Body Pillow.

Buckwheat Body Pillow

If you bought separate pillows for pregnancy comfort, for nursing, and for sleep comfort, you probably wish you could use the same pillow for all three purposes. With the buckwheat body pillow, you can. This pillow is versatile. Lay it out the long way to support your belly during pregnancy; tie the ends together to make the perfect size for nursing; and continue to sleep with the pillow in a variety of shapes long after pregnancy and nursing are over.

This pillow can be used in many ways, and you can keep it clean by removing the buckwheat to wash the cotton cover and even replacing the buckwheat after years of use.

And, this pillow is beautiful! You won’t want to hide these bright cotton prints.

Comes in a child size as well.

A Pillow You Can Feel Good About

There are more reasons to feel good about this pillow.

Your Health. Filled with dust-free, roasted buckwheat hulls which are hypoallergenic & naturally dust mite resistant.

Environmentally Responsible. All the raw materials use in our buckwheat pillows are local, long-lasting, compostable, and renewable.

Made in Canada. Natural buckwheat filling supplied by a Quebecois organic farm.

Socially Responsible. Each buckwheat pillow is handmade by a Montreal-based reintegration company that fights against exclusion and poverty.

Ask for the perfect last-minute gift, or buy it for yourself today. Our store is closed for the holidays, but we are still shipping.

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Puppets make great small holiday gifts for children. You give not just the character you see but the character the puppet becomes for your child and the stories your child tells through the character.

Puppets inspire creativity, promote hands-on discovery, encourage interaction, teach fine and gross motor skills, help develop early language, and become a child’s lovable companion to be treasured for years.

We carry dozens of small animal hand puppets and finger puppets. You could collect a whole safari, but it usually just takes 1-2 puppets to start the story rolling.

Hand Puppets for Children

Each of our puppets comes with facts about the animal to help your child understand the creature in its own environment.

Little Turtle Hand Puppet

You will want to keep petting the textured shell of the turtle hand puppet. At about 7″ long, the hand puppets fit in a stocking then in your purse or your child’s bag for easy entertainment on the go.

Little Polar Bear Hand Puppet

This soft, furry polar bear comes with interesting facts about this solitary mammal. About 8″ tall.

Add these other hand puppets to your collection: Little Lion Puppet, Little Wolf Puppet, Little Lop Rabbit Puppet, Little Elephant Puppet, and more.

Finger Puppets for Children

Mini Fawn Finger Puppet

This soft fawn finger puppet easily fits in a pocket or a diaper bag. About 6″ long.

Mini Cardinal Finger Puppet

Your child will fly this bright, soft cardinal all over the house. What a great opportunity to learn about wild creatures of the world. About 5″ long.

Need a puppet for each hand? We also have these finger puppets: Mini Penguin Finger Puppet, Mini Black Sheep Finger Puppet, Mini Skunk Finger Puppet, Mini River Otter Finger Puppet, and many more. We have 20+ animal puppets to choose from.

Gifts that encourage open-ended play give your child more than just a morning of delight. They open up a wide, wild world of adventure.

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Finding the best natural seasonal decorations is easy because they are in your own backyard. You don’t need to buy the icons of someone else’s place and culture when you are surrounded by your own.

As it gets colder outdoors, we often bring reminders of the season indoors with us. This could be the end of the Autumn leaves—the bitter end if you just can’t face raking them up—or evergreens if the world around you has turned mostly grey.

The tradition of bringing evergreens into the house during midwinter is a reminder that the green spring will return. The persistence of green through the stark winter warms our living spaces. Bringing evergreen boughs into the house is, of course, the origin of having a tree during midwinter then, later, Christmas holiday season.

What surrounds your house? Conifers, perhaps. If you are really lucky, holly or mistletoe. Bay. Palm trees. Whatever you have can work as a holiday decoration. This might also be the time of year that you realize you want to plant evergreens next year so you will have more green around you all winter.

My clever child, who is consulting with me on ideas for winter decorations, points out that not everyone has a yard. He doesn’t think that a Festivus pole is enough to brighten up the urban home, so he suggests that you go to the park. Another way to find abundant evergreen is to go to sellers of trees. When they trim trees to fit tree stands, they often giveaway or sell inexpensively the bottom branches.

5 Way to Use Natural Decorations This Winter

Trim the Tree
If you are surrounded by pine cones, tie ribbons to them and hang them on your tree. Pinecones and acorns can be used as ornaments all over the house. Put them up high if you have very young children.

String a Garland
Sew through individual leaves to create a hanging garland. I like to use thick, red thread sewn through the dark green, teardrop-shaped leaves of the bush outside my front door. It adds a nice touch of color.

Make a Wreath
Gather evergreen boughs into a circle and you have a wreath. You may need to use string or wire to hold them, but it is very easy to do. Many people put wreaths on their front door. In my neighborhood, people put them over the lamps in front of our houses.

Surround the Candle
Midwinter is the time for lights, for festivals of lights in many cultures. If you make candles part of your winter decorations, surround them with evergreens. Be careful of using dried leaves near candles, though.

Wear a Crown
Decorate the people! My family like wearing crowns: birthday crowns, holiday crown, or just because crowns. Gather up the last of the Autumn leaves or a bunch of evergreen leaves into a wreath that you wear. You probably won’t want to use conifers, since they can poke as well as leaving sap in your hair. Getting sap out of a child’s hair is no fun. At my own midwinter wedding, I wore a crown of bay leaves because there was a big bay bush in my in-laws’ yard where we held our reception.

Don’t run out and buy those holiday decorations. Look around you and see what you can do with what you already have. Stay warm and green this winter.

Image © Evgeniya Uvarova | Dreamstime.com

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It’s Small Business Saturday!

Local Customers
Join us today for our Holiday Open House. Door prizes have started already, and we have in-store only savings for you. Apple cider and sweets all day. Come on by!

Online Customers
This weekend shop “Green” to benefit more than just your pocket book. Our products are safer for your family, environmentally responsible and they meet high social responsibility standards.

Savings in our Green Friday department last through tomorrow (Sunday) at Midnight Eastern Time.

Your support means the world to our small, independent family business. We thank you!

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Buy buy buy. Messages urging you to spend money for the holidays can be relentless. Turn on your critical thinking now before you buy more than you intend to.

According to BMO Financial Group, Canadians are ready to spend this holiday season. “Canadians expect to spend an average of $1,610 this holiday season – up from $1,397 in 2011.” Shoppers in the U.S. are expected to spend just about that much with an average of $749 each on gifts and decorations and another $762 each on travel.

Overwhelmed yet?

What better time to watch The Story of Stuff and think about the consequences of consumerism. Yes, have a great holiday season. Yes, give gifts. But, don’t get caught up in buying something you don’t want and won’t ever use for the sake of a sale.

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We look for quality products ethically made. From the best of the best, we have chosen our favourites to recommend to you 15 North American made gift ideas for the whole family.

Since we have been focusing for the past several weeks on issues that can come up with imported products, as we turn our minds toward holiday gift ideas, we want to share with you our favourite made in Canada and made in USA products.

Nature Mom, who works with these products every day in our Orillia store, says, “I just love all of these products, and they are all amazing manufacturers to work with.”

For Baby

Babies have little awareness of holidays other than the fun and the sparkly lights, but giving holiday gifts is an opportunity to get something special and long-lasting for baby.

Ringley Teething Ring

Made in Canada from untreated Canadian Maple and certified organic cotton loopy terrycloth. The two different materials provide very different textures for a baby to feel with their gums. This straight teething ring is best for smaller babies because our Ringley teething ring with knots may be too big for small mouths. Note that the animal teething rings are not made in Canada. The simpler organic cotton teething rings are handmade in Toronto.

Wooden Rattle

Made in Canada. Because of the differences in the colour and grain of the wood, each wooden baby rattle is unique. No lacquer or paint to worry about, just 100% natural hemp or flax seed oil. Handcrafted with love by a family in their home workshop in Muskoka, southern Ontario.

Kleynimals Key Ring

Made in USA. Does your child want to play with your keys? The problem is lead contamination, sharp edges, and the nasty dirt that accumulates on keys. Give them Kleynimals instead, made from 18/8 food grade stainless steel. This is a new product that we loving. You’ll want to take a turn to jangle the keys yourself.

Wooden Building Blocks

Made in Canada. Every child needs a set of basic building blocks. These beautifully plain blocks can be anything. These blocks are made by a family business in Nova Scotia.

Wee Urban Sleep Sac

Made in Canada. Made from super soft organic cotton and bamboo viscose. When your baby is done with swaddling at about 10lbs, these sleep sacks are designed as a wearable blanket to replace loose bedding, which your baby will roll around and kick off anyway. Keep your baby warm in a sleep bag.

For Family

Giving a board game covers the whole family. You aren’t just giving them a thing; you are giving them the opportunity to spend time together and have fun. As my children grow, we continue to buy new games that we play together as a family.

Caves & Claws Cooperative Games

Made in Canada. This game is a teamwork adventure in which a museum hires a team of Archaeologists to travel deep into a Jungle to find Ancient Artifacts. The players are that team, ready for action and adventure! There are dangers and obstacles to avoid, such as The Creeping Claw, The Nasty Hairy Thing and Big Boulders rolling over entrances. We carry 15 different cooperative games with a variety of themes and pieces. You may want to collect several.

Endangered Species Memory Game

Made in Canada. By the time your child can communicate clearly, you can start to play visual games. This board game can be adapted by age, using just 9 of the card pairs for younger children and all 36 pairs for older children and adults. Includes a full-colour book highlighting the animals in the game that their threatened habitats. Artwork is by Toronto artist Anouk Bickers. Constructed from 100% Forest Stewardship Council Paper (FSC) and printed using vegetable-based inks.

For Mother

I think it is important to give a new mother a gift that isn’t for her baby or her family but for her. She probably needs that care even if she doesn’t say so.

Anointment Skin Care Clay Cleanser

Made in Canada. Anointment Skin Care products come in a wide range of prices and products from lip balm at $4.98 to skin ointment at $19.98. I chose the Herbal Clay Cleanser from two reasons: I love clay skin products, and our customers have left nice reviews for this cleanser as well. A collection of these products would make a nice gift on its own, and a couple of bars of handmade soap would fit nicely in the toe of a Christmas stocking.

Diva Cup

Made in Canada. OK, a reusable menstrual cup is kind of odd as a holiday gift. Maybe between girlfriends it would work. I just can’t help but mention Diva Cup because this is such a good product that will be helpful to every mother. Flexible silicone is great for women who are sensitive to other materials.

For Father

We don’t carry a lot of products for fathers, but he deserves a nice, North American-made gift, too.

Handcrafted Shaving Scuttle Set

Made in Canada, and Made in USA. Switching from conventional shaving foams and gels will reduce irritation and razor burn and provide the perfect lather for a smooth, close shave. Shaving scuttle is made in Price Edward Island by a small family business to be used with Anointment Skin Care Shave Soap. The scuttle and shave soap are made in Canada, and the shaving brush is made in the USA.

Practical Choices

Hitting the right tone with gifts depends on each family. Some families will welcome more practical gifts. If you need to buy for that family, these are great products from great companies.

AMP hemp diaper inserts

Made in Canada. Annie Marie Padorie (AMP) diapers can be used as flat diapers or as inserts for pocket or duo diapers. We chose the hemp flat inserts because our customers really like this, and they are such a cost effective cloth diapering solution.

Bummis Super Brite

Made in Canada. We chose Super Brite covers among all of the Bummis products because they are a customer favorite, and because the colorful prints are a toddler favorite as well. Once your child is old enough to start to show a preference, you might find that they prefer the bright, fun prints. All Bummis cloth diaper covers are made in Canada.

Blueberry daytime trainers

Made in USA. Getting a pair of big kid underwear can be exciting for a toddler. These trainers look at feel like underwear while hiding an absorbent layer of microterry and waterproof polyester to avoid accidents. We love how colorful they are.

Cuddly Wrap Organic Cotton Baby Carrier

Made in Canada. Sometimes the holidays are a time to give a family what they don’t or can’t give themselves. This is by far the most comfortable baby carrier wrap we have found for a newborn. It correctly supports the developing curves of a young spine. Manufactured under fair trade labour practices.

Image © Lev Dolgatshjov | Dreamstime.com

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On Saturday November 24th we’ll be celebrating the holiday season in Orillia and everyone’s invited. Join us for apple cider, sweets, in-store specials, hourly giveaways and more!

Holiday Fun on Saturday November 24th:

• Extended store hours! The fun starts at 10am until 6pm.
• Enjoy apple cider and sweets all day long.
• Saturday-only savings on gifts they’ll remember. Unique ideas for that special someone (and little one!) on your list.
• Door prizes drawn every hour on the hour starting at 11am!
• Wee Piggies & Paws will be available to make a lasting memory of your little ones. Handprint or footprint ornament only $25!
• Every gift purchase is entered to win a $100 Gift Certificate that we’ll be drawing for on Christmas Eve.
• Bring a friend and you’ll both receive a special thank you gift.

Event will take place at bynature.ca, 5 Ontario Street, Orillia, Ontario. Store hours for this special Saturday Holiday Event are 10am until 6pm. Everyone is invited!

Any family that drops off a cloth diaper donation for our cloth diaper bank will receive a second entry into our contest to win a $100 Gift Certificate, drawn for on Christmas Eve. Learn more about our cloth diaper bank.

Questions? Please call the store at 705-325-0506, send us a message on Facebook, or email us.

We look forward to celebrating with you!

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Cheap imports are cheap precisely because they cut costs by cutting corners—pay less for labour, think less about quality, design less for safety, and don’t worry about the environment. Good business? Only in the moment. In the long term, these short-term savings leave us with big bills to pay.

Over the past month, we have been looking at the true costs of cheap imports. In the cases of unpaid labor, unsafe products, low quality, and pollution, we have focused on what isn’t sustainable. Today, we want to shift toward the positive to show what sustainability looks like when it works.

Give It to Me Quick
Truly sustainable products don’t pass on real costs to others but accept and embrace the real costs, redesigning the product and the supply chain not to externalize the costs but to internalize the benefits.

Sustainability

We reach sustainability when we can meet our own needs while not interrupting the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, issues with imports overlap because they all lead to larger issues of sustainability. As long as we buy cheap products that externalize real costs, we have not yet reached true sustainability because we will pay those costs one way or another. There is no one answer to sustainability, but we can aim in that direction through constant improvement of our choices.

Sustainability isn’t just good for us as consumers. Sustainability is good for business. Happy, healthy workers who are paid a fair wage without being pushed beyond reasonable limits of endurance are more likely to do quality work over the long-term. Designs that start with safety in mind are more likely to become beloved products that provide profits over the long-term. Materials that don’t exploit the environment or cause health issues for those near the point of extraction or for the children who will use the final product are more likely to be stable resources over the long-term.

Yes, the theme is the long-term. Sustainability acknowledges that tomorrow matters.

Does it mean we don’t want people overseas to have jobs? Of course, not! If they build their own sustainable local economies, they will benefit in the same ways we will from our own. If they build sustainable products, there will be less hesitation from others to buy those products.

Does that mean we shouldn’t buy anything made outside our own country or even outside our own communities? Of course, not! For most of us, not everything we want or think we need is made in our local communities, anyway.

Sustainability builds on the positive at the same time that it works to eliminate or lessen the impact of the negative. Sustainability shouldn’t be about creating a collection of insular communities that seldom interact. Sustainability puts the priority on the simplest solutions and looks for those solutions locally first.

What Sustainability Looks Like

One of our favorite brands that we carry at bynature.ca is Montreal-based Bummis. They make great cloth diapering products, but that is only part of the story. They are good people who believe in sustainability at every level in their business. They are meticulous in their design and testing; they are careful in their sourcing; they are generous in their business dealings; and, by all reports, they are a great company to work for. When we look for ethical products, we look for companies like this.

Bummis tells consumers about their sustainable products in a Made Here campaign, in which they tell

“How value for us means so much more than just money – how it has to do with integrity and standards and sustainability. And how when you buy something from us, you are buying into our dream – a dream in which business is on the cutting edge of social change and where the bottom line includes the well-being and prosperity of all.”

In addition to making cloth diapering products Made Here and Worn Everywhere, Bummis has a store in Montreal, Boutique Bummis, where they sell baby and parenting products. Before a new employee can work in their store, they learn about the store Manifesto, which starts: “Everyone that walks into the store should feel welcomed and cared about and secure. Grumpy customers should be loved more because they need it!” Every guideline in the Manifesto, indeed every product in the store, builds connection.

“Our mission is to facilitate the attachment of parents to their children by offering products, information, resources and support that will promote that attachment. And the vision behind that is the belief that profound attachment of parents and children can create a paradigm shift that can engender powerful personal and social transformations.”

Bummis co-owner Betsy Thomas sees the store “as a statement of who we are and what we believe in – a place where every day we actively manifest our company values.”

I learned about the store Manifesto when Betsy Thomas and I sat together on a customer service panel at a business conference. I was particularly impressed that these instructions to employees include statements from past employees. This shows me that the concern isn’t just with who people are in their space in the moment but with who they are long-term and who they become through their experiences. One former employee in particular wrote about how her time at Bummis taught her to naturally present “information and options in a non-biased way,” a skill she carried into her training as a midwife—a skill her midwifery preceptors said made her the most advanced student at any level because people often struggle with the skill of compassionate teaching.

I love using Bummis as an example of ethical products and sustainable business because they practice sustainability on so many levels. They are conscious of having a positive impact on all who come in contact with the company.

Organizations Building Local Economies

Many cities and towns have Buy Local campaigns. If yours does, you can get involved. You can expand and shape the way you and your neighbors think about about and act within local economies.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance is a national nonprofit organization supporting “environmentally sound and equitable community development.” The focus is local self-reliance, and that includes buying local. Yes, buying at a local business helps the business, but that isn’t the most important reason to support locally owned businesses. Consider local jobs, local innovations, and product diversity. Read their “Top 10 Reasons to Support Locally Owned Businesses” for more reasons.

The Business Alliance for Living Local Economies wants to create “real prosperity by connecting leaders, spreading solutions that work, and driving investment toward local economies.” In their decade of research, they’ve come up with Core Four strategies: local first, DIY entrepreneurs, local capital, and better together. Their members are business owners and other leaders. Read their “Localism 101″ to see what they find matters in building living local economies.

Keep in mind the Local Multiplier Effect. The organizations above and many others recognize that feeding your money and energy back into you local economy multiplies the effect. Buying local is good for you in more than the way it makes you feel. Research shows that when you buy local, $.45 of every dollar is reinvested locally; when you spend a dollar at a corporate chain, only $.15 of that is reinvested locally. Your money works harder in ways you will notice when you spend it locally. This Local Multiplied Effect feeds back into your own community and creates greater wealth than exporting your money to corporate headquarters.

What You Can Do

• Avoid exploitation. You need to know more about the products you buy in order to know whether workers or environment were exploited to produce them.
• Be a localist. Look for local solutions first without avoiding solutions from afar when they really will work for you.
• Only buy what you need.
• Buy what you need from people you trust. Especially with parenting products for new parents, you need support. You need to know how to use a baby carrier or a cloth diaper. The questions you want to ask are sometimes quite personal. Building a trusting relationship with a knowledgeable store owner can help you focus on what you really need and avoid those baby products you might leave on the shelf and never use.
• Meet more people so you can develop more of those trusting relationships. When people trust one another, they are accountable to one another.
• When you do buy, look for products that meet high standards. At bynature.ca we help you with that by adding the icons for our Safe Family Promise to every product in our store.
• Think about what makes you happy and put your focus there.
• Shift your focus from stuff to relationships between people. The Canadian Index of Well Being includes tools to help you build resilient local communities.
• Be part of the change in your local community, building a local economy that is more focused on happiness than stuff.
• Don’t get caught up in the negative. Reading about child and forced labor can be devastating. Work to right the wrongs, but also work to enhance the rights in your life. Feed the positive relationships in your community.

True Sustainability

True sustainability acknowledges true costs. Businesses that measure their success by a triple bottom line of People Planet Profit already understand that paying up front for people and planet pays dividends to them and their customers in the long run. We don’t need to embrace business that puts profit ahead of people and planet. If we want to give our children the same chances that we have, we can’t put profit ahead of them and their future.

When Betsy Thomas talks about Bummis, one of the things that really sticks with me is her observation that new parents turn naturally toward sustainability when their children are born because children give a face to the future. You and I as parents have a passionate stake in long-term sustainability through our children.

More in this series

• “Cheap Products at What Cost?”
• “Imports at What Cost? Labour”
• “Imports at What Cost? Safety”
• “Imports at What Cost? Quality”
• “Imports at What Cost? Environment”
• “15 North American Made Gift Ideas”

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