By Esther Lerman Freeman | Contributing Writer

As we give thanks for our many blessings over this holiday season, I can think of no better way to honor those we love than being kind to the earth and all its inhabitants. Here are a few gift ideas that help keep our celebrations environmentally conscious:

White Elephant Gift Exchange

Each person is invited to bring something of theirs that they really like but no longer use or need, or are just ready to share. Sometimes it’s something quirky that they can’t wait to part with (like one year it was one of those mechanical singing fish). The gifts don’t need to be wrapped, they are on display for all to see. Everyone picks a number which determines the order in which people select gifts. When it’s your turn, you may pick a new gift or “steal” one that has already been taken. The person who you steal from then gets to pick something else from the selection. It becomes a comical competition, and everyone gets in on the fun.

White elephant gifts are my favorite zero-impact gift option. I’ve done this with friend groups and with family holiday gatherings and it’s always a blast.

Experiences

Experiences make memorable gifts, support our local businesses and decrease the need for extra packaging, transportation and shipping. If there’s such a thing as a win:win:win:win this is it. Here are some examples of great experience gifts:

• Tickets for a play, concert or sporting event (such as NE theaters Profile Theater and Portland Playhouse or events at Alberta Rose, Alberta Abbey and Alberta Historic House)
• An e-bike tour of Hood River through solrides.com
• A gift card for a favorite brewery, bakery or restaurant
• A gift certificate for a massage or facial (Check out tinymassagecart.com, sweetsaffronnaturalskincare.com)
• A gift certificate for a class or services such as communitycyclingcenter.org or bike repair, cooking classes through viviennepdx.com or art classes through collagepdx.com
• For loved ones far away consider gift cards they can use for special treats near them, like for a special chocolate store

Memberships

Memberships are experience gifts that keep on giving. Many local companies provide gist membership options. Here are a few ideas:

• A pint of Salt and Straw every month
• Two packages of coffee every other week delivered to their house by Keia and Martyn (keiaandmartynscoffee.com)
• Membership to Dogwood wine club for monthly bottles and tasting (dogwoodpdx.com) Personal Donations Here are ways to donate your own time or money thoughtfully.
• Donations to organizations of importance or special meaning to your loved ones in their honor
• Gifts of service from you, like meals or a written promise of a few hours of gardening help or childcare.

Gifts for Children

Children’s gifts can get expensive. Rather than running to the store for the latest fad toy, consider gifting handmade coupons, which can be for any number of things, such as:

• Get to stay up one hour late on chosen night
• Pass to skip chores for a week
• Ice cream sundae night
• Visit to the fire station
• Game Night of their choice
• Making Playdoh together, building with Legos, or playing with a favorite toy
• Extra books at bedtime

When wrapping your gifts, use reusable gift bags instead of wrapping paper and ribbons. Happy holiday season and may we all be blessed with health and peace.

Esther Lerman Freeman is a certified Master Recycler and Concordia resident.

By Joshua Lickteig | Contributing Writer

Had any fun with philately lately? Philately, the study and collection of postal delivery materials, prospers in an old fire station building on NE 33rd Avenue half a block south of Alberta Street. Its five columns, flagpole and prominent gable roof welcome visitors into worlds of hobby and history: stamps, postmarked envelopes, cards, letters, and souvenir sheets. Oregon Stamp Society (OSS), a volunteer-based organization belonging to the Northwest Federation of Stamp Clubs, hosts regular public fairs and bourses that bring together buyer enthusiasts, casual collectors, heirs, onetime sellers, and dealers. OSS operates the Northwest Philatelic Library, which contains over 5,300 items, 160 journals, and over 120 years of price catalogs.

Whether you are interested in a particular era, geographical region, subject or theme, discovery awaits at a clubhouse gathering. There’s splendor in the way dealers, exhibitors, and collectors operate the floor with respect and cooperation.

“Here, everyone wants to share their knowledge,” says Deborah Jutz, whose son Cétán just began looking for baseball-themed stamps. They like the thrill of the search, learning about the pastime together, and the patience and sincerity of the relaxed sellers.

In the lobby Steve King, OSS president for the past three and a half years and member since 2005, identifies the period of an unmarked postcard from the Crater Lake Hotel. King worked with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for 31 years.

“Back then, there were no photographs of small towns taken by citizens; just by official postcard photographers,” he notes. Lit magnifying glass in hand, the basis for his assessment lies in the lodge’s apparent physical condition in the picture and the thin white border on the postcard (a cost-saving measure following WWI).

Contrasting the contemporary boom of shared digital images, few personal letters are sent today. The society’s library manager Isaac Oelgart, removing a short-brimmed fedora and white blazer, joins the room.

“A stamp is a service,” he says, “unless you don’t use it, then it’s just a piece of paper.” Stamps generate revenue for government-run postal systems and can appeal aesthetically or as investments to buyers. Oelgart says that most newspapers used to have a philatelic columnist.

Downstairs, a library is kept in a tidy L-shaped space with over 25 subject categories, from auction catalogs to antiquated postal stationery. In a glass case by its entrance is a framed photo of Mary McBride, president from 1959-1960, instrumental in acquiring the clubhouse when it came up for sale in 1960. Presently, there are 6,000 or more unique resources for research. “We’re the biggest small or the smallest big [mail] library in the United States,” Oelgart says. Only Chicago and New York host a more sizable set of stacks.

OSS is healthy as an organization, publishes its newsletter The Album Page monthly, and has low member resignation over the years. Though as some pass on, less join. In 1980 there were about 450 members; today 150, and ten to thirty people attend the board meetings. The clubhouse is also leased to other local organizations; namely, Webfooters Post Card Club, Sojourn Church PDX, All-Ireland Cultural Society of Oregon, and Northwest Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club.

Neighborhood support remains steady. In a couple of hours during my visit, at least three in-kind donations, mostly boxes of family collections, even stamp découpage, were received. Several passersby stopped and mentioned they’d been meaning to for some time. King says this is pretty regular.

OSS holds regular library hours, membership meetings and a monthly stamp fair that is open to the public. Deliver your intrigue to the historical realm of stampomania!

Joshua Lickteig is an artist and engineer. He was born near the other Milwaukee and has been in Portland for six years. His latest book of poems is called Half Moon Day Sun.