Reclaim Your Holidays
Practical ways to create meaning
Tools for RYH Educators
If you are telling others, “Reclaim Your Holidays!” then these tools are for you.
FAVORITE TOOLS | HANDOUTS | PRESENTATIONS | DISPLAYS
GREEN ENTERTAINING | MEDIA | EVEN MORE TOOLS! | LINKS
Pick 5 Survey (pdf) (doc) --One of our most popular tools!
Twenty quality of life options are listed in this survey, and participants are asked to pick the five qualities most essential to their quality of life.
Five-Minute Assessment Tool (pdf) (doc)
This activity encourages reflection on past holidays and how to learn from those to reshape the next holiday.
This list of books and resources might help you and others simplify life during the holidays. Download and share with others at your gatherings.
Gratitude Letter as a Gift (pdf)
Not the same as a “thank you note,” Gratitude Letters give you an opportunity to examine the pleasure and meaning you get from a relationship, and share that with a significant person in your life.
Happiness Video (click to view) >
Does lots of stuff equal happiness? This two-minute video from Public Broadcasting Service Kids is a great illustration for children and adults alike. Show during a Reclaim Your Holidays presentation or simply share the link in an email, on Facebook, or through a blog.
RYH Pocket Guide / Six cards (pdf) | 8.5" x 11" (pdf)
Take action toward a richer, more meaningul future! Download and print these tips for success to carry with you as a daily reminder. Print a full page of cards on cardstock to share with others, or print the guide on a standard sheet of paper for yourself.
Printable Gift Certificates
Download and print the gift certificates you'd like to try and/or share with your audiences. Colorful and inexpensive envelopes add a nice touch (standard A2 envelopes available at local print shops and art supply stores).
- “I made a charitable donation in your name to _______________.” (pdf)
- “This certificate is good for _______________.” (pdf)
- A Gift from Me to You certificate - Pamper a mom with this selection. (pdf)
- Blank gift certificate - fill in your own gift ideas and let your gift recipient choose! (pdf)
Pledge Cards
Space to collect contact information (pdf) | Without contact information (pdf)
Download and print these pledge cards and ask participants to make a pledge: “What one thing will you do to make your holiday more meaningful or greener?” A public pledge is one sure way to help people make a desired change.
Printing Tip: For best results, look to see that your printer does not “scale to fit printer margins/shrink to printable area” in the Print Setup window (wording may vary). Simply uncheck that box or choose “none” before printing. This will ensure that your pledge cards print correctly so you can trim them to a uniform size.
HANDOUTS:
Organized by category (some pdfs appear in more than one category).
- Create meaning by taking control of your finances (pdf)
- Gifts for kids (pdf)
- Give gifts of experience (pdf)
- Strengthen local connections by giving Iowa-made gifts (pdf)
- Give a green gift (pdf)
- Second-hand is in vogue (pdf)
- Farmers market gift ideas (pdf)
- Gratitude letter as a gift (pdf)
- Clear away the holiday clutter (pdf)
- Decorate with green in mind (pdf)
- Plan a green get together (pdf)
- Prepare an Iowa-grown meal to celebrate with family and friends (pdf)
- Farmers market gift ideas (pdf)
- Recycle through the holidays (pdf)
- Give gifts of experience (pdf)
- Second-hand is in vogue (pdf)
- Clear away the holiday clutter (pdf)
- Decorate with green in mind (pdf)
- Plan a green get together (pdf)
- Recycle through the holidays (pdf)
The following are 20-minute presentation/lesson plans, adaptable to 30- and 40-minutes. The target audience is adults and these can be presented in a wide variety of venues from Rotary and Lions Clubs meetings to congregational forums, or as classes for seniors or parents or women’s groups. Use your creativity!
- Great Ideas for Year-Around Gift-Giving (pdf) NEW!
- Eight Steps for Creating Richer, More Meaningful Celebrations (pdf) NEW!
- Increase Pleasure and Meaning by Learning from the Past (pdf) NEW!
Four-Part “Reclaim Your Holidays” Workshop Series
Lesson plans, handouts and publicity samples (pdf) | Lesson plans, handouts and publicity samples (doc) | Handouts and publicity samples only (doc)
Sample Presentations (10- and 50-minute presentations available)Help your audiences bring more pleasure and meaning to the holidays through this 50-minute, interactive presentation. A 10-minute version is designed for presentations to "Friends of..." boards and other boards and/or leaders with whom instructors periodically educate about current issues.
DISPLAYS:
Poster (pdf)
Download our poster to help begin Reclaim Your Holidays conversations. Print the full-color poster yourself at smaller sizes, or share this link with your local printer who can download and print the full-size poster for you (original poster size: 20” w x 30” h).
Display Panels
Left panel (pdf) | Center panel (pdf) | Right panel (pdf)
Use our full, three-panel display to help educate your audiences! Download these full-color display panels to print yourself in smaller sizes to post on a bulletin board, or share the link with your local printer who can download the files to create a full-size table top display (original size of each panel: 22” w x 34” h).
Spruce up your display with examples of environmentally friendly gift ideas! Include printable gift certificate samples, copies of good books (pdf), and sustainably wrapped gifts on the display table to help people imagine trying these ideas:
Download the chart UNI’s CEEE used to help plan their holiday gathering. We hope this template helps you organize your party.
Green Entertaining (click to view)
View our Green Entertaining page for examples and downloadable pdfs sharing more complete lists of ideas on how to host a more meaningful and sustainable holiday party.
UNI’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education hosted a Green Holidays Open House, and afterward compiled this helpful list of tips and lessons learned.
The following media releases are available for your use! Feel free to copy and modify to promote your own Reclaim Your Holidays effort.
- Introduction to Reclaim Your Holidays / CEEE’s RYH initiative (doc)
- Give Gifts of Experience to Satisfy Friends & Family (doc) NEW!
- Delectable Goodies at Local Farmer's Markets Make Great Gifts (doc) NEW!
- How to Reclaim Your Holidays / the fundamentals (doc)
- County Conservation Board newsletter – “I’m Dreaming of a ‘Green’ Christmas” a naturalist’s perspective on the holidays (pdf) (doc)
- Workshop Series / for holiday presentations (doc)
- Utility Company Newsletter / energy savings (doc)
- Buying Used (doc)
Media Articles
Read past articles to get ideas for ways you might share your efforts with the media.
EVEN MORE TOOLS! (Videos, handouts, links, and more...):
Halloween Costume Swap Planning Notes (pdf) (doc)
Plans are underway for Halloween Costume Swaps in at least two Iowa communities--one in Iowa City/Coralville, and one in Cedar Rapids. Here you’ll find Iowa City/Coralville meeting agendas and minutes, as well as draft news releases and a draft email which will go to second-hand shops to request costume donations. Stay tuned at this page for more updates.
One simple way to spread the word is to post Reclaim Your Holidays tips. Download this sheet, then copy and paste the ideas you want to share online through Facebook, a blog, on exercise equipment, in public restroom stalls, or through email. The possibilities are endless.
Alternative Gifts Handout (pdf)
Downloadable postcard-size handouts with information on Green Gifts, Green Gift Wrapping, and web resources for both. Ideal reminders for a display or RYH event. (Ready to print 4/per page, front & back.)
RYH Event Flyer / With description (doc) | Without description (doc)
Download this Word document, enter your own information, and email or print to spread the word about your event.
Introduce Reclaim Your Holidays and point people to the website with these cards. Download and print to help spread the word! (Use this file to print front to back onto cardstock with your home/office printer, or find a local printer to print them for you.)
What the Research Shows (pdf) (doc)
Find research information to help you share the Reclaim Your Holidays message with others!.
Green Celebrations Webinar Series
"Rethinking Celebrations" (recording of webinar)
"Rethinking Celebrations" (ppt)
"Simplify Gift-Giving, Food & Gatherings" (recording of webinar)
"Simplify Gift-Giving, Food & Gatherings" (ppt)
"Taking Green Celebrations to Your Community" (recording of webinar)
"Taking Green Celebrations to Your Community" (ppt)
In our effort to bring you ways to reclaim your holidays, we found many inspirational ideas. Here are some other websites we most enjoyed, and hope you do, too!
Visit our Facebook page for more ideas... and contribute your own!