If you're avoiding the mall or stuck on what to get that certain someone, we've put together some gift ideas that are not only good for the environment but also can be personalized to suit just about anyone on your list. 

For that person who has everything and is hard to buy for, you can personalize a shampoo with their favorite essential oil or give the chef a soup herb bag to compliment any winter stew.  There's something here for everyone. Have fun using your imagination!

 Soup Herb Bags:

("part" = one teaspoon)

2 parts dried lovage

1 part dried parsley

1 part dried thyme

1 part Summer savory

2 bay leaves

3 whole cloves

Place the heaping tsps of herbs onto a 4 inch square of cheesecloth.  Tie tightly with string.  Store in a mason jar that you can decorate with ribbons and bows or make a basket with wooden spoons and bowls.  Add to a potful of soup in the last hour. 

 -from TheBlessedHerbblogspot.com

Homemade Laundry Detergent: to borrow a quote from the back of the "Seventh Generation" brands of cleaners; "If every household in the US replaced just one box of 48 ounces petroleum-based powder laundry detergent with Seventh Generation vegetable-based product, we could save 96000 barrels of oil- enough to heat and cool 5500 homes for a year." 

Here's a recipe to make your own detergent to give along with those gift sheets:

2- five ounce bars grated castile soap of your favorite aroma. (the smaller grating of soap, the better it works in cold water)

2 cups Borax powder

2 cups baking soda

2 cups washing soda (this is in the same family as baking soda bur processed differently.  It's more caustic-alkaline-with a pH of 11 therefore wear gloves when handling it by itself.

-from planetgreen.com

all herbs are in dried ounces 

Shampoo:

4 ounces castile soap (plain if you're adding 2-3 drops of essential oil)

1/2 oz. rosemary (stimulates hair follicles)

1/2 oz. sage (keeps things from spoiling, antibacterial)

1/2 oz. nettles, leaf ( blood purifier and stimulator, think hair growth!)

1/2 oz. lavender (reduces itchy and flaky scalp)

2000 mg. MSM (methylsulfonylmethane is an organic sulfur compound. It improves hair health and strength.Can get it in capsule or powder form)

Mix herbs in mason jar and seal.  Boil 2 cups distilled water and add 3 heaping tablespoons of herb mixture into boiling water.  Pull boiling mixture from heat and let steep for 40 minutes, adding 2-3 drops of your favorite essential oil if desired. Add the MSM at the 30 minute mark and make sure it dissolves.  Strain the mixture into a bowl.  Pour 21/2 ounces into an empty 8 oz. bottle.  Add 4 oz, of castile soap into the bottle.  Cap the bottle and shake well before using.

Rinse:

For a natural conditioner choose avocado, mayonnaise, eggs or honey.  Add a shot of vodka (yes vodka!) to any one of the above and a few drops of essential oil.  Spread the mixture through the hair and rinse after 20 minutes making sure to avoid the eyes. Make a spa basket with loofah and fluffy towel!

-from planetgreen.com

Homemade Hand Warmers

Know anyone in a cold climate?  Keep your loved one cozy with these!   You can sew 2 squares of felt,wool or cashmere together leaving a small opening wide enough to fill the "bag" with ceramic pie weights (found in any craft store).  Sew the opening shut. Simply put the warmers in the microwave for a minute or so and slip into coat pockets.

-from getrichslowly.org

Holiday CD:

Download favorite holiday tunes or favorite songs for anyone on your gift list and burn a personalized CD.  It doesn't have to be a CD...write down a favorite memory or lots of memories and add them all to a decorated mason jar...

Dr. Robert Wilson Geldner "Doc", N.D, D.C, age 89 of Apopka, Florida passed away peacefully on Friday, November 12, 2010 at his home with his family present. Dr. Geldner was born August 20, 1921 in Nitro, West Virginia to Martin G. Geldner and Daisy M. (Wright) Geldner and was the youngest of eight children. He attended schools in Washington, D.C. from where he joined the US Marine Corps and fought in the Pacific during World War II. After the war, he attended medical school where he earned both Chiropractic and Naturopathic degrees. Dr. Geldner had a private medical practice in the Orlando area for over 50 years in which he practiced natural healing methods. He was active and respected in sports medicine during most of his professional life having been the team doctor for many local high-schools, college teams, semi-professional and professional sports teams. He was an avid golfer and lover of all sports, particularly football and baseball. Dr. Geldner was honored with many awards recognizing his significant contributions to professional and amateur sports and to Naturopathic and Chiropractic medicine during his career.

"Doc's" friends, family, and patients will remember him for his professionalism and dedication to his medical practice, his warm hospitality and his great sense of humor. Dr. Geldner's survivors are his two sons, Stephan Lloyd Geldner, 62 and Michael Hatcher Geldner, 55, his wife Linda Geldner, three grandsons, Brian, Merrick and Michael Alan, and one great grandson, Malachi.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Wounded Warrior Project,  www.woundedwarriorproject.org