Recently by Anna Heywood

An acquaintance, who has moaned in the past about lack of space, has a room in their house stuffed full of toys. They won't donate them to charity or give the toys away because they paid so much for them in the first place.

I really had to bite my tongue.

I'm a huge fan of second hand toys; when you are done you just hand them straight back to a charity store and I'm also a believer that the growth of the self-storage facility speaks volumes about us a society and where we are headed.

That's why I think organisations such as Kidz Swap Shop are great and remain happy to promote their events.

Kidz Toy Swap is holding a special Christmas event at Runamokka, Whitley Bay this coming Saturday 5th December, 2009. Parents are asked to bring along up to 5 good quality working toys (with one being donated to St Oswalds Hospice) and go away with up to 4 toys from fellow swappers.

Also at this great event is Talking Tots offering free sessions to entertain the kids and some stalls to help you with those Christmas presents!

Other attractions include Santa and scrummy cakes will be for sale too.

Entry £5 for whole family. 0-2 year olds 10-11am, 2-5 year olds 11-12noon

The Alternative Christmas Gift Fair will be held at Holy Trinity Church in Jesmond, between 10am and 2pm this Saturday (28th November)

There will fairly and ethically traded goods, Christmas cards and plenty of present ideas, so it's a great place to do you Christmas shopping.
Admission is free and stall holders include Oxfam, PeopleTree, Traidcraft, the Ethicalsuperstore.com and many more.

This is the final day of the Caring Christmas Special.

Men get a great deal out of an ethical Christmas with wind up MP3 players, recycled rock guitars as well as the usual socks and hankies (Fair trade of course).

Why is it that there are more cool gadgets in the men's department? - I suspect it's because they invented them.

Come on ladies, we can do more than ethical underwear and perfume next year - I challenge you!

I hope that you've enjoyed my Christmas gift special and please look out for later blogs on recycling and Christmas trees.

Happy Christmas

Gallery: Ethical Christmas present ideas

For more ideas please read on.

Day four of the Caring Christmas special showcases luxurious high end jewellery alongside People Tree's recycled sari scarves (sure to be a talking point).

Strictly Come Dancing star, Jo Wood's organic beauty range, makes it on to my list again and I've found some fantastic cosy slippers.

Take a look at the recycled car parts handbag for my unique choice this year and check out what has to be, possibly, the funniest named company of the year; Life's not fair but my knickers are!

Happy Christmas ladies.

Gallery: Ethical Christmas present ideas

Read on for more ideas.

Day three of the Caring Christmas special looks at children's gifts.
From solar powered puppies to fair trade fairy outfits, children will love these presents plus they'll appeal to their strongly developed sense of justice.

Gallery: Ethical Christmas present ideas

Read on to see more gifts

Know any chocolate lovers, pet owners, beer drinkers or gardeners?
In day two of my Caring Christmas special, there is something for everyone.

Gallery: Ethical Christmas present ideas

Read on for more details

A great benefit of living on Tyneside is the public sales held by Traidcraft on the Team Valley.

These sales always deliver what they promise by offering fantastic ethical bargains; furthermore, discounts do not affect prices paid to fair trade producers who have all received full payment for their work.

Visit Traidcraft on the Team Valley
Thursday 19th November 11am - 7pm
Friday 20th November 11am - 7pm
Saturday 21st November 10am - 4pm

DAY ONE - INTRODUCTION AND STOCKISTS

As part of a five day special, award winning environmental campaigner and Journal Blogger Anna Heywood shows us the best ethical Christmas gifts on offer.

Yule love the range, the quality and the sheer inventiveness of the ethical gifts on offer this Christmas.

I haven't purchased a new winter coat for about four years.

This is a big thing for me. I have lots of coats and jackets, all gathered over the years.
My husband has two, a smart one and a warm one; he cannot understand why I need so many.

Read on to see what this has to do with the Monty Python Cheese Shop Sketch