Get ready for holiday shopping

Published 3:00 pm Wednesday, November 29, 2006

The holidays can be stressful, so remember to take time to have fun with your family in the month ahead. Here a few ways to de-stress the holidays and support good causes.

Tired of giving gifts that end up in the trash before the winter mud dries? Colleen Minion-Pierce, Kitsap County’s Waste Free Holidays program coordinator wants Kitsap County residents to know about the “Waste Free Holidays” program. The program is an opportunity to purchase “experience” gifts at discounted prices of 15 to 50 percent off at participating businesses through Dec. 31. Gifts include tickets for concerts and sporting events, gift certificates for restaurant meals, bed and breakfast stays, spa treatments, massages and more. Details on all the offers and the participating partners are posted at www.wastefreeholidays.com.

Minion-Pierce says, “We’re encouraging shoppers to ‘think outside the box’ by giving experiences rather than merchandise. It can be a welcome change from the mess and stress of traditional gift giving, and it’s better for the environment by reducing waste.”

Participants will find more than 30 local participating businesses and over 100 more in neighboring counties through the “Waste Free Holidays” program.

Shoppers wanting to participate in this program need to contact the partners directly. Contact information is available on the Waste Free Holidays Web site, or from Minion-Pierce by phone at (360) 337-4568 or by e-mail at cminionp@co.kitsap.wa.us.

One of our family’s favorite personal holiday experiences is the Stillwaters Environmental Learning Center Yuletide Auction, set for 5-8:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Port Gamble S’Klallam Longhouse. Tickets are very affordable at $20 per person. Attendees feast on “elegant hors d’oeuvres and desserts.” Music is provided by multi-talented local groups.

I can personally attest that the food is indeed most tasty. The chocolate desserts are enough to keep us coming back year after year. One of my favorite local celebrities, Fay Linger, has donated her much sought after birdwalk; I’ve donated a tour of my own garden along with tea and cookies, but there is much, much more and celebrities and friends galore. Come on out and party with us for a great cause.

Purchase tickets for the Stillwaters Yuletide Auction at Saks Feed and Garden in Kingston, by calling (360) 297-2876 or e-mailing info@

stillwatersenvironmental

center.org.

You can also give the gift that keeps on giving by purchasing a series ticket to the Master Gardener Foundation of Kitsap County Speakers Series which begins in February. Tickets are $12 per session or $35 for all four. All programs are at the Silverdale Beach Hotel from 1 to 3 p.m.

Dates and speakers are: Feb. 18, Richard Brown (Bloedel Reserve): Making Plant Names Simple; Feb. 25, Lorene Forkner (Fremont Nursery): Dress your Garden with Style and Personality; March 4, Mary Robson (local celebrity): Northwest Gardens in Four Seasons; March 11, Jan Bahr (Roadhouse Nursery): Herons, Mosquitoes and Green Water — Oh My!

Tickets are available at the door and locally at: Bainbridge Gardens on Bainbridge Island; Liberty Bay Books and Valley Nursery in Poulsbo; Bethel Avenue Book Store and Port Orchard Nursery in Port Orchard; Bremerton City Nursery (formerly Berger’s) and the WSU Extension Office at the Norm Dicks Government Building in Bremerton. Information is available at both http://kitsap.wsu.edu and www.kitsapgardens.org, and at the Extension Office, (360) 337-7157.