Have I been confusing love and consumerism?

If that post title makes you want to do a little bit of sick in your mouth, bear with me.

I've been thinking a lot about gift giving recently. I went to see some relatives in a distant city recently.  Every time previously I've visited them, I've taken them cupcakes from Ms Cupcake - it's a cakey way of showing my love and appreciation of my family. It didn't matter if I was near Ms Cupcake, or picking up six delicately frosted cakes meant a one hour journey across London, I would always do it. I'd always go buy the cakes even if I couldn't afford it, so we could all sit down and share some sponge and icing together.

And then, when the journey to Cakesville was too far, and my student loan was too stretched, I just didn't. I felt terrible. I thought my relies would be unimpressed that I'd turned up empty handed. I thought they'd think I didn't care, or couldn't be bothered. I thought that they'd throw me out the door and chuck my suitcase after me.

You know how this story ends. No one noticed the absence of the cupcakes, and instead me and one of my nieces made a cake together (due to the allergies of the assembled group, it had to be dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and egg-free. We adapted this recipe to make a lemon drizzle cake with coconut yoghurt. It was incredible!) We got to spend some time together getting creative in the kitchen, and bake a cake that we could share with everyone else.

Something kind of similar happened at Easter. I saw a company had brought out a vegan, low waste (the packaging was made of foil and cardboard) and so I yomped across London to go and pick one up for Mr Flicking the Vs. I got it into my head that he'd really enjoy it, so I set my heart on acquiring one. Because then he'd know I really rate him, of course.

Did he enjoy it? I reckon so. Would he have known that I think he's great without that egg? Of course he would! Would a bar of (vegan) chocolate from the local shop have been less packaging and less of a journey for me? Absolutely.

In both cases, I'd manage to convince myself that I really needed to buy someone a present to show them I loved them, because that's what convention dictates. It's Easter? Buy everyone a chocolate egg. Visiting someone? Take them a little something.

But just because it's what you've always done, does it mean that you should keep doing it?

If you've been reading this blog, you'll know that I've been trying to do my bit to cut the amount of waste I create, and tread a little bit lighter on the environment. You'll also know I've had variable results, and sometimes I can't resist buying some amazing new vegan product I've seen. Often, they're great, but wouldn't I have been better not buying it, saving the waste, and not spending the money?

Because waste for me isn't just about packaging: every time I buy something I don't need, I'm spending money that I have to earn or pay back to the student loans company, and I'm not wild about either situation.

The way I figure it, the less I buy, the better for the environment, the better for my wallet. So, as well as my ramblings on veganism and attempting to cut my environmental footprint, expect a few more posts on my attempts to cut my financial footprint too!