Mindful Gifting
Share the sustainable ways you're giving and celebrating the holiday season.
Prizes
- First place:
- $1,000
- Second place:
- $500
- Third place:
- $250
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Dec 11, 2020
Submissions closed
Dec 18, 2020 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Dec 22, 2020
Prizes
- First place:
- $1,000
- Second place:
- $500
- Third place:
- $250
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Dec 11, 2020
Submissions closed
Dec 18, 2020 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Dec 22, 2020
About this challenge
The decorations are up, department stores are flooded with holiday cheer, and the hustle and bustle of buying gifts for loved ones are next on our to-do list. However, we believe this year’s approach to gift-giving should be celebrated a little differently. For this Challenge, we want to continue with the holiday spirit––the holiday decorating, activities, and gifting, but make it more sustainable! Our traditional lifestyles have caused so much harm to our planet, and it’s time we invest in more viable options that protect mother nature.
So, we want you to create and share sustainable alternatives for traditional decor, gift-wrapping, holiday party favors, and of course, presents. Are you a seasoned secondhand shopper? Have you mastered the DIY-decor? Have you switched to fair-trade products or opted for small businesses over online shopping? Whatever you’re using or doing this year to make the holidays greener, we want to learn your tips and tricks! Join the Mindful Gifting Challenge and share the creative ways in which we can all make this holiday season better for our wallets, our loved ones, and especially the home we all share: our planet.
How to enter
For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 5,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until December 17, 2020, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Mindful Gifting Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.
To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or third place prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these 39 countries will not be eligible to win.
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Challenge resources
Just a Minute Challenge Winners
Thanks again to Vocal Creator, Breezy, for suggesting the Just a Minute Challenge — one which you all interpreted in a wonderful variety of ways. Sometimes a minute can feel like an eternity, sometimes it can pass in the blink of an eye… to describe the passing of sixty seconds is no simple matter.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 12 days ago in ResourcesIn Eclipse Challenge Winners
Creator Dane BH is one of our Vocal stalwarts. We’re so grateful to all of your in our Vocal community, and so thrilled by your achievements. This is the third time Dane has won one of our challenges, and she appears too on our Vocal podcast, Write Here, Write Now — take a listen if you haven’t already. But she’s not our winner because we know her: the subtlety and simplicity of we watched the world go dark. together. is what made it our winner of the In Eclipse challenge, with the grace and ease of its lines and observation. As it happens it also expresses the community spirit that means so much to us.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 17 days ago in ResourcesWhispering Woods Challenge Winners
Congratulations to Morgan Christy Rickards for their winning Whispering Woods story, Guardian at the Gate. Morgan has been a Vocal creator since February 2021, and this is their first time placing in Challenge — well done, starting with a win! Guardian at the Gate draws evocatively from Welsh tales of the Cantre'r Gwaelod, a lost sunken kingdom between the forest and the sea. Heledd’s dangerous adventure pulls her towards the water but her spirit is anchored in the woods: Morgan’s writing is atmospheric and exciting.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished about a month ago in Resources