Christmas gifts that give - a blog from HelloGrads

There’s a magic about Christmas that encourages communities to support good causes. With this in mind, we’ve picked out some of our favourite eco-friendly products that make great gifts and help support sustainability…

 

Eco-friendly gift ideas

 

 

Bare Vida Bamboo Cutlery Set

£16.95

 

Bare Vida’s ethically-sourced bamboo cutlery set makes a great gift and helps to reduce single-use plastic cutlery. It’s easily carried, and you can reuse them time and time again.

 

Harriet (founder of Bare Vida) came face-to-face with plastic pollution (literally!) whilst surfing in Bali.  She’s now running Bare Vida in Bali, practising fair trade and implementing a zero-waste policy . For easy ways to reduce your waste, check out Harriet’s guide “35 Ways To Go Zero-Waste”

 

 

 

Doris & Dude Bamboo Socks

£6

 

Made from sustainably sourced materials (including 40% bamboo) these fun Christmas socks will keep your feet warm and cosy all day long! Bamboo possesses anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties too, so you can keep your dad’s feet fresh throughout Christmas day… phew!

 

Buy them online at our favourite ethical shop Sancho’s - providing more options for conscious customers looking to make a positive change.

 

 

 

 

Beeswax Wrap

Set of 3

£15.72

 

 

One of our favourite things about Christmas is the leftovers! These beeswax wraps (another delight from Bare Vida) are a great natural alternative to plastic wrap for food storage. They are made from Indonesian beeswax, cotton and coconut oil, and come in a variety of unique Bali batik patterns. They are washable, reusable and compostable – perfect to store Christmas treats conscience-free.

 

 

 

The Body Shop Shea Treats

£6

 

Nutty, creamy, and packed with goodness. These Shea butter treats make a great stocking filler. Enriched with naturally nourishing, handcrafted Community Trade Shea butter from Ghana, they are ideal for dry skin in the cold winter months.

 

The Body Shop has always been at the forefront of natural, eco-friendly beauty and continuously develop initiatives to support sustainability. This Christmas, every purchase made will help protect and re-wild over 10 million square metres of forest in England and Armenia as part of their World Bio-Bridges Mission.

 

 

For more gift ideas (all under £30), check out our Eco-Friendly Gift Guide

 

 

Budgeting for Christmas

 

We know it’s tough to live within your means at the best of times, so budgeting for Christmas gifts and celebrations is no easy feat. Don’t panic! Here are two easy solutions to help you cut costs.

 

 

Secret Santa

 

Avoid spending a fortune on your nearest and dearest by organising a Secret Santa. You can set a manageable budget that everyone sticks to and buy something fun or personal.

 

Find it tricky to organise? Try an online Secret Santa organiser like Elfster  - a platform for gift-giving between family and friends that’s easy and fun to use.

 

 

 

Host at Home

 

If you want to celebrate with friends, but don’t want to spend a fortune going out, dig out your favourite Christmas jumpers and have a drinks party at home. Ask everyone to bring a bottle and get a few friends to bring something to eat.

 

An easy, cheap, and delicious treat (which can also be given as a present) are our Festive Florentines. They’re simple to make and packed with wonderful wintery flavours like chocolate, ginger, sour cherries and toasted nuts. Check out the recipe here

 

 

For more Christmas budgeting tips click here

 

 

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