Despite never having been a fan of Christmas - which basically has become a holiday that celebrates consumerism and gluttony in dead animals and alcohol. - I do enjoy the lights, indoor snuggles, endless cups of tea, time for quiet reflection, doing kind deeds and giving thoughtful gifts. So in this post I'll give some tips on that. I know, it's to late to order something to get in time for Christmas, but a gift is a gift and giving/getting it as a New Year's is just as fun in my book.
Talking about books, that's always a great gift. I quite enjoyed "The woman in the window" by AJ Finn. Similar to "The girl on the train". A well written suspense story, partly predictable, partly not. Don't forget, there are plenty of great (many newly published) books to be find in thrift stores too!
By the way, The Christmas Gift of the Year 2018 in Sweden is the recycled garment. Which is heartwarming of course, but more a trendy sign of the times naming than something that will have a real impact unfortunately.
And no, I'm not giving away the perfect blingy Christmas sweater for the ultimate not so crazy cat lady. We have spent a lot of time together one month per year, for four years now, and hopefully will for many more.
Of course you can adopt an orangutang, plant a tree or many, give to a good cause, volunteer at the local shelter, adopt a cat or dog or someone else in need of a loving home or give something handmade or homebaked. But that doesn't have to exclude giving a kind, bought gift to someone you care for.
Vegan, palmoil free handcreams Xmas edition from Body Shop. Even if one says Candy Cane, the smell is nothing like the amazing seasonal candy cane scent from Bath & Body Works though (lucky you who has it available in your country...). I'm sure they'll go on sale after Xmas. Good stuff and great for the handbag. Might stock up on them myself...
Cute christmassy earrings from Clay My Day (I got mine at the vegan Christmas fair, but she does other things too). But hey, lussebulle earrings, a must!
I've finally landed in some sort of skincare regime that suits my dry and sensitive skin, mostly Dermalogica products, which are pricey but great, cruelty free and long-lasting. Got the Dr Botanical Moroccan rose superfood facial oil from a friend last year and I was sceptical (as sceptical as I am about serums in general). But it does not only smells absolutely amazing, it does something great with the skin. On the very pricey side but also very long lasting.
I've now tried a couple of cruelty free products from The Inkey List, as a comparison, that people seem to rave about. Good quality budget brand. But I'm not impressed at all with the acclaimed Rosehip facial oil, a cheap bottle with no pimpette thus really difficult to dose a tiny amount of. Plus it leaves the skin surface oily.
The Turmeric facial cream on the other hand is quite lovely. Smells a lot of turmeric - which a real superfood plant - and leaves skin supple and rehydrated. As the bottle is 66,66% smaller than the Dermalogica I use, the price is pretty similar to it.
The wonderful, handmade vegan candles and scented candles with a message are from thehappywhale.se, them I bought at the fair too. They burn bright, steady, slowly and don't drip at all. And the pink grapefruit sent is wonderful. The future is vegan.
The delightful vegan pralines in many flavours, from vegandelights.se, which I wrote about in the previous post.
These El Naturalista red boots aren't vegan, thus I wouldn't buy them today but some other from their vegan range - so far less colourful alas, but they do have the Iggdrasil model too and I'm very happy with my new vegan oxfords - but this is their 9th winter season and they are still going strong. How amazing is that? The soles are from recycled rubber and the leather vegetably tanned. This is simply great quality to last. And if I didn't say no to new animal leather products and were in need of great, comfortable, durable boots I'd get a pair or two asap. (Yes you can gift things to yourself too.)
Their made to last for many years, and that's reflected in the price, but nothing good will come from buying cheap, That will only be costly for your wallet, comfort and the environment in the long run. Buy less but buy better. Buy more good quality.
These fluffy socks are from Thought Clothing. A sustainable brand which has some lovely bamboo socks I adore. Browsing their website for those these came up when I searched bamboo socks, so I ordered a couple for those cold cold winter nights, without looking carefully at the description. (Stupid me.)
Unfortunately it turned out they were not made from bamboo, but from a plastic bottle turned into yarn. Ie fleece. And fleece isn't a sustainable material since it when washed the microfibers sheds and enters the waste water and thus seriously pollutes the environment.
The socks are really fluffy, cosy and warming on cold winter nights, but truly sustainable they are far from. It surprises me that a company such as Thought make them. Buy their fantastic bamboo socks instead!
Or if you like the idea of recycled plastic bottles, a Fjällräven Re-Kånken backpack which you don't have to wash.
Last (and least) on my list of kind gifts is this bottle of organic vegan nail oil from meanima.se. I met her at the Christmas fair and she has oils for face, hair, body, baby and tattoo care too. Handmade and aromatherapeutic.
The wonderful ceramic Christmas ornaments with vegan quotes are from Kinga Kremer, the fantastic ceramic artist who made my silver Vegan ring.
A subscription on tea or coffee, gift card for the movies, massage, pedicure, season tickets to a concert hall or museums, plantbased cooking classes (or why not an organic vegan food box?) are other great gifts.
Happy Giving 2018!
1 comment:
Wishing you a happy Christmas day, Pia, filled with whatever makes you smile! The Universe gave me a merry moment: At the airport a toddler wearing his new dinosaur pajamas and sneakers was thrilled to receive a shiny sticker from a security guard. His mum assisted him in placing it upon his tummy (which she assured us was stuffed with blueberry pancakes). His glee in displaying his gift was priceless!
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