Your very merry sustainable Christmas gift guide
Published 29 November 2021
‘Tis the season to think sustainable, be ethical and #SupportLocal. It is the time of year where you get to show your loved ones, and your extended loved ones, how much you care about them.
If you’re a big fan of gift-giving, our Very Merry Sustainable Christmas Gift Guide for 2021 is the perfect place to start.
DIY yum stuff in a jar.
Georgie & Hero
At the top of our Christmas Gift Guide list (and in line with the zero-waste hierarchy): give the gift of a fun experience. Front of House hero, Vishal said that one of the best gifts he received was an annual membership to Wellington Zoo. He would pack a picnic and pop over to the zoo for lunch with the kids. Zealandia offers a range of memberships too if that’s more up your alley.
Give your presence over presents. Who doesn’t love a homecooked meal? No one, that’s who. Give the gift of a homecooked meal and spend the rest of the time making memories.
Next up, give the gift of giving. What is that you ask? It’s a gift that gives someone else a gift. Some of our personal favourites are:
Christmas Box. For $30 you could help provide food essentials and Christmas treats to a family in need. Donate and send your loved one a copy of the receipt.
Good Bitches Baking: GBB is a network of people who bake treats for those in their community who are having a rough time.
Donate a Day for Play: Sponsor a child from a family that has come in to contact with a social service agency to attend our Wilderkids School Holiday Programme for free. It’s a fun-filled day for kids and it gives the parents some ‘them time’ too.
Trees That Count: Gift a native tree and help create healthier communities and more beautiful NZ.
Shop second hand. Presents don't need to be brand new. Keep an eye out on Trade Me for a Crown Lynn vase for your Mum, grab a pack of wooden train tracks for the kids from the op shop and package them in a nice box.
DIY yum stuff in a jar. The world is your oyster with this one. Layer all the dry ingredients needed to bake cookies, a cake, or cupcakes in a jar, put a cute fabric ribbon on it and give it as a gift. If your giftee isn’t a baker but likes lollies, you can stack a jar with their favourite lollies instead. Check out the cute one Susie made.
Personalised art. Commission a local artist to draw up a personalised piece of art. Check out the super cute one we had done for our head honcho, Georgie.
If you’re looking to gift clothing, choose a local and ethical provider. We absolutely love Little Yellow Bird because they use certified organic cotton for all their products. Before COVID-19, Sam (founder and owner) would regularly visit the cotton farms and factories to make sure she was sourcing cotton from ethical sources. On top of this, LYB is partnering up with a network of local designers, thrifters and up-cyclers to keep textiles out of landfill. To date, they’ve saved more than 5,800kg of textile waste from being sent to landfill.
Refill, refill, refill and recycle. Have you seen the double-walled Stanley cups? Even dupes of these can be found at places like Kmart. When you’ve eventually banged it up beyond use, you can drop it off to us to be recycled as a part of our metal recycling programme.
Sustainable Wine. Wine can make a great gift for enthusiasts, and New Zealand has such a wide range of wineries that follow sustainable farming practices, and organic wine making.
Of course, remember to wrap your gifts responsibly. Di got some fabric offcuts from the Wellington Curtain Bank three years ago and she’s still using it. Apparently, she asks the giftee to return the fabric every time.