Christmas can be a polarising season – for many it’s a time of great joy, to others a riot of commercial excess.
It is a wonderful time to acknowledge those you love however, and that can be through acts of service or beautiful gifts. Buy less, buy better is always a good motto to keep in mind whatever you choose, so here are some ideas for inspired, thoughtful gifting this silly season.
The gift of fitness – or for the fitness freak
For those that love to watch their steps and track their heart rate or who wish they could, Fitbit is here to help. The company recently unveiled its new range of new devices – Inspire 3, Versa 4, and Sense 2 - to choose from for gifting your loved ones this Christmas.
Whether they are focused on improving their mental health, gearing up to run a marathon, or starting a new health and wellness routine, Fitbit lets you choose from a range of easy-to-use devices that are bound to not only delight your loved ones, but provide them with information about their body to better understand how to manage their holistic health.
For the foodie
Who doesn’t have a much-loved foodie in their life, a person who never fail, has their finger on the pulse when it comes to the best and brightest in the hospitality world. For this giftee I recommend a dining voucher, either to their favourite spot or a fresh, new opening that they’ve been wanting to try.
With that in mind, may I suggest a voucher or two from KOL, Sid and Chand Sahrawat’s third establishment which opened its doors in Ponsonby in early November. Especially for Christmas, they have created some very special gifting options in the form of a KOL candle and $150 gift voucher bundle ($200), a KOL candle ($69.99), and a KOL Gift Voucher to the value of your choice and available in both physical and digital format. The gift of great food and cocktails will never disappoint!
The gift of Christmas treats
For those with a sweet tooth, Christmas is most definitely one of the happiest times of the year. This year, local favourite Bread & Butter have created a delicious Christmas hamper made up of Marzipan stollen, mince tarts, ginger shortbread and Chocolate Crinkles, for $75. They have also brought back their hugely popular DIY Gingerbread House Decorating Kit ($55), which comes with the house parts, a cake board, icing, two piping bags, lollies and assembly instructions. Fun for kids and big kids, and the best part is you get to eat it when you’ve finished.
For the fragrance lover
For those that love the iconic diptyque fragrance house, gifts don’t come much more luxe that their Holiday Advent Calendar ($748). Dressed in In a deep black and adorned with a dazzling Milky Way, each day corresponds to a new constellation, vibrant with stars and dancing letters, and reveals a new diptyque treasure inside (in full or discovery size). This year, for the first time, the diptyque Advent Calendar includes their three limited-edition Christmas scents: a small Sapin candle and miniature Neige and Étincelles candles.
Glasshouse Fragrances also offer a 24 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar ($279), which contains daily scented surprises presented in a luxuriously foiled tartan gift box. With mini versions of 24 of the brand’s most indulgent products, there's a little bit of something from each fragrance family. It's a no-brainer gift for those who live for fine fragrance, or a clever way to discover new fragrance as a gift to self.
The gift of good hair
Once again, the ghd brand has hit one out of the park when it comes to beauty tool gifting. The ghd Grand-Luxe Limited Edition Deluxe Gift Set ($750) is made up on a truly iconic duo in the form of the brand’s platinum+ styler and helios hair dryer, for luxurious gifting for those looking to create lust-worthy holiday styles. Another great pick is the ghd Grand-Luxe Limited Edition Glide Hot Brush ($310), which is the perfect solution to second day hair in need of a little transformation and perfect for summer trips away.
A more sustainable Christmas
Let’s face it: for many, the average Christmas celebration is the farthest thing from sustainability there is. Even those who are conscious consumers throughout the rest of the year can fall into the trap of excess gifting from less-than-ethical sources after those first few notes of Michael Bublé start coming out of the speakers.
However there is a way to keep living along the lines of reuse, recycle, re-purpose when it comes to the silly season, and shopping smart, utilising the latest technology and thinking about traceability is key. In a time of such heavy consumption like Christmas, the impact we have on the environment and its workers is vast. This makes it a no brainer to buy organic, natural and fair trade products where you can, and to always gift with purpose.
You can also choose to give to a charity of your choice on behalf of your friends and loved ones, especially at a time when so many are in need. Organisations like Oxfam make it easy too, offering Unwrapped Christmas cards (www.oxfam.org.nz/unwrapped), which allow you to gift everything from sanitary pads to girls in need, the gift of education and even a goat!
And to wrap up…
Opulent wrapping paper can elevate even the most basic present, but what many of us don't realise is that many rolls contain non-recyclable elements like foil, glitter or plastic. Even if the actual paper element is recyclable, if it has pretty embellishment then chances are it’s not.
One way to know if your wrapping paper can be recycled or not is to use the scrunch test.
Scrunch up the paper in your hand and then let it go. If the paper stays scrunched up then it’s likely it can be recycled but, if it unfolds by its own accord, then it likely contains non-recyclable elements.
Why not opt instead for recycled wrapping paper, brown paper or tissue, or, try your hand at furoshiki knot wraps - colourful fabric squares that can be re-used again and again. (HELENE RAVLICH)
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