What is less cool than a present that has so obviously not been bought specifically for you, perfectly chosen for you? If you ever are in that much of a pickle – a really gorgeous bottle of wine, box of fudge, or potted plant is ten times better than trying to grab something at the drugstore (read: ugly slippers or Old Spice). Some examples of some our crazy past gifts; a mammoth umbrella, a frame I’d bought the same person a few years prior (re-gifted to me!), a pair of sharkskin bracelets (sharkskin for the vegan, animal lover), and numerous other head scratching moments where I can’t help but wonder “What were they thinking?”
Avoid that fate with our specified guide below. Click on image to be brought directly to item’s online home.
FOR THE ANIMAL LOVER
Your dog’s gonna go bonkers for these organic, vegan dog cookies. When we have them in the house – our dogs stand vigil by the counter waiting for just a crumb to happen to fall from the box in the middle of the night. These home-made muffins (made by the cutest family in New England) smell so good, you’ll want to eat them yourself (and can). Think on it – why would you feed your animal something you wouldn’t eat yourself? The “Holiday Crock” below is $99, but visit the site for tons of other holiday gift options under $50!
Eco-friendly doggy and kitty toys, so they are getting out their indoor winter frustration while you do the earth some good.
This is the ultimate Vegan Cookbook for everyone from the snobby gourmand to the junk food addict. We can’t stop buying this cookbook for everyone we know, and the reviews are always RAVES. Buy it (and any other fantastic vegan shoes, accessories, books, videos, and more) at MooShoes.com and get a discount with a cheapskates code here.
FOR THE WORK-A-HOLIC WHO NEEDS PAMPERING
LUSH uses whole organic fruits and vegetables and pure essential oils in their products (all handmade and fresh) and are strict as Math teachers when it comes to preservatives and chemicals. Over half of their products are solid, paraben-free, and packaging free! Products are 100% vegetarian, 75% vegan and all products (AND raw materials) are completely free of any animal testing whatsoever. Yay. We heart the Supernatural Gift Box which is chock full of bath bombs, moisturizing goodies, and homemade soaps. It’s enough to make you never want to leave the tub.
When you hear the words “Chocolate Truffle Butter,” what goes through your head? Are you drooling already? Handmade from the purest raw ingredients, s/he can drizzle this over his/ her favorite dessert, add to smoothies, or eat right out of the precious little jar.
FOR THE COMMITTED GREENIE
This darling bonnet will put a bee right in it! It’s made from hand-woven organic cotton jersey, and dyed with vegetable and plant extracts.
Each “Tree in a Box” kit contains a biodegradable peat pot with an expandable nutrient soil pellet, seeds and a 32-page information-packed booklet inside a decorative box. As well as growing instructions, the booklet contains information about the specific tree, “Tree Facts” about the environmental benefits of trees and tree mythology. The kit is designed to be “add water only” and grown in a sunny window. All the materials in the kits are biodegradable; the book and box are printed on high-grade recycled paper with soy inks. These tiny gifts are cuter than care bears!
Who wouldn’t love this luxurious, vegan, faux fur throw for their couch? Our kitten is currently snoozing on ours. The quality of this eco-blanket is just lovely.
FOR THE SEXY GODDESS
You don’t need to be a fan of the Opera to enjoy donning a well-made pair of luxe velvet gloves.
Dream a little dream about this heart stopping 14kt gold plated cuff with gold bullion heart from Rumblefish Collection. Semiprecious inlay in your choice of stone. Click our Cheapskates button for a discount code on all gorgeous jewels from this collection (too lazy to click? Okay: it’s code GirlieGirl for 20% off anything on the site!).
You may just become a hippy afterall when you recieve or give a box of aura sprays which are meant to be sprayed in an arc in the air “around you to energize your aura, or spray around a room of your home or office to renew the energy of your space.”
Everytime a new vegan bag line is launched, we have a little ‘gasm. Like this new line, Sparrow, which features organic and sustainable materials, inside and out. Textiles are dyed with low-impact dyes and prints are created and designed in-house using non-toxic inks. Bag bottoms are cut from recycled tetra boxes and handles are made using stiff hemp webbing.
Or this cute little baby;
FOR THE CRAFTY MO FO
S/he’ll appreciate these 100% reclaimed glass tumblers from Westport Rivers wine bottles, with the sweet sandblasted fish design. The producers of this glassware take ordinary glass bottles headed for the landfill and transform them into stylish and unique goblets, tumblers, and vases. The metamorphosis of these bottles turns them into useful and beautiful glassware.
S/he may not have time to bake all the Brownie’s in the world, but s/he’ll thank you each and every Month when the Brownie-of-the-Month (or Cookie, Fudge, etc) or from Allison’s Gourmet shows up on her door. These vegan tasty treaters will be a sweet reminder, year round, of how much you love him/ her/ them. Alicia Silverstone has raved that “Allison’s makes AMAZING vegan brownies!” She truly does!
This hook is a beautifully designed, practical, handmade dream.
FOR THE ANGRY ACTIVIST
Let her/ him ho humbug all over town with their very own snowglobe.
We make no bones about what our favorite magazine is that covers all things animal, eco, veggie, and activism. Gift subscriptions are just $15 (which always include a super-cute note sent to the recipient), and their popular VegNews Gift Packs are now just $40 (regularly $55). Those babies are filled with their signature oversized tote bag, an organic tee, 6 jumbo vegan cookies, a one-year sub to the mag, the current issue, a gift note, and free priority shipping. It’ll make your favorite veg-head pee tofu.
Give back with a loan to Kiva. Kiva allows you to give a loan of any ammount (in a loved ones name) to a developing-world entrepreneur. Lenders browse profiles of entrepreneurs in need, and choose someone to lend to. Kiva collects the funds and then passes them along to one of their microfinance partners worldwide. Kiva’s microfinance partners distribute the loan funds to the selected entrepreneur and provide training and other assistance to maximize the entrepreneur’s chances of success. Over time, the entrepreneur repays their loan. Repayment and other updates are posted on Kiva and emailed to lenders who wish to receive them. When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to someone else in need, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds. It’s a beautiful thing.
It may lessen his or her load to see the gorgeous gift of nature as birds feed on this beautiful perch every morning.
This bracelet, fashioned after African Elephant Hair bracelets, encompasses 5 strands which weave through the gold knots representing the different seasons. The knots symbolize powerful forces in life, gracing the wearer with good fortune and many years of love, prosperity and happiness. For some reason, whenever we wear this bracelet – we have really good luck.
