I’m not going to say how many days are left to buy gifts before Christmas (coding?!). But I know that it’s something that is starting to scare me.

Christmas is always WAAAY too busy and consumerist for me. If I have to join the gift buying and giving craziness, I’m looking for sustainable, ethical gifts that will spread joy.

I hope this list helps you rethink your gift giving, and makes things a little easier. Let me know if you’ve stumbled upon a great item that needs to be added here.

Gifts For Infants

Gifts for infants often are plastic, and involve toys, but do you know what else most kids like? Food!

If you give kids food in a fancy bowl it is a proven scientific fact that they will eat more vegetables. This Natural Bamboo Suction bowl is perfect for infants who don’t need another toy. Any older sibling’s eating tools probably aren’t as toddler proof as this fancy new one. Chose the orange bowl and matching spoon, and embrace that lovely orange tinge of baby feeding.

Team this gift with a Trainer Cup and watch a little person learn independence whilst their parents keep a clean house. Where were these things five years ago when I resorted to letting the dogs in to clean the floors after feeding two messy toddlers?

Wooden toys are often loved by children and parents alike. These Construction Toys that can be taken apart and put back together are a heap of fun for little ones. They are recommended for 3+ but I watched a one year old love them just the other day.

Gifts For Toddlers

Toddlers love anything involved with drawing, and I’m really keen to give these Bees Wax Crayons a whirl. I also love that they’ve come from our ‘cousins’ across the ocean in New Zealand. Guess who’s niece will be getting a set of these for Christmas, winning brownie points with her Kiwi Dad 🙂

The latest thing to enter the wish list is this Montesorri UFO for toddlers which is food grade silicone. Naturally this is all important for little people who are exploring everything with those teeth that are coming out. It has lots of different colours and is a great sensory toy that teaches cause and effect. I will take any opportunity to teach kids science.

Gifts For Children

Educational puzzles are always a win in our house, and with my nieces and nephews. The one that I’m going to add to our collection this year combines my love of animals with my geography challenge. With any luck, doing this Animals of the World puzzle with the kids will improve all of our knowledge.

A practical gift that is great for anyone who has a packed lunch is a good quality, stackable Stainless Steel Bento Lunch Box. I got one for my eldest daughter when she turned five. Instantly her then four year old sister wanted one. I will probably get myself one for Christmas too.

Gross fact for parents doing the dishes. After their kid leaves their lunchbox at school stainless steel is much more forgiving than plastic.

Presents Teenagers and Adults Will Use

If you know an adult or teenager who is still using single use coffee cups, now is the perfect time to subtly tell them to sort their shit out. Or just be like me standing in a cafe on a regular basis encouraging people to get reusable coffee cups.

If you prefer a more tactful approach then stock up your gift cupboards with Sttoke Insulated Coffee Cups. This pack of Huskee Cups which use the waste product from roasting coffee to produce the vessels for drinking MORE coffee, will quickly tame the “I forgot it” excuse.

I will be putting a few of these in my emergency gift cupboard, they are a way better option than chocolates.

This list will continue to grow as I continue my search. You may also like to check out my other post about Educational Toys.

One of our household gift giving hacks is to have a massive roll of plain brown wrapping paper. It can be left as is with a fancy reused ribbon for a classic gift for grandparents, or drawn all over when wrapping gifts for kids.

Happy giving!

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