Experiences, subscriptions and vouchers
Experiences, personalised vouchers and subscriptions are thoughtful, personal gifts that create memories that can be treasured forever. Here are a few ideas:
- Experiences – a spa day, zoo entry, art class or theatre show.
- Personalised vouchers – a promise to babysit/pet sit, help out in the garden or cook a meal.
- Subscriptions – to a favourite online magazine or adopting/sponsoring an endangered animal or tree/woodland.
Make your own personalised vouchers or download a template:
Homemade Food and Drink
Infused Oil
Infused oil is a lovely gift for a keen chef. It’s really simple to make and does not require a lot of time or effort.
To infuse, start with a high quality olive oil, spices and dried herbs. Add the herbs and spices into a glass jar or container and then pour the oil over them ensuring that the herbs and spices are covered. Ensure that the bottle is completely sealed and place the jar on a windowsill or sunny spot.
Remember to shake the bottle every few days or so.
BBQ Rubs
This dry rub is really quick to make and uses a lot of ingredients you may already have in your home. Creating the layered effect makes it look really special. The dry rub can be used on a variety of meat and fish, the perfect gift for any BBQ lover!
This is a great gift around Christmas time, as you can easily make a big batch all at once!
Snow Globe Hot Chocolate
For a Christmassy take on a hot chocolate, start by skewering 3 large, white marshmallows together with a cocktail stick. Use black and orange icing to dot on the buttons and carrot nose. Stick the snowman onto a cookie using more icing. For the hat take a chocolate like a Rolo or Reese’s piece and stick onto a giant chocolate button. Add 2tbsp Horlicks and 2tbsp cocoa powder (or other drinking chocolate) into a glass jar. Add the snowman and cookie on top.
Seal the jar and tie a gift label with the following instructions: Remove the snowman from the jar and add 300ml warm milk. Stir well until smooth and chocolatey and enjoy with your snowman for dunking. (Recipe and photo credit: BBCGoodFood)
Chutney
Chutney is a great way to use up those fruits and veggies instead of letting them go to waste. It can contain a variety of veggies and even some fruits. Most recipes have tomato, peppers, onion with sugar, vinegar and seasonings. Then add others like apples, beetroots, carrots and cucumber as per these delicious recipes, leave for at least a month to let the flavour develop.
To make a chutney with a Christmas theme, use local and seasonal produce and/or some spices. Like this spiced apple chutney or marrow chutney.
Christmas Pudding Flavoured Vodka
A great present to give to those who love their Christmas drinks – check out the Christmas Pudding Flavoured Vodka recipe here (photo and recipe credit: BBCFood).
Any vodka can be home infused and decanted into smaller bottles. Old glass salad dressing bottles are perfect for presenting it in.
Mulled Wine Kits
Another festive tipple that is great to gift is mulled wine! Use up gifted bottles and festive spices you already have in your cupboards to make this treat.
Cider and non-alcoholic beverages work as a base too. Simply make up your spice mix and attach it to your chosen bottle with instructions. Find a handy guide here.
Baked Goodies
Creating a box of homemade biscuits or cakes is a great option for a zero waste gift – just make sure that your recipient doesn’t have any allergies or intolerances that would stop them from enjoying your treats!
If you’re making lots of baked gifts, creating a variety box by batch cooking is a time saving and money saving option, as buying in bulk usually works out cheaper.
Check out BBC Food’s compilation of their favourite recipes for inspiration:
‘In a jar’ Gifts
If your giving your gift to a baking enthusiast, you could consider a cake or cookie in a jar gift. Simply assemble the dry ingredients for your selected treat in a reused jar and include instructions!
Easy, delicious and zero-waste! Check out these recipes for ideas!
Chocolate Bark
Chocolate bark is an super easy homemade gift, which almost anyone would enjoy. It’s also easily personalised, as you can select toppings to suit the recipient.
Simply melt down larger share bars of your chosen chocolate (own brand will do fine), either in the microwave or in a glass bowl over a saucepan of water – make sure to take it slow and stir, to avoid burning. Then, pour the melted chocolate over greaseproof paper and top with your chosen toppings. Let it cool in the fridge until set, then break into chunks!
Pampering Gifts
Bath salts are super easy to make!
All you need to make them are Epsom salts, sea salt, food colouring and essential oils. Putting the salts in a glass jar with a homemade gift label really adds a personal touch.
Making bath bombs is great fun and once you have the main ingredients, it’s really easy to adapt this recipe to what you already have at home.
By mixing sugar or salt with an oil and natural essences, you can create heavenly smelling scrubs. Coconut or olive oil work great with essences such as lavender, lemon.
For four ideas, check out this video!
Reusable make up wipes are best made with soft fabric scraps.
Keep them in an air tight jar/container and once used, just chuck in your regular wash.
Find out how to make them in this guide!
DIY Hampers
Hampers are a great way to incorporate homemade gifts in a way that plays to your strengths or can target a recipient’s interests. Selections of the homemade foods and drinks above are a classic option, but why not consider including eco-friendly items to encourage your friends and family to think a bit more about sustainability?
You could include some of the following:
- Reusable shopping bags.
- Fruit and veg produce bags – DIY tutorial here.
- Bamboo/recycled paper loo roll / kitchen roll – most supermarkets will sell recycled paper toilet/kitchen roll. Why not also take a look at Who Gives a Crap, Bumboo or Cheeky Panda?
- Homemade toilet bombs – DIY tutorial here.
- Favourite treats jar – your local zero-waste shop will an array of goodies to fill up a jar for your hamper, such as chocolate covered coffee beans, vegan sweets and nuts.
- Homemade lavender cleaner – DIY tutorial here.
- Shampoo and conditioner bars.
- Environmentally-friendly washing-up or laundry liquids – check out brands such as Ecover or Method.
Other Gift Ideas
Pets
Our furry and feathered friends deserve a fun Christmas too!
The RSPCA have put together a playlist of DIY gift and treat ideas to try.
Growing Gift Set
A growing gift set is a lovely idea for any plant enthusiast.
All you need is a plant pot (why not decorate it?), ribbon, compost and bulbs/seeds. You can then pop the bulbs/seeds and the compost in the pot and tie it with the ribbon.
If you’re feeling extra creative why not add a homemade gift label with instructions? A much greener alternative to giving flowers!
Potpourri
Fill your home with festive fragrance with this natural DIY potpourri! Swap out the ingredients for the spices and foliage that you already have to hand.
