Christmas Gift Ideas & A Guide For Choosing The Right Gift

In this post, I will share with you a few Christmas gift ideas for all budgets, needs, ages and personality types.

One of my long time passions is to make beautiful and useful presents. I love the process of thinking about the best gift idea, the research, the preparation. Sometimes I even make the gifts myself. Whether we are talking about family, friends, colleagues, or even strangers spending some hours of our lives, crafting a present is a way of expressing love and gratitude.

I know for some of us, this subject can be a burden. It doesn’t have to be like this. When I’m thinking about a present, I have in mind some guidelines I discovered along the way and which I will share with you below.

We are all different, so what works for some of us doesn’t work for others. But there is a common ground where we all meet, and that is the feeling of being seen, and appreciated. Yes, we are all the same, but at the same time, we are all different. I love this paradox.

Ask yourself some questions 

When making a gift, it is essential to think about the other person’s way of being, likes, and needs. When I’m thinking about making a gift, I’m always asking myself these questions:

1. What makes her/him laugh, melt, giggle?
2. Which are her/him passions, dreams and desires?
3. What are her/him needs? How is this person daily?
4. How can I include a part of myself? It can be the packaging or the way it’s offered.
5. How can my gift help all parts involved? Maybe I can buy something local or sustainable.

I believe the real gift consists of the time you spend preparing it. Whether it is bought or made, they overcome obstacles, the emotions, and love put in the whole process are priceless. When you give your best in balancing these four, your gift will always be a unique experience for the one who receives it and also for you.

When I look back, I have so many beautiful memories, smiles and hugs that stood with me all these years, and that shaped me. I always inserted pieces of my love in every gift I made. It is not important how much the product costs or how fancy it is. It is way more important the story behind it, the research, the time invested, and the love instilled.

So here are a few Christmas gift ideas you can consider.

Tasty and sustainable gift ideas 

These kinds of presents are sustainable, useful, beautiful and filled with love and passion. Who would not appreciate them?

Homemade Granola 

There is nothing complicated with this recipe, and you have the liberty to mix whatever superfoods you have in your kitchen at the time. What I do:

• in a bowl, I create a mix of different seeds, dry fruits and cereals
  • oat, dried cranberries, organic raisins
  • raw sunflower seeds, raw pumpkin seeds
  • unsweetened shredded coconut, coconut oil
  • almond, cashew, nuts, or any other nuts I have around
• as sweetener, I use four dates or four spoons of maple syrup 
• after I mix them all to combine, I put them in the oven at 150 C / 300 F for 30 minutes
• secret ingredient: when the granola is almost done, sprinkle some fresh rosemary on top.

I like cooking, especially desserts, but I’m not a chef, so I recommend you to check out these easy DIY gift ideas. Every time I need some inspiration in the kitchen, I check out her YouTube Channel. I think all her recipes are nutritional, easy to make and delicious.

Goldrick Natural Living 

This shop sells conscious, sustainable and naturally beautiful products. When I saw Goldrick for the first time, I wanted to buy all the products. They offer delivery to almost all European countries and also the USA. 

Kolekto

Kolekto is a Danish brand that makes handmade and unique, sustainable interior objects, toys for children and adults. They strongly promote sustainability and have products that are so beautiful and special that they could easily be passed on to the next generations. 

Christmas gift ideas from small businesses

I love that woman consciousness is waking up, that we began to reclaim our powers and support each other. I believe the world has much to gain from sharing our perspectives and ideas and from empowering one another.

Below you have a few brands created by powerful women I absolutely adore. I also know for sure that every one of them invests their love and passion in every single product they make. 

Meditation Stones From Pierres De La Dame 

Nature has incredible ways of expressing beauty and perfection. We are connected to the natural world, to the plants, the rocks and crystals. They all are part of us. The stones can be used in meditation and prayer and can be a perfect gift for someone who needs grounding and balance. Check out the shop.

Framed Prints by Iulia Ctn

“A picture is worth a thousand words” I followed the adventures of these beautiful women for many years, and her journeys always fascinated me. Now the beautiful places she visited can bring moments of stillness to any home because she decided to print and frame all her works.

Hand Embroidery On T-shirts by RoanAtelier

Behind RoanAtelier stands a strong woman who discovered inside of her an incredible way of expressing the beauty, the gentleness and the power of a woman. Check out what beautiful embroidery she can craft with her magic hands.

Meg Wi Baby 

Colorful and happy clothing for kids. All the products are handmade, and the material she uses is friendly to the skin of the children. Arun recently received from his aunt a pair of pants and a blouse from Meg Wi Baby, and he was so excited about them. 

Books

On this list of Christmas gift ideas, I also included three books. I love books, and I believe it is one of the best gifts that someone could offer because it has the potential to impact a person’s life and even to transform them in some means. Bellow, you have three books that address different topics and that had influenced my life in different ways.

 The Little Book Of Hygge by Meik Wiking

Hygge is a Danish word for a mood of coziness, and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment, which I believe are perfect for this Covid December. Hygge means candles, gratitude, harmony, 4-6 people, mulled wine or tea, books and much more, but I will let you discover in this Little Book of Hygge. Buy the book.

 A Search In Secret India by Paul Brunton

Paul Brunton made the trip of his life in search of Indian mystics. This book represents a brief relation of the gurus, fake prophets and sages he discovered along the way. It’s a beautiful book that presents the transformation of a skeptic British author into a follower of Ramana Maharshi teachings. Buy the book.  

 Scattered Minds by Gabor Mate

Scattered Minds clarified many aspects of my past and current life, and I believe we all should read it. It speaks about how we were raised, how we raise our children and how all of this impacted and impacts our lives daily.  This book is the most explicit book I have ever encountered by now that addresses human development. I bought a copy for my mother, too and we had some interesting discussions about motherhood, childhood, emotions and traumas. Buy the book.

Digital Christmas gift ideas 

The digital world is already a significant part of our lives. We use digital products almost every day, some are useless, and some are making our lives more comfortable and balanced.

If you don’t have any inspiration for a physical gift, you can always think about a 1-3 month subscription to a program. Here are some examples.

Audible

I use Audible for a year now, and I’m pleased with it. Since I had Arun the time for reading has diminished drastically, but I managed to satisfy my love for knowledge and books using this app. In the beginning, I thought I wouldn’t be able to concentrate, but to my surprise, it wasn’t like that at all. A nice thing they have is that almost all contemporary books are read by the author, so the messages are more clear and more powerful. You should definitely check it out. They have a one-month free trial.

Synctuition Meditation App

Synctuition is one of the meditation apps I like the most. The quality of the sound is by far the best I ever experienced. They use personalized frequency, rhythmic entrainment, binaural beats, gamma waves frequency and 3D sound. I had some profound meditations while using Synctuition, so I recommend it with all my heart.

 Mi Fit Band 5

I saw these devices long ago but never had an attraction for them. I thought it was another useless gadget that I don’t need. Recently I received from my sister a Mi Fit Band 5 and I can say I was quite impressed. I definitely can live without it, but I also appreciate some excellent features she has, like measuring the quality of my sleep, reminding me to take a break, answering the phone, measuring my heart rate and many others. Plus, it is beautiful, elegant, and useful and the price is fair. I believe it can be a lovely present for anyone who wants to have an overview of their body health.

I know these holidays will be a challenge for many of us – people are losing jobs, we can’t see our loved ones, and there’s just so much going on in the world. Yet I believe we can all take a deep breath and let go of the pressure for some moments. Allow yourself to look at challenges from a perspective of hopefulness and gratitude. Keep in mind that all of this will pass and we will remain only with the things we learned and the people who love and support us deeply. 

May your gifts be an expression of love, cherish and hope. I wish my list of Christmas gift ideas will inspire you to play and be creative. Wish you all a hyggely Christmas.

Remember to love yourself.