BY ANNA DORL
As the holidays appear on the horizon and the “-ber months” march on, shoppers are on the hunt for the most ideal gifts. Some purchasers prefer to give their loved ones something edible to sweeten the season, while others opt to give a thoughtfully chosen trinket or two. Whether your perfect purchase is festive, personally significant, or just plain delicious, here are a handful of our favorite holiday gifting ideas. This is one list you won’t have to check twice to see if it’s been naughty or nice. All of these items are eco-friendly, sustainable, or otherwise supportive of the best gift of all — living in harmony with our planet Earth.
Prickly Pear Cactus Jelly by Cheri’s Desert Harvest
Even if you don’t live in Arizona, you likely recognize the prickly pear cactus by its bold magenta fruit. This sweet, fruity desert staple is the focus of Cheri’s Desert Harvest, a passion project run with integrity in Tucson by Cheri Romanoski. Her company is dedicated to sharing Arizona’s pure natural resources with the world, using organic ingredients that are hand-processed in small batches. Her commitment to purity is clear. The prickly pear jelly, for instance, contains just five ingredients: prickly pear cactus, organic lemon juice, pure cane sugar, citrus pectin, and citric acid. www.cherisdesertharvest.com
Tiny Terracotta Holiday Kit by Modern Sprout
Modern Sprout is an online retailer where you can buy plants and all the accessories needed to help them thrive. For the holidays, the company offers Tiny Terracotta Holiday Kits in three delightful varieties from non-GMO seeds: Festive Poinsettia, Nordic Spruce, and Peppermint Cosmos. Each kit includes a glazed, biodegradable terracotta pot, plant food, and a coco pith disk for filtering water. Simply assemble the kit, add water, and watch your new sprout grow. If your seeds don’t sprout, Modern Sprout encourages you to contact them for a replacement and a fresh start. www.modernsprout.com
Sock Gift Boxes from Conscious Step
Conscious Step offers sock gift boxes that are committed to sustainability and charity. Made from soft, organic cotton with comfortable terry padding, every pair is certified Fairtrade, GOTS, and vegan. Each themed box is tied to a specific cause — like conserving rainforests or protecting endangered animals — allowing you to choose your focus. Even the packaging is made from recycled materials. We like these festive, wintery designs that help protect endangered animals in the Arctic. www.consciousstep.com
Mini Garden Tour Gift Box by Flamingo Estate
Flamingo Estate, located in Los Angeles, is a vibrantly verdant home and sprawling garden property that shares its delectable natural resources with the world. Its extensive shop boasts curated treasures for shoppers to enjoy, including edible items like freshly picked fruits alongside mindfully crafted bath and body products and hand-poured candles. The Mini Garden Tour Gift Box provides a luscious look into the Estate’s world — it comes with a bottle of Heritage Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Mediterranean Rosemary & Clary Sage Hand Soap, and an Adriatic Muscatel Sage Candle. Each item hails from different Estate sections – the orchard, the garden, and the hillside. www.flamingoestate.com
Recycled Driftwood Ornament by Free the Ocean
Skip the annual stress of rifling through fragile ornaments and choose a piece that’s kind to the planet this year. Say goodbye to broken glass and hello to a handmade, recycled creation from Free the Ocean. Fashioned from reclaimed driftwood into a colorful holiday house, the ornament supports the company’s mission to keep plastic out of our oceans. It’s made by Freden in the Philippines, a supplier of one-of-a-kind gifts crafted from natural, fallen, and distressed wood. Freden’s model allows artisans, particularly stay-at-home mothers, to earn an income working from their households on their own flexible schedules. https://shop.freetheocean.com/
