I’ve written a few times about Christmas presents, and how useful it is to discuss with family and friends beforehand if there are boundaries you’d like to set to avoid any embarrassment with one person spending more than the other, or giving someone something that doesn’t align with the recipient’s personal ethics. For example, some members of my family prefer to be given consumables like food and drink to avoid waste, and this year we’re taking it a step further with a Secret Santa rather than lots of presents for the same reason.
A few years ago, my husband and I decided to never spend more than £50 on gifts to each other. And we’ve never looked back! I love the challenge, it makes much better financial sense, and it means that we both put a lot more thought into what we buy each other. So I thought I would put together a gift guide of lovely things from responsible brands that are all under £50. I’d be thrilled to receive any of these gifts, and since most are from small businesses, they’ll be delighted if you choose to buy something for them, too.
P.S. Although this guide is relatively gender neutral, it is rather skewed towards things I would like to receive, so I do recommend sending it to anyone buying for you to give them some pointers!!
Wild Swim fingerless gloves, £36, available in 5 colours, Black & Beech (blackandbeech.com). Made in the UK with 10% of profits going to charity.
Deep Winter coffee beans, £12.50, Coal Town (coaltowncoffee.co.uk). Bringing a new industry to an old Welsh coal mining town.
Unisex flannel pyjama bottoms, £45, Rapanui (rapanuiclothing.com). Made from organic cotton and available in 4 plaid options.
Colours of Wales mug, £28, Howies (howies.co.uk). Available in 6 glazes inspired by the Welsh countryside.
Chunky camera strap, £35, Nots (shopnots.squarespace.com). Made to order so don’t leave until the last minute!
Green phone bag, £46, Kintobe (kintobe.com). Made using recycled materials and algae-blended foam padding.
Tiny Tonys gift box, £6.98, Tony’s Chocolonely (tonyschocolonely.com). Fair trade and totally plastic-free packaging.
Colour block candles, £20, British Colour Standard (britishcolourstandard.co.uk). Hand poured, vegan, pure cotton wick and ecologically dyed.
Slowette is a reader-supported publication. To receive two extra posts per month and support my work, consider becoming paid subscriber.
Studio Roof build-your-own cardboard ornament, £11.95, Harbour & Tide (harbourandtide.com). Made from recycled cardboard and printed using vegetable inks.
Pasta Night book, £15, Scout And Co (scoutandcokids.com). 60 recipes arranged in chapters by pasta shape.
Zero waste padded headband, £16, Roake Studio (roake.studio). Made using offcuts from garment production.
Checkerboard cushion cover, £45, TBCo (tartanblanketco.com). Available in 10 different colour and pattern options.
Checked cotton socks, £24, Rock & Ruby (rockandruby.co.uk). Also available as a gift box of two for £44.
Priory Bay organic cotton sweatshirt, £38, The Islander (theislanderuk.com). A huge selection of UK beaches and locations available.
Lavender, chamomile and petitgrain reed diffuser, £24, Duxmore Botanics (duxmorebotanics.co.uk). Also available as a spray, and in 10 fragrances.
Slowette is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
