Christmas is fast approaching so if you're stuck for ideas on what to give your vegan loved ones, I've put together this guide of presents I can wholeheartedly recommend. These are both gifts I've happily received myself and a few other things that I've used and loved for a while.
The Vegan Kind Subscription
I'm a big fan of The Vegan Kind, having been a subscriber for over two years now. If you're unfamiliar, they curate a monthly box of vegan food and lifestyle goodies such as chocolate, marshmallows and candles. Opening my box is something I always look forward to and it's so much easier to have some tasty vegan snacks around when you don't feel like making something. You can read my posts about some of their past boxes here and here.
Lush Fighting Animal Testing Bag
Any Lush fan will love this tote to show off their support for animal rights. Made from Fair Trade organic cotton, it's a really great way to raise awareness of the cruelty-free message and of course means you don't need to use plastic bags.
Vegan Life Magazine Subscription
This is such a fantastic magazine if you're interested in cruelty-free and veganism. Every issue has a mix of cruelty-free news, interviews with well known vegans, animal rights articles and delicious recipes too. I love the feeling of community I find reading this magazine and it was one of the very useful resources that helped me to go from vegetarian to vegan.
A Living Tree
A potted Christmas tree is a great environmentally friendly option as you can plant it in your garden after the season to enjoy all year round. If you want to keep things even more sustainable you can make your own Christmas decorations from natural materials like dried fruit, cinnamon sticks and pinecones.
The flower delivery company Bloom & Wild have this beautiful table-top tree* that arrives through the letterbox, and even comes with moss and a little collapsible canvas pot to keep it in. It's really so exciting to get a tiny Christmas tree in the post! This makes for such a pretty and unusual present that's also very thoughtful if someone's out at work all day and isn't home for deliveries.
Soy Candles
Soy candles are the best cruelty-free alternative to beeswax, and the gorgeous vegan ones from Harper's Bizarre are handmade from sustainable sources. My favourite is Jingle Bells - a warm scent of spices and oranges that just smells so much like Christmas. These candles burn for hours and certainly make the holiday evenings feel cosy.
Cookbooks
Such a helpful present for anyone just getting started with vegan cooking. Currently my most used recipe book is Deliciously Ella Every Day. Complete with gorgeous foodie Instagrams and weekly shopping lists, I really like that the same ingredients are used throughout for practicality. So far all the recipes I've made have been much quicker and easier than I expected, thanks to the short ingredients lists, and turned out really tasty too. It is a plant based cookbook so sometimes honey is included in the recipes, but this can easily be replaced with maple syrup.
Keep It Vegan is another great one, particularly if you want to make something a bit special like a 'shepherdess pie' or mint chocolate birthday cake. Most of the ingredients are easily available and there's such a variety of recipes that you'll never get bored cooking vegan. Both books have encouraged me to be more confident in my cooking and learn to use up what I have, as well as eating healthier too.
Tesco Free From Chocolate Selection Box
At £2 you can't go wrong with this mini collection of dairy free chocolate! I haven't tried this yet but I'm hoping it'll be under the tree for me this year.
If you're looking for even more cruelty-free gift ideas, take a look at my guide to Vegan Beauty Stocking Fillers. And of course let me know your ideas for vegan Christmas gifts and what's on your wishlist this year ;)
Gemima
