Holiday Gift Guide 2017

My best friend Janelle and I are coming at ya with a Holiday Gift Guide fro 2017 with some of our gifting expertise. Not to toot our own horns or anything but we both think we’re pretty good at gifts and we were hoping to help inspire you to find the perfect gift for your favourite human this holiday season :)

Janelle is an omnivore, while I’m a vegan, so our ideas hopefully criss cross and help you find gifts for your fellow omni or vegan!

If you want to check out the GIANT list of gift ideas I made last year, check it out!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Buying from these sites after clicking my link means that I get a small portion of the $, which means you’re supporting me at no extra cost to you! Yay! :)

Gifts For Omnis:

Vegan Cookbooks

Vegan cookbooks are a great way to pay it forward and gently share the vegan lifestyle and inspire people with delicious food! New this year are The Edgy Veg Cookbook and Fuss Free Vegan, two incredible vegans I know who have worked super hard on these recipes to share with you! Every meal makes a difference, and people trying even just one recipe means that they’re eating a meal without animals on their plate!

Some more cookbooks:

• Oh She Glows
• Oh She Glows Everyday
• Happy Healthy Vegan
• Vegan Bowl Attack
• The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook
• The Lusty Vegan
• Seitan and Beyond
• Raw. Vegan. Not Gross.
• Pure & Beautiful Vegan Cooking

DIY Self Care Kits:

This year I’ve learned how important self care is for improving both your mental and physical health. I found out that therapy helped me heal about 80% of my really severe eczema and I have been finding as many different methods for self care I can find.

• OKAY Pouch (I bought from Juxtapose)
• Face Masks (Truly Organic, 100% Pure, and OSEA)
• Vegan, beeswax-free Lip Balm (Kani Botanicals)

Deck the halls with natural wellness. Our limited edition aromaGem Ruby Red is festive and functional, with a bright design that adds seasonal cheer to your space.

A post shared by Saje Natural Wellness (@sajewellness) on Nov 21, 2017 at 6:49pm PST

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy has really helped me create an environment in which best suits me, whether I need to focus, wake up, fall asleep, or just relax, there are tons of different essential oils that you can use in a diffuser to suit your senses :) My absolutely favourite has been the Spa Spirit essential oil blend from Saje, but there are tons to try out at your local health food stores, Saje, or random hippie stores with these kinds of things XD

Gifts that Give Back

• Wooden Puzzle
• Furoshiki Wraps (I can’t find it online but it’s from 10 000 Villages)

Photo from Peace Collective

Sustainable & Ethical Gifts:

• Peace Collective Clothing
• Illbury + Goose clothing
• Paddywax Soy candles (Also from Juxtapose)

YouTuber Merch:

Some of your favourite YouTubers no doubt have their own merch! If I had some I’d link it, but I don’t. And the only YouTuber merch I have (aside from the cookbooks I mentioned above) are Rosanna Pansino’s oven mitts and cookie cutters, but she has a ton of other cute stuff too that makes great presents for people who like nerdy things or Nerdy Nummies!

Gifts for Vegans:

Personal Favourites:

Janelle’s idea of personal favourites included some of her favourite books, graphic novels, and poetry. Use some of your favourite finds of the year to give and spread the same sort of inspiration those finds gave you!

• Bloom by Estee Lalonde
• The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
• Saga vol 1 (Graphic Novel) by Brian Vaughan

Gifts That Remind You Of Home:

Maybe it’s just a Toronto thing, but people who live in Toronto REALLY LOVE TORONTO. We have clothing, subway-related paraphernalia, mugs, even patches and hats. Torontonians are really into Toronto (while everyone else seems to really hate Toronto haha). As a result, there are a lot of cool things that are Toronto-related that make great gifts! But if you’re not from Toronto, the idea of buying city-related or home-related things is great for people who may be far away from home or leaving home is a great gift. Think mugs, phone cases, art, clothing–and not necessarily tourist stuff. But things like, a mug from a city-famous coffee shop, or a cookie pin from a local bakery.

Stuff we mentioned in the video

• Peace Collective Gear
• Toronto Neighbourhood Mandalas (I couldn’t find a place where she sold them online but this is her blog)

Gifts People “Want”, not “Need”

The holidays are a good time to give people things they want, things they wouldn’t buy themselves, or just nice splurge/luxury type items. Granted, we all need a nice vacuum cleaner or a new pair of socks, but sometimes it’s nice to get something you want instead of need. Vegan Jewelry, home decor (like this cushion from Always x Always), a massage, or even a spa treatment can be nice treats for people who don’t tend to treat themselves.

Handmade Gifts:

One of my favourite things to give are homemade gifts, or artisanal-made gifts! It means that it supports a smaller entrepreneur, you get some pretty unique and cool gifts, and they end up being more personalized because they’re so niche and specific. Plants, planters, jewelry, phone cases, art, heck even bowls and antique cutlery is cool for the aspiring foodie who wants to take better Instagram photos.

A post shared by HOMEBODY COLLECTIVE ? (@homebody.collective) on Jun 24, 2017 at 7:34am PDT

Janelle’s find of the Concrete Pineapple and Avocado (from Homebody Collective) is super cute and so unique! Who doesn’t want an avocado planter/jewelry holder?