In my most idillic thoughts, Christmas shopping looks like holding a Holiday inspired latte in one hand and bags of already purchased gifts in the other. It looks like walking down a small town street lined with adorable little shops filled with local or fair-trade goods. And of course, in this beautiful dream, snow fills the air. Oh what Hallmark has done to us all.
In reality, for me and Tony, Christmas shopping often looks like a combination of long days shopping for our nieces and nephews, combined with hours scouring online for the right, age-appropriate gifts. And, as we live so far away from family, we can’t tell if it’s just always this difficult? Or if it’s more difficult because we’re not in our families’ lives day to day? But, I think where I am landing is:
Christmas shopping is just hard.
Sure, it’s not always. There are some people who are fun to get gifts for because either they’re always so grateful or it’s usually easy to figure out what they’ll like. But all of us have at least a few question marks in our lives. People we love so much, but who are not always easy to come up with gift ideas we know they’ll love.
That is why, I love to give gifts with meaning. Gifts that support a good cause, are fair-trade or ethically made, or are made by gifted artists I know. AND—I love to share these sources with you, my friends, because I always appreciate learning from you or others, about new gifts ideas and good companies to buy from.
Today, I am sharing a few of my favorite places to shop. They are all companies, organizations, or artists I believe in, with products I love. Hope this helps you with your shopping this season.
Thistle Farms
Thistle Farms makes the most beautiful soaps, lotions, and candles all made with quality ingredients. Not only that, but this Nashville based company provides safe homes and meaningful jobs for women coming out of trafficking, prostitution, or addiction. Tony and I got to visit their flagship store and cafe when we went to Nashville this past spring, and experienced first hand the hope and life they bring to the beautiful women they employ. I love their mission and their products—especially their Enriching Body Lotion in Lavender.
HEKE Creative Tendency
Long time friend, and local artist, Hannah E. K. Eberly, has just come out with a beautiful line of handmade, Polymer Clay earrings. They come in a variety of uniquely stunning styles, sizes, and colors. They are sure to bless the earring lover in your life, and they’ll stand out in the best possible way. My favorite styles are the Mel in black and speckle swirl, and the Brittany in banana swirl.
Preemptive Love
Where the news primarily shares stories of horror or fear when talking about what is going on at the border or in the Middle East, Preemptive Love is telling a story of hope. This organization brings aid to the people in these hurting areas of the world—then, they help them create and build jobs for themselves to support their families. Some of these job opportunities include making soaps and candles that can be bought on their site. Check out the good work they are doing, as well as the Sisterhood or Kinsman Soap that can be found in their online shop.
Noonday
Jessica Honegger founded noonday when she bought beautifully handcrafted jewelry from Uganda, and sold it in the States to make money to adopt her little boy from Rwanda. Since then, she has partnered with Artisans all over the world—not only to sell their goods in the States, but to also empower them to build sustainable, fair-trade businesses in their own communities (read more of their story). They sell beautiful jewelry and some of my favorite pieces are Noonday.
Dean’s Beans
What if I told you that freshly roasted, organic, Fair Trade coffee can be delivered as a Christmas Gift to your BFF or family member—while doing a lot of good in the world? Dean’s Beans is organic, Fair Trade, and their whole mission is “to use high quality specialty coffee as a vehicle for progressive change throughout the coffeelands of Asia, Africa and the Americas.” They not only produce an amazing cup of Joe, they also use coffee as an opportunity to bring education, social change, and environmental stability to some of the roughest places of our world. To read more of about their mission, click here. To order some delicious, freshly roasted coffee for you or a friend, click here.
Where are you doing most of your Christmas shopping this season?
What is one thing you would change about our culture’s gift giving tradition?
Do you feel mentally and/or emotionally overloaded by both real life and the approaching Holidays? If so, sign up for my email list and get your FREE copy of my Five Steps to Declutter Your Mind, to help you find clarity and peace this season.
Photo by Juliana Malta on Unsplash
