Mindful Gift Guide + Hot Chocolate
The Wonderland Food Mindful Gift Guide 2019
It’s a tough spot we find ourselves in in this age of climate change, mass consumerism and mind-boggling waste across the globe. A third of the clothes in our closets are never worn, about one-third of all food produced for human consumption in the world is never eaten and recycling is no longer a sustainable option, so we really have to make astute choices with what we buy for ourselves and give to each other. Buying gifts at Christmas can be fraught with obligation and guilt and yet we continue to give more things we don’t need to the people we love.
My mantra: Buy less, choose well, make it last.
As a minimalist, I refuse to get caught up in silly season-mandated consumption, namely arbitrary gift-shopping and perpetuating the idea that a gift equals thoughtfulness (thoughtfulness = thoughtfulness). So this year have a good think about the long-term impact your purchases could make. Positive, creative and smart gifts will not only delight your friends, colleagues and family but share the message to rethink what it really means to give at Christmas.
Our Gifting Guide can lessen your panic (it’s designed for last-minute shoppers!) and will help you make some heartfelt, fun, sweet and sustainable choices as you attempt to reconcile any climate change anxiety with unshakable urges to gift your beloved over the festive season.
Make your friends and family feel good about themselves by giving them a unique and thoughtful experience, a donation towards something truly good or an object of beauty that will also help a planet in crisis.
Give the kids a rescued Koala, or buy Grandma a chemical-free laundry egg or send the ultimate gift of TIME to your significant other. Check out the list below for these and more ideas that will show your nearest and dearest how thoughtful you really are.
I have included a mix of virtual and material gifts to make this guide useful to everyone (especially our fellow #vanlifers and digital nomads), and tried to mix the range of gift ideas from the Northern and Southern hemispheres, to keep the mileage low if you choose to buy a physical product, and to support local projects or causes near your part of the world (or your family’s!). We have also included a recipe for a dreamy hot chocolate if you make it to the end of the list and need a pick-me-up to start shopping!
Let’s take a look, shall we?
Mindful Gift Guide 2019
Give a Care Package to a Climate Crisis Zone
Climate change has claimed some extreme weather this year and Koala populations in New South Wales are under threat after the most devastating bush fires of the decade, but many other Australian natives species are also badly affected. Likewise, the California fires displaced many people but also their pets and farm animals, particularly horses. We also support a farm in New Jersey, Rancho Relaxo run by a young couple saving farm animals from slaughter that you can witness their Instagram Stories adventures and the daily reality of rescuing and caring for up to 300 animals.
If you are an animal lover or want to buy a gift for one, this is the list for you…
Help Save Native Australian Wildlife affected by Bushfires
Send wishlist items you can buy online from this list (Australia Only)
Donate to MKC who are caring for burned animals (Worldwide)
Adopt a Koala (because really, who can resist a Koala) (International Option)
Help put the fires out in New South Wales (Worldwide)
2. Help Animals in California affected by Bushfires
Care for Displaced Pets from the California Fires (Worldwide)
Give a Gift Card to Human Victims of the California Fires (Worldwide)
3. Help Rescue Farm Animals from Slaughterhouses
Sponsor an Insta-famous Farm Animal (Worldwide)
Image: @sfisherx
Sexy and Sustainable Fashion
Buying clothes responsibly is one of the hardest things to do right now, and not everyone can buy only vintage and second-hand for every need in their wardrobe. But what do you think of when I say ‘sustainable fashion’? Itchy and rough hemp Thai fisherman’s pants and ugly square-toed, wild rubber mary-janes? Sustainable fashion has made huge strides this year and deserves to be celebrated, providing a real alternative to fast fashion for people who want to LOOK GOOD. Given that the fashion industry produces 10% of all humanity's carbon emissions, is the second-largest consumer of the world's water supply, and pollutes the oceans with microplastics, being mindful when buying new clothes should be a no-brainer.
If you must buy new clothes this Christmas (let’s face it, some people have jobs to go to!) try something from this impressive lineup…
Arket - Responsible Wool & Recycled Down with that unmistakable Scandinavian edge
2. Christy Dawn - Delightful Dresses from Deadstock Fabrics for beach days to bridesmaids
3. Everlane - Radical Ethics & Recycled Rubber; great basics and sleek designs
4. Lucy & Yak - Bangin’ Boilersuits; fun fashion need not be fast!
Unique Online Experiences & (Really) Useful Gadgets
This GENIUS idea is quite simple (aren’t all the good ones?). Literally translated, Zeit Statt Zeug means time instead of stuff. Send a gift of time to be spent together via a cute-as-hell eCard with a time and place and make memories together instead of giving each other stuff. Choose from a large selection of sweet ideas; ‘plant flowers rather than give flowers’ or ‘fresh forest air rather than perfume’, or invent your own with their template. Send the card and receive an RSVP, adding the gift of time to both your calendars - having something nice to look forward to is the best gift isn’t it?
Choose your time together and then send it to someone you love! Image from Zeit Statt Zeug
2. The Plastic-Free Foodie Cookbook
This Ezine comes out every year and 100% of the proceeds go to Plastic Oceans to help clean up our oceans and keep plastic out of the mouths of marine life. A collection of yummy recipes made with 0 plastic from food writers and bloggers from all over the world, it makes a great gift to send to your fellow office workers or in place of a Christmas card, each download can be used three times so you can have it on your phone, tablet or laptop and cook from it anywhere! You might even see a few Wonderland recipes in there if you buy a copy for yourself :)
3. Wax Buffalo Whisky Tumbler Candle
This soy candle will intoxicate you with names like sweet tobacco or into the woods, and scents to match AND THEN the empty glass can house your favourite whisky for a nightcap! A simple yet wonderful idea for any candle loving, bourbon drinking mates you have (which is most of them right?).
Image: WaxBuffalo.com
4. Eco Egg
A chemical-free alternative to laundry liquid that is fast becoming a laundry room staple, give this handy and practical little gift to the domestic Gods and Goddesses in your life.
Image: Ecoegg.com
5. Little Sun - give someone you love sunshine, and pay it forward to a stranger
A solar-powered light designed by Olafur Eliasson and Frederik Ottesen at London’s Tate Modern, these clever little portable lights are not only great for camping, picnics, small spaces or travelling, but every time you buy one, a light goes to rural Africa where it is sold at locally adjusted prices, spreading clean energy to off-grid communities and raising awareness globally about the sustainable energy crisis we find ourselves in. Available Worldwide.
6. Have a Box of Organic Veggies delivered
Support your local farmers and give the ‘unburdening of food shopping’ as a gift this year. Google ‘Organic Vegetable Delivery’ and your town or follow the links below if you live in any of our favourite cities to get our favourite veggies!
AND THAT’S THE LIST!
If you made it all the way down here we have a little treat for you:
Creamy Cashew, Cacao & Chaga
Hot Chocolate
Creamy Cashew, Cacao & Chaga Hot Chocolate
This cozy cup of comforting hot chocolate is a cure-all as the days get darker and colder. Cashew milk is a good creamer for frothy lattes if you are doing the dairy-free thing. Chaga is an adaptogenic mushroom which gives you an excellent immune boost as well as a digestive aid, both great tools for the Winter and festive seasons. Cacao gives you energy, clarity and focus without a caffeine-induced freak-out, which if you are like me, helps A LOT in this (Northern Hemi) weather, which basically turns me into a bear in hibernation. All told, it’s a creamy, smooth, slightly sweet, rich and robust cuppa to ensure you power through until Christmas (and whatever chores/obstacles/deadlines you have 4 weeks left to smash.)
EN-JOY!
Ingredients:
per cup:
100 ml boiled water
150 ml cashew milk (recipe in our Zero Waste Guide), or your favourite plant-based milk
*Optional - 1/2 teaspoon Chaga powder
1 teaspoon raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon coconut sugar
pinch cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions:
Gently warm cashew milk, and boil water.
BLENDER METHOD: Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on medium speed for 1 minute until frothy.
WHISK METHOD: Add all ingredients to a saucepan and whisk vigorously until frothy.
Serve immediately.
