The festive season is upon us and finding the perfect gift can sometimes feel like a daunting task. Fear not! We've curated a list of unique and thoughtful gifts for both him and her, ensuring that your loved ones feel the warmth of your love and appreciation.
For Her:
Cosy Gift Box by yours truly - £40
Give the gift of a perfect cosy night in this winter with our Cosy Gift Box – a lovely mix of gifts that have both tranquility and sustainability in mind. From the festive Cranberry & Orange candle and socks to the tasty treats this is the perfect way to curl up while watching your favourite Christmas film
Ohelo bottles are the perfect gifts for besties and travel enthusiasts – we have even had some buy them as stocking fillers (we want to know what else is in those stockings!) Our handy handles are detachable so you can hook them to your bag strap. Laser engraved designs wont fade or peel with time, are dishwasher safe, and help you stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons. Available on the Ohelo website here.
Saint Iris Serenity Salve - Counter Culture Store from Counter Culture Store - £79
Pamper her with the luxurious Saint Iris Serenity Salve. This resilience-building lotion soothes, hydrates, and regenerates devitalized skin. Suitable for both face and body care, this salve absorbs easily, leaving the skin smooth and strengthened. A perfect addition to her skincare routine.
Tranquility Abstract Art Print by Melanie Howells Art - £39
This beautiful print by Melanie Howells exudes serenity, available in various sizes to suit its location, it's a perfect gift to bring some tranquility into a sacred space this Christmas.
Kind2 Shine Enhancing Shampoo Bar - £12.50
Give the gift of luscious locks with the Kind2 Shine Enhancing Shampoo Bar. This soap-free, sulphate-free, and palm-free shampoo bar is infused with the goodness of shea, hemp seed, and macadamia oils. Perfect for normal, dry, curly, and colored hair, it leaves hair soft, shiny, and smooth. The fresh, woody, and subtly floral aroma adds a touch of luxury to every wash.
Good Night's Sleep Gift Box - £35Send the gift of a tranquil night’s sleep with this bundle of lavender-based goodness. This calming, peaceful ethical gift box is packed full of sleep-easy treats to ease them into the land of slumber. It’s the perfect present for anyone who needs a helping hand nodding off or a gentle nudge to hit the hay a tad earlier.
For Him:
Notoriously difficult to buy for, we've rounded up some of our favourite gifts for the conscious man who has everything!
Vegan Snack Box - £22.50This gift box is one for those who love a cuppa with a snack! With your choice of NEMI tea bags, a pouch of Muddy Paws single origin coffee, a bar of HIP Oat Milk Chocolate, a bar of Seed and Bean Chilli and Lime chocolate and a tube of Cajuu Lake Natron Salt seasoned cashew nuts it’s a perfect gift for a plant based friend who is difficult to buy for!
Cedar Canvas Backpack by Absolutely Bear - £50The Cedar Canvas Backpack is a versatile and stylish choice for him. With adjustable shoulder straps, a laptop compartment, and a sleek navy blue design, it's perfect for both work and weekends. Sturdy and spacious, this backpack has got his back for any adventure.
Organic Beanie Hat by Rapanui - £20
Embrace cooler days in our super soft Organic Cotton Beanie for head-hugging warmth. Our Beanie Hat has got a chunky ribbed weave and is shaped to flex to fit all sizes. With colours inspired by nature and organic cotton, this beanie is crafted for outdoor adventures in the chill.
Recycled Inner Tube Belt by Cycle of Good - £28
This holiday season, let your gifts speak volumes about your love and consideration. Whether it's pampering her with luxurious skincare or equipping him for his next adventure, these thoughtful picks are sure to bring joy and warmth to your loved ones. Happy gifting!
]]>What your body does whilst you sleep:
These are just a few of the reasons why it is important to improve your sleep. Throughout our lives, it seems there is always a reason to go without enough sleep. When we’re in our late teens and early 20s there’s simply too much fun to be had, especially in the evenings. Some of us go through an intense working
period too where we are so busy scrambling up that career ladder that we refer to sleep as ‘crashing’, literally collapsing into bed for a short time before getting up early to wear ourselves out all over again, usually before we’ve had a chance to recover. For those of us who have children, it’s safe to say that sleep is not the same for a few years and if there’s anything that emphasises how much we need sleep, it’s the effect that sleep deprivation can have on new parents. Then, just as we’re getting a bit of time back, sleep can become more of a struggle as we age, particularly during perimenopause.
Sleep is as important to our holistic health as diet and exercise and, though some may need more of it than others, our quality of sleep is something we should all be taking care of. Here are a few basic ways to improve your sleep:
Eat Earlier To Improve Your Sleep
Since your gut needs to slow down during the night, try not to eat too late in the evening. Having smaller meals in the evening and eating a few hours before we go to bed allows our gut to join us in having a bit of a rest. As we age, sleep becomes more challenging and our gut working into the night can not only affect the quality of our rest but start to prevent us from sleeping.
A varied, high-fibre, nutrient-rich diet is best for a sleek digestive system and you may consider eating a larger lunch and smaller dinner to balance your gut’s workload.
A Space For Sleeping
Our minds make life easier for us by grouping and creating association pathways, in order to make the world a simpler place to process. This has both
benefits and downsides. Whilst it can challenge or potentially limit creative thinking, we can also trick our mind into switching from work to social to rest mode, by responding to our environment.
Our bedroom should be a sacred space. The place where we get ourselves dressed and ready for the day and the place we return to rest at the end of it. With the rise in home-working, it may be tempting for some to work from their bedrooms, but the problem is that our brains associate activities with locations and once this programming is set in motion it’s difficult to reverse.
It is for these reasons that the best time to quit smoking is said to be after a home move. It's also why sleep experts recommend you leave the bedroom if suffering from insomnia because it's vital that your bed, and by extension your bedroom, does not become a place you associate with not sleeping.
As far as possible, make your bedroom a sanctuary. Don’t bring the laundry in there to sort, discourage the children from playing in there and avoid working from your bedroom. Your bedroom should be your place to relax so keep as many daily stresses away from there as possible. Perhaps, not only stress though. If you have a television in your room it may be time to reconsider. Whilst this is a relaxing activity, it does not encourage sleep - not quality sleep anyway.
Try to make your bedroom decor minimal so it’s easy to keep tidy, but invest in good bedding and soft furnishings such as cushions and throws that stir up feelings of comfort. Again, due to our internal pre-modern life programming, it is not natural for us to sleep when there is light. So, blackout curtains to block out streetlight is also advised to improve your sleep.
Set Realistic Goals For The Day
How we spend our days affects the way we sleep at night. Whilst it’s not possible to avoid stress and anxiety all of the time, being kinder to ourselves may make it easier to give our bodies and minds the rest they need. If you have tossed and turned at night, going through the next day’s to-do list and flooding yourself with worry about anything you have failed to achieve that day, then
you’re not alone. It’s a vicious cycle that the more we need to rest, the harder it often is to let ourselves. Shutting down our busy minds can feel like chasing ducks around a garden, attempting to shoo them into their roosting house for the night. Our thoughts keep flapping and our response signals and still on high alert. We desperately need sleep to destress but it’s our stress levels keeping us up. In all likeliness, you’re taking on too much during the day.
Adults need 6-9 hours of sleep every night and if you’re struggling to get everything done in the daytime, no doubt this is encroaching on your sleep time. Whilst cutting back on sleep can be useful in the short-term, such as night’s of exam cramming and getting all those last minute jobs done the evening before a holiday, reducing your sleep time regularly can have a detrimental effect on your health. This includes both your mental and physical health. Lack of sleep can even speed up the ageing process and increase the risk of life-threatening illnesses.
Each day, make a list of what you need to do, then cross a third of it out. Now you might have a list of tasks you actually have time to do. It may take some getting used to and initially you may well expect the world to fall apart around you but we promise it won't. In fact, after a couple of weeks, when you find yourself sleeping better, you're likely to find yourself feeling more in control than before.
No Phones Before Bedtime
Getting to sleep is a science and the blue light emitted from your phone screen throws off that chemical balance. Melatonin is a hormone responsible for controlling your sleep-wake cycle and too much screen time before bed dampens the production and release of Melatonin which is why it is so easy to keep late-night scrolling and, even when you stop, it can then be difficult to drift off to sleep.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to come off your phone (and tablet) an hour before bed, at least. Not only does the blue light emitted trick our mind into staying awake, but our phones can be a source of anxiety. Yes, they entertain us, aid communication and sometimes allow us to work on the go. Additionally though, they send us a regular series of notifications which can put our nervous response system on high alert. Whether it's good or bad news bleeping into our phones and consciousness, the chemical response is the same. A state of being that is not conducive to sleep.
Relaxing Rituals - Herbal Tea, Skincare, Meditation and Reading
Pamper yourself to sleep: A huge helping of self-care before bedtime can do wonders for transitioning you into a state of deep relaxation, ideal for slipping into sleep. Try to come upstairs half an hour before you plan to turn the light off and use this time to ready yourself for sleep. Turn off main lights and opt for a soft side lamp, take your time getting ready for bed, brushing your hair and moisturising. Just before bed is a great time to give your feet some TLC - you don't have to be a reflexologist to cultivate some calm by massaging some cream or oil into your tired tootsies.
Meditation for sleep: If stress has been high then meditation may be an effective way to spend some time soothing the mind before sleep. Popular apps
such as Headspace and Calm have been celebrated for improving sleep through their guided meditations.
Herbal tea and a good book: Escape from the stresses of the day with a good book. It doesn’t have to be a positive book particularly, just so long as you’re focused on the character’s challenges and not yours. Sit yourself up in bed for 20 minutes with all technology put away, sip on a herbal tea (try one of these infusions to aid sleep) and disappear into someone else’s story. Reading fuels our imagination and is an almost mindful experience because it's near impossible to multitask when reading. You cannot be focused on tomorrow’s list-making or your many responsibilities when you’re reading. This makes it an ideal bridge from your day into sleep.
Sleep is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. Without it, all else functions on a half-full tank. Our digestion doesn't work so well, we reach for sugary snacks to give us quick hits of energy and our willpower is reduced because we're not allowing ourselves the rest we need to process each day's events, emotions and memories. If you're seeking a healthy lifestyle, then don't devalue sleep. Make it the soil from which all else is nurtured and enabled to flourish.
]]>We’re feeling the warmer weather creep in now and the classic signs of summer - festivals, beach afternoons, garden BBQs and all those summer anthems, are returning and the call of the outdoors resonates. Summer in the UK is a special time, not least because we never know how long it will stay for. Yet, with this, it can bring pressure. A duty to be outside constantly, a social butterfly and an energetic parent.
Having such a love affair with the summer, as a nation especially, can make us feel as if there’s something wrong with us if we’re not always feeling the urge to join in. Some say it’s difficult to be sad in the summertime, but we’re not sure that this is so much to do with the weather. Rather, there is an expectation to be out and bright and enjoying yourself all the time and therefore it’s potentially more difficult to admit if you’re not feeling those social summer vibes all the time.
A little sun is not a replacement for self-care and for being guided by what you need and what not is ‘expected’. So, since we’re big on the advice for well-being tips in winter, we thought we’d share our tips on staying positive in the summertime.
Every now and then, be a real rebel and go home. Yes, staying in when the sun is out or going home early for a bubble bath is sometimes the most radical thing you can do. As we’re never sure how long summer days will hang around there’s a real pressure to ignore whatever you’re feeling or whatever your plans are, and stay outside. Although sometimes it’s good when we’re encouraged out of our comfort zones or to let loose a little, we can do it too much in summer.
Don’t be a victim of fear of missing out or of peer pressure if you’re not in the right mood to ‘make the most of’ the sunny day or evening. Better to conserve energy, take time out when you need to, and return in sparkling and radiant full form when you're rested and ready.
Following on from the guilt-free staying in, it’s also important not to ignore your body clock because it’s summer. Naturally, we’ll stay up later and hopefully have some really late nights out that will create some lasting memories. However, not every night is going to do so, so don’t try to force it.
For parents, getting to bed early, even in the warmer months is not usually a challenge. Parents of young children will usually sleep anywhere at any time,
given half the chance. It’s getting the kids to bed that’s the issue, especially in summer. They’ll never feel they have a reasonable explanation for why it’s still light out, no matter how many times you explain how the seasons work. Also, we do tend to get a bit over-excited the first week or two of good weather - that’s the parents more so than the kids - and stay at BBQs and the beach past bedtime.
As much of a challenge as it can be, children do still need the same amount of sleep in summer as they do in winter. Especially as they may be woken up earlier because of the light. So try to keep to a routine with the exception maybe of the weekends or the odd night or two. It might even be an idea to bring going up to bed forward a little as it can take longer to drift off to sleep when it’s warmer. It’s not just that children can be more emotionally fragile when they haven’t had enough sleep, if we don’t get enough child-free time in the evening it can all get a bit much too. School summer holidays are long and as much as we may approach them with optimism, there’s no way we can maintain positivity from 6 am to 11 pm all day long for 6 weeks.
You and the kids will have a much better summer with far fewer meltdowns (for all of you) if you all make sure you get a few early nights.
I’m aware I now really sound like a mum but I’m going to say it anyway - drink plenty of water in summer. Staying hydrated will keep your energy up and lessen the chances of getting sunstroke or headaches.
In the summer months, we lose more fluids and so it’s important to replace them. Water keeps our bodies working, stops our skin from drying out and sharpens the mind too. When we’re not properly hydrated thoughts get foggy which can be frustrating and can leave us feeling lethargic. Loss of energy can bring us down emotionally and make staying positive in summer a challenge. So getting enough water is not just about staying physically well, it’s also about maintaining mental clarity and energy.
The one major thing summer offers, which is worth getting in huge sandcastle spades, is the opportunity to get out in nature. Whether you’re a summertime sea paddler, a picnic in the park lover, a beach volleyballer or are running up
hills like Maria Von Trapp, the world looks beautiful bathed in sunlight. Plus it’s far more pleasant to be outside when it doesn't feel as if the weather is designed to attack us.
Being outside is so good for our well-being, especially when we’re in a natural environment. Not only are we getting some much-needed vitamin D, but it’s also been found to help us breathe better, lower blood pressure, reduce stress and lift our mood. Something about being out in nature gives us perspective and serves to remind us how big, bold and beautiful the world is.
With longer days, it’s easier to get your daily fresh air so even if it’s just a walk around at the end of work for half an hour, it will do you so much good. We’re not all blessed with nature reserves or the coastline within walking distance but even spending some time in the garden or taking a walk around the local park can blow the cobwebs out and put problems in perspective.
Summertime is a great time to read and feed your mind with positivity. If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed with all the bad news that’s circulating make sure you choose some media to consume that has a chance of lifting your spirits.
We’re big fans of Matt Haig’s book The Midlight Library here. There are some great non-fiction books like Human Kind by Rutger Bregman which is described as ‘a hopeful history’ on the basic goodness of our species and Brene Brown’s books are deep dives into our emotions and vulnerabilities but in a beautifully freeing way.
Keeping a diary can also be a great way to focus your mind more on positive thoughts and gratitude. We love The Positive Journal which provides a simple guided way to explore your day-to-day life with a more balanced view, accepting the struggles but acknowledging the good in every day.
If you’re a parent then you’ll likely have the kids off for a few weeks during the summer. It’s a pleasure of course, but it can also be daunting. Even if you’re not also faced with juggling work, the pressure to keep them busy and entertained, but also not spending too much time on screens, can be exhausting. There is no perfect way to manage but I have found that most often it’s the simple things that create the best memories. Those spontaneous drawing sessions at the kitchen table, planting in the garden, dancing around to pop songs and evenings spent curled up on the sofa scoffing snacks in front of a Disney film.
It’s a good idea to plan a few days out of course, but remember that it’s spending time with you that’s most important to the kids - even if they don’t know it yet. If you overload yourself with packed schedules then chances are they won’t be getting you at your best so try to reserve some days for creative play, board games, lounging around or just being silly together.
Even if you don’t have children at home, there can be a lot going on in summer. When turning up at events or meet-ups starts to feel like a chore, it’s often a sign that some ‘you’ time is needed. Friendships and family are so very important, but so is the relationship you have with yourself and it’s not possible to be a social butterfly all the time, even when the weather suggests so.
There are no rules to follow when the sun comes out - except wear sunscreen and be careful in the sea - so there's no perfect plan to have a summertime worthy of a coming of age film. However, if you continue to make time and quiet to listen to yourself, be present in your body and ask yourself what you need, you'll likely have a summer that enhances your wellbeing. Enjoy the sun, enjoy the socialising and enjoy any extra family time you might get, but make time for yourself too and make sure the summertime is serving your needs as well.
]]>So, at Out Of The Box, we racked our brains to come up with:
Here are some of the most unique ways to spend Mother’s Day that we could come up with:
Over the past couple of years, crafting activities have become increasingly popular. Whether knitting, macrame, mosaic, candle making, crocheting or any other form of craft, many of us have found such activities less about producing perfect creations and more about practising mindfulness and tapping into our creativity. Yet, crafting together can also be a great way to spend a day or evening (for evening crafting, add wine) with a loved one. Joint activities, even if you are each focusing on your own project, can be a calming shared experience.
Learning together is also great for bonding so it may be an idea to both embark on the same craft activity, following a step-by-step tutorial. There are craft kits you can purchase for this or you may select an easy-to-follow video tutorial on YouTube and source the materials yourself.
No doubt you’ll share some laughter as you attempt your crafts and maybe you’ll share some snacks and wine too. The biggest challenge for some, with this activity, is facilitating the quiet needed for you both to be able to focus. If you can though, clear the house of kids and distractions so that your mum and you can have some therapeutic crafting time for yourselves.
As we become increasingly aware of the impact that celebrations, such as Mother’s Day, have on the environment, we are becoming more sustainably minded in the way we mark special occasions. Knowing that the majority of greeting cards and wrapping paper cannot be recycled and that we need to be buying less, finding ways to make our loved ones feel treated on special occasions can be tricky.
If you’re able to spend the day with your mum, then you can opt for a celebratory lunch or even a spa day in place of a gift. Yet, not all of us can do this. Hence, sending a gift is our way of showing we care.
Here are a few ideas for eco-friendly Mother’s Day gifts:
If you’re looking for an affordable way to spend Mother’s Day then getting out in nature is a great solution. Especially if you want to give yourselves the space and opportunity to talk. Early morning is usually an ideal time for a stroll on Mother’s Day, being that we’re on the cusp of spring but with the winter chill still in the air. Hopefully, it will be crisp and fresh and a great time to get out into nature.
Walking together is a lovely way of bonding and you have the added bonus that being in nature does our wellbeing wonders too. You needn’t be out long, especially if you’re not a regular walker, but choose somewhere special for your walk - by the beach, through the woods or across the countryside maybe.
A morning walk will certainly work up an appetite and it is probably going to be a little too nippy for a picnic just yet so you’ll need to have a lunch plan. Many country walks conveniently lead to lovely little pubs where you can usually book a table for a Sunday roast. Apart from not having to cook, the bonus of this is that you’ll have the walk back to wake yourself up after your meal which definitely means you can justify dessert.
If you’d rather eat at home or are looking for more affordable ways to spend Mother’s Day, then head back home to a meal that’s already waiting. A meal prepared in a slow cooker is the ideal solution to post-walk hunger. Since you likely won’t want to be cooking as soon as you’ve returned from your Mother’s Day walk, prepare your meal in a slow cooker and turn it on before you leave in the morning. This way, not only will lunch be warm and ready to eat but you’ll be greeted by the gorgeous aroma of home-cooked food as you both step through your front door. A slow cooker is also low on energy usage and so is a more affordable way to cook. It also uses about 50% less energy than an electric oven so a walk and lunch made in a slow cooker is not just an affordable way to spend Mother’s Day but it also makes for an eco-friendly Mother’s Day.
Are you and your mum more high street shoppers than country walkers? Many mothers and daughters bond over shopping and it’s great to have someone with a handy second opinion when we’re picking out clothes or homewares. Unfortunately, shopping is a costly activity and it’s not very sustainable either. So why not go second-hand shopping?
Shopping second-hand keeps clothing and other items from landfill and it’s usually a lot cheaper. Plus, it’s usually more fun! You can hit the charity shops but thrift and vintage stores that are usually fascinating and more unique places to shop. You’ll find more one-off items and the whole experience is far more interesting than high street shopping.
Thrift shopping can be one of the more eco-friendly and affordable ways to spend Mother’s Day but it’s also a great way for you and your mum to bond as you finger through clothing rails to uncover hidden treasures.
If you’re a family who loves to play board games why not dedicate a whole day to the activity? This works especially well if you have a sibling or two as more players can make games more enjoyable. Plus, everyone can supply different drinks and snacks so you can all graze as you compete to be games tournament champion.
Whether you’re a Scrabble family or prefer a more DIY Taskmaster-style games session, family games are an excellent way to create memories and wile away the hours on a Sunday, especially if it’s raining which is reasonably likely on Mother’s Day.
Whatever you choose to do for Mother's Day, we wish you a lovely day of celebrating that beautiful mother and son/daughter relationship.
]]>Bees and butterflies are vital to our ecosystem. Both get their food from plants
and, in return, they act as pollinators. Bees and butterflies unwittingly collect pollen as they investigate flowers and as they fly to their next destination, pollen is usually cast off, falling to the ground where a new flower can grow. The pollen needs to fall away from the mother plant to avoid them competing for nutrients. This process also encourages biodiversity which is good for plants because, with different species to feed, the soil remains diverse, keeping it nutritionally rich and better able to support life.
How does biodiversity help humans? We need a variety of plants and animals to sustain us. For food, but also to keep our atmosphere balanced, being that plants absorb carbon dioxide and provide us with essential oxygen.
Bees and butterflies are essential for plants and vice versa. This relationship protects a much larger ecosystem that must remain healthy. Not least because human beings are also a part of this delicate ecosystem and just as reliant on each part thriving.
One out of ten bee and butterfly species in Europe is under threat of extinction.
This might not sound too concerning but consider that that means 10%. If 10% disappears then 10% of plant populations will follow and a domino effect may begin to take hold. A serious decline in the bee and butterfly population may mean less variety on our supermarket shelves.
Bees and butterflies are under threat for a number of reasons. As the human population spreads and becomes denser, more and more green spaces disappear. Even a protected countryside is not enough. We need to bring bees and butterflies back to our gardens, even if our gardens are small. Even if they’ve already been concreted over. Of course, some of us are lucky enough to have great big gardens with plenty of space for planting, but many of us are living in apartments or with courtyard patios. No matter our circumstances there is always something we can do to help bees and butterflies flourish. We just need to get a bit creative.
Here is how to build a bee and butterfly friendly garden with the kids and also some ideas of what you can do if you don’t have a garden:
Making your green space insect-friendly is a lovely activity to do with children. It helps with their understanding of the world and our individual and collective
responsibility to protect our planet. Besides, being outdoors in nature as a family is healthy and wonderful for wellbeing. It’s also a low-cost activity for a Spring or Summer day.
To attract bees and butterflies to your garden you will need flowers, as many as possible. Some are more appealing to our colourful flying friends than others and there are many other factors to consider including where they are planted and when. Here are our top tips for creating a bee and butterfly friendly garden with the kids:
Variety Is Key - Flowers are experts at attracting the right pollinators but to keep things diverse a good mix of plants is best. Aside from being most attractive and more fun to watch take bloom, they’ll also open at different times throughout the year keeping your garden insect-friendly all year round. A variety of flowers also brings a variety of pollinators.
Plant Densely - Make it easy for bees and butterflies to find flowers by planting them in clumps as opposed to widely spread out. If you’ve ever seen a bee bumble around you’ll concede that flying is not their strong point and you’ll do them a great service by not giving them too far to travel.
Shallow Water - It’s easy to forget about water, but bees and butterflies need this too. The key is to ensure that standing water isn’t presenting a drowning risk. A little water with pebbles thrown in to provide perches for flying insects is ideal. Children will love placing a little water in a tray and scattering pebbles inside to create a little bee and butterfly waterhole.
Seed Bombs - Seed bombs are an easy, fun and effective way of planting a wide variety of wildflowers in one place. Each bom contains an array of wildflower seeds and all you need do is pull the pin and throw it into an area of your garden you’d like to see more flowers. The seed bom will biodegrade leaving the seeds to spread and settle. We stock Bee Bom Seed Bombs, ButterflyBom SeedBom and the Wilderbom SeedBom.
Hanging Baskets - These are particularly useful for those who don’t have gardens but they’re also good fun to plant up with the kids. Buying plug plants mean an instant result which is far more satisfying for children than waiting for seeds to emerge. Plus, if you hang yours by your front door then every day you can inspect the basket for new blooms. Hanging baskets are also easier for bees and butterflies to get to and provide some protection for them too.
Consider A Mini Meadow - A little rewilding will do wonders for the bees and the butterflies. If you’re fortunate enough to have a medium to large space then perhaps a section of your garden can be left to thrive alone. With children, you’ll probably want a cut lawn where the kids can run around and perhaps where you can even have play equipment. However, it may not be necessary to cut the grass at the back of the garden. Leaving just a strip for the grass to grow long can create a perfect home for a thriving ecosystem.
Be Hands-Off - Once you have done your planting try to leave your garden alone. Perennial flowers that attract butterflies and bees don’t need a lot of tending to, that’s why they’re called wildflowers. Wildflowers and pollinators will take care of one another, just as they do in the countryside. Too much gardening and desire for neatness is what has spurred a decline in the wildflower and pollinator populations. Don’t be afraid to rewild a little, even if it’s just a section of your garden.
Including children in the whole experience will help acquire their interest. They
should be involved from the point of selecting the seeds or plug plants. They’ll love going to get the plants, looking at the seed packers and helping to choose.
The key to keeping the children interested in the actual planting is not to drag it out too long. Planting should be an exciting experience and so get out, get a bit muddy and get those plants in. SeedBoms are an ideal way to do them and a big hit with the kids.
There’s also much fun to be had after the planting when the flowers begin to
bloom and you can all have fun spotting the bees and butterflies. Don’t be too put off if they don’t arrive immediately. It can take a little while to be found, especially if you’re in a built-up area, but that’s what makes it even more important.
The best way to ensure children are not afraid of the environmental problem we’re facing is to empower them to be part of the change. Let them help to make a real difference, literally on their own doorstep.
Head to the Royal Horticultural Society website to find out which plants and flowers are best for attracting bees and butterflies.
]]>There are two things that I’m passionate about; Wellbeing - taking time for self-care and for appreciating the wonder of the simple things in life and living sustainably and doing all possible to protect the planet. These two passions can both fuel one another and conflict with one another. Sometimes our wellbeing can be hampered by the overwhelming struggle we face now to tackle climate change. Though most of us want to play our part and reduce our carbon footprint, the more we learn the more depressing it can seem. The most practical thing to do to overcome this feeling is, well, something. Even if it’s just small changes to make life more sustainable at least in our homes.
That’s why I’ve put together my best recommended eco-friendly living books. In building this list I’ve taken special care to ensure that none are too overwhelming. I’m not sure, for instance, we need to know the carbon footprint of everything in the world. The list also does not comprise any books that are
judgemental because we’ve all grown up in a world where it’s taken a long time for us to realise the full impact we have on the environment and it does no one any good to be made to feel guilt over that. Mostly, we are hard-working, busy people, tending to and caring for those around us and trying to get ourselves and our loved ones through each day in one piece. So, if you’re trying to do that in a sustainable way too then you don’t need a lecture, you need a helping hand. The books for eco-friendly living that I recommend are positive, simple to follow and constructive.
I hope you find a book here that helps to make the path to eco-friendly living a little easier.
What Bravo really understands is that living sustainably isn’t just about learning new habits. Or about simply quitting old habits. Lauren Bravo does not dismiss or play down the relationship we have with our clothing and with fashion. Recognising that we have a problem is the first step to recovery and that’s why How To Break Up With Fast Fashion reads like a self-help book.
Bravo approaches the truth about fast fashion with compassion and understanding, having been a life-long lover of bursting closets herself she knows that change does not come easy and changing our behaviours means first changing our mindset.
Fast fashion is probably one of the biggest threats to sustainable living. With a larger carbon footprint than air travel and shipping combined, clothes manufacturing can also pollute our waters and pile up in landfills with many manmade fibres never properly decomposing. Whilst many environmental changes need to be made at the government level and rely on business and science finding solutions, fixing the clothing crisis is largely in the hands of the consumer. Let’s face it, the fashion industry does not have a reputation for being the most ethical sector. Generally, this means that change does not happen unless consumers change their habits. But it’s not easy. Lauren Bravo’s How To Break Up With Fast Fashion is a guide to building a more sustainable wardrobe. Yet, rather than setting strict rules and restrictions, it holds your hand through the process and helps you move into your bright new future free from the compulsion to shop new so much.
Packed full of hints, tips and recipes for eco-friendly household cleaning products, this book is so much more than it first appears. Yes, the focus is on your cleaning routine which may seem a little niche, yet this book makes you realise how much the household products you use can impact the
environment. Then, most importantly, it teaches you how to solve the problem. Providing homemade low-cost solutions for cleaning your home with non-toxic eco-friendly cleaners, Nancy Birtwhistle proves you don’t need harsh chemicals to have a sparkling clean home. She even has an eco-friendly oven cleaner solution!
It’s not just cleaning either. Birtwhistle shares her tips and hacks for gardening, organisation, baking and everything around the house. If you’re looking to make sustainable changes in your home, this is the simple quick-fire guide you need. Buy it second-hand here.
Sometimes I think our distance from nature is what has led us, humankind, to feel removed from it. Getting back to nature makes sustainable living feel more important. It also makes us feel better. Spending time outdoors has a positive impact on our wellbeing. Therefore, gardening is good for us and, it can be really good for the planet. Especially if we go down the rewilding route.
Frances Tophill is a renowned horticulturist who is passionate about rewilding the planet, starting in your back garden. Her beautiful book, Rewild You Garden, expertly explains why rewilding is so important and the value it can add to your outdoor space, as well as practical advice on how to do it. Making your garden a haven for wildflowers and wildlife is not just about giving nature an opportunity to thrive. Learning to do this can also help us discover the art of letting go. To resist the urge to control our surroundings and to trust that mother nature knows best. And this is a great book to guide you through that journey.
The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide helps those who are not ‘natural tree-huggers’ (as Gale claims she isn’t) to discover a new normal in adopting a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Experimenting by undertaking a year’s commitment to buy nothing new, Gale began her sustainable lifestyle journey by throwing herself into the deep end, which was hard for her but makes her the perfect person to assist us in doing it in a more gradual way. She knows the near-impossible changes and the ones that seem so but are ultimately far easier than we might have thought.
Whilst balancing the difficulty of reducing your carbon footprint, Jen Gale does not shy away from the importance of doing so. She urges us to embrace the ‘ish’ and not feel bad about not being perfect. What is important is doing what we can. Becoming part of a movement and bringing others along with us to make the big impact we need as a global society.
As books for eco-friendly living go, there’s a great amount of constructive advice here but also regular reminders of why we are doing so. With every commitment we make to change the way we live, our energy and positivity can falter along the way but Gale keeps bringing you back to the ‘why’ of it all. That makes this a wonderful all-rounder book to accompany you on the journey to a more sustainable(ish) lifestyle.
The key in this title is ‘life’. Anita Vandyke is what she calls a ‘new kind of environmentalist’. Like so many people who strive to live a more eco-friendly existence, Vandyke found that doing so led not only to making changes such as buying less plastic or reducing food waste in the home but a whole change of self. Living a life that works with the planet instead of against it provides not a feeling of worthiness but worth. Recognising that we share this world and making efforts to live respectfully within it, as caretakers, can change more than our approach to our carbon footprint but to our whole existence. Including how we feel about work, life, relationships and family.
A Zero Waste Life In Thirty Days sounds like a manual setting you up for failure. The task is incredibly ambitious. However, the steps are broken down and each day comes with its own goals and assistance through the journey. For those who are really serious about making a big difference, this is one of the best books for eco-friendly living without the loss of luxury.
Although the title flaunts zero waste there’s no need to be alarmed. There are three options for each change - less waste, low waste and zero waste, which means you can go at a pace that is comfortable for you.
Everybody is different and though many of us want to reduce our carbon footprints, we’ll probably all get there by following different approaches. That’s why there are so many books for eco-friendly living available and you may even find you make it through a couple that don’t work for you. There is also plenty of useful information, hints and tips available online. There are even online communities helping one another. If you’re anything like me though, there’s nothing like a book to begin a journey. It’s a physical (or audible) commitment and there’s something about turning that first page and beginning that feels like the start of something exciting.
Nobody comes near our studio right now and gets away without picking their top 5 treats from our shelves! We've shared a few from a range of ages and interests, in case you need some gifting inspiration.
Sue likes gardening, walking and card games. Check out her top 5 picks here
You can browse the full collection of gifts for women here.
Dan likes watching and playing sport and chocolate! His top 5 are here
Take a look at the rest of our collection for men here
Tom likes climbing, eating and "it's nice to read some happy news as the news right now is quite miserable". His top 5 are here.
Take a look at the rest of our collection for men here
Lili likes hanging out with her friends, chocolate and yoga. To see her picks, click here
Browse the rest of our gifts for teenagers here.
Immy likes making things and learning about nature. Her collection is here
Take a look at the full collection for children here.
Fin loves football, animals and chocolate. You can see his top picks here
Take a look at the full collection for children here.
We'd love you to let us know what your top picks are! If you're near Cheshire pop over for a browse, if not, have a look at our virtual shelves!
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While we all know that It’s important to be aware of our stress levels on a daily basis, as well as those around us, an awareness day is always useful to remind us to get back into those good habits.
I’ve collated my favourite stress busting tips from my days as a relaxation coach, I find them very useful as they can subtly help wherever you are.
Breathing exercises–
I know, I know…people always talk about how noticing our breath can help with stress. Do you know why? Because it works!
You can do as little as taking a big sigh to help reset your breathing and slow down your heart rate. Take a deep breath in through your nose and sigh it out through your mouth.
If you have a little more time, there are so many different exercises and tools you can use, a quick search on YouTube or a Google for guided breathing for relaxation will bring back plenty of tips. My personal favourites are 3/3/3 breathing and the ribbon breath.
3/3/3 breathing
Lie or sit comfortably, and inhale for a slow count of 3 through your nose. On the count of 1, breathe deeply into your belly, on the count of 2 breathe into your ribs and on the count of 3 breathe into your collar bone. Exhale with a big sigh through your mouth. Repeat as many times as needed. This is a wonderful breathing exercise and is such an easy one to remember. I often use this one when lying in bed unable to switch my mind off.
Ribbon breath
The ribbon breath was taught to me by my brilliant yoga teacher around five years ago, it has stuck with me and seen me through many stressful times and I still use it regularly.
With your eyes closed, lie down on your back with your arms out to your side or sit cross legged with your hands on your knees. As you inhale through your nose slowly, visualise a ribbon being threaded through from your left finger tips, up your arm and to your shoulder. Hold the breath while the ribbon loops around your face, as you slowly exhale, visualise the ribbon threading back down from your right shoulder through your arm and to your finger tips. Take this breath back up through your right finger tips and out of your left, and repeat as many times as you need to.
Grounding tool -
Another brilliant tool which can help to bring us back to a mindful state and is rather magical as it can be done wherever you are, completely inconspicuously. If you’re feeling anxious, look around you and find 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste.
Hand massage -
This Japanese hand massage may look very simple but the effect it has is amazing. The theory is that each finger represents an emotion. Use hand cream if you have some nearby, but you can also do this if you don’t have any available. Take it in turns to hold each finger, ensuring all of the fingers of the opposite hand are in contact with the finger, for at least a minute or two. Eventually you should be able to feel your pulse through your finger and you will feel it start to slow down. Repeat this with each finger. It’s instantly relaxing.
Stretch
Stretching is a very powerful tool to help release tension and reduce the heart rate in moments of anxiety. If you’re sat at a desk, simply checking in on your posture can help. Straighten your spine, sit up tall and pull your shoulder blades back.
If you have a little more time and space, my favourite stretch is to curl up in a ball as tight as you can, then lay down on your back and stretch yourself as tall as you can pointing your toes and fingers, then finally, melt into the ground and completely relax into the ground beneath you, noticing all of the points that your body touches the ground.
Do you use any of these tools? Or do you have any other recommendations? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
]]>I came up with a few options that fit within their brief and their budget and they chose their selection. We now send out a sustainable onboarding gift box with their selection of gifts, including a branded gift tag with their welcome note, to each new hire.
Here’s what Nicola at the agency has to say:
“Wonderful welcome gift for new staff.
We like to send our new members of staff a little something to welcome them to the team. Zoe came up with a few bespoke options to choose from and, once we'd picked the one we thought was most suitable, we started sending them out. We've been doing it for over a year now and every single recipient is delighted!”
It’s great to work with you and to see the team growing well!
If you’d like to send sustainable onboarding gifts to your team, please email Zoe at hello@outoftheboxgifts.co.uk or call 07580 061 227, we’d be delighted to send you some options.
]]>When we promote a hygge lifestyle, we are talking about adopting certain conditions and ways of living that might promote moments of hygge.
These often arise from welcomed social situations, comfortable surroundings, acts of self-care and gratitude and are often associated with warm blankets, scented candles, open fireplaces, warm drinks and time spent in nature.
Particularly, it has been associated with easing those winter blues. Hence, how hygge has become something we tend to focus on more in winter months. The concept having originated in Denmark, a typically cold country with limited daylight in the winter months may also have a lot to do with it.
However, there is no reason not to practice Hygge in the summer months. In fact, we think it’s essential to hygge your summer and here are a few ideas how:
Sunlight on the skin is one of the most naturally luxurious sensations and, especially in countries where summer is short, we lap it up. Of course, there are many benefits of exposing our skin to sunlight, predominantly vitamin D. However, in terms of hygge, sunlight on the skin supplies that warm, caressing, comforting feeling that we’re seeking. In hygge terms, sunlight in summer is equivalent to a crackling fire or snuggly blanket in winter.
Unfortunately, this is not a hygge moment you can create, only one you can recognise and take advantage of. So, when the sun is out try to get yourself outside, or at least next to a window, and take some mindful moments to let the sunlight and the sensation it brings, wash over you.
Naturally, we’re advising you to protect your skin with a high SPF but hygge is not about a permanent or prolonged feeling anyway so there's no need to spend hours in direct sunlight. It’s about recognising those moments and embracing their presence.
In the winter, hygge is often created by bringing nature inside during those cold months. We have Christmas trees to keep our connection with the outside living world when we’re spending more time at home and we care for evergreen plants indoors too. Even in summer, we can’t always spend as much time as we’d like outdoors so it’s important to welcome a little of the outside in. Plants in the home are good for well-being and flowers are especially effective because they usually carry an appealing aroma too. The yellows of daffodils in spring and the bright blooms of wildflowers indoors provide beauty, colour and a sense of positivity. Whilst it may not be practical or affordable to have flowers throughout the year, at times when we're working from home or staying indoors due to feeling unwell, a bouquet can lift our mood. Choose locally grown, seasonal flowers to keep it sustainable.
When we're able to go outside and enjoy the summer, gardening is an activity that can encourage hygge. Yes, it can be hard work but hygge isn’t all about relaxing. Cultivating and taking care of the natural world can help deepen that connection which brings about a feeling of well-being. Being connected to nature can ground us and relieve stress, thereby allowing us to enjoy the experience. Gardening also works well for mindfulness and if you’ve noticed a correlation between hygge and mindfulness then that’s no coincidence. Both are about being present, only mindfulness refers to the practice whilst hygge refers to the feeling of comfort and gratitude. So it’s no wonder that activities that serve as opportunities to practice mindfulness also can spark moments of hygge.
The key to feeling hygge when you garden is taking your time, laying down tools now and then to enjoy the environment, and ensuring you are comfortable as you go. So planting perhaps, rather than pulling up knotweed, is more likely to result in hygge.
Camping is perfect for feelings of hygge in summer. Again, connecting with nature and basking in the warmer weather has a wonderful effect on our well-being but camping is usually also a social experience. Getting together with friends or family to camp in the countryside can be one of the best ways of creating a state of hygge. Try to put away phones and other distractions so you can all give your attention to the present, to each other and to the environment.
Campfires, when the evening draws in and the warmth fades, are ideal for creating the cosiness and comfort epitomised by hygge. The crackle, the colours in the darkness and the warmth bring about a scenario whereby the energy of the campfire somehow creates a calm serenity and feeling of homeliness in the great outdoors.
If you're not kitted out for camping then check out www.tentshare.co.uk where you can hire a tent.
There’s something so special about eating outdoors. Breaking bread with others has always been a way to share not only food but stories and laughter and happiness. A meal with friends is a treasured experience, something we are even willing to sometime pay good money for. The experience of sitting around the same table and enjoying a meal with one another brings about togetherness and kinship which is very pleasant at any time but perhaps even more so when done alfresco in the summertime. Not only do we get to enjoy the company and meal but also the surroundings and fresh air. Aside from those alfresco meals where we get chased around the bbq by wasps, mostly outside eating is a relaxing experience. There's natural gratitude that comes from being outside, even if it’s a paved courtyard or balcony. We breathe better, are less distracted by tasks and to-do lists and, perhaps because we do it less, are better at staying in the present. Much of cultivating, recognising and enjoying states of hygge in summer comes from allowing ourselves to be in the present and limiting distractions. This enables us to look around, appreciate these moments and connect properly with one another.
There is something so fleeting in summer that does help us make the most of it. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t sometimes need to create situations in which we are more likely to experience moments of hygge. Just because the weather might be warmer or the days longer, this doesn’t mean we do not need comfort and a little TLC even in the summer. Wellbeing and health must be nurtured at all times, even when seasons help us to feel lighter because it is often the work we put in and the memories we make when the sun is shining, that makes us strong enough to weather any coming storms.
May you have a lovely summer and many moments of hygge.
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The good news is that the climate crisis is finally making the headlines. The bad news is that it’s somewhat overwhelming. Whilst pressure is being put on world leaders to make the big changes necessary to reverse the damage humankind have done to the planet, we are left asking what we can do as individuals and as families.
Yes, it can feel as if making small changes is a drop in the ocean. Yet, if all of us make small changes then that can make a big impact. Plus, it sends a message to those able to drive real change that we really do care.
Sometimes, as individuals, we can feel powerless. As consumers though, we hold trump cards. How and where we choose to spend our money can drive real change. With busy lives and limited funds, most of us cannot be expected to switch to electric cars tomorrow or go completely plastic-free. However, easy eco-friendly household swaps can make a real difference.
As an eco-friendly business with high ethical standards, Out Of The Box Gifts are champions of living sustainably. So, here are our top 8 easy eco-friendly household swaps that are simple to make and won’t break the bank.
Seed Greeting Cards
Ok, so technically this isn’t generally considered a ‘household item’. However, most of us are buying a fair amount of plastic-wrapped greeting cards, many of which use decorative elements that mean they are non-recyclable. Now, I love getting a card. They can be so personal and I definitely don’t want to stop giving cards to my loved ones on special occasions. Luckily, some very clever people have come up with a way to make greeting cards that actually help our planet.
Seed cards are lovely in every way! Printed on recycled paper and embedded with seeds, the lucky recipient of a seed card can display it and then later plant the card. The paper decomposes and the seeds gift them with beautiful wildflowers.
Admittedly, seed cards don’t come cheap. Yet, they are two gifts in one and will bring a second flood of gratitude when they bloom.
Rewilding the world is important because it promotes biodiversity and protects wildlife, but it’s a big project. Why not start in your own gardens, even if it’s just one pot on the doorstep, and support the bee and butterfly population in our neighbourhoods.
Liquid vs Bar Soap
I’m part of a generation more used to liquid soap. However, many soaps contain some environmentally questionable chemicals and liquid soap tends to come in plastic containers.
If you prefer liquid soap to bar soap then there are some great all-natural options available and many are available in refillable stores. This means you can take your far more attractive glass container down to your nearest refill shop and top up whenever needed. As you’re not also buying the bottle, this can often work out cheaper.
Self-cleaning and long-lasting, bar soap is a very eco-friendly alternative that’s made a big comeback. You can even make it yourself! It’s quick, easy and all you need is a melt and pour base, some essential oils and dried flowers to decorate (optional).
An even simpler option though is to treat yourself to our Handcrafted Lemon And Poppyseed Soap , which is natural, vegan and palm-oil free.
Reusable Food Wraps And Bento Boxes
Lunchboxes are hassle-enough. Being bleary-eyed, assembling sandwiches and trying to find healthy snacks each morning will not make the top ten enjoyable parenting moments. Add to this the worry over plastic yoghurt pots and cling film and the lunchbox becomes somewhat of a minefield. Not to fret - we have some eco-friendly household swaps that can help you on your way to a plastic-free portable lunch.
Made from organic cotton and natural vegan wax, these wraps by Eco Living are a great alternative to cling film and foil. For food that needs help staying fresh, wraps are eco-friendly, reusable and compostable. Admittedly, they divide opinion. Some swear by them and even go as far as to make their own. Whereas others question their reusability, claiming they wear out fast. The only way to know which camp you’ll find yourself in is to try them yourself and see if they’re right for you and your family.
However, bento boxes can be a great way to avoid wrapping food altogether. These airtight containers contain metal trays with compartments for different food items. This means you can pour in yoghurt from a larger container instead of buying individual pots and there is no need to put vegetables, fruit, or sandwiches in plastic bags.
Stainless Steel Drink Bottles
In terms of eco-friendly household swaps, this is one of the simplest and it quickly becomes as much of a habit as reaching for the tote bag when we leave the house.
Great for active individuals who carry water on the go, stainless steel bottles are a great way to avoid regularly buying plastic bottled water. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where the water is good then you can fill your bottle straight from the tap. If not, you can use a water filter first. Stainless steel is a good option as a material because it keeps your water cold.
Plus they come in all sorts of colours so each member of the family can have their own.
Cast Iron And Stainless Steel Pans
I remember when non-stick pans came into the marketplace. They were a revolution. A new solution to an age-old problem. Plus, this was when we were being told to cut down on butter and oil, so non-stick was an ideal solution. Did you know though that the chemicals used to make the film is harmful both to human health and the environment?
I’m never a fan of potentially harmful chemicals but when they are mixing with my food that’s a red-line. If you feel the same then stainless steel or cast iron pans are a good replacement. Seeing as decent kitchenware doesn’t come cheap, this might be one for the Christmas list. Or else make it a slower transition.
Candles
When I light a candle I think ‘relax.’ I think self-care and cosiness and calming scents. I don’t think about burning fossil fuels. However, most candles are made from paraffin wax and lighting them releases all sorts of awful toxins into the air. Including benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein, many of which are toxins produced when burning diesel fuel.
So, for eco-friendly household swaps, what are our alternatives to paraffin candles?
There are some amazing plant sourced candles available and many rival the cost of paraffin candles too.
Our BeeFree Bluebell Candle is not made from beeswax but from a sustainable natural plant source. This candle will burn with a fragrant bluebell meadow scent for up to 25 hours without releasing any harmful chemicals into the air.
Since candles are a special treat and wonderful gift for a friend, why not upgrade and go for a Peaceful Bath Gift Set complete with calming bath salts, purifying clay face mask, vegan sea salt chocolate and, of course, our lavender and geranium candle, made from sustainable raw materials.
Toilet Roll
Back to the really essential household items. The toilet tissue issue is far easier to understand than other threats to the environment. Put simply, we use a lot and it takes a fair amount of trees to produce the paper. Thus, household brand toiler paper is a big contributor to deforestation. I’ll skip over why reforestation is bad not just for the environment but for our very survival because David Attenborough has already explained this better than I can.
The simplest solution is to use a more sustainable material. Bamboo toilet paper seems to have topped the list for ethical consumers. As bamboo plants take only five years to reach maturity, growing them to produce toilet tissue and other items is a far better alternative to using hardwoods.
Yes, this can be more expensive. However, moving to a subscription-based system and buying less regularly and in bulk is a solution many eco-driven companies are providing. Cheeky Panda offers subscription-based buying not only for bamboo toilet rolls but also for eco-friendly nappies, biodegradable wet wipes and tissue boxes. Naked Sprout also operate carbon neutral on deliveries over £18.
Whilst bulk buying subscription models drive down the cost per product and provide access to eco-friendly brands, it does assume space to store all this bulk stock which many consumers simply don’t have.
Long-term though, the idea is that the more who buy eco-friendly the quicker the cost will fall for all of us. We’re crossing our fingers anyway.
Brands like those mentioned above seem far more likely to level out, being that they operate under a purpose-beyond=profit based business model, which is one of the many reasons we’re happy to recommend them.
And, while I know this won’t be for everyone, reusable toilet wipes are by far the most sustainable option. Cheeky Wipes have some great kits available.
A Final Thought On Eco-Friendly Household Swaps
Whilst we’re advocates of easy eco-friendly household swaps, we recognise that putting pressure on consumers is perhaps not the fairest approach. Of course, big impact decisions need to be made by world and big business leaders. Yet, it would be a mistake to assume they are not swayed by public consciousness. As long as we are using our buying power to show them where our loyalties lie and what really matters to us, we are making a difference.
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Tearing your hair out trying to plan a children’s birthday party? Are you also trying to make it planet-friendly but are stumped at what to do about party bags? If you’re looking for sustainable party bag ideas for children's birthday parties then we have a few thoughts and some recommendations for you!
It’s no mystery why so many of us who are eco-conscious are also parents. The future of the planet becomes far more emotive when it is intrinsically linked to those you love most. And yet, it is often children’s products that are the most problematic - from nappies to plastic toys, from the clothes they grow out of so quickly to the wrapped snacks in their lunchboxes, the most convenient option is commonly the most wasteful. It’s not as if there isn’t already enough pressure and time restraints on parents, we’re also busy finding alternatives to the short-term use, synthetic, mass-produced array of children’s items we are requested to purchase every day. So, for any of you taking time to find alternatives, even for just a few things, well done - you are doing great!
We’d love to be able to help you by sharing some of our ideas and some of the planet-friendly children’s items we and our fellow sustainable makers might be able to offer. So, don’t forget to follow us for all our top eco-friendly living tips.
In this article, we’ll be sharing all our sustainable party bag ideas for children’s birthday parties. One of the biggest challenges with sustainable living comes with children’s parties. There is considerable pressure on parents to throw their kids a party they can be proud of. Mumsnet and similar sites are full of questions regarding the politics of kids’ birthday parties - Must you invite the entire class? Is it necessary to feed them at the party, and if so, what? Should siblings be invited? Do you need entertainment? It’s a minefield and it’s never cheap. For some time though, party bags have been an expectation at children’s birthday parties. This is a bag of goodies that each child leaves with, often containing birthday cake but also sweets and small favours. Unfortunately, the cost of each item in the party bag is kept low, because wow - how they add up. As a result, the gifts are often plastic, for short-term use and are non-recyclable.
Searching for sustainable items for party bags and alternatives to kids’ party bags can also be a nightmare since, despite typing ‘sustainable’ and ‘eco-friendly’ into the search engines, there are still so many kinder-egg prize-like ‘bargains’ in the result pages.
Another difficulty that’s important to acknowledge is that sustainable gifts are often more expensive. This is usually for one or more of the following reasons:
It’s also important to consider the other reasons it would be wise to avoid non-eco-friendly party favours. Aside from the likeliness that they are not decomposable, recycled or recyclable, they may also contain toxic chemicals and many present choking hazards.
Of course, many eco-friendly gift items are not on the big party supplies websites and are a little more elusive online. So, we’ve done the searching for you and are here to offer up some amazing sustainable party bag ideas that kids will still be ecstatic to receive.
Why not challenge the trend and ditch the kids' party bags completely in favour of other favours. Just as is the case with most adults, a lot of children would far prefer having one gift to treasure than a few items with a rough lifespan of a couple of days. Here are a few eco-friendly alternatives to kids' party bags that other parents and their little ones will be thanking you for.
I won’t bore you with all the reasons books for kids are excellent gifts. Children almost always get use out of them, with some even becoming regular bedtime favourites. They are the gift that keeps on giving. Whilst books can be expensive, if you are buying in bulk the cost can be greatly reduced. Such as if you look at collections for purchase through Books For People or similar online bookshops. There can find Julia Donaldson collections, collections of board books, bulk bundles of books for toddlers, bulk book buys for ages 5-7 years and even David Walliams collections for older children.
With books as an alternative to party bags, you have two options. You can wrap each book and randomly gift them to children on the way out. Or, you can lay them out on a table near the party exit and allow children to choose their own. Not only does this spare the wrapping paper and the potential issue of gifting a book the child already owns, but they find it so much fun. It feels a lot like a gift shop and they’ll be even keener to get reading their book if they feel they chose it themselves. If you have time, you can even include a thank you message on the inside cover of each book, which potentially gets you out of sending thank you cards!
Most kids have so much stuff that any time a present is unwrapped parents inwardly grimace, straining to decide where they’re going to out this latest ‘gift’. Better by far, is giving kids something to do. Craft kits keep kids inspired and creative. It takes them away from screens and might even provide a means for you to enjoy an activity together. Or else, keep them busy on a Sunday afternoon so you can have a little quiet. Craft kits may seem like an affordable option, but it does depend on how many you’re having to buy. Some that we offer, from just £3, include:
Whilst these make great take-aways, many choose to incorporate the crafts as a party activity which means you are ticking two boxes - party entertainment and gift - in one. The friendship bracelets work particularly well for this.
One of the most sustainable gifts, of course, are those that support our planet. Seed packets are a lovely gift that offer a promise of future flowers. They have become a more common wedding favour and are now being used instead of children's party bags. The benefit of this gift is it’s not only a present but an activity where children will enjoy the planting experience too.
There are many ways to give seeds as gifts. Packets are just fine but there are some more unique ways to gift seeds too. You can buy seed balls in matchboxes or sunflower seeds in mini compostable pots. Alternatively, there are SeedBoms. These are really fun for children as you simply pull the pin and throw it into your desired area of the garden where the seeds will settle and begin to grow. We have a Wilderbom full of pastel flower seeds, Butterflybom for flowers that attract butterflies and Beebom for attracting bees to your green space.
Another option is to have seeds embedded in your thank you cards. Plantable cards are a lovely way to say thank you to children for attending the party and to give them something very easy to plant which will result in a beautiful collection of wildflowers come spring.
These are especially great for winter birthday parties. It may be difficult to find premade sets that come in under budget but making these won’t be too tricky. You’ll want to include hot chocolate powder, mini marshmallows, a cinnamon stick or vanilla pod and a square or two of chocolate for grating on top - yum! If you've accumulated multiple glass ramekins, as many of us have seemed to, then these work perfectly as containers for your homemade hot chocolate sets. Or you can find glass test-tube style containers with corked tops. Not only will the kids love this but parents might find a calming hot chocolate drink is just what kids need to calm down after all the party fun.
Making up an eco-friendly party bag is challenging for several reasons. Mostly though, it’s difficult to keep costs down. Unfortunately, it’s far easier to mass-produce plastic toys and products made with cheap materials on mass. Here are a few of our sustainable party bag ideas for fillers though:
We’d love to hear your ideas too. What have you received in a party bag that was sustainable and enjoyed by your child? Or maybe you had success with sustainable party bag ideas or alternatives yourself? Leave us a comment below!
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Of course, there are plenty of sides but the main show is usually meat-based and plant eaters can feel shortchanged. If you’re entertaining non-meat eaters by the grill this summer or are plant-based yourself, we're here to help you throw a BBQ proving it’s possible to do so without missing meat. Here are my top plant-based BBQ ideas for 2022.
Ok, so corn on the cob is a BBQ side traditionally and we’re looking for centrepieces here. However, corn on the cob can be elevated with a little extra flavour.
BBQing corn can be difficult because it needs time to soften so can easily burn. What I find is part boiling the corn first reduces the time it needs on the BBQ meaning you get both the softness and the chargrilled flavour. Before adding the cobs to the BBQ I like to mix dried chilli flakes and plant-based butter and brush it all over the corn. The balance of sweet and spicy really gives regular corn on the cob a flavour kick.
Veggie kebab skewers are a great plant-based BBQ option. Chargrilled vegetables have that sweet sticky taste and can be elevated with a drizzle of
maple syrup and a squeeze of lime. You can add almost anything to skewers - courgette, onion, mushrooms, tomatoes, aubergine, peppers - but it’s the size that matters. Cut vegetables that take longer to cook a bit smaller and make those that take longer to cook larger. You’ll also need to keep a close eye on these on the grill as they’ll need turning regularly. For a garlicy flavour, sautee the vegetables with crushed garlic and olive oil before threading them on the skewers.
For a more unique skewer, why not add fruit. Apple pieces and pineapple BBQ go really well and will add a sweetness to go with the taste of the grilled vegetables.
If you like vegan meat substitutes then this is a very easy way to achieve a meat-free BBQ, especially if you’re new to veganism and missing meat. Beyond and Moving Mountains are two of the most popular brands leading the way in vegan meat alternatives. Their burgers and sausages are ideal for grilling and are packed full of flavour.
It’s important to note that these are not the healthiest options, often containing more salt and saturated fat than their real meat alternatives. If you have not tried dairy-free cheese before then you might be tempted to think one of these substitutes will taste great grilled like halloumi. You would be very very wrong. Vegan cheese does not cook well and generally that rubbery cheese that tastes so great grilled has not yet been recreated effectively without dairy. Having said that, the greek cheese vegan alternatives are far more like the real thing and taste great in a greek salad or with couscous.
These are also usually not packaged very consciously, so make sure that you read the packaging options and dispose of it responsibly
Because tofu contains a fair amount of water, many people avoid grilling it on a BBQ for fear that it might fall through the rack. However, if you properly press the tofu, squeezing out excess water, then it should hold.
Your tofu will need a marinade to secure its place as a central dish at your BBQ. Teriyaki works well, as does a coriander and lime marinade. Cut the tofu into large blocks roughly 3cms thick and leave in the marinade overnight if possible. Then they’ll just need grilling on the BBQ for a few minutes on each side. They will taste amazing with a crisp mixed leaf salad.
Jackfruit is a great food for delivering that BBQ sauce flavour. In this style, it mimics pulled pork and is ideal when generously scooped into baps or hotdog rolls. So obviously, BBQ is the marinade you want to go for here and there are some great recipes online if you want to make yours from scratch, which we highly recommend for ensuring it’s plant-based and, well, because homemade is just better.
The easiest way to cook pulled jackfruit is actually in a frying pan. You need the onion (you should absolutely add onion) to be fried for that great southern flavour. The jackfruit itself can be pulled apart with two forks which is good fun as there is no care involved in this process so you just get to rip it up. We’d suggest frying the onion and jackfruit in the marinade for a while and then transferring it to a sheet of tin foil. Loosely package up the mix in the tin foil and place it on the BBQ, not too close to the heat. This should gently smoke the jackfruit to finish off the cooking process.
To be honest, aubergine gets a mixed reception. A lot of people find it a slimy food lacking flavour. But they haven’t tried properly flavoured aubergine. When
grilled, aubergine softens but doesn't become slimy and the grilling process brings out that edamame taste. This can be further impacted with a great marinade - and not one that needs to sit for hours to take effect.
It’s easy - mix one part soy sauce with one part maple syrup and a generous squeeze of lemon. Add garlic, coriander and a drizzle of sesame oil. Slice the aubergine skin-on into 1-2cm thick pieces and lay them in the marinade whilst you fire up the BBQ. When the heat is reasonably high, grill the aubergine slices for a few minutes on each side to create an amazingly sweet, softened, Asian-inspired dish that is perfectly finished off with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
There is absolutely no reason why those on a plant-based diet should miss out on BBQs. They’remore than just a way of cooking - they’re usually social experiences and celebrations of the far-too-short summers we get. With a little creativity and prep, plant-based BBQ can be delicious and won’t leave you with that heavy feeling that often results from meat encased in bread. Whether you choose to go with premade vegan meat substitutes or make vegetarian dishes with homemade marinades, with a little effort a plant-based BBQ can be so much more than satisfactory.
]]>Of course, it’s not only the new parents who’ve been anticipating the arrival of the baby. Soon-to-be aunties, grandparents and friends of the couple experience the excitement of the baby’s birth too and are keen to do all they can to help. Yet, since every new parent is different, it can be difficult to know how best to support new mums, as a friend, an auntie, uncle, or a grandparent.
Focusing on mistakes friends and relatives of new parents often make after the baby is born, this blog shares 8 useful, non-intrusive ways we can support new mums.
This one can be tricky because of course we want to be around as much as possible in this happy time. We also want to meet the baby. However, it’s so important to understand that a new mum will be tired, she might be feeling as if she needs time for just her and the baby to bond and she might also have other things she needs to do. If there isn’t enough time to do the cleaning, catch up on sleep, shower and cook then there isn’t going to be time for long visits. Apart from this, new mothers might be recovering physically from giving birth or adjusting to breastfeeding, which may not be something some mothers are ready to do in front of an audience.
A new mum needing time and space isn’t a reflection on your relationship with them, it’s about their relationship forming with their baby. So, keep visits to under an hour and make sure the parents know you don’t expect anything from them - make your own tea (and one for them) and make sure you’re picking up on their signals. If a new mum doesn’t seem comfortable with letting anyone hold the baby, don’t push or ask again. Similarly, if a new parent is mentioning how tired they are and the baby has fallen asleep, then leave and let them sleep. It’s impossible to be direct with a guest who has only come to see and show support so you have to be the one to be hyper-alert to their needs. Short, semi-regular visits are generally preferred when there’s a new baby in the home.
You needn’t bring expensive gifts or homecooked pies every time you visit a new mum. However, during this time when it might be difficult for new parents to get to the shops and finances might be tight, try to bring something practical. This might be muslin cloths, snacks, herbal teas, etc. The little things that will be used.
Try to avoid anything that will cause a parent extra work or try to ‘educate’ them, such as parenting books. One thing that can be difficult if you’ve had a baby yourself is to restrict your advice. Listen and answer any questions they may have, but remember that a baby is already overwhelming and unsolicited advice and opinions are rarely needed.
This can be particularly difficult for friends who are used to leaning on one another and sharing everything. These relationships are vital and beautiful but the only exception to this would be when your friend is going through a life-changing experience, such as having a baby. It’s important to understand that they may not have space for your problems or successes right now. They’ll feel guilty about this and they’ll probably try to listen but, ultimately, it’s fairly likely they won’t be able to give you the support they usually can. Naturally, there are exceptions to this in certain circumstances, but, generally, one of the kindest things you can do is allow this time to be about your new mum friend or relative and their new baby.
One of the hardest parts of having a newborn is feeling stuck indoors. If you’ve read my other blogs then you’ll probably know how much I advocate for spending time outdoors. It’s essential for our wellbeing, both mentally and physically.
For some new mums, the idea of leaving the house can be overwhelming so don’t push too much. However, helping new parents to get out of the house - not for chores - can be good for getting them over that hurdle and for blowing out the cobwebs. Obviously, when I talk about getting out for a walk, I mean with the baby. I mean putting the baby in a sling or pram and taking a short stroll around the neighbourhood. Nothing complicated - it’s not necessary to venture into the countryside or go for a meal - it’s just about stretching the legs and benefiting from some fresh air. Going for a walk also takes the pressure off them feeling as if they need to tidy up or entertain you during your visit. Moreover, getting out of the house may be quite daunting for a new parent to do by themselves so this can be a great way to support a new mum - if they’re ready.
A healthy diet is so important for new sleep-deprived parents, especially breastfeeding mums. However, it’s often the first thing we let slip when we’re busy. So, visitors who bring food are usually very welcome. Make sure you’re not creating extra work. Any food you bring should be ready-to-eat.
The other alternative, because parents can be in a situation where everyone brings food and there’s too much, is to gift them meal service vouchers. Cook offer a Meals For New Parents Service and you can buy a box or get one delivered to your friend’s home. This can be quite expensive but they also offer a 10% discount for new parents across their full range. The key thing with this service, over most ready meals, is that the quality is high and the nutrition is good because the last thing parents need when they’re run down is unhealthy unsatisfactory meals.
Supporting new mums with cleaning can be a difficult one to navigate. You don’t want your offer of help to make your friend or relative feel as if they’re not coping. However, sometimes a take-charge attitude can be exactly what’s needed. The best approach is not to visit and wait to offer help because that can be interpreted the wrong way - as if you’ve looked around the house and decided it’s not tidy. Sometimes the best way to present this is to declare you’re ‘here to help’ as soon as you walk through the door. Get your new mum friend or relative sitting down, make them a drink and start just sprucing things up. No need to get the hoover out or deep clean, maybe just do the washing up as you chat. For friends or relatives of new mums who are really close, you might ask if you can do more. You might give them the opportunity to nap or take a bath whilst you look after the baby, make dinner or do a more thorough clean. This kind of help can be amazing but it’s important to consider if you are this ‘kind of friend’ because this level of support from a casual colleague or relative of your partner, to whom you’re not all that close, might be a bit much. Again, listen more than you speak and pick up on those signals, whether they brighten up at the offer of your cleaning or childcare services or whether they display discomfort.
If you are cleaning for a new mum do refrain from putting anything ‘away’, especially if it’s baby-related, unless you’re absolutely sure where it goes. Tidy piles are far less of a nuisance for new mums than not being able to find the talc when in desperate need.
When a baby is born there are so many gifts showered on the new arrival and that’s fantastic. New parents often even experience more joy in the gifts given to their children than to them. However, that’s no reason not to give a new mum a gift to remind her you're thinking of her too. What you need to be mindful of is that it’s a gift they can use during this very busy time. Books generally will go unread, spa vouchers that require leaving the baby won’t be used for a while and new clothes are an absolute no as bodies change during and after pregnancy. However, some simple, lovely items can help support a new mum in carving out just a little much-needed nurture time for themselves.
Out Of The Box have several gift boxes for mums. Our New Mum Gift Box contains; a Reed Diffuser, to keep the home smelling fresh despite the nappies, a face mask, vegan lip butter, vanilla rose bath salts for a blissful soak, chocolate (of course) and a complimentary gift tag. The purpose of this box is to promote self-care and support a new mum in getting back to feeling relaxed and calm.
We also have a Mama Love Gift Box which contains; two hot chocolate spoons, a Bee candle, lip butter, vanilla rose bath salts and a complimentary gift tag.
All gifts in our gift boxes are vegan, ethically sourced from independent businesses and arrive in recyclable packaging with a handwritten note of your choice.
In the first few weeks, there’s already plenty to think about. However, after all the attention starts to fade and friends and relatives are going back to their everyday lives, new mums need to find their own tribe. It helps in getting out of the house and in finding those with which to exchange advice and share struggles. After the first few weeks, one of the best ways to support a new mum is to help her find more support. Some parents will do this by themselves but, especially if you’ve gone through early parenthood yourself, you might be able to help with recommending groups and classes that mum and baby may want to try. You can help your new mum friend or relative to find a group that suits them, whether that’s breastfeeding clinics, new mum groups, baby singing, baby signing or baby massage classes. There are also free drop-in groups for babies and toddlers and these are so important for new parents because, as much as your friends and family can support you, there’s nothing like talking to others going through the same experience at the same time. Only, some new mums may need a gentle guide to encourage them to do this because it can be a little intimidating and the home can become such a ‘safe place’ when you’re facing leaving the house with a pram and nappy bag stuffed with necessities.
Overall, the best thing you can do to support a new mum is to listen, pick up on her signals and only take the reins when given genuine permission.
]]>Although conversations about work and life balance have been happening for some time, it has felt far more prominent during and post-pandemic. In fact, many people have taken the opportunity to reevaluate what is most important and make changes to ensure they’re prioritising family, friends, mental health and wellbeing above work and material needs.
Despite the rising cost of living and two years of lockdowns, there’s a lot to be optimistic about. It feels like humankind is starting to realign itself with core values and approaching our lifestyles more holistically. I see this in the lovely reviews we get for our Out Of The Box gift sets that focus on items that promote eco-friendly self-care and focus on sparking moments of calm and simple joys. It seems that these gifts, the ones that inspire you to make time for yourself, are the ones that people are so thankful to receive because this, in such a busy whirlwind world, is what we most need.
So promoting lifestyles that allow for moments of mindfulness, gratitude and…well…just some highly-important time for reflection, has become somewhat of a mission for me. That being said, I thought I’d share with you some ideas for creating rituals for everyday wellness that are easy to fit into daily life.
I use the word ritual in place of routine because the word routine can be viewed as somewhat rigid and structured. Ritual is my preference because these are moments that enrich life as opposed to simply ways to navigate through tasks.
Here are my five feel-good rituals for everyday wellness:
The Singing Chef Ritual
If you like cooking and you like music then this could be one for you.
Making dinner is often such a rush. Usually slotted between a whole host of other tasks and that can mean we don’t get to enjoy it. Once a week, if possible, set aside a bit more time, blast out your favourite playlist and dance your way around making a meal. Sundays can be a great opportunity or even Friday nights when it’s not so important that dinner is served early to ensure the kids are bathed and in bed on time. I’d also recommend choosing a dinner that you know how to cook because the aim here is not to focus hugely on the cooking but to lose yourself in the music and the experience. Music choice is completely up to you and this ritual lends itself to all genres, just so long as you’re having fun.
For me, the Singing Chef Ritual works because it’s about making something that can so easily become a daily ‘chore’, an opportunity for let-loose expressive ‘you’ time. If you’re anything like me, you’ll almost be disappointed when the dinner is ready and it’s time to return to the world outside of the kitchen.
The Reading Chair Ritual
Ask almost anyone about their reading habits and you’ll scarcely hear a reply that won’t include, ‘I should read more.’ Reading is something many of us struggle to make time for. Maybe we can blame technology or the addictive nature of Netflix or social media, but I wonder if it’s that we don’t make it
accessible. The remote is right there right? Our phones bleep constantly for our attention and meanwhile, our books tend to sit silent and unassuming on the bookshelf. Apart from the fact that reading does require some quiet and, if you’re living with other people, that’s not always easy to come by. Yet, that’s one of the reasons reading is so valuable. Reading can also be educational, inspiring and a wonderful way to lose yourself in another world. This is why I believe in creating a ritual for reading.
I advocate for choosing a comfortable chair and declaring this your reading chair. There’s something very powerful in having a place for an activity, especially if it’s in a room you use regularly. Your reading chair will help draw you in. It’s important to say there’s no ‘good time’ to read so choose whenever is right for you, and guess what - it can be in the middle of the day! Set an amount of time though, especially if it helps to alleviate any guilt that taking time to read is in any way self-indulgent (it’s absolutely not though). Also, there's no rule about what it is you choose to read. Reach for a classic novel, an educational non-fiction book or a so-called trashy magazine. What's important is that you set 20 minutes or so aside to disappear into another world and consume something that acts as food for the soul.
If you’re a parent encouraging your child to read, there is no better way than for them to see you taking time to enjoy reading. So, if you’re struggling with the feeling you should be doing a ‘job’ instead, remind yourself that you’re setting an example. Or else, remember that we try to eat well and exercise to fuel our body and so we owe it to ourselves to also fuel our mind and imagination.
The Happy Dance Ritual
We strive constantly to reach goals and achieve both at work and at home. Yet, it’s so easy to skip past the celebration and move on to the next goal. I hate to use the word ‘should’ but here I feel it’s vital to stress that we should take time to celebrate the wins. Whether it be a step in the right direction at work, learning something new or helping someone else achieve something. It’s as if we envisage how the wins will make us feel in order to get there, but then we forget to feel it.
This is why I love the happy dance ritual. If dancing doesn’t bring you joy then you may find another way to celebrate, just make sure you do something. What I love about the happy dance ritual is it’s just a few minutes to feel the joy of whatever it is you’ve achieved and it also provides that physical release and beautiful self-expression. True, it may not be all that beautiful depending on your dance ability but hey, this isn’t about being a good dancer it’s about being a joyful adult able to connect with a child-like expression of happiness.
Basically, it’s about taking a few minutes, putting on a feel-good song and dancing wildly whilst thinking about whatever it is that you deserve to celebrate. Fling out your arms, spin around, kick out your toes and give yourself some time to feel proud of yourself. It’s a tough world to succeed in right now and we cannot let the moments where we achieve pass by. Whether that’s a colleague praising your work or a child thanking you for helping with their homework. You’ve done good so feel it!
The ‘Me’ Party Ritual
How frequently, or easily, you can indulge in this one will depend largely on whether you live alone or not. The ‘Me' party requires an evening alone, or at least a couple of hours, in which you dedicate yourself to some proper pampering. This is about performing a few rituals that make you feel good inside and out. A long bath is usually a good place to start. Make sure you use all your favourite products to take care of your body and let yourself get nice and relaxed. Spend the rest of your evening in your comfiest pyjamas and dressing gown, light a candle and pour yourself your favourite drink, whether that’s a glass of wine or herbal tea. You can’t go too wrong by adding chocolate to the evening either. What you do with your ‘Me’ party is completely up to you. Perhaps watch a new or beloved film, paint your nails, get some relaxing reading time in or turn up the music and have a good sing-along and dance.
As wonderful as it is to be around family and friends, it’s also important to have the odd night that’s just for you to focus on your needs. All those little needs that can so easily get put on the back burner again and again until they’re forgotten. A bit of recharge time now and again will fill up the energy tank and enable you to reconnect with yourself, with the aid of a few of life’s simple pleasures.
Need a little help to get your ‘Me’ party started? Why not build your own gift box and fill it with treats for your night in? Perhaps our Beauty Kubes Face Mask, Calming Crystal Bath Salts, Uplifting Soy Wax Candle and Seed and Bean Vegan Chocolate.
Window Gazing
This has to be the easiest ritual to practise. So easy in fact that it can be a daily activity. I like to sit myself near a window each morning when my tea is ready to drink and spend just a few minutes gazing as thoughtlessly as possible. Thoughtless, but not pointless. You see, the window gazing ritual is a mindfulness practice. It’s about developing the ability to clear the mind of all that busy list-building, plan-making and priority-balancing and simply look out.
Look out and observe the world from your window. We don’t all have rolling hills, trees and birds to look out on but that needn’t matter. Breathe deep and smooth and try to rid your mind of worries and responsibilities and instead observe what you see. Note the colours, movements and shapes.
This brief and effortless exercise can help remind and retrain your brain to take in the outside world rather than looking inward so often. Doing so can have a calming effect that, when practised regularly, can result in a more optimistic and engaged connection to the world around us.
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]]>Gift giving is getting harder. Trust us - it’s what we do. In fact, it was one of the driving forces in setting up Out Of The Box Gifts. Modern living has many challenges but we don’t go without an awful lot. Gone are the days when most people would save up in order to buy a new toaster or new bedding or even a handbag. We’re not all frivolous but we don’t wait for the things we need anymore. We buy them on credit or on sale or maybe we borrow from one household fund to support another. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting we’re spoilt of over-indulgent - life is just set up differently now.
Purchasing of second-hand goods is on the rise with clothing apps like Vinted and DePop promoting pre-loved items. Local social networking is also making it easier to pass on unwanted furniture and goods. There is a growing trend in looping - essentially a borrowing system. Subscriptions are also becoming preferable, especially as the digital world continues to take over. Many of us get our music, television, film and news on a subscription basis so we're not buying each other CDs and DVDs anymore. Some of us even get our household and beauty products on monthly subscriptions, particularly those who prefer eco-friendly items not always found on supermarket shelves. This evolving consumer marketplace is very exciting and potentially far more eco-friendly, yet it does make gifting highly challenging.
For example, if you’ve got a modern mum (or mother figure) who streams on Spotify, gets her entertainment from Netflix, has an ‘App for all that’ and has already got everything the way she wants it in the home, then you’re going to need some gift inspiration for mother’s day! We are specialists in thinking outside the box - it’s in our name - so we’ve got you covered, with our top pick mother’s day gifts for mums who have everything.
First things first, what have we got for you? Or rather, for your mum. At Out Of The Box Gifts, we specialise in eco-friendly gift boxes brimming with treats that nurture the soul and inspire lots of valuable self-care. We love how our boxes are unwrapped and the gifts inside each fawned over. How each one is designed to make the receiver feel truly loved and cared for. Yet, what we aim to do is keep that feeling going, which is why amongst the treasures inside each box you’ll find treats that are used over and over again , reminding your loved one to carve out time for themselves beyond their day of celebration. We have a range of gift boxes to inspire calm, to comfort and to uplift. And, of course, we have a special Mother’s Day Gift Box for you. This includes a Bloom aromatherapy candle, a delicious, organic, dark chocolate lolipop and a par of blissfully soft bamboo socks. Additionally, we have a wide range of environmentally friendly products that you can use in our Create Your Own Mother’s Day Gift Box option. Simply navigate through our many suggested mother’s day gift items and add dried flowers, chocolates, calming bath products, candles, herbal tea, soaps and various other keepsakes to your unique gift box. We’ll wrap it all up for you in eco-friendly packaging and post it to you or directly to your mum if you wish. It couldn’t be easier to send the things your mum probably craves most - simple pleasures and items that invoke rituals of self-care and calm.
Did you know that 73% of the population bought craft in 2020? Yes, DIY crafts are back and an ideal gift in our product-rich time-poor way of life. There are so
many crafting trends on the rise and so many gift sets to choose from. Including macrame, mosaic, embroidery, soap making, wax wrap making, art boxes, willow weaving and all sorts. We recommend choosing a craft based on what your mum might actually want to display in her home after the project is completed. However, we also love how crafting and mindfulness have fused to become a merry mixture of creativity and calm. Decent craft kits provide more than a short activity, they help us to live in the moment, become absorbed and focus our attention on creating something for the sake of art and pleasure. That being, it’s easy to see why crafting is increasingly popular.
However, this does mean there are a wealth of craft kits available and it’s important to find the right one because some are far better than others. Some are too simple, some too complicated. Some promote eco-conscious living, such as crafting of bee houses or bird feeders, and others are full of single-use plastic.
What we love most are the gift sets that promote time spent crafting together. Of course, you can just buy two gift sets, meet up and work through your kits together. However, there are a few craft gift sets on the market designed for this, including Together We Craft Macrame Kits by East Four. These can be sent in one package or, if you won’t be seeing each other in person, one can be sent to your mum and one to you. This is a lovely option for those who won’t get to see their mums in person this Mother’s Day, as you can spend time virtually together, sharing a creative activity.
Craft kits are especially good Mother’s Day gifts for mums who have everything but are best kept busy.
I think many of us have a love-hate relationship with personalised gifting. On one hand, it is thoughtful and bespoke and potentially an item that will be long treasured. On the other hand, it has become so common it’s no longer unique but uninspiring and predictable. So, we’re going to let you decide and simply present some of the mother’s day personalised gift options that we found most - intriguing.
So, if your mother or wife hates having to display the children’s artwork around the house and find it less lovingly imperfect and more a disruption to the carefully planned decor, then they probably won’t be a fan of wearing the kid's artwork. However, lovers of abstract art may be big fans of Forever Drawn, who turn your child’s artwork into jewellery. If you’re thinking of a personalised mother’s day gift for your wife from your children this year then make sure you know which camp she falls into on this. Is there one piece of art that has been preserved and treasured above all else? Or does she set a timer for how long each painting must be displayed on the fridge? It has to be said that Forever Drawn does make amazing transformations from scribbles into pendants, bracelets and keychains. Check them out here.
Sometimes the gift we want most on mother’s day is not something that reminds us we’re mothers. Maybe we don’t need a mug to let the world know we have children and maybe being named as the ‘best in the world’ is a bit too much pressure. Besides, as much as we love our kids we have other things to celebrate too right? Whilst Mothering Sunday itself is an opportunity to celebrate mothering skills and show appreciation for our mother figures, the gift doesn’t need to be anything to do with motherhood. It can just be a gift for the lady herself. For a personalised one, you might consider a charm bracelet. The Y2K trend is riding a furious train into 2022 and it’s bringing back charm, or rather charms - jingling ad jangling from the wrist. Charm bracelets are perhaps one of the classic personalised gift options for women who love jewellery that allows them to express themselves. There are some wonderfully original and unique options now by small business to give Pandora a run for their money. Check out Bloom Boutique, for example.
If you do want a buy a gift for your mother or wife, that celebrates family on mother’s day, then there are some lovely options for wall art, mostly found on Etsy and/or Not On The High Street. With personalised artwork that represents your family, usually, you will be asked to provide some details or photographs so that the maker can personalise your art. House drawings, based on your home and including the house and street number are available as illustrations or watercolours. Pebble pictures are also popular (but not too popular to be bespoke) with small stones representing the members of your family. Watercolour wellington boots with their size and style representing each parent and child are ideal for outdoorsy families or, of course, you can just go for a custom family portrait.
Custom family wall art is usually gifted to mums when the family is young to preserve those years in a picture. However, we also love the idea for an older mother whose children have flown the nest. A bespoke illustration of the house you grew up in, with her at the helm, may be the perfect picture to promote shared nostalgia. After all, many mothers consider it their job to make childhood some of the best years of their children’s lives, so showing her how much it meant to you will really mean something to her this mother’s day.
When many of us think of Mother’s Day an image of flowers springs to mind. Especially that of daffodils, tulips and traditionally springtime blooms. However,
as concerns over water usage and use of land increasingly enter our environmental awareness, the cut flower bouquet option is becoming less simple. This is one of the reasons that dried flowers are becoming an increasingly popular eco-friendly alternative. Now, when we say eco-friendly we’re not claiming they’re flawless because they don’t last forever (both a good and bad thing) and they, unfortunately, require treating with chemical sprays to preserve them. However, they can last a long time and they don’t require watering. Apart from this, dried flowers can be absolutely stunning and compliment a boho, modern or vintage style home. You could certainly be forgiven for picturing drab brown dry bunches of bark here, yet dried flowers can come in an array of colours and textures too. In fact, dried bouquets can be more diverse and interesting than cut flowers, with feathered flowers, wildflowers, green eucalyptus and preserved colours. There is a great guide to dried flower sellers and options here.
As far as Mother’s Day gifts for mums who have everything, dried flower bouquets give you one less thing to buy your mum every year too!
I don’t know why but doughnuts appear to be fast becoming the new food to gift. Actually, I know exactly why - they’re absolutely mouth-wateringly scrumptious! I’m not sure what happened to the doughnut. They used to be sugar covered squidgy pillows with a rich jam filling and it was crazy to think they could be improved upon. Even when American versions started appearing I was not convinced by these iced alternatives (with no jam). Yet, in the past couple of years, doughnuts have reached a whole new level. Coming in all sorts of wild and wonderful flavour combinations, with vegan options quite readily available, doughnuts are experiencing a renaissance and much of it is coming through the letterbox. Yes, doughnuts are being sent by mail as the new food treat to gift and it’s taking hold. Most likely, because that amount of goodness can bring on the sugar shame but there’s a loophole - it doesn’t count if it’s a gift, right?
Planet Doughnut offer nationwide delivery and over 60 flavours to choose from. What started as a husband and wife run business delivering from the family car, has become a door-to-door doughnut offering across the UK. Yumbles also offer a variety of doughnuts from various makers, many of which are vegan. Including vegan doughnut varieties such as chocolate orange, Bischoff, toffee apple and matcha, strawberry and lemon. The doughnut box by post option is one of those mother’s day gifts for mums who have everything, and want something more than the usual chocolate selection box.
As supposed natural nurturers it’s no surprise that, in the past, benefits of holiday celebrations were traditionally heaped on the women. It would usually be us getting the evening off from cooking, we’d be able to justify purchasing a new outfit and be gifted with something we wouldn’t have been able to buy ourselves. Valentine’s Day may well be for couples but in years gone by it’s been women who have been the ones to be ‘spoilt.’ And rightly so, considering many were ostracised from the workplace and expected to stay home to cook and clean every other day of the year. Now that we live in a more progressive society with most couples both earning and sharing the housework, that’s no longer the case though. Right?
Evolution Money reports that men spend twice the amount on Valentine's Day gifts than women with the average being £40. Perhaps it’s because Valentine’s gifts tend to have a romantic tone which is less associated in the media with male gift preferences. There’s an idea that men get less enjoyment from chocolates and flowers than women which, of course, might be true for some, but not for others. Yet, our preconditioned perceptions can’t help but influence our buying decisions. Still, since Valentine's Day is a shared celebration it's only fair the men in our lives get some TLC (and gifts) too. So, whilst I encourage you to dismiss tradition and select gifts regardless of outdated stereotypes, it occurred to me that some women may be searching for unique valentine’s ideas for men in 2022.
At Out Of The Box Gifts, we reckon we’re pretty good at thinking up some unique gift ideas. So, ensure the man in your life has a Valentine’s Day to remember with our unique Valentine’s ideas for men:
With many of us having missed going out during the pandemic, Valentine’s Day might be the perfect time to get back out into the world. You may find that it’s more important right now to prioritise experiences and time spent together over gifting. In 2022 Valentine’s Day falls on a Monday which isn’t the best day to celebrate but there’s no reason not to move the celebrations to the weekend. After all, we’re thinking outside the box here.
Valentine’s Experience Days
Who says you have to do a candlelit dinner for Valentine’s Day? As lovely as a meal out can be, we often book a table at a fancy restaurant because it’s traditional rather than it being what we might necessarily want to do. Since this is a shared celebration it’s important to find an activity that you’ll both enjoy. Maybe that’s go-karting, a visit to a National Trust property, an escape room, indoor skydiving, gin tasting or any number of possibilities.
There are plenty of ideas on gift experience voucher websites and you’ll find lots of ideas there for how to spend a more unique Valentine’s Day. Although, if you can book with the event supplier please do. It’s been a tough couple of years for events companies and buying direct is a great way to show support.
Comedy Night
If you’re looking for an evening activity in an atmosphere that’s not a restaurant then a comedy night could be the way to go. Most cities and many towns have a comedy club showcasing up-and-coming stand-up comedians. As well as supporting your local arts and entertainment industry you’re sure to have a fun evening. Some comedy clubs serve pre-performance food and there’s neither a requirement to dress up nor a reason not to should you feel like it.
Most comedy evenings will showcase more than one comedian, so if one set doesn’t tickle your funny bone then another will soon follow. If audience participation isn’t your thing then arrive early to avoid being seated in the front row.
Restaurant Quality Dinner At Home On Valentine’s Day
Why would you venture outside in freezing February when you enjoy restaurant-quality cuisine at home? No, we’re not suggesting a Deliveroo but something a bit more special.
Have a Valentine’s Day Green Chef meal, and enjoy making it together for an experience as well as a meal that you wouldn't usually cook, served up in the comfort of your own home. Another meal kit for plant-based foodies, Gauthier’s Vegan Box is hard to beat. Containing eight dishes by award-winning vegan chef, Alexis Gauthier, the box comes ready to eat at home and can be ordered with wine pairings.
Couple’s National Trust Membership
Many of us this year are understandably keen to get out more and explore the UK. Especially if that means spending quality time with one another too. Why not invest in a one-year couple’s National Trust membership for £120 (or £10 per month)? With over 500 places to choose from, being a National Trust member may inspire you to spend more weekends venturing out and around the UK and learning, exploring and enjoying our rich history and beautiful landscape together.
Membership gains you free entry, free parking, the National Trust Handbook (so you can start planning your adventures), the magazine and access to their online member's area. You’ll even receive a £15 National Trust Gift Voucher!
Framed Art Print
This is a lovely gift for couples who live together. The style and decor in your home is something that you will share, even if your tastes differ. True, this can be a real point of contention. However, it can also bring couples together. There is little that makes one feel as accepted and cared for as when a partner agrees to put up with some sentimental item that makes their eyes hurt because it’s treasured by you.
Selecting and framing an art print your partner will love is not only a thoughtful gift but also reflects the warmth and growth that comes when building a life together. Hopefully, you will be able to find a piece of art you will both enjoy having displayed in your home. There’s plenty of choice at Fy. One thing that’s particularly lovely about art as a gift is that it is a daily reminder of the person who gifted it.
Valentine’s Day Hampers And Valentine’s Food Gifts
Man or woman, it doesn’t matter, everyone loves getting food presents. A hamper is a great gift for a Valentine you don’t live with and they can be both romantic and unique. How about a hamper full of sweets? A vegan hamper for plant-based Valentines? Or a brew-your-own beer kit? Or go outside the hamper box and send a box of doughnuts which are fast becoming the new luxury food of love. Check out this box of six super-indulgent unique flavoured Vegan doughnuts from Planet Doughnut. *Warning - your mouth will water.
Out Of The Box Gifts - Sustainable Valentine’s Day Gift Boxes For Men
Naturally, Out Of The Box has a range of self-care promoting sustainable gift selections for men. Our unique Gift Box For Cyclists is perfect for Valentine’s Day for the lycra-loving man in your life. Otherwise, the Men’s Resilience Gift Box is ideal for the modern man, or check out our sustainable Gift Box For Men designed in collaboration with AWOL Mountain Wearr.
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All those who move over to a vegan diet have at least one food item that must have a decent substitute. I’ve heard some say they are grateful every day that vegan mayonnaise has got so tasty and others have been rescued with a Beyond Burger when the meat cravings have hit. However, for quite a few of us, the ability to stick to a plant-based diet is all about whether vegan chocolate is good enough.
Is Chocolate Vegan?
Some chocolate is vegan. Chocolate is made from cacao beans and so in essence is entirely plant-based. However, many chocolatiers add milk during the cooking process to enhance that creaminess. In fact, the words so often associated with chocolate - velvety, smooth, silky, creamy - are often a result of milk having been added. However, that’s not to say that vegan chocolate is no good. In fact, vegan chocolate has come so far in terms of taste that many non-vegans are enjoying it too.
Does Vegan Chocolate Taste Good?
Without cow’s milk added, the rich beautifully bitter taste of the cacao bean is more prominent. Vegan chocolate, such as Seed & Bean, tastes more like dark chocolate so chances are, if you’re a fan of dark chocolate then you’ll probably enjoy vegan chocolate.
If your preference is less intense then there may still be a vegan chocolate option for you. H!P, for example, use oat milk to make their chocolate lighter and creamier.
So, whether you’re buying chocolate for a vegan friend, needing vegan chocolate for Veganuary, or are plant-based but still haven’t found a brand of vegan chocolate that sets your taste-buds tingling, we’ve selected a few of our favourites here as a guide to the best vegan chocolate.
Fetcha Chocolates
One criticism of vegan chocolate is that it’s too crumbly. That, without the milk to cream the cacao beans, the texture fails to be properly smooth. Fetcha Chocolates hand make their chocolates in Scotland and produce the tastiest range of flavours. Their classic Trio is my favourite. Why? With fillings of non-dairy milk chocolate mousse, a diary free milk chocolate salted caramel and cocoa butter with honeycomb, these chocolates are not only delicious they also look great and are super ethical. This chocolate combo makes this vegan chocolate dessert worthy.
Seed & Bean
Seed & Bean’s packaging may look summery but we find this the best vegan chocolate for those dark winter nights. It’s rich, hard and flavourful. Seed & Bean chocolate is 100% organic and mostly fairtrade. They are a company built on being as ethical as possible, so it’s no wonder they boast a varied vegan range.
There are a number of unique and delicate flavour combinations to suit both a sweet and sophisticated pallet. We love the Lemon and Cardamom vegan chocolate for an unusual warming citrus taste, and the Raspberry and Coconut comes with a soft coconut creaminess and pleasantly sharp aftertaste.
The flavourings offset the natural bitterness of the dark chocolate which is brittle yet firm both in texture and taste. Seed & Bean’s vegan chocolate is not the type you scoff at in front of Netflix, but rather the type of luxury chocolate you break off and indulge a little in each evening, because the intensity of taste means a few squares is all you need to satisfy.
H!P’s Oat Milk Chocolate is the closest tasting to the cow’s milk chocolate rivals we can find. We dare non-vegan chocolate consumers to tell the difference. If you’re not a big fan of darker chocolate, this one is for you. It also comes in totally biodegradable packaging. What initially looks like a plastic wrapper inside the box is actually made from compostable wood pulp.
Using oat milk, H!P has managed to produce a dairy-free, palm-oil free, gluten-free delicious vegan chocolate in sustainable packaging. Due to its growing popularity, you can also find H!P chocolate in many supermarkets.
So, I’m guessing you’re after our flavour recommendations? Well, the classic is great, especially if you’re looking for something akin to non-vegan chocolate. If you’re looking for something a little bit different then reach for the Salty Pretzel chocolate because, as if salt and cacao wasn’t enough of a great combination, H!P has taken it into elevated territory with added pretzel pieces.
And that’s our short but sweet guide to the best vegan chocolate, in our humble opinion. But don’t take our word for it. Go ahead and make it your mission to try as many varieties of vegan chocolate as you can and make sure you report back to us. Besides, most vegan chocolate is lower in calories and in sugar so why not indulge? Purely for research, obviously!
Pssst - are you a hot chocolate lover? Check out our new Calm Cocoa drinking chocolate, with guided meditation included!
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Ask anyone on a plant-based diet the question they most often get asked and I’ll bet it’s ‘what do you eat?’ That’s not a silly question. In the west, we’re so used to a meat-heavy diet that it’s challenging at first to imagine meals without animal products. Yet, as we’re becoming more aware of the environmental impact that high meat consumption has had, many of us are considering incorporating more plant-based food into our diet.
It’s not only for the sake of the planet but for our health also. Although it’s a leap to argue that meat is bad for you, much of it is now processed and there are signs that point to us eating far more than we need to. More to the point, most of us are not eating enough veg. Reaching for more for the green stuff can only be good for us and I’ve prioritised foods packed with calcium, protein, fibre and vitamins because it is important to be mindful of nutrition when making any changes to your diet.
So, let’s look at some easy plant-based meal swaps.
Milk and Butter
Milk and butter are a good place to start in your move to easy plant-based meal swaps. Plant-based alternatives to milk can be a bit marmite, people either love them or hate them. However, there are plenty of options to try including soy, oat, almond or even coconut.The tastiest and most sustainable in my opinion is Oat Milk.
Butter tends to be a fairly simple swap as olive oil and plant-based butter has been available for some time. If you hated these as a child then give them another go, they’ve improved a lot, I promise.
Chicken for Chickpeas
Love your chicken sandwich? If so I’m guessing that chickpeas don’t sound like they’re going to measure up, right? Well yes, chickpeas on their own aren’t exactly packed with flavour, but they are incredibly versatile.
I love coronation chickpeas. All you need is to boil them until they’re a little mushy, then add vegan mayonnaise and curry powder. Diced fried onions and sultanas give a little extra punch too. Coronation chickpeas work well in sandwiches and salads. Plus, chickpeas contain iron and are cholesterol-free!
Beef for Beans
Trade your beef mince chilli-con-Carne for one made of black beans and you’ll be getting a good hit of essential fibre, as well as some protein. Black beans take in flavour really well and have a meaty texture. This dish goes great with rice but, in my opinion, even better with a roasted sweet potato which will ramp up the nutrition in this meal even more.
Black beans are also amazing in tacos and burritos. Canned black beans don’t need to be cooked for long to take in flavour and cooking them with agave, tomato paste, stock and spices create a great barbeque style sauce that’s perfect in a wrap with rocket and red peppers.
Plant-Based Asian Cooking
British food tends to rely on the old staple of meat and two veg, so transitioning to plant-based options can be challenging. In many ways, it’s easier to start with other cuisines where the lack of meat is less noticeable.
Stir-fry doesn’t need much reimaging. Simply add more variety of vegetables and leave out the meat. With all those flavours you probably won’t even notice. If you are aiming for a full vegan meal then you’ll need to swap the soy sauce for tamari and the honey for agave. With all that sweetness and saltiness not only will you not miss the meat, but you might actually find the variety of texture that vegetables provide more interesting.
Indian cuisine in India is actually more often vegetarian. We’ve incorporated meat to suit a western diet, but that makes it very easy to take out again. There are plenty of great recipes available for vegetarian curry but I love a good lentil dahl. It’s so warming on cold winter nights and it’s not too tricky to make. Plus, it’s usually a one saucepan dish which saves on the washing up and it’s ideal for when friends come for dinner as you can make it just before and you’re not stuck in the kitchen coordinating multiple meal parts.
Tofu or not tofu?
Tofu has had a bad rep for too long. Yet, when cooked properly it’s a wonderful replacement for meat and makes for an easy plant-based meal swap. The key is ensuring you remove the water to maintain the best texture, so gently squeeze and use paper towels to prepare the tofu before cooking.
Tofu may be thought of as a food for puritans but it’s actually best when made a little bit naughty. Satay sauce, sweet and sour and salt and pepper marinades make tofu a tasty treat. Try them on skewers with vegetables or make yourself a poke bowl with sticky rice, edamame beans and sticky sauce-covered tofu.
Other easy plant-based meal swaps
There are many other easy plant-based meal swaps, for lunches, breakfasts, snacks and dinner. You’ll even find ones that will keep the kids happy. Whether you’re looking to do meat-free Mondays, Veganuary or are fully transitioning to a plant-based diet the most important thing will be your mindset. Those who view it as an adventure and opportunity to try new food and learn new cooking styles always seem to do the best. Focus not on the meat you’re missing out on and instead on all those amazing food you’re getting to try.
]]>Are you looking for ways to make Christmas more sustainable in 2021? The slow move to more sustainable living is becoming a sprint as COP26 and the environmentalists have highlighted the fast approach of the climate crisis.
Whilst it’s ultimately up to business and world leaders to make the decisions that will protect our future, many are asking what they, as individuals, can do. Switch to electric cars? Better insulate our homes? There are many changes we can make, the effects of which make for many heated dinner table debates. Yet, what most of us agree on is that we tend to overdo. We simply consume too much.
So, with the season of shopping descending upon us, we’re looking at how to make Christmas more sustainable.
Without losing the spirit of giving that makes the holiday so special, here are some top ways to make Christmas more sustainable:
Introduce Quality Control
We use the term ‘sustainable’ so regularly now we’re in real danger of being greenwashed by marketing. The problem is, the term ‘sustainable’ has all sorts of connotations, including that it is going to be more expensive and that the products won’t be as good.
Instead, let’s consider ‘quality control’. Truly sustainable products tend to be very well-made being that they are expected to last for longer. So, yes, sometimes they are more expensive.
Consequently, at Christmas, to be more environmentally conscious we need to focus on quality, not quantity. Especially when it comes to kid’s presents.
I hereby give you the approval to be ‘one of those parents’ who request plastic-free eco-friendly gifts only.
Not a parent? Make sure you mention that sustainability is important to you when asked for your Christmas list too.
Handmade Soap
Generally, I find those who tell you it’s ‘ever so easy to make your own’ tend to seriously overestimate my crafting abilities. Let’s face it, most made-at-home gifts are well-intended amateur items that never get used. Therefore, not so eco-friendly.
Except, I am totally sold on handmade soap as a gift because it really is very easy to make and it really does get used. The simplest way to make soap is to use a Melt and Pour base which means it’s not 100% natural, but it’s close. If using Melt and Pour then there’s not much else you need and you can create some great scented, beautiful soap bars in no time at all.
Apart from generally being cheaper than buying soap, the eco-friendly purpose of this is to encourage the use of hard soap. Bar soap is just as effective in sanitisation and there’s less to no packaging.
Love the minimal packaging, hard soap idea but not the DIY part? We have some amazing, gorgeously scented, all-natural soap available for just £2 per bar, including Lavender Soap and Lemongrass and Poppy Seed.
Promote The Planet
It is said that the best gift is that of education and this is especially true for raising awareness about the environment. For those interested in living more sustainably, a book about this can be perfect and could help them make small desired changes.
We like The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide but there are plenty to choose from.
There are also lots of lovely illustrated books for children to help them learn about the importance of protecting the plant. Greta And The Giants is a great easy to understand story about how children can make a real difference. It’s also beautifully optimistic which is important when introducing children to these big issues.
Eco Christmas Wrapping Paper
I’m going to go on about throwaway gift wrapping paper until I no longer see it in any stores! Many people are not aware that most gift wrap is not recyclable. Full of microplastics, gift wrap often has added glitter or treatments applied to the paper and we throw away 227,000 miles of the stuff every year.
Brown parcel paper is the simplest most affordable alternative but if you’re discouraged by how dull it is then there are ways to pretty it up. Use excess Christmas decorations and ribbons you can reuse each year. Or, decorate the paper itself with stamps - the kids will love helping with this!
Alternatively, fabric wrap has become popular, with gifts being wrapped in patterned scarves or Furoshiki gift wrapping. It’s counter-productive though to buy new fabric so, if you can, use what you have or buy recycled materials.
Go Vintage With Your Decorations
Every year Christmas shops pop up selling cheap decorations, most of which have been unethically produced and inevitably end up in landfill. Still, Christmas is traditionally about bringing that which brings us joy into our homes to brighten our mood in the long winter. So if you, like me, love a Christmassy house, then there are plenty of wonderful Christmas decorations looking for new homes.
Try your Facebook Marketplace, e-bay or free-cycle second-hand decorations. After many years of excess, there are so many items out there in wonderful condition being cleared out so you don’t have to buy new.
Vintage decorations can also be a beautiful way to decorate your home and Christmas tree. Plus, they tend to come in a wide variety of colours, be more unique and each feels as if it carries a story.
Check out these Vintage Christmas Decorations from the 1950s and 1960s on Etsy.
Party Dress Swap Party
Seeking a new outfit for that special Christmas party? It’s lovely to get something new, but something new can mean something that’s new to you. Charity shops are one idea but if you’re using them often then it may not feel special enough. Plus, it’s time-consuming going through racks of clothing that isn’t your style. Instead, why not add another fun event to the Christmas calendar and organise a clothes swapping party with friends?
The concept is simple. Invite all your friends and maybe even ask them to invite someone else too, then make it a ‘bring your own’ for drinks, put some music on, open the Kettle Chips and make an evening of it. Oh, and don’t forget the most essential part. Ask everyone to bring along an outfit (or multiple outfits) they no longer want and keep your fingers crossed they’ll be something you love. Many of us have statement outfits we loved but won’t wear again. Or something we bought that never suited us so was never worn. You may find your perfect Christmas Party outfit and, even if you don't, you’ll have the most fun you’ve ever had shopping.
Reusuable Advent Calandars
A staggering 16.5 million advent calendars are bought in the UK every year. That’s a lot of single-use plastic and, as much as I LOVE chocolate and watching the kids open their daily doors with such excitement, there is another way.
Why not make, or buy, a reusable advent calendar that you can bring out year after year? New isn’t always better. That’s why the children love to see the Elf On The Shelf return each year (the parents less so) and their stockings come out of the attic. Some items just hold memories and that’s why we keep them and even pass them down the generations. Your advent calendars can be the same.
Aside from which, having your own reusable ones means you can fill them with whatever you like. Some kids prefer candy canes, small gifts (maybe not every day) or they need dairy-free or nut-free chocolate.
Here are some great ideas for reusable advent calendars to make your Christmas more sustainable.
Refillable Toiletries
Give your friends a gift and introduce them to the world of refillable. This won’t work for everyone as it’s necessary to live near to a refill store. Once you’ve located one near to your friend or family member, purchase some fancy glass jars/bottles and fill them up in-store with hair care products and bubble bath. Don’t forget to include a card letting them know where they can get the bottles refilled once they’ve run out.
We love this idea because it’s a lovely pamper gift but might also help your loved one form a life-long habit that could drastically cut down on their plastic waste. Plus, skin and hair care products at refill stores tend to be eco-friendly and all-natural.
Give Experiences
What do you give the person who has everything? How about a memory?
Gift-giving is getting harder these days because in the modern world we don’t tend to wait for the things we need. Many of us though are working hard and spinning multiple plates and what we need most is a well-deserved break.
Now that the world is opening up again and moving toward (hopefully) a post-pandemic state, most of us are keen to get out there and experience more again. This Christmas why not give theatre tickets, experience gift certificates or even book a class or workshop for a loved one.
Subscription boxes are also gaining popularity this year, especially for children, and there’s plenty of eco-friendly kits to choose from.
Perhaps you’re friends and family have missed seeing you due to multiple lockdowns in the past couple of years and what they’d most love is a lovely dinner out with you in the New Year. Plus, you’ll likely be supporting businesses that suffered during the pandemic so you’ll be giving them a boost too.
Shop Small
No, I don’t mean buy less, although that’s probably wise too. I mean try to buy from smaller retailers. Big businesses aren’t always bad, many are becoming more sustainable by the day. Still, there are many smaller retailers who've launched their businesses on sustainable values. That means they put the planet at the heart of what they do and since they don’t usually make the kinds of profits that larger retailers enjoy, because they usually source products ethically, I’m big on championing small ethical businesses at Christmas.
Yes, having a small ethical business myself, I have a vested interest in this but hey, that’s why I launched Out Of The Box Gifts. I wanted to make gift-giving a guilt-free experience. So if your Christmas is about sharing and giving back, then start with buying from those who are working towards making positive changes in the retail world to safeguard the future of the planet.
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Naturally, I love a hamper for Christmas. These days it can be so difficult to pick out gifts for people. We don’t live the lives generations prior to us did where they waited for the things they need. Mostly, though we may want more expensive versions of what we have, we replace things when they break and we buy the affordable things when able. Books, CDs and DVDs were popular gifts for a while but now we have subscriptions and Kindles to access these.
Often, what really makes a difference is the little things we don’t always make time to reward ourselves with. Those extra treats that uplift us on hard days.
That’s why Christmas Hampers are making a comeback, especially for the eco-friendly. Sustainable friends and family members can be more tricky to buy for and sustainable consumers have to balance gift buying with their environmental consciousness. If you make an eco-friendly Christmas hamper though, you can select everything you put in there. So the gift basket is not only reflective of your values but highly personal too.
However, finding things to put in your hamper can be challenging so we’ve put together this useful guide on how to make an eco-friendly Christmas Hamper. As with most things we do, it’s a little unique and completely eco-friendly.
What To Use For A Christmas Hamper Basket
First, comes the basket itself. Of course, you can use a cardboard box like one from a veg box delivery. Commonly, these would be covered in sparkly Christmas paper but since most gift wrap is non-recyclable you might opt for brown parcel paper and decorate with foliage or stamps, or else buy a decorated cardboard storage box that the hamper receiver can use again.
Wicker baskets really are the most beautiful option though, in our opinion. These can be used over and over for more hampers, picnic baskets or for an attractive storage basket around the home.
What To Use For Christmas Hamper Filling
You’ll also want to create a soft filling for which to place your gifts. Shredded Kraft paper can be bought online, find one that’s made from recycled materials and has that natural look. Wood Wool is also a lovely, natural filler. Tissue paper is a good option but can be expensive and although it is recyclable many local councils do not accept tissue paper in household recycling. Although you can find compostable tissue paper so you can pop it in the compost.
What To Wrap Your Christmas Hamper With
The best and most sustainable option to wrap your hamper in is compostable tissue paper. Hessian and twine can also make a lovely, natural looking and sustainable wrapping option. You can decorate this with some holly and dried sliced orange for a lovely, festive feel.
Plastic-Free Gifts For Your Christmas Hamper
At Out Of The Box, we always focus on the feeling one might get when opening or using their gifts. In choosing our selection we handpick only the gifts we truly believe will uplift and bring either joy or calm. In these busy times, these are the pick-me-ups we need most. When you stimulate these feelings you are not just giving a gift, you are creating moments to be treasured.
What such gifts can do this?
The simple things. The ones that aren’t all that expensive but seem a luxury to buy for yourself - candles, all-natural bath salts and cosmetics, herbal tea sets, chocolate, lavender oils and such.
Luxury food items are often welcome, especially those more unique ones like chilli jams and vegan sweet treats. Plus a bottle of wine or a zero-alcohol alternative.
Mostly, Christmas Hampers should be filled with feel-good indulgences that make us feel special in the little ways that really count. Especially through the long dark cold month of January.
Out Of The Box Ideas
Since you’re planning to make an eco-friendly Christmas hamper you don’t have to follow the usual rules of what goes in. Why not make it even more personal with a gift or two that is unique to your loved one. Something that supports a hobby they have such as a mindfulness colouring book or a Brew Your Own Beer Kit?
Christmas hampers can also be made for a whole family and include gifts for children such as craft sets or eco colouring pencils. Here at Out Of The Box we also have plenty of gifts for men that would be ideal in a Family Christmas Hamper. Such as our Bergamot and Cedarwood Soak or solid shampoo and body wash for men.
There are so many special things that you can include in your Christmas hamper, yet, what will mean the most is the thought you’ve put into the selection you’ve put together. As a gift box company, we experience this joy every day and get to enjoy the lovely feedback we get from delighted customers. We wish you all the best in putting together your Christmas hampers and don’t forget to check out what we have in store too.
]]>Nobody can expect children to sit still and meditate, it’s hard enough for most adults, but there are some wonderful ways to harness focus using calming mindful techniques.
Here are a few of my tried and tested calming activities for children:
Drawing and Doodling
It’s not only artists who can use art to express themselves. We are all able to do it and it doesn’t matter if the finished work is ‘good’, only that it’s helped us focus on the activity. When we dedicate our minds to one act completely we tap into an almost meditative state which has a calming and stress releasing effect. This works particularly well for children because, with limited frames of reference, it can be more challenging for them to articulate their feelings.
All you need is a piece of paper and some pencils. The important thing is not to provide too much structure but to allow your child to draw freely. However, the decision of what to draw can be a barrier in getting to the benefits of the activity. So, if this is a challenge then a doodle book may be a good solution.
Our Doodle Book is a children’s activity book full of positive drawing and colouring exercises, designed to calm and promote gratitude.
Affirmations
Affirmations have been used for centuries to help us believe in ourselves and realign our mindset. Many highly successful people claim to owe a debt of gratitude to affirmation practises. For children, a simple stripped down version of affirmations can be used to fuel positivity and gratitude.
Why not create a positivity jar with your child? Simply decorate an old coffee or mason jar and cut up post-it note size squares of coloured card. On each card write a message that expresses optimism, is a reminder of something to be grateful for, or an uplifting thought or fact. This can be a wonderful activity to do with your child to start a discussion about the things that make us happy and what we have to be grateful for. Fold each card with a message within and fill up the jar with them. Your child can pick out a message a day, perhaps in the morning to help start the day with optimism, or you may resolve to use the jar at times when your child needs an emotional pick-up.
If the idea of coming up with your own messages fills you with dread then you’re not the only one, which is our Mind Cards are so popular. A beautiful box of decorated cards, each with a positive message. These cards are designed to help children to keep calm, focus on the present and process their feelings.
Five Finger Breathing
This is a very simple technique that helps children who are feeling overwhelmed or anxious to calm down by focusing on their breath and movement.
For this technique to be effective when most needed, it’s a good idea to practise this calming activity every now and then. Simply stretch out one hand and, with the pointed finger of your other hand, trace slowly up and down around each finger from your thumb to your little finger and back again. As you move upwards, breathe in through your nose, and as you move downwards, breathe out through your mouth. Trace the outline of your hand at least once, more if necessary. Teaching your child this exercise will help them to focus on their breathing, restoring a rhythm that is fluid, mindful and calming. Slowing our breathing also slows our heart rate, thereby switching off stress responses.
Rainbow Walk
Many parents would agree that sometimes distraction is the best method of avoiding difficult situations. Generally, and it’s always difficult to generalise when it comes to kids, children have fairly short attention spans. As frustrating as this can be it can also be a godsend. Especially when you sense your child might be overstimulated or getting upset. A wonderful way to divert their focus is to play what I call the Rainbow Walk game.
This works best outdoors. Simply ask your child to look around them and spot objects that match each colour of the rainbow - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and indigo. This brings them back to the present and is a quick and fun calming activity for children.
Nature Treasure Hunt
Nature has some amazing calming effects. Being in the fresh air helps us to breathe deeper and detoxify our lungs. Sunshine is not only full of vitamin D but also promotes serotonin release. Plus, with our increasing reliance on digital screens, it’s important to stretch not just the muscles, but also our eyesight. Yes, spending time in nature is undoubtedly good for health. So it’s no surprise that some of the best calming activities for children take place outdoors.
A Nature Treasure Hunt encourages children to really immerse themselves in their surroundings. Download our Nature Treasure Hunt or create your own and head out for a stroll to seek out nature's creations on our doorstep.
Alternatively, download the Geocaching App and join the worldwide adventure to seek out the geocaches. This one will get you walking and exploring out in nature, but it also connects you to complete strangers through a shared adventure. Read more about geocaching here
Showing Kindness
We all know it’s important to instil gratitude in our children. Yet, gratitude isn’t really about teaching children to say thank you, even if they don’t mean it, and guilt-tripping them into finishing dinner by telling them there are starving children in the world. Real gratitude is about living in the present and genuinely feeling grateful without the condition of comparing ourselves with others.
Gratitude has enormous benefits for children, In fact, the Journal of Happiness Studies reported in 2019 that gratitude is linked to happiness in children by age five. Showing kindness also has a butterfly effect. Even if it’s just smiling at a stranger. You never know what difference a little kindness might make to someone’s day. Plus, it makes you feel good too.
So show your children the power of kindness. Ask them what small act of kindness they can carry out each week, or each day even. It could be as simple as holding the door for someone at the shop or making a card for a neighbour. Practising gratitude through acts of kindness can encourage friendships, increase confidence and boost positivity. All things that are valuable components of happiness in children.
Crafting For Calm
Crafting is another calming activity for children that helps to bring them into the present. Focusing on one activity has a detoxifying effect on the mind and the ability to tune in on a task is a valuable skill to learn in childhood.
There are plenty of simple, eco-friendly, minimum fuss crafting ideas online. Use items from your recycling bin or utilise what’s around you.
These funky cactus pots are just painted stones:
Or, you could order an eco-friendly craft kit, such as our Create A Glider Kit or our Create A Dragonfly Kit
If you’re looking for calming activities for children that can also alleviate anxieties, then making worry dolls which your child can then use to communicate their worries to, could be a perfect idea.
Calming Yoga For Kids
Yoga has such a positive effect on children that it’s even being introduced in schools. Combining movement with breathwork, yoga is a practice that teaches us to live in the present and releases stress and tension.
Yoga classes for children are one area that the digital world can really assist with, since ‘yoga on demand’ is a big advantage. There are some great yoga classes for children on YouTube, but a real favourite is Cosmic Kids , which incorporates popular children’s stories and film themes.
Clam Brain , available on Sky or to stream from NowTV, is a great programme for teaching children some mindfulness basics, calming techniques and a bit of yoga too.
But First, Your Oxygen Mask
What do you buy for the man who has everything?
Gift shopping for men who have everything is hard! Scrap that…shopping for men in general is hard!
I’m often asked for ideas for men’s presents so I have really enjoyed putting my new collection of gifts for him together, along with the help of a few pals who have been helping me choose and test all the products!
We’ve created a collection of the best plant based gifts for men which are perfect for when you need to make your loved ones smile with a thoughtful gift, encouraging them to have some down time and spend some time on themselves.
A box full of thoughtfully chosen treats sent to their door is the perfect gift for men you don’t know what to buy for! Via Build Your Own Gift Box for Him you can choose exactly what you want to go in a gift box, we’ll wrap it and send it direct to their door. All of our gifts are gifts that can be consumed and enjoyed and that feel like a real treat, so they won’t sit on a shelf gathering dust.
We have a varied collection of gifts so your gift box can be tailored just for him including; bamboo socks, bath soak, chocolate, coffee, tea, body wash, plus many more, and to boost, they are all eco friendly and ethically produced.
We also have gift boxes that are ready to go:
A bundle of gifts that’s perfect for a cycling enthusiast. With a pair of Doris and Dude bamboo socks with bike design, a pouch of ethically sourced, single origin coffee by Forest Edge Roasting Co, a bar of Oat Milk Salted Pretzel chocolate by HIP and a bottle of BAVE Frankincense and Black Pepper bath soak designed to help ease aching muscles and cramps and improve blood circulation as well as being good for the skin and respiratory system and enhancing cognition and being an anti-inflammatory.
This gift box for men includes a bottle of BAVE bath soak with Bergamot and Cedarwood blended to help reduce stress, decrease hyperactivity, reduce levels of anxiety and relax the body, as well as a bar of deliciously creamy Oat Milk chocolate by HIP and a Kanelbullar candle with cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla.
Plant Based Elevenses Gift Box
This gift box is one for those who love a cuppa with a snack! With your choice of NEMI tea bags, a pouch of Muddy Paws single origin coffee, a bar of HIP Oat Milk Chocolate, a bar of Seed and Bean Chilli and Lime chocolate and a tube of Cajuu Lake Natron Salt seasoned cashew nuts it’s a perfect gift for a plant based friend who is difficult to buy for!
Sending a collection of gifts that can be used and enjoyed but feel like a real treat is the way to go for a thoughtful gift that will make him smile.
]]>If you toss and turn all through the night, or just can’t drop off some evenings, you could try some natural solutions. From aromatherapy oils to bedtime tea, they could help you to relax, unwind and get some much needed rest to help you regain healthy sleep habits.
Routine is super important to me, particularly for sleep. Going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day can have a very beneficial impact on the quality of sleep, as well as the ability to drift off. As soon as I start to push my sleep time back (Netflix binge anyone?!) I notice a huge difference in how long it takes me to get to sleep at night. However, it’s not only the just before bedtime routine or time that has an effect; what we do in the run up to bedtime and even during the day can have an impact. Think about what you’re eating for the few hours before bed, if it’s high in carbs or contains caffeine it won’t do your sleep any favours. How about screens? I try and ban screens for at least an hour before bed, but I work in IT and online so sometimes this one's difficult! When I’ve been on my screens too late I make sure I meditate, else I know I will lie there for hours trying to switch off.
2. Aromatherapy
You may know that many of our products are based on aromatherapy, that’s because it really works! I love the Sleepy Head Room and Pillow spray mist by Made By Coopers Apothecary, which is a mixture of lavender, frankincense and chamomile, for a blissful night’s sleep (featured in our Good Night’s Sleep Gift Box). I also have a diffuser and often put a blend on for a couple of hours before bed; Lavender, Geranium and Frankincense or Bergamot, Sage and Frankincense are personal favourite blends.
There is a reason people recommend we incorporate a warm bath into our baby and toddler bedtime routine, a warm bath before bed can be so relaxing and help you to kick off that bedtime ritual. Studies suggest that the ideal time for a pre-bed bath is around 90 minutes before you go to sleep. It’s also a great way to get yourself off screens and to completely switch off for that vital time before you sleep. Use bath salts or a relaxing lavender bath bomb and take in a cup of sleepy tea for added relaxation.
Meditating has changed my life! I would definitely recommend a meditation before bed, it’s a great habit to get into and really helps to switch off from all of those thoughts that keep you awake. I use the Headspace App and highly recommend it, you can choose how long you want the meditation to last and there are so many to choose from. I’m not sure I’ve ever got to the end of one as I fall asleep pretty quickly! There’s a 30 day trial available if you want to give it a go. I love using a lavender eye pillow for meditation also. If you’re not ready to take the leap into meditation (you’ll not look back!) then you could also try listening to soothing music, reading a book or writing down your thoughts before you try to drift off.
Unsurprisingly, keeping active has an impact on our sleep. According to Sleepstation, “Regular exercisers sleep better and feel less sleepy during the day. Regular exercise also improves the symptoms of insomnia and sleep apnoea and increases the amount of time you spend in the deep, restorative stages of sleep”. Timing is also important, try to finish vigorous workouts at least three hours before bedtime though relaxing, low-impact exercises such as yoga or gentle stretching in the evening can help promote sleep.
So, there you have it. My top tips for a blissful night’s sleep! I hope these help if you’re suffering with a lack of sleep or struggling to drift off. I’d love to hear if they help and if you have any tips I’ve missed?
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As a small business, offering large discounts doesn't really work, my margins are low as I try to keep my prices low and fair throughout the year. I work hard to create gifts that put smiles on your loved ones faces, which I love, and I hope that shows. ✨
But I can't really ignore the biggest retail event of the year either! 😏
You may know that I already donate to @ecologi_hq monthly, Ecologi do amazing work funding responsible reforestation all over the world. So I have decided to fund an extra tree for every order that is placed with me this weekend. 🍃
There is also a 10% off code if you sign up to my mailing list :)
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I’m not a huge fan of the term ‘stocking fillers’ as it makes it sound like you’re buying things for the sake of filling a space. But I do have very fond memories of finding and opening my stocking on Christmas morning when I was a child and love recreating that for my children. I’m determined to do in in a way that’s not going to cost the earth though and with things that will hold their attention for more than a few minutes...
I’ve had my eye on Playinchoc for a while! I had bookmarked them for my daughter’s party bags but she didn’t end up having a party this year. A little box with organic chocolate, a 3D puzzle and a fun facts card. And better yet, they’re vegan as well as nut, gluten and plastic free! These will definitely feature in my children’s stockings this year! They also have some great Christmas themed bundles, including an advent calendar.
This Counting Peacock sold by minisenses.co.uk looks great for my almost 3 year old. Fun, educational and no plastic in sight! With a background in teaching, owner Lisa set up Mini Senses to provide sensory products and encourage sensory play at home. There are some lovely options on the site for ages 0-6
The Play Pantry, creators of open-ended play kits, offer beautifully curated boxes that set the scene for your little ones to make their own stories and explore the world around them. Packed full of tools and tips to provide the spark they need to get creative. The Oceans play box looks amazing with a puzzle, colouring sheet, playdoughs, spinning top and much much more.
For the tiniest ones, I've recently found LIttle and Eco, selling the loveliest eco-friendly new baby gift sets. I just need someone to have a baby now so I can buy one!
I must admit that, although it’s been fairly easy to find plastic free gifts that my almost 3 year old will love, it’s not been so easy for my 6 year old! A couple of great finds though which look amazing…
The Roald Dahl Splendiferous Storytelling Dice at ethicalsuperstore.com looks great. Immy loves telling a story and is very much into the Roald Dahl stories at the moment, so I think this will be a big hit!
Another awesome find is The Box of Books Company, who curate book boxes with high quality books and related resources and planning sheets to encourage learning and exploring through play and creativity. The Born to Dance book box looks great for older girls, but they have an amazing range of books for children of all ages. They have subscription boxes too, for a gift that can be opened again and again.
If you need some eco-friendly gift wrap inspiration, check out my blog post from a couple of weeks ago.
And of course, for plastic free treats for grown ups and teens, don't forget to check out our gift boxes or Build Your Own Gift Box.
I have older nephews to buy for too…so please send any suggestions for plastic free toys for boys aged 8-12 my way!
I hope you've found this guide useful and it's sparked some ideas! I'm always keen to hear about other small, eco-friendly businesses so please let me know in the comments if you know of any that I've missed.
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Hello! I'm Penelope and I live in the North West with my cavapoo Norman. I founded Tiger & Co. after I left a Biomedical Sciences degree which was no longer giving me joy - I needed a new purpose in my life, and I started playing around with candle making. It brought me so much pleasure to blend fragrances and make something with my hands, so I decided to take the plunge and pop them online. I wasn't entirely convinced anyone would buy them, but they did. Every single sale gave me a little more confidence, which led me to where I am today.
The universe will bring you what you need, when you need it! It can feel so frustrating at the beginning, as you learn the ropes and make mistakes, and growth always seems to be happening too slowly. But I firmly believe that opportunities come to you when you're ready, and you can't rush the universe. It's still something I'm grappling with, but I think every day I get a little better at taking life as it comes!
Our first ever scent, Kanelbullar. The mixture of vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom oil is so magical, and the studio always smells like freshly baked cinnamon buns afterwards.
My biggest milestone so far was investing in an industrial wax melter, which can hold a whopping 30 litres of molten soy wax. We nicknamed her Margo, and she's my pride and joy! We celebrated the same way we celebrate every little milestone - with vegan brownies from my favourite bakery, Cake or Death.
I'm a huge advocate of boring self-care; my favourite thing to do is give my bedroom a deep clean, including putting on fresh bedsheets and emptying my laundry basket. Having a space that's ready for me to switch off completely at the end of the day feels like true self-care to me. It doesn't hurt to light a candle or two, either.
Thanks so much Penelope for taking the time to share your tips! You can find Full Moon in The Box for Mindfulness, Kanelbullar in the Christmas Gift Box and Fireside in the Box for Comfort. Full Moon is also available in Build Your Own Box.
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