eight eco friendly Christmas gift ideas

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local honey– use as a face wash and natural exfoliant, stirred into your morning chai, or drizzled over toast

box of homemade biscuits (recipe below)

gift tag card made up from a dried pressed flower

lunch date voucher- favourite packed picnic lunch

giant gingerbread person in a crocheted pocket

jar of homemade almond pesto

gift wrapping- I’ve talked about using old maps as wrapping paper before. This particular one was gold, as I had found an unwanted old atlas on the street that someone had lazily put out there. At first I was dismayed at the thought of it sitting out there unwanted and unloved, getting rain damaged. We certainly didn’t need another atlas… then I remembered wrapping paper. Sure it was a bit sad that I was cutting into this large beautiful book, but I was certainly better than just going in the recycling bin which is where it was headed. Team it up with some wool to hold the folding in place, and no tape is necessary.

For more wrapping ideas, have a look at this rather awesome site on furoshiki, other wise known as the Japanese art of fabric gift wrapping.

(For last years 12 eco friendly Christmas gift ideas, see here.)

Coconut Strawberry Hearts

250g softened butter

1 cup (220g) sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp coconut essence

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

3 1/2 cups (525g) plain flour

strawberry jam

Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer until pale. Add vanilla, coconut essence and egg, then mix through rest of ingredients. Lightly knead biscuit dough and roll between two sheets of baking paper to about 5mm. Pop into the fridge for an hour or so until firm, and cut out to shapes. If the dough comes back to room temperature while you are still cutting, being tricky to handle, just pop it back into the fridge for a bit.

Bake at 170C for approximately 15-20 mins, a very light golden colour. Allow to cool and then add half a teaspoon of strawberry jam in between the two biscuits.

Eat two immediately to see if they are ok to gift. Yep? Ok, should be good to go.

For a similar recipe see Coconut Jam Drops.

50 thoughts on “eight eco friendly Christmas gift ideas”

    • Rose I totally agree, and I while I cut into this particular one, there was a soft whimper to be had. This particular one would have been left to rot on the street though, then discarded in a bin. Does it help if I respectfully took out pages?

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  15. My daughters spent all yesterday afternoon baking gingerbread for early Christmas gifts. They made a triple batch though, so they could do lots of taste testing 🙂

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    • It’s serious business taste testing. It has been done frequently and at regular intervals, both raw and cooked dough needs to be taken into account. I’d say your girls did an excellent job, if only more people would do triple batches…

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    • link should come up Keri? 2 bunches of basil, olive oil, parmesan and whole almonds blitzed up. I just taste test until it’s right, so not sure of exact amounts… a little chilli wouldn’t go astray in there either.

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  18. It’s posts like this that absolutely bring out the cityhippyfarmgirl in you. What a lovely diverse and interesting bunch of ideas! The bikkies looks amazing and anyone receiving those would be sure to feel loved.

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    • Thank you Mariana. Those biscuits usually go pretty quickly so I take it as a good sign. I really do think food is such a good present, I’m always thrilled to receive something handmade so I really hope others feel like that as well.

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  19. Love these ideas, especially the map-wrap…. Now, I’m seeking inspiration for how to wrap homemade cookies, fudge etc for Christmas gifts for teachers – what would you do??

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  22. Great post! Your biscuits look scrumptious. Love your map paper, and I think re-purposing a book left to rot in the street is fabulous. You gave it new life! I’ve done the same with torn/scribbled-on vintage kid’s books and rolls of 60s wallpaper.

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  25. Ater seeing your luscious photos on insta, I had to follow up to see the recipes. Question: how long do you think the coconut strawberry hearts will last, in an air tight container, before going soft? Dumb question, given that you would have to eat them as soon as you clapped eyes on them, but just wondering if I made them today, would they still be crisp on say Wednesday?

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  26. Pingback: top 12 eco friendly christmas gift ideas | cityhippyfarmgirl

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