Browsing: Christmas Gifts

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No - it’s Santa Claus on his bike! A pedal powered Father Christmas may not be the Santa that you’re familiar with, but the residents of Newcastle and Gateshead are going to have to rub their eyes and look again - EthicalSuperstore.com is pioneering a brand new green Christmas delivery service this year, with same-day delivery from Mr Claus himself (or perhaps an EthicalSuperstore understudy…!)

The EthicalSuperstore.com Santa deliveries are a great way to ensure that not only are your Christmas gifts ethically chosen, but that they are delivered with minimal environmental impact. If you live in the NE1 to NE9 postcodes, all you need to do is make sure that your order is in by 10am. Request Santa delivery service in the checkout page delivery comments, and your order will be personally delivered before 2pm the very same day. As well as feeling happy in the knowledge that your delivery is carbon neutral, you’ve got reassurance that you’re beating the Christmas rush with a delivery guarantee that will bring a smile to your face, while enjoying a dose of the EthicalSuperstore Super Service.

The trusty steed that Santa will be riding is a Kona Ute cargo bike, specially designed for carrying a load in an eco-friendly fashion, without the need for a car. The Powerplus Swallow Wind Up Bike Lights will be lighting the way, and the bike is also decked out with Ecosavers Solar LED Lights for decoration as well as extra visibility.

So make sure you get your order in for Santa, and if you see him riding through your area, be sure to give him a shout of encouragement!

Are you in Newcastle upon Tyne on Saturday? If you are, we’d love you to come down and meet us at the Alternative Christmas Gift Fair - it’s  the perfect opportunity to say hello to the EthicalSuperstore team and take a look at some of our top Christmas gift ideas.

We’ll be at the Holy Trinity Church in Jesmond between 10am-2pm (Churchill Road, just next to the Armstrong Bridge, by Cradlewell). Pop along and hi, enjoy a cup of fairtrade tea or coffee, and peruse our gifts, cards and eco-friendly gadgets. Our challenge is to solve all of your Christmas present dilemmas in one swoop!

There’ll be plenty of other stalls there too, including Traidcraft, People Tree and Divine Chocolate. We hope to see you there!

With only just over a month until Christmas, it’s time to be getting into the festive spirit. I’m never keen when Christmas lights start to go up in October, but with a mere 5 weeks to go, my thoughts are turning to what I love about the Festive Season with my Christmas Top 5…

1. I love Christmas Trees. I moved into a new flat with my other half last Winter, and we adorned the place with a bigger tree than you would have thought possible. This year I’m sure we’ll be doing the same. Perhaps there is an ethical argument for synthetic trees rather than ‘real’ trees as the former can be reused year after year. However I don’t think I’ll ever be converted to this more modern incarnation of the Christmas tree. Should I be ashamed? I don’t think so (although do correct me if you think I’m wrong!) Choose your tree sustainably, and make sure you dispose of it responsibly after you’ve enjoyed it fully, and you can feel happier in the knowledge that you’ve enjoyed Christmas and done your bit.

2. Christmas Cards - Perhaps it seems a little un-eco-friendly to be sending Christmas cards, and I’m definitely in support of big companies sending e-cards rather than hundreds of paper cards that will probably just languish in an office over Christmas. However…if I didn’t have cards from my friends and family around my house over Christmas it just wouldn’t feel right! The answer to this dilemma is undoubtedly to buy FSC certified or charity Christmas cards, and to recycle them afterwards. In fact my family has a habit of making their favourite cards from one year into gift tags for the next year, reusing as well as recycling.

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Is anything ever worth the wait?

We live in a society of individuals who do not like to wait. You only have to look at advertising to know that. We want it and we want it now. We want to buy now and pay later. We don’t want to wait until Christmas to have it .We might as well start using it now if we’ve got it. Let’s face it. Delayed gratification is a lost art.

There is a theory that delaying gratification increases the intensity of pleasure on receiving it. Having just started work in customer service, I like to assure people that it will be worth the wait. And I believe it. Take Luxury Gift Wrap for example. I usually buy bargain wrapping paper to wrap the enormous boxes that little children love to rip open at Christmas. But as the children get bigger, the parcels get smaller and this year, I was seduced by the Luxury Gift Wrap. Along with a significant proportion of the nation, so it seems. I couldn’t wait to see it and touch it, but now I know it’s in great demand, I want it even more. This must-have Christmas item for ethical shoppers has people all over the country waiting in eager anticipation. Wrapping Christmas presents has never felt so desirable.

That’s why internet shopping is like

Read the rest of Why I’m Going To Shop Online This Christmas »

As the autumn gloom begins to seep into my mood and my aquafit instructor informs me there’s only 63 days until Christmas and my teenage son comments on how hard it is to get out of bed on the darker mornings, my thoughts turn to Christmas shopping.
 
“Don’t mention the C word!” some of you may be shouting at the screen. “It’s too early. Are you mad?”
Quite possibly, yes. But I can see why our ancestors thought it was a good idea to put a festival bang in the middle of winter. Something to look forward to, something to celebrate - colour, music, family, food, gifts…what better way to lift the gloom of dark mornings and even darker evenings? Unfortunately, the great expectations put on us by the media and people around us often cause huge financial, physical and emotional stresses transforming Christmas into an event to anticipate with dread rather than excitement.
 
In response to the numerous people who have told me to think positively over the last 24 hours, here are my perceived benefits for starting my Christmas shopping now.
 
Pretty things are good for me.
Looking at pretty jewellery, pretty accessories and pretty bags definitely lifts my spirits. Original design, vibrant colour, attractive texture…. I know what I like and what I like lightens my mood. Call me superficial, but is it so very different to appreciating fine art? Taking pleasure in what someone has made is to my mind celebrating the act of Creation itself. So deciding on the Fair Trade Double Heart Bracelet and Necklace for my sister-in-law’s birthday restored some light to my soul. Something within me responds to the recycled silver designs from La Jewellery. Whatever your taste, there are such beautiful pieces out there and the appreciation of beauty can be good for you.
 
Thinking of others is good for me
My relatives can correct me if I’m wrong, but I have quite a reputation for buying good presents. I’ve obviously made some terrible mistakes - who hasn’t? - but I rarely resort to cash or gift tokens and prefer to buy something that reflects the thought that I have put into the choice. Over the years, this has got harder as we all see each other less and less often and live further and further apart (Facebook may help me this year as some of us have kept in touch a little better). Anyway, at a time when I’m tempted to retreat further into my shell, it is good for me to spare a thought or two for my friends and family. As I choose gifts and wrap them and write gift tags, I like to think about the person and fill the package with prayers and best wishes and hopes for the future. The whole experience takes me out of myself and my little world. I’m so excited about the Fair Trade Ari Sitara Handbags that I’ve chosen for two of my nieces, which look great on the page and even more fabulous in reality. I love them and think they’re beautiful and I hope the girls will know that I think the same about them.
 
Ethical choice is good for me
I’m often tempted to despair about the state of the world and how small my individual contribution to change actually is, but my consumer choices for Christmas do help me to feel that I am doing my bit. Over the years, I have always battled with a slight embarrassment that the recipients of my gifts may be sick of ethical presents. However, this year, I have overcome that. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. The quality and choice of ethical gifts out there are fantastic. I am not compromising when I buy the Fair Trade stainless steel salad servers or serving spoons, which I love the design of and think look very stylish - just like my relatives for whom they are intended!
 
Being prepared is good for me
However much I have fought it and denied it over the years, I now accept that I do not function in the same way in the winter as in the summer. Call it SAD, seasonal depression., whatever you want - this year is the first year that I am going to factor in this change in my mood and behaviour. Being prepared and getting my Christmas shopping done early will hopefully reduce the emotional and physical drain that Christmas often becomes. Making choices about gifts while it is still a pleasure and not a burden makes perfect sense to me. Choosing the Vinylux Vinatge Vinyl bowl because I think it’s really cool and unusual for my cool and unusual nephew far outweighs a last minute desperate stab in the dark. Hopefully this will conserve what little energy I have in December for the things that really matter. 
 
Spreading the cost is good for me
Contrary to what my husband may think, I actually do not like spending money. It panics me inside and whilst I enjoy choosing gifts, I detest paying for them. One of my greatest anxieties about Christmas is how much it costs and how we will afford to pay for it. I do not want to appear stingy, nor can I afford to be extravagant - how hard it is to find the middle way. Like most people, I am planning to cut back on spending this year. So imagine my joy when through forethought and careful searching, I discover perfect items at reasonable prices, like the Fair Trade HOT pot stand at only £6.95. Hopefully, it really is the thought and not the cost that matters. And spreading the cost relieves the pressure on the bank account too.
 
 
So sorry if I have offended you by mentioning Christmas too soon. Sorry if this is all a foreign language to you. Sorry for those of you who have no idea what I am going on about. But to those of you who do, maybe these words will be of some comfort to you. Maybe these ideas will help you to have a very, very happy Christmas.

Wrapping illustration

Christmas is a stressful time of year, of that there is no doubt. At a time where we are required to be jolly, full of good cheer and be having the time of our lives, we are also expected to cook the best meal of the year, buy the perfect gift for our loved ones, attend every show and carol service that our children are in and look our best at every opportunity.

I can’t help you with any of that, I’m sorry. But if on top of all that, you wrestle with a guilty conscience throughout the festive season as I do, then I hope that these tips may be of some use.

Read the rest of Less guilt, less stress this Christmas »