How fun is giving and receiving gifts? Does one trump the other for you? We do a mix of gifting in our family for Christmas, but in more recent years, we’ve started making specific gift lists so we can give something needed and necessary. This fits so well for me with ethical, conscious buying. I like meeting a need rather than getting another version of something they already have, or something they don’t need at all.

Joseph finds my gift lists very funny, and I know that the alarm clock and the flour mill are a tad far-fetched (ha!), but here are 12 gifts making the list this year and miraculously, there is no books in sight which is quite a big deal for me but i’ve vowed to read what I have before accumulating more! What’s making your list?

Wow, let’s first start by saying there is an Advent calendar for just about everything these days. In case you needed 25 presents in the run up to opening multiple presents on Christmas day then you’re covered. Here are some I love the look of this year, with a total range of prices and gifts inside, but i do know they come from brands that can be trusted and that are well thought out.

Each year, for the past few years I have posted a set of gift guides. The hope in that is that you can take recommendations from a trusted voice to cut across so many of the messages and adverts of the season saying ‘buy this!’, or ‘you need this!’! The consumerism of Christmas is no small thing, something I consider year on year as I buy gifts for those around me. The gifts I buy will majority be second hand, but the gifts I do buy new will hopefully be ones that last, are made well and haven’t cost someone else in the process. Lots of these gifts below can also be bought secondhand.

I grew up believing in Santa. I remember the magic of waiting and watching out my window to see his sleigh but, growing up I soon became highly anxious about a random man entering my room at night. There wasn’t even a chimney at my Grannie’s house where we went each year so did he just let himself in the front door? And, if santa could then surely a burglar could too? There was great relief at about 7 or 8 when I went in to my mum one evening and asked her to confirm he really wasn’t real.

It’s November…somehow?! And thoughts of Christmas slowly infiltrate!

It’s always my hope to help you buy better when you need to! Whether you have no idea what shopping more responsibly looks like, or whether you’re a pro but just need some ideas- let this be for you! 

You may have recently seen me do some work with greenmarketeco.com a fantastic eco marketplace with everything from secondhand technology to green cleaning products, bulk toilet paper to refurbished air pods and kitchen essentials. With Christmas around the corner, here are 5 gift ideas for you to make shopping consciously that little bit easier!

I remember growing up waiting so patiently for December 1st to come around. You see, growing up in church meant that Auntie Barbara, Doris and Daphne all made sure to get me my own advent calendar on top of the one already been given by my parents and soon I had five advent calendars lined up, some making it til Christmas day and others consumed before

Hello! You may have seen earlier last week, this years gift guides went live! They were all gifts from shops I love and believe in and brands that have a high value on ethics. You can find them here!

As millions of trees are about to go up all across the UK this coming weekend with branches begging to be decorated I thought i’d write a list of places to find sustainable decorating options.

Also remember that although all these brands I’ve listed are great- still the most sustainable option of all is using the decorations you already have…i know you didn’t want to hear it!

enjoy! and let me know of any other brands you know of!

Yes it’s that time! Here are my ethical and sustainable gift guides for 2021!

It’s always my hope to help you buy better when you need to! Whether you have no idea what shopping more responsibly looks like, or whether you’re a pro but just need some ideas- let this be for you!

I have been hit with the realisation more than ever this year as I was writing the word “stocking fillers” that I then quickly deleted, that we don’t need things to fill a gap- make up a present count- or just because it was a bargain. Let’s buy differently and let’s figure out why we’re buying. I recently wrote an article over here if you want to know more about buying responsibly on dotte diaries -an awesome secondhand platform.