This is an update from our DIY Gifts article on 11/19/2019

It may be hard to believe, but the year is already coming to an end and Christmas is just around the corner. Although I always try to start with the gifts (or at least the idea research) during the year to avoid the gift stress before Christmas, it always takes me until November to really get started. Even meaningful gifts actually need some time and thought.

The Most Precious Gift: Time Together

This year, how about a gift certificate for a weekend at an eco-friendly hotel or a visit to an eco-spa? Especially as an adult, you have everything, so time together is a great idea. “Time and attention are the most valuable commodities these days,” says Matthias Schulze-Dieckhoff from STURM in the Rhön Biosphere Reserve. “We have updated our voucher tool this year so that the whole thing works individually and personally,” he continues.

“Very popular gift ideas are vouchers for an overnight stay or a day spa with breakfast,” reports My Arbor in South Tyrol. The sustainable tree hotel on mount Plose near Brixen has a voucher generator on its website, where you can design the voucher with different pictures and a personal message.

The Naturhotel Outside in East Tyrol has a similar voucher tool. The family-run hotel is located in the middle of the Hohe Tauern Alpine National Park, making it a great gift for nature lovers.

Gift certificate for vegans

Since the Italian LA VIMEA is a completely vegan hotel, vouchers for overnight stays or restaurant visits are especially popular with vegans. For example, the “Romantic Getaway” would make a great Christmas gift for your partner. It includes 2 nights for 2 people with half board including a private stay in the forest sauna, e-bikes and a picnic basket.

Romantic hideaway with views of fairytale castles

Hotel Das Rübezahl in Allgäu, Germany, is also an excellent place for a romantic time. From here you have a direct view of the royal castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. “Gift certificates are popular all year round: Valentine’s Day and Christmas anyway,” say the owners. There are “classic value vouchers, but also themed vouchers for overnight stays, the restaurant, spa treatments or for the mountain lodge”.

ADLER gift certificates and cosmetics

Gift certificates are also a popular gift at the ADLER family of spas and lodges. “Since they are valid in all our establishments, the recipient can choose where he or she would like to spend some time,” the hotel team writes. This could be, for example, the ADLER Lodge RITTEN in South Tyrol or the ADLER Spa Resort SICILY, which opened in 2022.

By the way: If you don’t necessarily want to give away a travel voucher, but know that your loved one appreciates high-quality cosmetics, you can still find what you’re looking for in the ADLER online shop. The gift sets are a perennial favorite here because they are offered at a discounted price. The sets contain luxurious and 100% natural skin care products that are also available in hotels. It also makes a great gift for someone who is always raving about a vacation at an ADLER hotel 😉 .

Give the gift of private spa time and homemade products from Switzerland

“Our guests like to buy our homemade jam, dandelion honey, fruit bread or schnapps for their loved ones at home – as long as it is homemade,” says Fabienne Anthamatten of the Biohotel Bella Vista Zermatt. Another great gift is the Private SPA experience. Here you can book the spa area of the Swiss organic hotel exclusively for two hours.

Also in the car-free alpine town of Zermatt is the CERVO Mountain Resort. For example, Laura from our Green PearlsⓇ team gave her parents a voucher for three nights. The stay was “unforgettable”. Especially since the resort with a view of the Matterhorn had an exceptional flair. Her parents described it as “luxurious, but totally relaxed”.

As a gift idea – especially for the winter – the CERVO Mountain Resort recommends the scented candle BEYOND EXPLORING N°6. Take home the scent of CERVO.

Give away jams and beauty products from the hotel

At Hotel Klosterbräu in Seefeld, Tyrol, you can buy a gift voucher for as little as €10. In the hotel’s YOUNIQUE store, you can buy a sustainable enamel mug, for example, as well as the hotel’s own herbal tea blend or jam for the same price. The recipient has to pay extra for a bathrobe or an overnight stay 🙂 .

The homemade jam is also popular at the Lifestylehotel SAND in Timmendorfer Strand on the Baltic Sea. “Our guests love it,” says owner Marion Muller. It is available in the SANDshop and, of course, at the breakfast buffet. Vouchers (e.g. for a jam sandwich from the buffet including overnight stay) are available on the website.

Gift certificate for breakfast on the island

The great thing about a gift certificate is that you can give it now, at Christmas, and the recipient can take their time redeeming it. So there is already something to look forward to next year 🙂 .

The Hotel Weihrerhof at the Wolfsgrubner Badesee in South Tyrol recommends an island breakfast on its own island in the lake. In the shade of the trees and surrounded by the pleasant coolness of the lake water, wonderful summer mornings can be spent here. An excellent breakfast with regional specialties is the icing on the cake.

DIY Gifts – My Tips

I love homemade gifts, so I have a few planned for this year. I also like consumable items, so that nothing is left over after the recipient has used the gift. So here are my plans (and recommendations) for DIY gifts:

Sparkling bathing fun for all ages

Since my family grew quite large in the past years – and fortunately every one of them has a bathtub – I will create bath bombs. Luckily for me, that’s not too difficult, but it looks amazing. In any case, it’s great that you can determine the shape of the bath bombs by the choice of the used ice cube shape: hearts for the loved one, stars for Christmas, etc. Besides, you only need some standard ingredients such as soda, citric acid and possibly some soap color of your choice. Incidentally, the great thing about this gift is that you can customize the fragrance individually, whether it’s almond, lavender or orange oil – choose what the recipient likes!

A complete guide can be found at Lovely Greens

Colorful soap for the kids

Another gift to be used in the bathroom, which I want to give my nieces and nephews this year: homemade knead soap! Again, you do not need much, only starch, shower gel, food coloring, and coconut oil. Mix all of them and get creative with different colorful patterns. Make sure to use natural cosmetics shower gel.

A complete guide can be found here at Buzz Feed, for some more colorful inspiration, take a look at the German blog Madmoisell.

Something warming for the ears

The days when crocheted headbands or caps were out are long gone! A great gift idea for which you do not need much, just some good (organic and fair trade) wool, crochet, and a darning needle and a pair of scissors. Otherwise, you only need to make sure you know the approximate head size of the gift recipient – maybe you can secretly snitch a cap and take measure. 😉

You can find limitless instructions for caps and headbands at different levels of difficulty on the web, for example at Rescued Paw Designs.

Fragrant fireplace

If the recipients like to relax in front of a fireplace at home, this DIY inspiration might be something for you as well: homemade ecological fireplace lighters! Use muffin cups made of uncoated paper, and combine candle and wax residues with dried spices of your choice. It’s as easy as that to get fireplace lighters, which also smell wonderful festively!

Instructions for the fireplace lighter can be found here on the German blog Unter Freunden.

Sustainable storage for the kitchen

Beeswax wraps must not be missing on this list. A great gift, above all because you can use different fabrics as well as sizes fitting to the recipients. You should use organic beeswax because, after all, the cloth will most likely come into contact with food. Beeswax is available as a block or pastille. Use scissors with a corrugated blade to make the edges look nice and prevent them from fraying too quickly. Just spread the beeswax on the cloth and put it in the oven or iron it – and your beeswax wrap is done! Another a great idea: beeswax lunch bags.

Instructions for this can be found here at Little Yellow Wheelbarrow or The DIY Mommy.

DIY gifts and more of concrete

What I’m excited about this year: decoration with concrete. Whether beautiful tealights, lamps, Advent wreaths, bowls or or or. With concrete, especially for handicrafts, you can easily create beautiful and, above all, extraordinary things. Depending on the project, what you need is cast or kneaded concrete, paint, gloves, brushes, and water.

Instructions for beautiful lanterns can be found, for example at DIY Carinchen, for an Advent wreath of a different kind at Hello Birdie and a beautiful soap tray made of concrete at yeah handmade.

Of course, there are many, many more gift ideas. You can find some here on our blog, but take a look at our Pinterest Boards on Eco and green DIY Home & Interior, Eco and green DIY Beauty and Fashion or Upcycling, too! 🙂

Have you ever thought of giving thrifted Christmas presents? It’s not only about the gifts, but there are also many ways to make your Christmas more eco-friendly. One of them is the Christmas tree, check out our blog post on how to get a tree with a good conscience!

You already took care of the gift, but the eco-friendly packaging is still missing? In this blog post, we share a few tips and inspirations: 

Appearance is vital: Sustainable gift packaging

Is this just the inspiration you needed? Then save this article for this (and next) Christmas!