A Conscious Christmas Gift Guide
The team at void HQ have put together the ultimate guide for minimal waste and maximum connection as we celebrate healthy collectivism.
Celebrating the ending of one year and the beginning of the next is a time that places a person’s proportionate capacity for joy and love directly beside their environmental stressors. For the planet itself, this season is one that generates a lot of waste, with an average increase of 25% of wastage across packaging and food in Western countries such as the US and the UK.
Moving towards a world where gifts are more deeply considered, our internal VOID team has put together a gift guide to help you navigate the noise of consumerist marketing. Give a gift that is remembered for the right reasons, and watch as it keeps on giving.
+ FRANcesca ALLISON / SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
I am perpetually in an indecisive loop when it comes to gifting season and that sure does not help the loved ones around me. I am always coming back to the same reply of “I don’t know, I will be happy with anything”. For me the sentiment and action of a gift and card means more than the materialistic value of the item itself. The little thought bubble of “oh they would love this” as someone takes time out of their day to choose a present warms my heart more than the actual gift itself. Especially experiences! A memory for me is so much more sentimental and loving than any gift could be. Read: my love language is quality time.
Here are some gift ideas if you’re buying for anyone who is as indecisive as me that will continue giving after the holiday season is over.
If any of your loved ones struggle putting time and tenderness into themselves, a booking with Zara is perfect. Zara gives those who are entering the new year with a cloudy mind, a chance to clear their energy field and answer lingering questions on what the fk has happened this year and what will happen next. I had a session with Zara not too long ago and I could not recommend it to my loved ones more highly. I left in a euphoric state with clarity and decisions of long unanswered questions that had taken up far too much of my mind. A booking with Zara is perfect for anyone who praises the “new year new me” philosophy and wants to make 2024 their year.
As I said, I’m a firm believer that experiences are far more valuable than tangible items when it comes to gift giving. Designing a special moment to appreciate yourself or your loved ones in a different environment away from the crazy/ franticness of life is so extremely special. That is why incorporating the Wheel of Foreplay into a gift for your partner, yourself or even a friend is perfect this holiday season. Grab a bottle of your favourite drink, prepare a delightful three-course meal, set the ambiance with candles and music, and then sit down with your partner or yourself and play. Whether you find yourself spending the holidays alone and want to indulge in a solo date night, if you’re navigating a long-distance relationship and aiming to ramp up remote date nights, or if you’re enjoying a romantic stay-cation with your partner, the Wheel of Foreplay is absolutely perfect. The best part is, it’s free, which means it’s perfect for recession budgets!
+ SOPHIE MARSH/ CULTURE CURATOR
I can’t help but feel slight pity for anyone trying to buy a gift for me this holiday season. Something to know about me is that my sentimentality makes me incredibly grateful for thoughtfulness, but deep down I am hard to truly impress, and I have been exposed to far too much to find many human-manufactured things remarkable. Maybe that’s why my favourite movie is The Grinch, and also why I am a surprise-ruiner, sometimes finding more satisfaction in unravelling the surprise than receiving it. Although whilst writing this, I realised that no surprise has ever survived enough for me to quantify that statement.
As a result, my top gift idea for someone like me is planting a tree in my name. But given the shortage of tree-friendly land available on a renters budget, here are some other regenerative gift ideas.
This year’s theme for me comes straight from the most relatable line of the bible: “For now I see through a glass darkly”. Once known for my love and light practices, this year has been about the 3 S’s: scolding, scrutinising and speaking my damn mind. This Brytly CBD oil is the ingestible cortisol support l can’t live without as I navigate the 4th S: stress. I use the THC-free Balance blend in the 1600MG strength daily (AM and PM) for hormone balancing & keeping inner peace. This is the ultimate gift for someone who deserves some chill. I have been sleeping the whole night through and have found pure relief in starting the day with less extreme mood swings.
Created by a powerhouse artist/mother duo, this digital art therapy experience is for anyone who has ever said that they don’t have time for creativity, or that they can’t do art. As an ex-drama kid, it also contains the exact levels of provocative absurdity and whimsical showmanship that make me feel completely sane again. This is my top pick for a connective gift that you can turn into a ritual or experience for lovers of quality time. To turn it into the gift of a date night experience, all you need is a speaker, mood lighting and a chilled glass of something. Home cooked meals are optional but from experience, highly recommended. Or long distance, tell someone you love them by pushing them to explore their inner voice without judgement, accessible wherever they feel safest. Think: solo Sunday AM park activity. Feel: the freedom of acknowledging your creative blocks and letting them go. Doing something clumsily is almost always better than not trying.
+ CHARDONNÉ COOPER | SERVICE DESK RELATIONSHIPS MANAGER
The only thing that is better than giving someone else money, is giving them practices to get their own bag. This course by Dr Kate Tomas, is a beginner’s guide to using practical, daily magic in solidarity with your innermost self and your greater community. I have come back to this course time and time again to bring myself a greater sense of protection, carry out transformative community justice work and to continue to increase my sense of self-worth in my career. I have hexed my rap*st, built a money altar and put ex best friends in the freezer this year, and in dealing with these toxic energies, have felt only the most beautiful relationships and opportunities take their place.
