5 DIY Eco-Friendly Gifts: Handmade with Love and Sustainability

Every year I grow a year older. And every year people who love me shower me with gifts to celebrate the occasion. From clothes to cake, I have received it and chances are so have you. Or perhaps, you are more of Hobbit and have given people gifts. Regardless, today, gift-giving, for both personal and professional reasons, is important. It conveys a sense of appreciation, respect, and welcome to those who we like to think matter to us. 

Over the years, as mentioned, I have received numerous gifts, all of whom have a special place in my heart- but if I had to choose a favourite, what would I pick? My mother handing me down her recipe for dal makhani? Or my boyfriend gifting me a notebook filled with handwritten poems, just for my eyes? Or would it be the custom portrait my best friend made of us, showing us at age 80- old but still going strong? 

I can’t say- but what I can say is that my Dwarrowcore self adores handmade gifts. And my sustainable side is fully in favour of that. My broke fresh graduate budget can’t complain much either. So, if you have an LOTR loving eco-girly in your life and a passion for DIY and the environment, here are five eco-friendly DIY gifts that you can give her. 

1. Food

Most of us are gluttons for goof homecooked meals and why should we not be. They are healthy, tasty, and eco-friendly. Take your loved one out on a picnic or arrange a candlelight dinner at home and shower them with their favourite dishes. It shows care and screams effort. And you know what is even more of a tressure? If you are an expert cook and you share a recipe that was a secret with someone. Nothing screams special like being a secret-keeper.

2. Art and Craft

You know what says love like nothing else- your craft. Spending time creating something unique to the recipient is a gift in itself. Whether it is poetry, a video, a knitted scarf or a painting, making something with your own hands tells the other person that they are special to you. Of course, if you want to live a green lifestyle and present eco-friendly gifts then you will have to use green ingredients such as recycled or handmade paper, seed paper pens, and so on- but the options are still endless. 

3. DIY Craft Kits

What if you are not artistically inclined but your recipient is. Well, give them the gift of crafting. With Our Better Planet’s DIY craft kits, you can make everything from pressed flowers to new paper, in an eco-friendly manner.

4. Handmade gift hampers

You want to DIY and gift handmade products, but you are pressed for time. How do you still show love in a personalized manner? Well, custom handmade hampers allow you to show love to your recipient by making a goodie bag of their favourites while also supporting artisans. And if you choose to get these hampers, whether they be tea hampers or skincare, from a store with green ethics, you are gifting sustainable and thus extending some love to our home too. Third birds, one gift.

5. A Memory Book

Now technically, this could be seen as a craft, but memories are different. More personal. And if you can collect mementoes and pictures from important occasions spent together- well there is nothing like it. Get a handmade sketchbook, some seed paper pencils, and print those pictures. Unearth the movie tickets. And create a scrapbook of your favourite moments to remind your loved one, that they are Kenough.

AUTHOR : ANJALI ROONGTA

An author with over a decade of experience, Anjali Roongta has published over eight books with NotionPress and Muses_Saga, her own eco-friendly publishing house. She was an Author of the Year Awardee for Ne8x in 2019. You can find her blog at roongtaanjali.wordpress.com where she shares writing tips and helps promote realistic sustainable lifestyles. As a writer and freelancer, she is passionate about writing, sustainable living, reading, mental health advocacy and publishing.