Receta Make a Natural Gift Basket
by Chelsea Day • Nov 25, 2015 Our posts feature partner companies.
Make a Natural Gift Basket or Stocking Stuffers
As most of my family members can tell you, I’m kind of obsessed with gift baskets. I love curating the perfect set of small presents for someone. To me, it shows a lot of thought, since it takes time and care to put together a series of items that are tailored to the personality of the recipient.
My mom worked a few different jobs when I was a kid, and one of them actually required her to put custom gift baskets together. I still remember all of the containers – big and round and oval and square – lined up in our hallway. She deftly maneuvered in that small space, stuffing them with seasonal items and fluffing up their filling. I’m not a big primper, myself, but something about the intentness of her gaze made a big impression on me.
Gift baskets are the perfect thing to give to your eco-friendly pals, especially if you know any new moms who need a little extra attention. Young parents tend to be extra-focused on healthy ingredients to keep themselves and their little ones healthy, and we’ve been working with a few brands who we think would be the perfect fit for a natural gift basket! Whatever brand you go for, there are a few types of items that I always include.
Something to drink. Sometimes I stick wine, coffee grounds or even a fun-flavored bottle of soda in there. Having a late-night drink by the fire is a special tradition for my family during the holidays. Giving a drink with a unique story has become one of my go-to moves. For a gift basket with a natural theme, tea seems like the right fit because it imparts tons of health benefits. This Christmas Tea Collection with signature flavored teas from Palais Des Thes is not only gorgeous, but it’s also fantastically delicious. The Parisian founder tours tea plantations around the world to source flavorful, single-estate teas while also overseeing a tea school in Paris and New York City and over 30 boutique stores around the world in places like Belgium, Israel, Japan and more.
Something for personal hygiene. We all have to brush our teeth and wash our hair, so I like to make it fun whenever possible. My mom is totally into healthy and organic teeth-cleaning items, so I was really excited to stick this in the natural gift basket for her. My Magic Mud deep cleans without the use of GMOs or fluoride. The secret is activated coconut shell charcoal and bentonite clay as well as organic orange peel extract and mint. I’ve actually made a similar version at home, but this is a heck of a lot easier and it works wonders!
Something pampering. Because everyone deserves a little soothing. Bella Organics has a ton of personal care items made with all-natural ingredients. My favorites are their deodorant, lip balm and body scrub because they are all so gentle. I’ve been obsessing about deodorant ever since I discovered that the aluminum in it can cause cancer (yikes!). A lot of other organic brands clogged my pores and made my armpits breakout (gross) but this one was a winner! I literally sit around sniffing myself like, “Mmmm, I smell good. Guys, come smell me!” One of the lip balms comes with a little clasp on the end so I can hang it from a carabiner (you all know how much I love carabiners) and they have one that is unflavored. It’s weirdly hard to find unflavored natural lip balm.
Something to eat. This beef jerky from Field Trip is the bomb. No weird additives, and the story behind it is awesome. It was created by three fitness-loving dudes who were on a mission to find high-quality protein snacks that wouldn’t destroy the progress they’d made during their workouts. Voila! Field Trip eventually made its way to Wegmans after its invention in New York City. Next? It’ll take over the world.
Something trendy. I know, you’re going to say that collagen isn’t trendy. You guys, I’m either getting old or my social circle is changing. Suddenly, the buzz words around me are all related to vitamins and nutrition. I have no idea when that happened, but I know that most fellow green moms can seriously appreciate a supplement like the ones from youtheory that fight off signs of premature aging and support joints that are strained after intense workouts. And seriously, collagen is the BIG thing right now. I really love that the company has a charitable component, giving back to causes for children all around the world. Plus, it’s available in Costco. Score.
Want it? You can enter the Stocking Stuffers event for your chance to get samples and full-sized gift items from the brands above. The giveaways are held on various blogger pages (including our own!) from November 30th through December 2nd, with sample events on the brand pages as well. Go ahead and RSVP here. You’ll get the opportunity to send samples to friends, nab coupons and access the calendar with more details about the giveaways.