Do you have friends and family on your list who have everything they want anyway? Then what is the point of buying a present they don’t want, need or like?

Not everybody wants to spend their hard earned money on unwanted christmas gifts. So more people are turning to meaningful gifts and cards for their seasonal giving.

Do you have difficulty buying gifts for people? Then look at my selection of the best gifts around that not only bring a smile to someone’s face, but also raise funds for worthwhile charities and projects in the UK and around the world!

Global Giving

The charity that gives global gifts from your donations. You can buy a virtual gift online by choosing from hundreds of grassroot projects and send them to your loved ones.

You can also choose a gift card, that way they can spend on projects they specifically want to support. Buy your gift from Global Giving.

RHS – Royal Horticultural Society

For green fingered gardeners a gift or subscription to the RHS charity will help them continue to fund their work in training the gardeners of the future. Buy annual membership as a gift for someone to use and enjoy throughout the year.

Or buy a pressie from one of their online shops. They have a fabulous range of books, dvds, plants and other gifts suitable for the festive season. Buy your gift from RHS.

Practical Presents

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Practical presents lets you buy a present that will become a practical solution to help people and communities across the globe.

Whether its a fluffy duck to provide eggs for families in India, water pumps for communities in Nepal or flood resistant homes for vulnerable groups in Bangladesh, your gift will last longer than Christmas Day. Buy your gift from Practical Presents.

Rockcard

A new type of greeting card is out and ready to buy online. Rockcard is a great way to send greetings to a music fan – and at the same time raise money for the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy charity. They promote the use of music as therapy for individuals and groups who are challenged by disability, illness or injustice.

You get to choose the photo of the artist and then personalise the front and inside of the card to read whatever message you want. Buy your card from RockCard.

British Red Cross

Create and send your own virtual British Red Cross parcel to help those people in need. They may be on the other side of the world or just around the corner.

Items you can put in your parcel start at just over £1 so no matter what your budget you can buy a gift and make a difference.
Buy your gift from the British Red Cross.

A Meaningful Gift can make more than just one person smile – give one this year and spread the smiles!

Christmas is always a time for buying lots of presents for family and friends, but I find it harder and harder each year to find presents within my budget that are useful, wanted and appreciated.

I have to admit that I am turning to buying virtual gifts more and more. Avoid the busy shops and streets, the cold and wet weather and buy from the comfort of your own cosy living room. One charity gift site that I’ve discovered this year is called Part and Parcel.

Children 1st is a well established childrens charity in Scotland that promotes child welfare and works with disadvantaged and vulnerable children to ensure all kids get a safe and secure childhood – something every child should have. The Part and Parcel scheme is their new virtual gift giving project.

For under £20 your gift could provide children art and crafts materials to express themselves. It could provide storytelling classes which help abandoned, bullied or homeless children to open up. Or you may choose for it to go towards The Breakfast Club – a scheme that gives food and basic childcare items to children whose parents can’t.

Whichever you choose – you know it’s the children who will benefit from your generosity. I find virtual gifts to be a bit more interesting than a pair of socks, and you know you are giving to a worthy cause.

You don’t even have to wrap anything up! Great for people like me who don’t seem to have the necessary giftwrapping skills that most other people are equipped with.

Go to the Children 1st Part and Parcel shop to buy your virtual christmas gifts this year. And don’t forget it doesn’t just have to be for Xmas. These make ideal gift ideas for birthdays too!

Get involved in the Virtual Giving revolution.

If you are searching for a gift that’s more about giving why not adopt an animal? Not only is it a most unusual present for somebody, but your thoughtfulness means you’ll actively contribute to the conservation of these wild animals across the globe.

A perfect gift for true animal lovers or the person you know who has everything.

Maybe you know someone who just isn’t that materialistic and would much prefer a gift like this than a new tie or pair of earrings. If this is the case then look no further.

Charity gifts may seem all the rage at the moment, but isn’t it great to have the choice to help in some way and buy a gift at the same time? It certainly beats buying a £20 gift voucher.

Just think about it, this time next year they wouldn’t remember what you had bought them at all. Where as if they get to an animal adoption pack, it’d be something they will remember for years to come.

Choose from:

• The Cute & The Cuddly Collection: Dolphin, Badger, Otter and Owl
• The Fantastically Fierce Foursome: Tiger, Lion, Jaguar and Bear
• Big and Hunky Beasts: Whale, Rhino, Gorilla and Elephant
• Adorably Ugly Creatures: Turtle and Bat

My particular favourite is the ’Adorably Ugly’ Turtle

Although I know my friend would love this majestic tiger.

No matter which animal you choose, an adoption pack only costs £30 and the lucky recipient will get an adoption certificate, a picture, postcards, a gorgeous soft toy of your wild animal plus, an introduction pack about the charity and how their projects will help your chosen animal.

Tick 2 things off your list today:

• Do something good and feel great about yourself
• Buy the best present in the world for someone you love

Adopt an Animal at www.adoptwildflife.org

School holidays are usually great fun for kids, with all that time off they can play away to their hearts content outside in the sunshine, and if the weather is wet, why not get them indoors getting crafty and creative?

Yellow Moon has got this problem sorted. They offer a large range of craft packs, ideas, games and stocking fillers to keep kids amused. There are a whole range of chemistry and science based kits to make discovery and learning fun, as well as card and jewellery making kits, sponge painting kits, designing and stamping. In fact too much to mention, but one benefit of Yellow Moon is that whatever you buy, a % will go to your nominated school, club or charity – meaning you can help raise money for needed causes.

Craft Thing also provide a heap of craft kits, activity packs and children’s educational toys for kids from 3 years up to 12 plus. Get the kids kitted out with painting sets, art kits, weird science and clay packs so they can create their own sculpture or work of art. Being creative can be a joint hobby to be done with family, friends or brothers and sisters. Any of these kits can be bought as gifts, because Craft Thing also provide a wrapping service, so when it is posted it will be ready to be given to one lucky person.

A paint by numbers kit from CraftThing.co.uk

For Easter you could organise an Easter Egg hunt, traditionally held on easter Sunday morning. Buy a heap of various sized Easter Eggs and hide them throughout your home or garden, then after breakfast, set the kids loose with a bag to go find and collect as many as they can. The child with the most eggs could also be offered a winner’s prize. You can get some great little easter eggs from shops like Thorntons or Woolworths.

They all provide great fun ideas to organise children’s parties, where the kids get to make their own hats, party bags or decorations. So there’s no reason for kids to be bored over summer holidays, all they need is a bit of imagination and a few handy bits and pieces to keep their minds and hands active.

Discount Codes for Yellow Moon

At Web Savings World you can find Yellow Moon promotional discount codes

Last year we indulged in over 80 million chocolate easter eggs. The total cost came to around £336 million.

Just think what could be achieved if we spent just half of this on chocolate eggs, and the other half on an alternative to the sugary sweets and chocolates that have become associated with Easter.

As with many times of the year, people are thinking more and more about how their gifts affect people and the world around us, and this is affecting what people are starting to buy for others.

It’s not just the amount of chocolate we get through or the money we spend (which is estimated to be about £520 million), but also the amount of packaging we throw away as a result. Over 4,500 tonnes of cardboard boxes and foil wrapping were chucked away after last Easter, making a harsh impact on our environment too.

Most of the money we spend on Easter eggs goes on the packaging, so make your hard-earned dosh go further than just buying some cheap foil wrapped chocolate, make your money do some good too!

Buy a virtual egg

For just £24 you can buy a hundred eggs. How? By providing a village in Bangladesh with ducks. Ducks can be sold at market, will provide a family with fresh eggs to eat and sell to provide an income, especially after the recent floods which devastated certain areas.

Buy ducks for £24 from Present Aid and provide a real Easter Egg

Buy a Green Easter Gift

Offset your carbon footprint and that of others, by giving a tree as an Easter gift. This wild Cherry Tree will bloom with pretty pink or white blossoms when spring arrives It’ll last for years and produce lots of lovely red berries for the birdies, as well as using up all our carbon dioxide!

Buy a Cherry Tree from Ethical Superstore for £35.00

Buy a practical Easter gift

At Easter, eggs are used to symbolise re-birth and fertility. Ok so you can’t grow eggs, but what about this practical gift? Seeds for farmers in Zambia will ensure local families get a good crop of fresh vegetables to last them the whole year.

Buy them for £18 from Practical Presents

Buy Fairtrade Eggs

If you must buy a chocolate egg, why not make sure it is a Fairtrade one, to ensure the workers who have slaved over it get a fair pay deal to support themselves and their families.

Divine do a fabulous range of Fairtrade Easter Eggs at Ethical Superstore, so how about this pack of delicious sugar coated, speckled mini eggs. Not only are they fairtrade, but they have minimal packaging too!

Only £1.49 from Ethical Superstore

Happy Ethical Easter!

Want to buy a gift for someone that is funky, functional and will make you feel good about yourself?

Then the Pants to Poverty underwear ticks all those boxes.

Working in a similar way to the ’Make Poverty History’ rubber wristbands that took the UK by storm a few years ago, these pants aim to do the same.

They are a fair trade cotton product produced in India and £1 for each pair sold goes towards worthwhile campaigns in Africa.

They are are also organically produced, so everybody wins. They are snug, soft and look fantastic.

They come in a short style for the Ladies

And a boxer style for Men

What better gift can you give? Buy these pants for £12 from Ethical Superstore

You can’t beat a bunch of flowers to say a simple message – I Love You, Thank You, Get Well Soon or Congratulations. Especially on Mum’s Day, it can be just the thing to show her you care.

E-Flowers are an online flowers site that have been going since 1985, it’s a very easy to use shop and has some beautiful flowers on offer.

You can opt to have your flowers delivered on a set date or on the same day if you have forgotten someone’s birthday and need flowers to get there asap!

You can also include a personal message and select any additional gifts you may want to send; a bottle of bubbly, a box of chocs or a cute teddy bear.

I especially love the Rose Planter bouquet stuffed with mini pink roses for only £24.99.

A lot of websites require you to register as a user before ordering, this site gives you the option. If you haven’t time or don’t think you’ll use them again then you can just order what you want. But if you plan on using the site again, your info will be remembered, you will receive their newsletter with the latest offers and you will get £1 discount on your first order!

And what’s better than getting a fabulous bunch of flowers (such as some lovely Calla Lilies) for your mum on Mother’s Day? Getting money off!

The generous people at E-Flowers are offering money off when you book with us. For a 5% discount just type the word mum into the promotional code box when you checkout.

I know charity gifts seem to be the ’in’ thing, but they really are great presents to buy for family, friends and colleagues. They also provide much needed support to each charity and their work. Practical Presents is one of those charity gift websites that really does make a difference.

Practical Presents is a website run by the charity Practical Action. The charity was founded 40 years ago by Dr E F Schumacher and their mission has been to work with some of the poorest communities in the world, namely in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Like the old saying goes ’Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you will feed him for life’. Working on the same basis, Practical Presents allows you to select a ’gift that will go a long way’.

The idea is not to hand over food or money to these impoverished families and communities but give them the opportunity to provide a livelihood and an income for themselves and their family. And the gifts on offer at Practical Presents really do offer people a chance. Select from a range of gifts from as little as £10.

• £10 will buy fluffy ducks that will provide a Bangladeshi family with eggs.

• £50 will buy an alpaca to provide milk and warm wool to a Peruvian community.

• For just £25 you can help provide a clean water tap to communities in Africa and help prevent the spread of disease from contaminated water.

• £40 will buy a potters wheel on a stand which allows women to make pottery to sell in order for them to buy food.

• And £105 will provide drought-ridden farms in Africa with an irrigation kit to allow crops to be watered efficiently.

Want a gift for someone who has everything? Try one of the unusual but practical gifts on offer at Practical presents. We promise you won’t have to wrap it up or pay for postage either!

To find out more visit their website: www.practicalpresents.org

If you don’t want to buy a gift for someone just for the sake of it, how about buying them an ethical pressie. For just £10 you can dedicate a tree to somebody and help save the planet!

By dedicating a tree you will be giving someone a present for life and helping The Woodland Trust save our unique but threatened woodland for future generations to appreciate.

Each gift pack includes a certificate and a map so the recipient can actually visit the wood where their tree has been planted.

I think these make perfect presents to celebrate a new birth or in memorium of a loved one.

For a special gift, visit The Woodland Trust

You can buy (or more accurately, donate) anything from a goat in India, to a computer for Africa, all the way up to 100 acres of rainforest. Prices are aimed at all gift buyers, too – they start at £10 and can go up into the thousands.

It can be the ideal gift for anyone who’s socially or environmentally conscious. Or it can be a big hint for someone who’s a dedicated materialist!

We’ve had a look at some of the top charity gift websites, so read on to find out more…

The Good Gifts Catalogue

Run by the Charities Advisory Trust, Good Gifts claims to be the original charity gifts provider.

See more at GoodGifts.com

Oxfam Unwrapped

See more at OxfamUnwrapped.com

Great Gifts

Send a cow

Not just cows…
www.sendacow.org.uk

Practical Presents

Exactly what it says…

www.practicalpresents.org.uk

Being green and living ethically is a major talking point at the moment with everyone asking themselves ‘Do I do enough?’ Well, I have just found the perfect gift that does both. Mark the start of spring by spreading some sunshine in the form of these little sacks that contain oodles of wildflower seed mix.

The Sunshine Bag creates an explosion of yellow and the Love Bag will become a field of brilliant red blossoms – the only difficulty will be choosing which colour, hey – why not go for both!

If you’re like me and not very green-fingered don’t worry – they are easy to sow, just keep them watered and weeded and before you know it your garden will soon be transformed into a colourful haven – the perfect setting for the BBQ season or just relaxing in the sun with a glass of Pimms.

Get these Wild Seed Sacks for just £9.50 from the online eco shop www.yourtomorrow.co.uk. They also give you the option of donating to your favourite charity at the same time as shopping – what a great idea! So go on, Go Green.