You know December is here when you see the city buzzing with Christmas lights, Yuletide events and festive feasts. Gift shopping is perhaps the biggest part of the holiday season. Who doesn’t love a good pressie, right? But if you’d like to end the year on an altruistic note, we’ve got some ideas for Christmas gifts that give back to the community. With these big-hearted initiatives, you’ll receive twice the joy of giving!
Christmas gifts that give back to charity
Jewellery with meaning
Express your love for jewellery and your furbabies with local enterprise Postman’s Trinkets. This new brand is all about raising awareness for shelter animals and helping them. Its charm bracelet selection ($35 each) is elegant and lovely, but we love that 30% of all proceeds are donated to shelters like Save Our Street Dogs Singapore, Hope Dogs Rescue, Oasis Second Chance Animal Shelter and Metta Cats & Dogs Sanctuary. Shop silver and rose gold trinkets that you can customise with a coloured gemstone of your choice!
Postman’s Trinkets, available online
Artworks to raise funds
Thinking about adding to your loved ones’ art collection? Check out Rouge, an art sale and charity fundraiser that’s on till 15 December 2020. When you buy an original work by homegrown artist Hanming, 100% of net proceeds will go directly to the local non-profit of your choice: Art Outreach, Aidha or Food from the Heart. These Christmas gifts that give back feature limited prints like classic local breakfast foods alongside charming illustrations of cities worldwide.
Rouge, available online
Socks for migrant workers
Socks aren’t the sexiest item on a gift list, but they’ll totally come in handy for our migrant worker friends. That’s why the Singapore Red Cross is asking for brand new adult male socks for them to use at work. These practical gifts should be full-length, durable and made of good quality cotton that will last. Just drop off your stash at Red Cross House from now till 19 December if you’re keen to help. Psst: Cash donations for this initiative are also accepted via Giving.sg or GiveAsia.
Red Cross House, 15 Penang Lane, Singapore 238486
Photography for charity
Celebrating the lives of foreign domestic workers in the city, Singapore Sisters ($65) is a beautiful tribute book by photographer Hayley Durack. In it, you’ll get a peek into the lives of 32 women working in the little red dot. Through compelling photographs and poignant interviews, she highlights their strengths and sacrifices. Plus, 100% of the profits go to Home, a charity organisation that provides food, shelter and legal aid for domestic and migrant workers in distress.
Singapore Sisters, available online
Gifts made with love
Non-profit social enterprise Social Gifting is a community of differently-abled crafters. Pick out your gifts here and you’ll be supporting them with secure passive income. It’s especially meaningful for these folks, as many of them are unable to find employment elsewhere. The online shop features everything from quilted pouches and hand-crocheted bags to animal keyrings and handmade Christmas cards.
Social Gifting, available online
Trees that bring hope
To turn 2020’s twists into positive ones, New Zealand has partnered with conservation charity, Trees That Count, to plant a ‘Forest of Hope’. How can you help? Just share your disappointments of the year online and Tourism New Zealand will turn them into hope by planting a native tree. Don’t be shy; we’ve all been let down by 2020 in one way or another (cancelled vacays, anyone?). You can gift it to yourself or a friend by purchasing one for $10. Best of all, you’ll come full circle when borders reopen, as you can visit the tree you helped plant in either Northland or Queenstown. How’s that for something to look forward to?
Forest of Hope, available online
Festive bentos to spread Christmas joy
Yuletide feasts are great and all, but if you’d like to share the love with those in need, opt to gift a Charity Festive Bento to beneficiaries of The Food Bank Singapore. Fork out $10 and you can make someone’s Christmas that much more heart-warming. Each set contains roast sage chicken, butter pea mash with cranberry sauce, chestnut salad, Christmas muffin fruitcake and orange juice. Psst: Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore will match every order with its own contribution! Order by 20 December 2020 so they can receive their meals in time for Christmas.
Charity Festive Bento, available online
Shop socially for a good cause
Looking for Christmas gifts that give back? Local marketplace Fairmarch has a collection of socially and environmentally responsible products, as well as vendors that support disadvantaged communities. The range includes art, stationery, accessories, toys and home decor pieces. We’ve got our eye on home fragrances by Botanicals and Bees, Rehyphen’s MusicCloth City Map made of old cassette tapes, and virgin coconut body products by Coco Veda. This holiday season, Fairmarch is also collaborating with Free Food For All. The Gift a Meal initiative lets you purchase food for rough sleepers in Singapore – just one $10 voucher can provide two meals.
Fairmarch, available online
Jewellery that grants wishes
A brand that designs fine jewellery made with ethically sourced stones, ByCanary is committed to sustainability. This Christmas, you can gift your loved ones 18k gold or gemstone rings, earrings and bracelets… and make a child’s wish come true at the same time. Thanks to its #ByYouByUsByCanary campaign, 10% of its sales from now till 31 December 2020 will go to Make A Wish Foundation.
ByCanary, available online
Time to get into the spirit of the season with these gifts that give back!
The post Gifts that give back: Support a good cause or donate to charity with your Christmas shopping appeared first on Honeycombers Singapore.