Eco friendly gift: A fragrant set of organic soap bars

Do you wonder what exactly an eco-friendly gift is? There are several products masquerading as ‘green and eco-friendly’. Few are so in the true sense. If you want to give a gift that’s truly eco-friendly, ask yourself these questions: Is it recyclable? Has it been made from sustainable material? Is it biodegradable? Is it natural/chemical-free? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then you have an authentic green gift.

And contrary to popular belief, going green doesn’t always mean spending more. A really simple and doable green gift idea is an organic soap bar kit. Organic soap bars are made using natural ingredients like flowers, fruits, herbs, honey, milk and essential oils. Chemicals are a no-no. Round up a few bars of organic soaps – each made with a different ingredient and carrying a unique fragrance, tie them up with a gift ribbon and your green gift set is ready.

Find a local store that sells organic soaps. You can also buy some of the gorgeous handmade soaps above from Mirasolfarm and Enchanted Beehive on Etsy. Or you can even make your own natural soap using the DIY soap tutorial for two of the soaps above here and here.

 

 

 

 

Housewarming gift: A happy home

Isn’t it apt when a housewarming gift has a little bit of a home in it?

I chanced upon on a gorgeously vibrant book on interiors, called Happy Home: Everyday Magic for a Colourful Life by Charlotte Hedeman Gueniau, at the main Copenhagen library (Hovedbiblioteket). As I was going through it, I thought of what a perfect housewarming gift this book would make.

Even though we visualize a million times how we want our homes to look, getting it right isn’t always easy when you’re starting from scratch. There’s an element of trial and error involved and it’s always nice to have help in turning your house into a home. I wish I had a ready reference like this when I was doing up my home the first time!

While you can always look up most things on Pinterest these days, I’m still partial to the good old book. The feel of a hardbound book, bursting at the seams in a riot of colours is like no other, don’t you think?

Happy Homes is filled with pages upon pages of beautiful photographs of colourful homes — homes that look like they’ve been lived in, like they have evolved over the years, with each room personifying a different trait. Though I got the Danish version, even with my limited Danish skills, I was able to enjoy the book as the photographs spoke like words sometimes can’t.

But more importantly, what I love about this book is that Charlotte talks about including a heady mix of whimsy, humour, adventure and personality in our homes and that’s what makes it a perfect housewarming gift for our friends and family starting afresh.

Do you have a favourite home decor book that would make for a lovely housewarming gift?

P.S: Looking for some more housewarming gift ideas? Take a look at this.

Why I’ve never given my mother a gift on Mother’s Day

I am a passionate gifter. I dive head first into anything that involves celebrating milestones. I spend time, effort and thought doing what a lot of people consider a chore – getting gifts. My blog goes by the tagline — the gift of love and life and gifts for all the happy occasions the duo entail. And yet, I’ve never given my mother a gift on Mother’s Day…not even a card.

Growing up in Mumbai in the eighties and nineties, I wasn’t even aware that such days existed. I was 12 when I first heard of Valentine’s Day (yes, we managed to escape the commercialisation for a long time). It’s only in recent years that concepts such as Mother’s Day have sneaked in on the tails of their successful leader, Valentine’s Day. Even so, the trend is restricted mainly to cities and large towns.

But, the more fundamental reason for not celebrating Mother’s Day, though I’ve been aware of its existence for a few years now, is because I’m not entirely at ease with the concept ( Strangely, I don’t have such a strong sense of discomfort with Valentine’s Day). Because for me, the math just doesn’t add up.

Being a mother, it’s not just for a day, is it? It’s an entire lifetime from the moment your child is conceived inside you. It’s an eternity of loving and nurturing your children, worrying about them, praying for them and, trying your darndest best to mould them into your version of what the ideal is. An aeon that is faithfully shadowed by self-doubt about your parenting skills and wondering, why you were a better mother before you had kids. You just can’t fold a celebration of that lifetime or salute all that work to fit in neatly in a boxed up, gift wrapped day. It has to appreciated, cherished and acknowledged a lot more often.

Like my mother and several others I know, I don’t expect a gift on Mother’s Day. Our rewards are random, our gifts come in unrecognisable avatars and our work is acknowledged in peculiar ways. It happens when, out of the blue, our child utters something incredibly intelligent or perceptive and we think, “Hey, I’m doing a good job, after all” or, when our tiny tot, who has embraced the ‘terrible 3s’ phase with alarming alacrity, realises that the tantrum has gone too far and offers up conciliatory wet kisses and an apologetic, “BUT, I love you”. It hits us with an unexpected thud when our rebellious teenager, in the throes of adolescence, decides to end the conversational cold war with a casual funny remark aimed to say, “Maybe you’re right and you have my best interests at heart”. It props up in the form of our partner in (parenting) crime who pitches in with gusto without assuming that raising a child is the sole obligation of the mother.

Unless our lives are peppered with these and several other such affirmations that make the hard spots in mothering worthwhile; unless we stop believing our mothers should be ‘selfless paragons of virtue, who paradoxically don’t need to have a say in their own homes’; unless we recognise them as individuals with their own quirks and qualities, anything we give or receive on Mother’s Day would be an empty gesture.   

I say a little prayer for you

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This is not the kind of post you normally read on I Love Gifting. But then, today is no normal day and this is no normal world we are living in.

This morning, the first piece of news I read was about a five-year old girl raped by her neighbour in Delhi, India’s capital city. As I write this, she’s fighting for life in a hospital because not only was she raped; a glass bottle and pieces of a candle were inserted into her private parts. The police initially refused to lodge a FIR, telling the family to be happy that the child was alive. 

Reading about it felt like being punched in the gut…repeatedly. Her innocence lost forever, is there any chance that she will celebrate the gift of life, the gift of being a woman? That is if she survives, if she gets the chance to grow up at all.

As I say a little prayer for this little girl — as many others are doing, perhaps the people in power (read the police, the judiciary) will be benevolent enough to give her the gift of justice. Because it is becoming increasingly apparent that in India and several other places, justice is not a given, it is a whim, a fancy — where these stories repeat themselves in an infinite loop, the horror never-ending.

I say a little prayer for you little one. 

Going timeless: 5 gift ideas that won’t go out of style

I was over at Glad2bawoman* last week with my 10 gifts for the constant traveller. Today, it’s their turn to visit me with a guest post on 5 timeless gift ideas for women.

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Contrary to popular belief (widely held by men mostly), women are not hard to please. If you’re getting a gift for a woman, all you need to do is give some thought to her likes and dislikes. There is a vast array of gift options for women to suit all budgets and occasions – can’t say the same for men!

If however, you don’t know the likes and dislikes of the lady in question or are short on time, there are some classic gift ideas to fall back on.

5 timeless fashion accessories that make for good gifts for women

1. Pearls: Get jewellery – not just any jewellery, make it pearls. Think Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and you’ll know what we are talking about. Pearls are elegant and timeless. A simple strand is enough to earn you brownie points. A strand of pearls around the wrist, or one around the neck, pretty pearl danglers for the ears or even a pearl brooch – there are several designs and options to choose from.

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2. A little black clutch: This is an indispensable piece of fashion accessory for women. Even if she already owns a few, one more is always welcome. A black clutch goes with every single outfit and can be embellished with brooches and pins for a festive look. Choose a simple design;  many come with embellishments and bows, others have elegant thread work and yet others might have a contrasting band. To play safe, go for an all-black in velvet or suede, with a linked, chain shoulder strap. 

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3. Perfume: It’s difficult to go wrong with this one.  Women love to smell good and what’s more, there are different perfumes for different times of the day — floral for the day time, musky for the night, citrusy for summers and so on. So test a few and choose one that you think has the best fragrance. If you’re unsure, go for the classic brands – Elizabeth Arden, Chanel No. 5, Dior and Nina Ricci. They are on the expensive side, but if the lady in question is special, it’s money well spent.

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4. Scarves: Gift a scarf in a pretty pastel or floral design – Hermes or H&M are favourites with fashionistas.  Make sure the scarf is made of silk for that pretty, floaty look when tied around the neck. Branded scarves are a tad expensive, so you can always look for local offerings. Several online shopping sites offer scarves that look effortlessly chic and at great prices!

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5. Watches: Nothing says timeless more than a beautiful watch. Choose from classic designs – with pretty interlinked chain bracelets, delicate watch faces with silver numbers engraved into them, some watches look like a piece of jewellery.

You can get them in silver or gold, sometimes with rhinestones or precious gems embedded in them. If your wallet permits, choose from high fashion brands like Cartier, Omega and Guess. Or go one step further and source a vintage watch. Vintage watches have a timeless appeal that’s hard to beat.

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So there you have it, 5 timeless gift ideas for women.

*Glad2bawoman is an online media company for women with over 75,000 community members. Visit  www.glad2bawoman.com to read articles on leisure, empowerment, relationships, health and fashion. 

Twisted necklaces: a lovely handmade gift

I got to craft a lovely handmade necklace at yesterday’s Craftenhagen* event.  At my first event, I’d made some cute handmade cards (read about it here), so I was excited to see what we were going to attempt next. 

This time, the talented Marine Daloze of Copenhague DayToDay showed us how to make a simple but lovely necklace from wool. All it involved was lots of twisting and turning, a pin here and a knot there. Easy ha? Well, not at first. But definitely doable with a bit of practice.

This would be really nice gift for my girl friends. The best part is using the same technique, I can make bracelets too.

Check out more of Marine’s handmade jewellery at her Etsy shop, Psoesaie.

* Craftenhagen is a monthly get together of crafters in Copenhagen with each month featuring a different crafter sharing a new skill with the group. 

Women, gift yourself this

It’s that time of the year again when women are honoured, recognised, awarded and feted. International Women’s Day is lurking around the corner, waiting to spring platitudes about your strength, forbearance and triumph over struggles.

That’s all well and good. But how having a little fun? How about making your life a little easier, your struggles a bit more surmountable?

This Women’s Day, give yourself the gift of:

1. Understanding: You are special, get that. You have 1 out of 365 days dedicated to you, a day when the whole world is celebrating you. Who else has that? Other than mothers, fathers, grandparents, pets, elephants, books, environment, nerds and meteors (let’s ignore them shall we?).

2. Quick retorts: Make a list of retorts you can use every time someone tries to blow on your parade. The retorts need to have one thing in common – they need to be witty, clever and yet somehow graceful. I’m sure you can manage that with a few hours of thinking hard and a few minutes on Google. Do this and you won’t curse yourself the next time you’re left dumbfounded by an uninvited, unanticipated mean comment and you take a whole hour to come up with a cool retort.

3. Laughter: Have you tried laughter shots? Every time you inadvertently make a fool of yourself, instead of cringing, try laughing till your tummy hurts. Trust me there will be many such occasions in your life. It’s not too hard; after all we do it when others make prize fools of themselves, don’t we? Think of all the laughter flooding your life.

4. Acceptance: Accept that there is a possibility (sure it’s remote) that you’re not going to be the perfect mother you envisioned. Why let that stop you from being a good one though? As a wise mother once blogged, “most women were better mothers before they had kids”. Memorise this for life and remember it every time you think you’re in danger of exploding at your children.

5. Dreams: So you’re a woman, you’re special. But, since when is special a synonym for fragile or weak? Wake up; take responsibility for your life and your dreams — no matter how small and silly, no matter how big and scary. If you can’t do it alone, ask for help. There is always at least one person in your universe who can and will help.

Be that tribe that someday in the near future won’t need a special Women’s Day. We can always gift it to sparrows or bats can’t we? I bet there are some species that needs it more than us.

Mummy’s jar

A little bit of pampering, a little bit of love

Hands off everyone, this one is just for mummy!

I recently visited my friend Yana who gave birth to a baby boy two weeks ago. While I had gifted her a painted baby name sign (read all about that here) at her baby shower, I was keen to give something that was just for her.

From my own experience, I knew being a first time mother could be stressful and tiring, especially in the first month. During this period, everything tends to revolve around the baby and a good night’s sleep is a luxury!

So, I put together a mason jar of little things — chocolate candy, raisins, chewing gum, fruit flavoured chaptsick and tissues with a cute cow print on them. She can place it within arm’s reach and help herself to whatever she feels like or needs at any time of the day or night.

Fruit flavoured chapstick and a fun cow print tissue

I decorated the jar with a label and ribbons and added a tag that read:

Candy for the sweet moments with the baby.

Gum for those days when you don’t get time to even brush your teeth!

A tube of chapstick to soothe lips overworked from showering the baby with so many kisses:-)

And tissues to wipe your hands clean.

My friend loved it and thought it was very thougtful! The good part about this kind of gift is that it is versatile and not many can resist a goodie jar! You can fill it with any number of goodies …jams, pickles, cookies, anything that the recepient likes.

A baby shower

A name sign for baby Raphael

And it’s a wrap!

Today, I attended a baby shower for the first time ever! In India, some Hindu communities have a ‘woman only’ ceremony for the mother-to-be when she is in the 7^th or 8^th month of her pregnancy. It is called godhbharai in North India while in South India it is called Valaikappu or Pulikudi. The mother-to-be is decked in traditional attire and is showered with blessings by the women from her family and community. In India, it tends to be a religious ceremony while the western concept of a baby shower is oriented towards fun.

The one I attended was hosted for my Indonesian friend, Yana, by one of the girls from our Danish language class. Our host gave us a chance to experience a baby shower American style …but without the cheesy games! The entire room was decorated with ribbons, balloons and signs…all in blue. After some yummy homemade cake, a variety of finger foods and fun conversation we sat down to open the gifts.

Since I knew that my friend was having a boy and having pried out the baby’s name, I had made a cute and colourful name sign for the baby. I painted the letters in the name in white and yellow against a dark blue background. I then peppered it with some cute animals – an elephant, a whale, an owl, a butterfly and a bird. Some nifty work with gift wrapping paper, magazine strips and a gift tag followed to complete the job.

Little Hippo rompers!

The gifts from the rest of the girls included a cute hand knit brown sweater, a pair of pretty blue wool socks by Lisbeth Dahl and a set of tiny white and green rompers with a matching cap that said “tiny hippo”:-). The mother-to-be was of course thrilled with the baby shower and the gifts and a good time was had by all.

A pair of cute, blue baby socks in wool

A hand-knit sweater to keep the cold out!

My top ten picks for mothers

This post is an attempt to help those looking for a special something to gift the mothers in their lives. Stop reading right now if you think this is another attempt to commercialise the thought behind Mother’s Day.  If you, like me, believe in celebrating all year round and not just specific days, don’t wait for Mother’s Day to even tell your mother how much you love and cherish her. Do it now!

1. Family tree: Check out this personalised family tree with some lovely phrases by Inviting Moments. Make your own family tree with motifs of leaves, birds or hearts.

2. Bird family necklace: Looking for something your mother can wear? I absolutely adore this elegant bird family necklace in sterling silver that I chanced upon in the Chiky store on Etsy. Top it up with a matching bracelet if you like.

3. M.O.M: The ‘Mom Operating Manual’ by Doreen Cronin and Laura Cornell is about the ‘most advanced human models on the planet’ and what makes them tick:-). Meant as a hilarious guide for kids and fathers, it will appeal to moms too.

4. Wooden post card: Instead of the standard greeting card that are dime a dozen, try this one. Given that I love all things Jumbo, I immediately fell in love with the one that had a mother and a baby elephant. But the one I’m suggesting here is a fun one from the Optometrist Series by Yvonne Leong.

5. Songs for my mother: This album by the artist Ronan Keating was recorded in memory of his late mother Marie Keating and also to celebrate Mother’s Day. The songs that Ronan chose are songs that he remembers his mother listening to throughout his childhood. You could create your very own album with songs that your mother loves.

6. Personalised cutting board: You know how mothers spend a lot of time in the kitchen dishing up delicious food for the family? Well, this one is for them. Created by Red Envelope, you can customise it with your mother’s name or the family name and choose from four design options of silverware, rolling-pin, pig or elk.

7. The Small Stuff Bag: This little bag by Jane Says Vintage can be used in so many ways and is environment friendly. Perfect for moms who are always doing so many small and big things to make our lives happy.

8. Sewing: Does your mother love sewing? Look no further than ‘The Sewing Book’ by Alison Smith. As the publisher puts it, “written by a passionate stitcher and teacher, with her own sewing school, eager to produce a one-stop sewing bible for her students, this book leaves no hem unturned”. Loaded with information on techniques, tools and patterns, it aims to answer every sewing question.

9. Engraved jewellery box: Personalization Mall, the creators of this wooden engraved jewellery box, allows you to choose from nine poems written for your mothers, grandmothers, godmothers or aunts. You can edit one of our poems, or even write your own.

10. Chicken Soup for the Indian Mother’s Soul: Being an Indian, I couldn’t resist adding this one to the list. This book pays tribute to the phenomenon of motherhood – the universal calling that requires the skills of a master mediator, mentor, cook and counsellor. For all Indians out there, this could be a thoughtful gift if your mother likes to read.