Christmas gifts are glorious.
They can be little or large. An extravagance or an essential. A delightful accessory or a thoughtful card.
As a child I loved receiving gifts (quelle surprise!). But now? Now it’s the giving which gets me excited. The joy of thinking about what friends or family might love. The delight in surprising someone special. And sometimes even the merry frustration of not finding what I’m looking for!
Gifts are so much more than just a physical object. They can also be a pick-me-up post-it note you leave for a partner. A FaceTime chat with someone who needs your understanding ear. Or an afternoon of babysitting so a friend can have some time to themselves.
Gifts are a window into the best bits of life. An expression of attention, affection, and celebration. A true symbol of care. For me, this is what 2020 has all been about: the importance of care. We all need a bit more care in our lives - whether you’re giving, showing, or receiving.
I wanted to recognise this at Fenella Smith and create gifts that care about the person and the planet. Here are my personal favourites for this year. These are gifts for anyone. Dog lovers, colourful creatives, trendy travellers or home cooks and bakers. But they’re also gifts for everyone.
For Dog Lovers
These are just the perfect gifts for your crazy dog owning friends, it’s a certainty they will yowl with delight! We have 2 sets of nested bowls in the house and they are constantly in use; baking, fruit bowls, condiment pots…
For Colour Lovers
Grab that yellow bag, and add the green purse and orange cosmetics case... add some colour joy. I love the yellow Mimi bag.. the vegan leather is so soft and the colour is just pure sunshine.
Boxed Gifts
There’s something rather fabulous about receiving a gift in a box.. the opening is almost as wonderful as the gift itself… It's like winning at pass-the-parcel! I have a list of pals and family that have already hinted at the eye mask and oyster cosmetic case sets.. just which colour for whom.. big decisions…
For the home cook
That’s me, I love cooking and I happily ruminate about the week’s meals ahead – and so I designed bakeware that works – a baking dish with side handles so you don’t get lasagne coated oven gloves, and a mixing bowl that’s generous enough for stir-up Sunday and all the cakes in between.
Green Gifts
My daughter’s godmother is a yoga teacher and a vegan and an insightful one – I’ve learned a lot from her. I’m proud to say our products are certified vegan and we are always looking at new technologies in the fabrics that we use. My favourite is our WWF Tote Bag, it currently has very exciting outings to Waitrose as that’s the only place we can go.. but it fits a lot in!
For Him
Mr Smith is a connoisseur of coffee – the beans, how it’s made, the cup.. so I’m rather honoured that he chooses a Fenella mug. He has also seemingly gathered an array of Foxx items.. the cable tidy pleases me the most… I’m certain he has no idea what most of his cables actually do.
For Her
It’s been a long year hasn’t it.. sometimes I want to hide in the airing cupboard – it’s warm, it smells nice and it’s quiet.. alternatively I could choose our gorgeous ishga set – run a bath, light the candle, shut the door, read my book – this gift is a gateway to a little indulgence.
For Beauty Lovers
I love a bit of beauty bag organisation.. I think the clear cosmetic case is a necessity for beauty lovers – you can keep everything tidy and organised, everything is quick and easy to grab .. then of course you need the makeup bag for the items you don’t use so often.. the smokey eye palette, the samples you have no idea what to do with but promise yourself you’ll try, and then the oyster cosmetic case – perfect for your handbag for the essentials in life that you can keep nice and tidy, colourfully tucked away… hmm kind of need all three don’t you..
Our pieces are designed to care about the planet. They’re sustainably sourced, vegan certified by the Vegetarian Society, and created by a climate positive company (us!) through Offset Earth.
Whatever you give, be it physical or spiritual, I hope that you enjoy the experience and that it brings a smile to someone’s face.
Fenella x