Gifts That Give Back 2.0

I love hearing people say that they want to start giving back, and the holiday season is a wonderful time to do so— especially because you can share the joy of helping others with all the people on your list.

Organizations like food banks and homeless shelters are always looking for donations to keep people warm and fed during the cold season. There are shelters that only operate during the winter months, too, and all of these places are often in need of canned goods, volunteers, clothes, blankets, and so much more.

My gift guide from last year suggests tailoring the charitable organizations you pick for your friends or family to match their interests and then pairing your donation with a little present to turn it into the perfect Christmas present (example below). This year, I highlight some other gift guides that give back and some worthwhile organizations.

Gifted: DIY Etched Glasses

One of my very favourite people recently got engaged. I gave her and her fiance these champagne flutes, which are etched with their initials, as part of their engagement present. I wanted to share them here, not only because I love my friends and am so happy for them but because etched glassware is a perfect, easy, personalized gift to give this holiday season. Monogrammed pint or wine glasses paired with craft beer or a nice bottle of cabernet (or a beer-of-the-month subscription or a trip to a winery…) would be appreciated by any hostess or friend. I made scotch glasses for my dad last year for Christmas and he loved them. You can also etch glass casserole dishes, tumblers, mirrors, etc.

Gifted: DIY Coasters

My plan was to start highlighting gift ideas and doing small gift guides at the end of November, but obviously that didn’t exactly pan out the way I wanted it to. However! There are still 20 days until Christmas, which sounds terrifying but is plenty of time to finish everything on your list.

I am a huge proponent of handmade everything: gifts, cards, food, packaging. I think that if you’re going to give gifts, especially to people that you know well, it means that much more when you take the time to write a heartfelt note or wrap something in a unique way rather than just signing your name to the bottom of a stock message and stuffing the whole thing in a bag. The present itself will be a lot more meaningful if you put a lot of thought into it and your relationship with the recipient rather than buying something off of a wish list. I also love donating to a charity in someone’s name and gifting them a little certificate that mentions the donation along with a small gift that fits the theme. With that in mind, I’m going to feature a few very easy DIYs that can be done last-minute for the holiday season, starting with coasters.

Homemade Oreos

My brother is really picky (I told him this and he just said that he was going to start a blog and call it “My Sister Says Really Mean Things and Tries to Cover Them Up with Cooking”). He favours things like Funfetti cupcakes to from-scratch baked goods, so when I came across Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for homemade oreos, I immediately bookmarked it for future use.

Since he hates pumpkin desserts, I decided to make these in addition to the pumpkin cheesecake and bread pudding that I had planned for Thanksgiving. They turned out really well. I don’t like Oreos (it kind of grosses me out that something that claims to be filled with “creme” is vegan, and I can’t stand that they spell Double Stuf with only one ‘f’), but these are so good — the cookie isn’t too sweet, just like real Oreos, and the icing is exactly like the creamy icing in Nabisco’s version, only without the unhealthy and chemically additives.

These cookies ship well and would make a perfect addition to any holiday baking you have yet to do— especially if you flavoured the icing with a little peppermint!