Christmas presents for people like me

It’s around this time of year that I do terrible things to my credit card.

love Christmas and I love buying presents.

If you are looking for gift ideas for middle-aged women who love Marimekko but wear K-Mart, here’s some things that I can personally recommend as being both ethical and excellent.

Original artworks
Art is expensive, right? Nope, not always. I know a few artists who offer reasonably priced original work. Check out Louise Man Art for gorgeous watercolours of birds, flowers and landscapes. Speak to Katie Shriner about her highly detailed paintings or commission a pencil portrait, or check out Cathy Stait-Gardner’s beautiful illustrations in order to dream up a commission for her (she is especially brilliant at maps and anything cheese-related).

Taste Tours gift vouchers
I love Taste Tours because they’re the closest thing to an overseas holiday in your own backyard. Learn about a new Sydney suburb, do a walkabout tour of its best food and drink places, and get to know your guide. Taste Tour guides are refugees who have been employed to teach people about their native cuisine. I have done the Afghan and Persian tour of Merrylands, the Liverpool tour and the Ramadan tour and can recommend them all highly. Check them out here.

Four Pillars Gin
I’m not especially fussy about booze but gin is an exception. Four Pillars makes cheaper gin taste like aftershave and if you’re an occasional G&T drinker like me, you may as well push the boat out and buy the good stuff. More info here.

Plants and plant-related paraphernalia
The Planthunter team has launched its new book just in time for Christmas. Truth, Beauty, Chaos and Plants is the perfect gift for any lefty green thumbs you may know. Organic Gardener magazine and Diggers Club subscriptions are well met, as are any kind of plants, pots, gardening gear or gardening workshop vouchers. Random gardening tip: there’s a shop called David’s Stall in Luddenham that sells acclimatised roses for $7 a pot, herbs, shrubs and perennials for even less than that, and all proceeds are donated to cancer research. It’s worth the schlep if you’re building a garden and you don’t want to spend a fortune.

So friendies, what do you want for Christmas? What’s on your wish list?

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