27 Mar 2024 Holiday Gift Guide

‘Tis the season of last-minute shopping and that frantic festive panic! But hold onto your candy canes, because Give A Day Global’s 2024 Holiday Gift Guide is here to rescue you from the land of generic gift cards and regrettable impulse buys! We’ve scoured the globe – while dodging reindeer – to bring you a spectacular selection of gifts that don’t just sparkle – they truly shine by creating positive change in communities around the world. This year, transform your holiday shopping from a stress-fest into a feel-good adventure where every purchase has a plot twist: fighting for social good! Your thoughtful choices can light up hearts here and abroad…enjoy!

One Thread Collective: https://onethreadcollective.org/ (Colombia)

For the fashionista: One Thread Collective is as much about fashion as they are about making a statement: one that lifts up indigenous women in Colombia and their families! The Wayúu weaving traditions date back hundreds of years— creating a collective thread that links our global past, present and future. 100% of profits from the sale of these bags are reinvested back into community programs for the remote villagers including entrepreneurship, leadership training, reading literacy, and personal finance.

Grown sunglasses – https://growndesigns.com/ (Global)

For the bespeckled: Grown sunglasses are handcrafted from all natural organic, renewable materials, including bamboo, hardwood, and Ecotate® (plant based and biodegradable acetate). Even more, all Grown glasses give the “Gift of Sight:” for every pair that is purchased, Grown will fund sight-restoring eye-surgery for 1 person or diagnostic eye examinations for 12 children, through our giving partner Seva Canada, an international eye care charity To date, Seva’s partner programs have restored sight to more than 3 million people in Nepal, Tibet, India, Tanzania, Malawi, Madagascar, Cambodia, Guatemala and Egypt.

Latitude Chocolate – https://latitudecraftchocolate.com/

For the sweet tooth: Latitude Craft Chocolate’s mission is to use absurdly tasty chocolate as a tool for creating local jobs and sustainably improving incomes for smallholder cocoa farmers throughout Uganda. Their journey in chocolate began with a crew of radical and cocoa-obsessed farmers, agronomists, roasters, and chocolate makers committed to a vertically integrated supply chain allowing them to source award winning cacao from over 2,500 farmers, and process it at their bean-to-bar factory at origin in Uganda, for quality that you can taste.

Yolele: https://yolele.com/ (Africa)

For the foodie: give them fonio: a climate-smart, nutrient-dense ancient grain that’s helping transform rural communities in West Africa. Stuff a stocking with a bag of pilaf, or bring fonio chips paired with dip to your next holiday potluck. The fonio is sourced from small holder farms, bringing lasting economic opportunities to under resourced farming families. Fun fact: the brand name “Yolélé” is a Fulani term of exuberance used throughout West and Central Africa, which roughly translates to “Let the good times roll!” People shout out “Yolélé!” to get parties started and people dancing – a new expression to try at your next holiday gathering!

Creative Women – https://creativewomen.net/ (global – Vietnam)

For the little ones: Creative Women is a home and lifestyle brand working to uplift female artisans around the globe, including handwoven baby blankets made in Ethiopia. Their hand crafted designs showcase generations of skill passed from mother to daughter, supporting artisans to preserve their artistic heritage and time-honored techniques. Each carefully made piece tells a story of craft, culture and empowerment united with contemporary design. Creative Women works with over 1400 women in 9 countries and they strive for each of them to know their value and voice.

Likha – https://shoplikha.com/ (Phillippines)

For the homebody: Likha’s mission is to empower Filipino artisan families to overcome poverty by reimagining time-honored local craft for the global marketplace. LIkha means “to create,” and they celebrate centuries-old techniques passed on through generations blended with contemporary design to create a unique aesthetic of understated elegance. They aim to provide more than just livelihood – through their partnership they hope to help uplift the status of artisans, develop their confidence and sense of self-worth, and uphold their dignity as craftspeople. As a social enterprise, they commit to reinvesting a majority of our profits to achieve this mission.

Hanahana Beauty – https://hanahanabeauty.com/ (Ghana)

For the self-care enthusiast: Hanahana’s products are made with raw shea and all-natural oils that are ethically sourced from women-led cooperatives in Ghana and handcrafted in Chicago. They pay twice the fair trade rate for all shea butter to ensure that our producers are paid fairly. In addition, they provide over the shea producers, their children, and members of the Katargia community with monthly education workshops and funded social impact initiatives for community.

Looking for other ways to change the world? For international and unique one day volunteer opportunities, visit Give a Day Global’s volunteer page.