It’s one thing to give. It’s another thing entirely to give good. What the heck, you say, I’m busy loading up my Amazon cart, stop talking nonsense.

But you know what I mean. You know the difference between ordering leatherette Spanx, value pack batteries and Malibu Rising online and feeling like poop when they show up two days before the holiday, and taking time to pick out gifts you love so much you wish you could keep, but don’t because you picked them out expressly for those very special people.

Giving good takes time and thought, research and follow through. Giving good means you and your recipients feel great about the gifts because they were crafted by people who put love into everything they make. Giving good means supporting local, minority and small business owners rather than corporate raiders and billionaires.

This is not a guide with “something for everyone.” This is a guide to help you find the right thing for the people you care about most. After all not everyone gets a present, just the ones who have been very, very good.

GIVE SELF CARE

Eu2Be

When you use skin care products made from pure, carefully sourced ingredients so rich you feel the healing the minute they touch your skin, the experience can stop time. For Charla Jones, founder of Eu2Be, that’s exactly the point. She creates oils, creams and soaps which are more than skin care, they are portals to the ancestral connection to our bodies that we have lost in the mad rush of modern life.

This season, give your friends and family the gift of self care and reconnection. Introduce them to products that will bring them back to themselves, back to touch, back to their bodies and inner focus.

Eu2Be is in the midst of a brand reimagining. New site and brand identity coming soon. Fear not - if you encounter a temporary landing page, click “Member Access” in upper right corner of the landing page, enter password: gratitude21 and start shopping!

Try our faves: Nourish + Protect Lip Balm; Enrich + Radiate Body Oil and Nurture + Nourish Lotion.

GIVE NEW SOLE

Peterson Stoop

Sneakerhead culture and the fetishization of athletic shoes has led to a manic increase in global production. Insatiable demand means more plastics, metals and chemical materials in sneakers, which makes recycling near impossible. Depending on what they’re made of, some soles will remain in a landfill for 1,000 years. Something has to change. Enter Peterson Stoop.

Founded by industry innovators Jelske Peterson and Jarah Stoop, the Amsterdam studio deconstructs discarded shoes and rebuilds new, cooler versions using sturdy recycled materials like leather and cork.

As every shoe is made from a number of other shoes (think Nike Air Force and Adidas Stan Smiths), each pair is unique. So unique, in fact that the shoes are not perfectly symmetrical. Kind of like your feet, your eyes and the sides of your heart.

Each pair comes with a polaroid taken during production, a dustbag made from vintage shirts and a recycled shoe box. And if you have some beloved pairs you’d like to reimagine, you can even customize. Check out our favorites: the Color Pop Patchwork with leather soles; the limited edition PS Synergy Mule and the Straight Nike Blazer in black.

GIVE GOOD GAME

Maria Molteni

Boston based artist, activist and craftivist Maria Molteni founded the New Craft Artists in Action (NCAA) collective in 2010 to “utilize art and design to address public space, diversity, collaboration, feminism and interdisciplinary learning.” They’re part of a growing group of creatives interested in blurring disciplinary lines and making art more participatory rather than just observational.

As a way to activate abandoned basketball courts and connect artists with communities and athletes, Molteni and NCAA launched “Net Works,” a project which brings people together to make DIY hoops for empty rims in “under maintained urban spaces.”

Now Molteni has created their first custom basketball called Sea Ball featuring colorful designs inspired by their mural “A Sea Bird” and they’re for sale. Imagine, a limited edition artwork you can dunk!

GIVE FOCUS

Patch NYC

There are lots of reasons why incense has been used in religious ceremonies and healing rituals since ancient times. Burning incense purifies space, stimulates creativity and encourages focus. It aids meditation if you are into that and reduces symptoms of ADHD if you are more like that. In ancient times it was thought to ward off evil spirits. Today people use it in their home offices, yoga studios, living rooms and bedrooms (some say incense increases desire…).

Don Carney and John Ross of PATCH NYC always have a stick of incense burning in whatever space they’re working in. For them it’s centering, calming and stimulating; and it must be working magic because they get invited to collaborate on more gifts than Santa Claus.

See the whole collections of PATCH NYC incense and burners including their beautiful collaboration with French ceramics company Astier de Villatte here.

Our favorites: Smiling Lips Solid Brass Incense Burner, Astier de Villatte Hand Incense Holder, and the Astier de Villatte Lion Incense Holder & Box.

SHAVE WITH PURPOSE

Pacific Shaving Company

I love the idea that you can make a difference with every swipe of the razor. Pacific Shaving Company, the eco-conscious, next gen shaving company started by my college roommate CC and her husband Stan, designed a rainbow of colorful shaving creams which give back to an equally colorful spectrum of causes.

Ever since they started the company in 2002, giving back has been central to their ethos. Who says shaving cream can’t save the world? For your stubbly and altruistic family and friends, there is no other choice. Just pick the color that aligns with the cause they most support.

CC explains, “As business partners, parents, and husband and wife, we've always looked at how we can make a difference, and we saw a real opportunity with different color shaving creams, using each as an everyday vehicle to raise awareness and support for important health and social causes that are close to our hearts.” This isn’t a quickie to draw holiday sales. Year-round, 10% of proceeds from each sale go directly to the following non-profit organizations: 

RED = Project ALS
PINK = Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation
YELLOW = American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
GREEN = Mental Health America
BLUE = Prostate Cancer Foundation
PURPLE = LGBTQ+ Equality & Inclusion - It Gets Better Project

Oh what fun it is to #shavewithpurpose!

GIVE TIME

Style Scout Personal Styling

Alisa Neely’s clients know that “time is the new wealth.” As Boston’s top personal stylist she offers closet consultation, wardrobe refresh, personal shopping, gift purchasing, party planning, professional styling and media readiness. In other words her services save time and energy that can be used for the important things in life like self care, shaving, burning incense for focus, knitting basketball nets for neglected neighborhoods and volunteering.

Alisa’s clients tell me being dressed by her is priceless. Giving the gift of a shopping day, closet consultation or year of styling is like giving time itself.

Style Scout’s services detailed here. Prices upon request.

GIVE BACK

If you have people on your list who don’t need anything but would love a connection to an important charity or cause, give the gift of giving back. A donation of any size to the following organizations would mean the world to the communities and families they serve.

Provide Early Education and Child Care: Neighborhood Villages

Feed those who cannot feed themselves: Community Servings

Clean Up Mother Earth: Mass Recycle

Support Student Artists and Teachers: School of the Museum of Fine Arts / Tufts

*Cover Image, DiEtte Henderson