Complicated, messy feelings don’t go away just because it’s the festive season. Ruby Warner’s Little Moments of Light is filled with heart-warming illustrations and messages. It’s not a self-help book, there is no 10-point plan … but it is encouraging and thoughtful and would be a perfect gift for a teen or young adult who needs to know things will be okay. Also follow on @worrywellbeing. Welbeck, R317 from Exclusive Books.
A dog’s not just for Christmas. But Christmas is for dogs. Pooch is going to love this Gingerbread Man soft dog’s toy. R149.99 from Woolworths.
If you’ve a child who’s fascinated by insects and the outdoors, this luxury wood and leather bug box would be massively appreciated. R390 from envirokid.co.za
How cute is this Forest Friends advent calendar? Fill the pockets with sweets, clues or small gifts for your little ones to enjoy while they countdown the days until Christmas. You can also have it personalised with their name. From R695 from envirokid.co.za
Pour yourself a glass of The Royal Rhino and toast to This is Africa … while knowing you’re also helping the fight against the poaching of Black and White Rhino. A blend of rich, bold Arabica coffee and vanilla combined with milk, this luxurious cream liqueur is packaged in a bottle shaped like a rhino horn, and is brilliant served over ice in a short glass, in cocktails and drizzled over ice-cream for a quick-but-decadent dessert. And every time you buy a bottle (and another, and another) a percentage of the proceeds go to the anti-poaching fight. So basically you’re saving the rhino, one sip at a time. We’ll drink to that. R159.99 a bottle at most bottle stores or at royalrhino.co.za.
Every year. Every single year.
There’s that gift that’s impossible to wrap. Hello handy drawstring cotton bags. These come in a pack of five in medium and large. From R80 from mustloveparty.co.za
If we’re talking North Pole, we’re talking Polar Bears. Which are one of the eight species of bear … all of which are featured in the magnificent Remembering Bears – the latest in the Remembering Wildlife series of fundraising photo books which has already raised an impressive R18 491 947 for conservation projects. For armchair travellers, and those who like to support conservation, this coffee table book has splendid images of polars as well as American black bears, Andean bears, Asiatic black bears, brown bears, giant pandas, sloth bears and sun bears … images donated by 85 of the world’s leading wildlife photographers (think Marsel van Oosten, Art Wolfe, Frans Lanting, Greg du Toit, Daisy Gilardini and Morten Jørgensen, who took the cover image), with 11 of the stunning images taken by South Africans. One hundred per cent of the sales of the book go to conservation … much needed since the IUCN (International Union for Conservation and Nature) lists six of the bears as vulnerable or endangered due to pressures ranging from climate change to human-wildlife conflict and even those bears of least concern, such as brown bears, are at risk of being lost forever in certain countries. There’s also the horrors of dancing bears, illegally trafficked bears as pets or those used for medicine. To find out more about Remembering Wildlife, visit rememberingwildlife.com, and support them by giving a copy of the book to a wildlife enthusiast for Christmas. R895, HPH Publishing.
