Great Gifts for Kids & Teens
We’ve created a Great Brands gift guide!
We want to help you shop locally and sustainably to treat the people you love this Christmas.
Unique gifts for toddlers to teens, we've delved into their Christmas wish-lists to bring you this guide to gifts from local and sustainable companies so you can buy better.
We've tried to choose smaller companies to share the love around small businesses this Christmas. If they're anything like us then extra time to complete orders is appreciated very much, please help them by ordering as far in advance as you can.
Ages 0-10:
Yoto Player
- An innovation in screen-free audio for kids. This ingenious system reinvents the cassette player and allows children to play audio books or pre-recorded stories by inserting cards. UK company Yoto Play aims to give children the ability to listen to stories whenever they like, and potentially give parents more time in bed... You can use the Yoto App to set wake-up routines, and unwind in the evening with their sleep radio- and it has a 10 hour battery life so you can take it on trips.
Yoto Player, Yoto Play, £79.99
From Babies With Love
Not only is this fluffy eared baby hoodie incredibly cute, this ‘Kindness is Magic’ set is made from recycled plastic that’s certified to have been removed from oceans. From Babies with Love is a brand with heart, 100% of their profits go towards helping orphaned and abandoned children around the world- so when you buy from them you’re giving two gifts.
Kindness is Magic cozy organic and upcycled gift set, From Babies With Love, £64.90
Crayon Rocks
These soy based crayons are non toxic and made from mineral-based pigments. They’re chunky and have fabulous, strong colours to inspire creativity. Also their ergonomic shape helps strengthen children’s tripod grip, encouraging them towards using pens and pencils . They come in a lovely drawstring bag for safekeeping, no plastics here.
Crayon Rocks Back of 8 In Blue Velvet, Babipur, £9.04
Willsow
The very first of its kind, this plantable book can literally come alive. Once the book has been read you can plant a page and grow real plants and vegetables based on the story. Willsow is a UK company from the East Midlands, helping children engage with reading and gardening with books such as ‘The Basil Who Built Bridges’, ‘The Carrot Who Was Too Big for His Bed’, and ‘The Lettuce Who Wanted a New Look’.
Kidly
For playful children we recommend the luxe Pellianni Dress Up Mask. Made of super soft vegan leather, choose a favourite from the superhero, robot and astronaut. Each mask is made with an elasticated back along with a ribbon tie, so if your little one’s head is small you can make it a little bit tighter. They are comfy to wear, and are made with environmentally safe glitter too. Founded by James Hart in 2016, Kidly was launched as the only store a modern shopper would need for the 0-5s in their lives.
Dress up mask from Pellianni, Kidly, £13
Festive Studio
Start the Christmas excitement early with Festive Studio’s personalised video from the North Pole. The lucky little one will be ‘teleported’ all the way to the North Pole to meet real elves! How does it work? You personalise your video by choosing Santa Claus or Father Christmas, and enter the recipient’s name and their location on Christmas Eve. Then you simply choose a video, upload your photos and watch as they’re magically transported to the North Pole for a magical experience.
Personalised Video From The North Pole, Festive Studio, £10
Tell Tails
Who wouldn’t enjoy having a tail? These are beautifully designed to move realistically as the wearer walks, and you can bend it into any shape you like. They’re available in a fantasy zoo of possibilities from a dinosaur to a lemur or unicorn. Comfortingly for the young at heart, they’re also available in adult sizes, Helena Bonham- Carter has even designed a ‘fluffy feline tail’! Tell Tails was started by Hannah Gourlay around a decade ago here in the UK, her love of quirky festival wear quickly turned into a costume business that has been featured on Dragon’s Den.
Loopy Lemur Tail (Black & White), Clever Crocodile Tail (Green) & The Crazy Cat (Pink) all priced at £23
Rio Roller Skates
Whether it’s a new hobby for 2022 or an upgrade on a traditional pair rollerskates are having a moment, and Rio Rollerskates are among the most colourful brand out there. Established in London over 30 years ago, they’re committed to using as many synthetic alternatives and cruelty free products as possible in their colourful and innovative designs.
Rollerskaters like Oumi Janta are making names for themselves, inspiring us with seemingly effortless gliding and also offering tutorials on their moves.
Rio Roller Lumina Quads Red/Blue, £70
Rio Roller Milkshake Quad Skates Mint Berry, £75
Jojo Maman Bebe
The cutest outfit for Christmas, this adorable reindeer onesie is available in sizes for newborns to 6 year olds. It’s incredibly snuggly with a fleece exterior and soft cotton lining, the baby sizes come with poppers on the legs for easy changing and the older ages have a zip front. For a small additional cost you can even personalise it with upto 9 characters. Jojo Maman Bebe launched in London in 1993 and is now a BCorp, balancing profits with people and the planet- they have a brilliant initiative From A Mother To Another (FATMA) orchestrating donations of children’s clothing, that would otherwise have gone to landfill, for families in need across the UK and Ireland.
Reindeer Appliqué Zip Baby Sleepsuit, £20
Ages 10-17
Finisterre
We love this Ridge Tote Backpack, a superb item for any teenager that is always on the go. This brilliant design switches from a tote to a backpack and is from 100% recycled polyester ripstop. There is an inside pocket to keep valuables safe- and with its versatility this will easily become an everyday favourite. UK- based Finisterre was created over a decade ago to meet the needs of hardy British surfers. Another BCorp on our list, they prioritise society and the environment and are assessed to ensure they meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
My Little Eco Shop
Did you know that shower steamers are all the rage? Essentially a bath bomb for your shower, these steamers dissolve and release essential oils into the shower, an easy way to relax and unwind after a long day at school. We will be buying ours from My Little Eco Shop, a fantastic store that opts for products that don’t have a negative impact on the environment. Based in Exeter, Devon, they began the eco shop in 2020 with the purpose of bringing affordable eco-options to the market.
Marshmallow Shower Steamer, £5.99
Listening Store
Phone cases are yet another plastic we could swerve. Founded over lockdown in 2020, Listening Store makes sustainable and stronger phone cases than the plastic ones we normally buy. They’re 100% biodegradable with a 2mm thickness, an anti-shock feature and a resistant scratch finish. Listening Store recycle all old cases which are returned to them and they also donate 3% of each sale to the Rainforest Trust, to support and protect endangered species, threatened rainforests and other tropical ecosystems.
Iphone Case, Listening Store, £30
Colourful Standard
Oversized hoodies are exactly what everyone needs in the colder months, something snuggly and forgiving of indulgent eating. Colourful Standard has unisex ones in all colours of the rainbow, made from 100% certified organic cotton using environmentally friendly dye and PETA approved. Their goods are made in Portugal and aren’t trend-led, they advocate buying less and buying better.
Hotel Chocolat
The rave-reviewed ultimate hot drink machine, Hotel Chocolat’s creation is a thing of beauty. It makes hot chocolate, froths milk and looks stylish. Joy on any chilly evening and a comforting taste of home for later teens about to move away for uni. Hotel Chocolat sell flavored syrups for lattes and hot chocolate sachets, but a hot tip from TikTok is that you can apparently use a Flake bar instead for a fraction of the cost.
Hotel Chocolat Veletiser £99.95 incl delivery
Daisy
Crafted from 100% recycled sterling silver this lovely chain will fast become a favourite. Daisy London is a much loved British jewellery brand known for their beautiful, everyday jewellery, and this unisex chain is something you could wear all the time. Daisy London has partnered with 4Ocean and for every product purchased they will remove 90g of plastic, equivalent to 10 small plastic bottles, from our planet's oceans.
Estée Lalonde Box Link Chain Necklace Sterling Silver, Daisy, £55
Vintage Camera Hut
For the budding photographer, this hip Olympus Trip 35 vintage camera (made between 1967-1984) has been reconditioned with a new leather skin. It’s a point-and-shoot camera with the option to alter the aperture, the auto-exposure is solar powered and it runs without batteries. The Vintage Camera hut was started in London in 2018 to save cameras from being thrown away. They recondition old cameras, sell film, and offer photowalk experiences so you can learn how to use them (London based from £150). In the digital age we have thousands of spontaneous images taking up our storage space, but nothing can recreate the magic of film and tangible photos.