Cornish Christmas gifts that will make a difference

2020 is the year of all years to shop local and choose Christmas gifts with meaning. However, we’re all stuck in lockdown and it’s pretty tempting to turn to Amazon. Here are a few Cornish gift ideas that can be purchased from the comfort of your own home, whilst making a lasting difference beyond the festive season.

Gifts for the Birds and the Bees

Green&Blue in Perranporth have put together some delightful gift bundles for garden lovers. They include Bee Cell nesting sites for solitary bees, wildflower seeds, bird food and illustrated guides to bees. Recently certified as a B Corporation, Green&Blue work hard to ensure their products meet rigorous social and environmental standards. Click here to browse their bee-autiful gift selection.

Tea, Cake & Art - Connections that Matter

Newlyn Art Gallery is running a Christmas campaign to support their Tea, Cake & Art afternoons, offering social creativity to older people living alone. The current coronavirus crisis is having a profound impact on already-isolated people, and these sessions enable meeting and creating together online or by post. Click here to donate in someone else’s name, and they will receive a gift in return. Funds raised will be matched by Creative Cornwall Calling, and the Cornwall Social Inclusion Fund, making your donation work harder.

The Hedge Pledge - Cornish Landscape Labyrinth

Golden Tree’s Kerdroya is a major new piece of permanent public art – a 50m diameter classical labyrinth currently being built of Cornish stone hedging at Colliford Lake on Bodmin Moor. Of all the human-created features of our landscape, first prize for impact, beauty and function (as well as geological, ecological and cultural significance) goes to the Cornish hedge. Click here to gift a stretch of hedge to a friend or loved one, and they will get their own marker disk engraved and embedded into the labyrinth.

Bookshop.org - Supporting Local Bookshops

The publishing world is buzzing with the launch of a new online book retailer, aimed at rivalling Amazon and supporting local independent bookshops. Bookshop.org enables you to find your local bookshop on a map, browse their recommended reads, and buy your Christmas gifts in the knowledge that you’re supporting your favourite Cornish bookseller. According to Bloomsbury Publishing, lockdown has brought about a surge in sales with people turning to books for hope and a positive view of humanity in this season.