Haven’t yet sorted your staff Christmas gifts? There’s still time!

Think outside the box and be good to your people, and the planet, with these sustainable Christmas gift ideas.

Gift an experience

Why not shout your staff a chance to try something new? Grab a voucher for a local eatery or attraction or check out www.redballoon.co.nz for inspiring experiences – from arts and entertainment to watersports and tours. No packaging in sight.

Be charitable

Create more joy and less waste by heading to www.thegoodregistry.com, where you can buy gift cards that enable staff to make donations to charities they care about. Or for a bit of fun, do good by grabbing a pile of poo, a pair of chickens or a pineapple at www.oxfam.org.nz/unwrapped. Remember, donations over $5 are eligible for a tax credit.

Gifts that grow

From single trees to bonsai and culinary hampers, NZ’s leading living gift company, Tree Gifts, has something for everyone.

Another great option is Trees for Bees. With bee numbers declining worldwide, planting trees specifically to offer food for bees is not only a great gift for your staff or clients, but it’s also a wonderful gift to help the sustainability of New Zealand agriculture.

Keep it simple

If you’re stuck for ideas, Google The Pressie Box. They’ve got hundreds of different corporate gift boxes, baskets and tins, including eco-friendly options for the budget-conscious or big spender.

Sustainable branding

www.allaboutpromo.nz is NZ’s only carboNZero certified promotional product and branding company with more than 500 sustainable gift options.

Get browsing

From home and garden, health, beauty, food and drink, you can browse local, eco options online at sites such as Green Elephant and EcoWarehouse.

Some of our very own clients have great, eco-friendly gift options:

• Mcginns Madefresh for beautiful skin care, natural deodorant, beard oil, accessories and more.
• HandmadebyKarenNZ for natural soap, hand made wash/dish cloths and more.
• Coffee Cartel, Hastings have a great selection of reusable coffee cups.
• The Coffee Corner, Napier also have great reusable coffee cups – plus who doesn’t love the gift of coffee!

Is less stress at the top of your Christmas list?

For the sake of your sanity and the best interests of your business, follow these steps to remain calm and collected as the year comes to a close.

Outsource!

Look at everything you need to do before 25 December. Is it doable without losing the plot? Write a list of what you can pass on to a trained virtual assistant or someone (less busy) in your team.

Say No

Often there’s a sense of guilt when we refuse an invite, opportunity or request but if you take everything on, you’ll suffer. It’s already a busy time of year, so the next time someone asks you something – check to see if it’s something you want to do or feel you have to do. Then if you can, politely say no.

Lean on your support network

Will you be working longer hours in the lead up and during the festive season? If you need to be able to prioritise your business over everything else, you’ll need a hand to make sure other areas of your life stay standing. Talk to your family. Enlist their help if you need it. You could even do a skill-swap with friends – mow their lawn in exchange for a meal.

Leave some tasks till 2020

There’s often a feeling of ‘I jussssst want to get this done by the end of the year’ running through our veins in December but taking time to relax over the holidays means letting a few things go. Write a ‘to do’ list then break it into three categories: must do, should do, can probably wait.

Hide your phone

The best present you can give yourself over the Christmas break is presence. Time away from work, spent doing what you love to do, and truly relaxing. Putting your devices in a drawer (even just for an hour!) will do you the world of good before launching into the new year.