Skip to main content
1. Chocolate
It’s a rare person who doesn’t love chocolate. So that tasty treat makes the perfect stocking stuffer or inexpensive gift. For the dark-chocolate obsessed, go with Theo’s 91 percent cacao bar, co-branded with Audubon. (Equal Exchange also has 55 percent cacao minis.) For those who prefer something milkier, opt for one of Endangered Species Chocolate’s many delicious choices.
Websites:
Equalexchange.coop/chocolate-bars
Marketplace.audubon.org/products/audubon-chocolate
Price: From $2.99/bar
2. Heifer International
Hope is the thing with feathers. This year, give the gift of a goat, chickens, even a flock of geese, through Heifer International, an organization that aims to lift families in developing countries out of poverty by providing livestock and teaching them sustainable farming and basic vet skills. For as little as $20, you can help a family revitalize its farm or business. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the animals; Heifer has a well-being policy that ensures that people understand how to work with animals in ethical and kind ways.
Website: Heifer.org/
Price: From $20
3. Cosmetics
Josie Maran’s Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter is the perfect remedy for dry winter skin. The hydrating body butter contains many organic ingredients, including aloe vera, shea butter, and argan oil, and is free of icky ingredients like phthalates and parabens. Herban Cowboy’s cologne in “dusk” smells like that mysterious gentleman you met at the nightclub—or saloon. “Free of dyes and harsh synthetics,” according to its online description, the product draws its scent from a natural blend of plant oils, including lavender, citrus, and Clary sage. Soothe those chapped smackers with Badger lip balms, made with organic extra virgin olive oil, natural golden yellow beeswax, castor bean oil, and extracts of organic aloe vera, rose hip, and organic sea buckthorn berry.
Websites:
Price: $3-$35
4. Adoption Option
Whether your gift recipients fancy birds or cats, there’s a great wildlife-adoption option out there. For the bird lover smitten with puffins, those 10-inch-tall, fish-eating sea clowns, try Audubon’s Adopt-a-Puffin program. Though only 15 individual birds participate, the number of adopters isn’t limited. Lucky birds! For the cat coddler, why not give the gift of a jaguar, through the World Wildlife Fund or the National Wildlife Federation? Of course, these won’t be live-at-home pets, but that also means no house-training.
Websites:
Projectpuffin.org/AdoptAPuffin.html
Shopnwf.org/Adoption-Center/Adopt-a-Jaguar/index.cat
Worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions/Jaguar.aspx
Price: $20–$100
5. Snack Taxi
These stylish baggies make the perfect alternative to plastic ones that fill lunch sacks everywhere. Know a dinosaur lover? Give her the dino-dudes snack pack. For the music aficionado, hand out the one called groovy guitars. Pick and choose based on the recipient’s personality. Best of all, you can fill these machine-washable, nylon-lined bags with just about any food that tickles your fancy.
Website: Snacktaxi.com
Price: $6.95–$8.95