Christmas gift ideas for freelancers and home-workers 2020
This year has seen a drastic shift in not only how we work, but how we spend our money. As UK residents face the likelihood of a pared-down Christmas in 2020, why not spend intentionally and support a small business when buying gifts?
In particular, buying gifts for freelancers or people who work from home offers the perfect opportunity to send money to the people who really need it. After all, whenever you buy from a small business someone does a happy dance! I can say from personal experience that receiving a gift made by another small business makes the experience just as thrilling. Happy dances all around. It feels great to know that my gift was made by someone who works for themselves.
My freelance wish list might be quite different to yours, but I’ve tried to include a variety of options that a business owner or side hustler might enjoy. From practical gifts like books and planners, to luxury items like jewellery and home fragrance, there’s something here for everyone.
Books
Out of Office: Ditch the 9-5 and Be Your Own Boss – £9.99
Let’s get the obvious gift ideas out of the way first, and start with a product of my own. Self promotion doesn’t stop over the festive season you know! May I humbly suggest my book, Out of Office: Ditch the 9-5 and Be Your Own Boss. A worthy stocking stuffer for anyone flirting with the idea of going it alone, it has a focus on understanding the ‘whys’ just as much as the ‘hows’. Out of Office will help you dive into freelance life and push you to the next level, making sure you’re taking time to reflect on your business and your state of mind.
Boss It by Carl Reader – £14.99
Another option is, Boss It by Carl Reader. It takes freelancers through everything they need to establish and run their own business – from the mindset it takes to turn a dream into a plan, to the need-to-know practical stuff for running and growing a business. Featuring case studies, templates and exercises to help freelancers put what they read into action, and turn that dream into a reality, this motivational book will enable them to Boss It.
Notebooks
Motivational notebooks – £14.99
These A5 faux leather notebooks are covered with motivational quotes to inspire freelancers in every way. The interior is lined on wood free paper with complimentary contrasting colours to give a chic appearance. Available in 3 colours.
More about the brand:
Generation Legacy are a luxury inclusive greeting card and stationery company founded by 4 siblings. They create products that are inclusive and also depict people of colour in a positive light for the mainstream market.
These sustainable notebooks, are shipped in biodegradable packaging – perfect for the stationery addict in your life. Every launch benefits a different charity, so you’ll be helping the planet in more ways than one when you buy a notebook.
The Positive Bullet Diary – £20.00
Ideal for anyone looking to bring some self-care and creativity as well as organisation into their freelance/remote-working lives. This 12-month undated diary and journal was designed by The Positive Planners to be an inspirational space to encourage you to be positive, productive and most of all creative. The Bullet is packed with monthly and weekly spreads along with positive affirmations and illustrations for mindfulness colouring. Whether you want it for a project, a season or a year, this journal quite simply makes planning your life a joy!
Desk decor
Handmade Abstract Dalmatian Print Floret Tray – £18.00
Each Floret Tray is hand cast with embedded Dalmatian Print detail and smoothed surface. Each piece has scratch-resistant feet and is sealed with a specialist Jesmonite sealent, making them stain and water resistant.
Handmade Dalmatian Print Curves Tray – £12.00
This Curves Tray is hand cast with surface pattern detail, inspired by Jackson Pollock, and smoothed surface. Each piece has scratch-resistant feet and is sealed with a specialist Jesmonite sealent, making them stain and water resistant.
White Faux Leather and Gold Letter Sling- £18.00
Upgrade your favourite freelancer’s workspace with this stylish letter sling. This will help them feel more organised going into the new year by storing notebooks and letters out of the way.
Note from Mel: The last day for ordering online for guaranteed Christmas delivery is Friday 18th December and 22nd December for click and collect from the studio in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham. Orders can be sent as gifts if recipients’ address is put in at the checkout.
Copper mobile phone stand – £30.00
Great if you have a zoom meeting or catching up on a long call as no need to hold your phone! Dimensions required may differ slightly dependant upon size of phones, however the one in the image is compatible with an iPhone 7 or iPhone 11. The holder also can be used to display a favourite photo or postcard. Message Copper and Blonde directly to check if your phone is compatible with this holder, or if the size needs to be tweaked slightly.
Planning
Invite your freelance pals to plan in style with this yearly planner. Lucy from Leaf Lane Studios says, “I have been so excited about this wall planner; I initially designed it because I wanted one myself, to help me plan stationery launches for you guys, but after a few polls on ‘the gram’ I decided to release a small run. There are just 14 available. I am really happy with how they turned out; I hope you love them as much as I do!”
More about the brand:
All of Leaf Lane Studios products are designed by Lucy, printed in the UK and are inspired by nature and the beauty of the Cornish countryside! All notepads are of super high quality paper stock (120gsm), so they stand up to the inkiest of pens (!), and are all wrapped in compostable, bio-degradable packaging.
These gorgeous celestial desk pads are a lovely paper planning solution for anyone working from home. Keep all loose sheets, quick jottings and thoughts/ideas in one place. For those fed up with having squeeze handwriting into tiny spaces – stress no more! There is plenty of space on these as they’re A3 in size. These also include 50 sheets which means a whole years worth of planning.
2021 Marketing & Content Calendar – £15.00
This calendar is the ultimate one stop planning tool to help business owners organise and plan online product launches and campaigns all in one place. Tried and tested by freelancers and brands, this planning calendar helps to keep launch content and marketing in sync with budgets and sales targets, as well as having everything you need to execute homepage, blog and media content AND plan your online marketing across multiple channels – the perfect investment to get 2021 off to the best start!
Includes:
- 2021 Calendar January – December (365 Days)
- Includes 2020 dates for year on year comparison
- Key UK Retail Dates and Events
- Homepage Planner
- Sales Target & Budget Tracker
- Separate Content and Marketing Sections
- Online Marketing Cheat Sheet
Food & drinks
TEA+ Stay at Home Bundle – £20.99
This bundle includes a selection of healthy teas and a branded mug in either blue or pink. TEA+ is a health & wellbeing brand, with a range of vitamin, mineral & CBD infused teas. By blending vitamins with delicious flavours, these teas provide a convenient way to take vitamin supplements.
Lisa’s Sweet Treats is offering a wide range of fabulous Christmas gifts. They have classic pic’n’mix or if you would rather something more festive, a Christmas pic’n’mix and novelty Christmas chocolate with some classic Christmas flavours. They have a range of products with varying prices to suit everyone’s Christmas budgets. Delivery is tracked and available all over the UK & the world.
Bakes by Remi is a business that started at home, with nothing more than an old hand whisk and trusty oven in 2018. After testing out a lot of cookies and brownies recipes and feeding them to her huge family, Remi created her original, unmistakably delicious, Bakes By Remi recipe.
More about the brand:
“It’s fair to say I love making treats, so it’s always great to hear people tell me how much they love eating them so a huge thank you to everyone who supports my business and keeps my home smelling of sweet treats 24/7!”
Afternoon Tea and Cake Boxes – from £12.00
Homemade by Hema is a Solihull-based small business offering all kinds of delicious, home-baked goods! Cakes, brownies, cupcakes, Afternoon Tea boxes and more – they can do bespoke orders and safely deliver across Birmingham and Solihull. Each order can be delivered with a handwritten note for personalised messages too.
Choose from Afternoon Tea, Cake Selection Boxes (4 each of jam & coconut sponge, chocolate brownies, lemon drizzle), Brownie Boxes (6 of the best brownies you’ll ever eat!) £12 (can also be posted too) as well as customised orders and do bespoke bakes.
Unusual gifts
The Big Moments cards – £18.50
These cards from Small Biz Big Moments are designed to help small biz owners celebrate the moments in their biz journey. From launching their website, to saying no, blogging, making 50 sales and more. Each card has a vibrant front design plus prompts on the back to record all the details of the moment. There are two packs available – one for service based businesses and one for products.
Subscriptions gifts
Teapro gift subscription box – £24.00
Every month, Teapro subscribers receive a themed box around a particular type of tea (green, black, white, chai etc.) as well as some fun, bite-sized tea education.
The tea pouches are plastic free and the brand encourage tea lovers to experience tea in its authentic pure form and have strict no tea bag policy!
Your monthly reminder to take time for you. This self care subscription box is delivered direct to your door and contains a self-development book, plus accompanying gifts to inspire and empower.
Receive your beautiful WILDWOMAN self care subscription box direct to your door every month. Each WILDWOMAN box is highly curated to include gifts that go with the theme of our chosen book and gifts to remind you to rest, relax and reconnect with you. These gifts include stationary, beauty, bath, aromatherapy, wellness, health and snacks.
Choose your subscription length from monthly or bi-monthly (every other month) or save when you sign up for 3, 6 or 12 months upfront. In every box you will also receive our 16-page WILDWOMAN magazine and our WILDWOMAN journal prompt, an exercise aimed to reconnect you mind, body and spirit.
Jewellery
Sansa gold hoop earrings by Minimal Be – £126.99
If you know a freelancer who still likes to look in point when they rock up to their desk each morning, consider some classic hoop earrings. For me, hoop earrings are a timeless accessory and always make me feel ‘put together’ when I’m running late for a zoom call.
About the brand:
“I created Minimal Be, a brand with a purpose to give you high-quality gold jewellery that will hopefully last you a lifetime. A brand that will give you an opportunity to go back in time with jewellery pieces that withstand the test of time and can be passed down in a family for generations to come”
Homeware
Embellish an interior with this stunning Eucalyptus Garland, ideal for adorning a mantlepiece or hung from an exposed beam to beautify a room. Add some of the Frosted Eucalyptus Stems to create a classy and festive feature that is bound to become a conversation starter. This is a great little all-year-round decor piece and also helpful for props for freelance photography.
Fig & Vanilla Soy Wax Candle – £8.99
A luxury scented soy wax candle that produces a soft, slow burn with a sweet-scented aroma. Decorated with a smooth wooden lid, this glass candle pot filled with hand-poured Fig & Vanilla Scented Wax will add the perfect ambience to any room in the home.
Home fragrance
Kumusha Homeware is a small UK-based company solely focused on designing beautiful, ethical, and sustainable homeware inspired by Africa. Their first range, a collection of luxury scented candles, was launched in June 2020. These vegan candles are available in three scents inspired by iconic African botanicals and will fill your space with the most wonderful fragrances. The candles come beautifully packaged and make the perfect treat for yourself or someone special.
Luxury Diffuser and Candle Set – £67.00
This gorgeous gift set includes a Limited Collection luxury diffuser, Limited Collection crackling wick candle all presented in a gorgeous magnetic closure gift box. Choose your fragrance to suit your tastes, with four options: Toasted Coconut & Vanilla, Frosted Honeysuckle & Elderflower, Spiced Pear & Cranberry or Winter Spice & Jasmine
Handmade gifts
Personalised watercolours style trinket dish – £20.00
This personalised, hand painted ceramic trinket dish with a watercolour style design would make a perfect keepsake gift for your mum, sister, auntie, grandmother, friend or even yourself – the perfect place to store your trinkets and treasures
Give the gift of joy this Christmas through personalised handmade embroidery products. For Christmas Laura has created these exclusive Joy ornaments, which not only bring joy to you and your friends, but also to the vulnerable people in our local area. When you purchase a set of two Christmas ornaments for £15, 20% of the profit will be going to our local food bank in the form of mince pies, pampering soaps and decadent chocolates. Everyone needs to indulge, right?
Bath & body
This lovingly wrapped set includes Cranberry Kisses Bath Bomb, Christmas Morning Bath Bomb, Rhubie Rose Bubble Scoop, Christmas Morning Bubble Scoop and Cranberry Kisses Bubble Scoop. I’ve used Grateful Grapefruit products myself and think they’re amazing. The scents are way more noticeable that some high street brands and always leave my skin feeling super soft. Just what I need when I’ve spent all day hunched over my laptop.
Was this helpful? What small brands are you loving this year?
