This year, we’re encouraging people to have Give Lists instead of Gift Lists for Christmas. As a gift registry site, you may think this is a bit weird, but it actually aligns with all of our principles in the perfect way – it spreads more kindness, prioritises joy, brings people together, saves people money and reduces unnecessary waste. What’s not to love about that?
We chatted to Ellie from The Enthusiast about her Give List…
“With a business name like The Enthusiast, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that I love Christmas. (Famously or infamously, it’s up to you to decide.) There is no greater time for me than the last quarter of the year: the festive songs (carefully compiled on a playlist called “For When You’re Bored of Mariah”, with the first song being Mariah), the cinnamon-laden everything, the snowballs (both alcoholic and otherwise), the twinkly lights and cold, cold nights.
By far though, what I love most about Christmas is gift-giving. The feeling of giving a gift you know will be coveted forever is one of my favourite feelings in the whole wide world, because it incorporates kindness, generosity and enthusiasm: all the greats! As someone who champions enthusiasm, I think there’s no better gift than being able to support someone in an endeavour they’re truly enthusiastic about. You can’t always do this via traditional gift-giving; Patchwork’s Give List gets around that.
Plus, thanks to icons like David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg, Irsa Hirsi and others, I’m now also painfully aware of the impact of unnecessary ‘stuff’ on the planet, and want to work towards minimising my impact wherever possible. This means the focus on well-thought out, intentional gifts is paramount – again, enter the clever sausages at Patchwork and their Give List.
One of the things I’ve done with my Give List this year is ask people to share their accrued wisdom in different ways. As I’m an avid baker, I’ve asked people to give me their favourite recipes for me to try out; plus I’ve asked for podcast or playlist recommendations (for when Mariah’s not seasonally appropriate anymore). My 2019 New Year’s Resolution was to learn a new skill every month and since I only managed to get to February, I’ve also asked my pals to teach me a new skill they’ve got up their sleeve.
Another really important thing you just can’t wrap up with a bow is time. Living in London, time is super precious, so I’ve suggested to my friends that they could gift me a date with them (and their dog!). And since I’ve just moved into a new flat (another thing Patchwork is really great for) I’ve also suggested prints, postcards and artwork to adorn the walls, so that I’m always surrounded by and reminded of the brilliant people I have in my life.
I’ve also chosen The Rainbow Cards Project as a patch on my patchwork, an incredible organisation who send cards to LGBTQ+ individuals from discriminatory backgrounds in the hope that they can help them feel less alone. It’s the least I felt I could do at a time which should be about love and happiness, but sadly isn’t for so many.”
Ellie’s the founder of The Enthusiast, a platform encouraging people to harness their enthusiasm unapologetically. (You can find her shop here). If you’re sold on the idea (or not, because there’s no money changing hands!) you can create your own give list here – here’s our readymade template to give you some more ideas!