9 gifts for animal lovers
My 15-year-old daughter Molly, whose younger likeness appears in both of my children’s books—Sprig the Rescue Pig and Gwen the Rescue Hen—recently became a vegan, and I followed her lead. Instead of experiencing it as a limit on what we can eat and do, it seems to have opened up new possibilities. When you stop consuming animal products it forces you to rethink not only how you eat, but what you wear, how you wash up—and what you think qualifies as a good holiday gift. Here are our gift picks for a humane holiday, preferably delivered by Santa sporting a faux fur red suit and commandeering a solar-powered flying sleigh pulled by 12 tiny electric reindeer. Because using real flying reindeer is inhumane.
Vegan Lush Beauty Products
For some, my daughter among them, Lush has an almost cult-like following because of its sumptuous, spectacularly colorful, and quite often sparkly natural beauty products. Not all of the unguents are vegan, but Sleepy lavender shower gel, Cup ‘O Coffee Face Mask, and Rehab shampoo qualify.
Elevate Snack Basket
If you’re not a vegan, you may not understand how unbearably thrilling it is to get a cornucopia of yummy stuff that is 100 percent animal-free. This snack basket is filled with 20 gluten-free, plant-based items like Snickerdoodles, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, nuts, chips, and more sweet and salty treats.
Already Loved Clothing
Yes, “already loved” is a euphemism and yes, I’m suggesting giving the gift of used clothing for the holidays. But any vegan worth her organic hemp tee-shirt wears clothing that is not just cruelty-free but also planet-friendly. The sites Molly and I love are lightyears away from your grandmother’s musty consignment store, selling gently worn (and sometimes never worn), curated fashion. My favorite is the unapologetically bougie RealReal that carries spectacular designer clothing. (And they sell gift certificates!) Molly prefers Depop, which features hipster “pre-loved” unique finds. (And yes, she rolled her eyes when I wrote “hipster.”)
Depop (order through the app)
Vegan oral care gift set
I get it. “Oral care” doesn’t have that sassy holiday punch you expect from a special gift. But hear me out. It’s not easy being green and cruelty-free when it comes to dental products. Available from Etsy (another plus), the packaging and contents in this pretty gift set are plastic-free and include a double pack of plant-based dental floss, a wooden toothbrush, bamboo toothbrush holder, copper tongue scraper, and toothpaste tablets.
Avocado Froth Bomb
It’s an avocado! It’s a bath bomb! This odd and yet luxurious treat for your vegan bath soaker is a brilliant stocking stuffer. It contains, naturally, avocado oil, along with sunflower oil, softening clay, and Epsom salts, and is sweetly scented with jasmine and sweet sage essential oils.
D’Italia Italian-Inspired Vegan Gift Basket
For something upscale and, admittedly spendy, this elegant Italian pantry basket does the trick. It includes delicacies like organic toasted Fregola Sarda wheat pasta, Mariangela Prunotto tomato basil Sauce, and Flaminio Umbrian Fruttato extra virgin olive oil. There’s enough here for days of gourmet vegan snacking and dining.
Claire Desjardins Kaleidoscope Glass Candle
I love beeswax candles and, not so long ago, scorned vegans who eschewed bee products. But now I get it. Not only are bees often hurt by the honeycomb collection process, many non-vegan candles have animal-based Stearic acid that can be derived from pig, cow, sheep and other animal stomach fat. I mean, blech! This reasonably priced coconut-wax candle from Anthropologie gives off a luxurious scent that includes citrus, sage, sandalwood, apple, and fig, and comes in a vibrant glass vessel designed by fine artist Claire Desjardins.
Harry & David Baby Vegetable Basket
Sorry, Harry and David, but for years I have associated your holiday baskets with a fusty bygone era and nothing I’d ever give or want to receive for the holidays. Then I learned about your fantastic baby vegetable basket! Seasonal baby vegetables like artichokes, radishes, kohlrabi, cauliflower and more all wrapped up in a pretty wooden box and ribbon. I’ll take it.
SAVE A pig, chicken, cow, goat, llama, donkey...
My children’s books were written about a hen and pig who each escaped a sad and predictable fate as coq au vin or Sunday bacon, respectively. If you can’t adopt your own rescued farm animal, you can still save one by giving the animal lovers on your list a sponsored rescued farm animal. Reach out to a local farm sanctuary to see if it allows you to sponsor an animal. Or go to Farm Sanctuary, which offers sponsorships for everyone from Albert the donkey to Adriano the llama, and allow these animals to live out their lives with dignity.
Books by Leslie Crawford
Sprig the Rescue Pig
Things aren't looking good for Sprig, who is packed into a fast-moving truck with dozens of other pigs. He doesn't know where they're going but his nose knows there's something better out there. So with one dramatic leap, or really more of a tumble, Sprig sets out on a pig-centered adventure that leads him to his new best friend, a girl named Rory. Inspired by true events, this light-hearted tale introduces kids to an intelligent and inquisitive pig who finds his way to a good life.
Gwen the Rescue Hen
Gwen knows very little about what chickens can do (besides lay eggs, of course). But after being blown out of the egg-laying factory by a tornado and into a strange new world, Gwen has to use use her wits and chicken superpowers to dodge danger at every turn. She finds safety and friendship with a boy named Mateo who earns her trust and takes her to a new and happy home. Together they discover how extraordinary an ordinary chicken really is.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A journalist and editor for more than twenty years, Leslie Crawford has primarily written about health and education. It was thanks to her daughter Molly, who has never met an animal she doesn’t like, that Leslie developed an interest in writing about animals. Leslie lives in San Francisco with her two children, six chickens, four foster pigeons, and a bearded dragon lizard named Georgia.
BOOKS
