Linda: This gift is my personal motivation when I’m wrapping presents at home and decorating the flat for Christmas. It relieves stress, and the Christmas spirit can be fully realized. The children’s arguing or all the nonsense discussions that come around the table at Christmas become charmingly funny, and the world looks all right. Cheers!

Claudio: Alma is very curious, Coleen is rather reserved, Havanna is an individualist, and Lore is big and strong. The scenic Seealp in Appenzell offers godparenthoods for cows. Give your loved ones the gift of a cow for a season, including a visit to one of Switzerland’s most beautiful hiking areas, a milking session, and a souvenir photo. You can find a suitable cow for everyone here.

Margareta: Several years ago I had a strange experience with an X-mas gift. I had purchased a toy, a small crocodile in multicolored metal. When one rolled it, the jaw opened. I found it humorous and sent it as a Christmas gift to my teenage second cousin. To my surprise I received this gift returned the following year. It had obviously not been appreciated!
Needless to say, this was the last time I gave this person any gift. But the toy itself is priceless!

Idil: Are your loved ones around you complaining that they are under stress, have so much to do, and just want to relax? This mug is perfect for a present and makes everyday life easier. How nice it is to be supported by small things that make life easier.

Tina: For Christmas this year, I will give my parents-in-law calendars that the children have drawn and write down the important
birthdays so that no one is forgotten.
I also like giving the von Bartha x La DoubleJ dessert plates, which I love!

Judith: Not in the mood for Christmas clutter? Oliver Fabel’s nativity set will put a smile on the faces of all minimalists and kitsch haters and, last but not least, all children who like to play with building blocks 😉
Available in German and English!

Julia: This object is sitting on a shelf in my bathroom for years now. A beautifully shaped soap on a string to hang it on the slide bar of my shower. A delicate Chinese pattern is carved onto the black soap. And this is the point why this object will never make it into my shower – the beautifully designed surface will rapidly disappear once it is used for its purpose and will turn into something much less appealing. Sigh.
I prefer it staying dry and nice as a witness of friendship from the dear friend who gave it to me.

Daniela: My brother-in-law (I won’t tell names :-)) is the most confused person I know. He is always late, always forgetful (don’t get me wrong, I love him dearly), which often leads to the funniest Christmas presents for the whole family. One Christmas, a few years ago, he did not make it to a store and therefore visited a gas station near his parents’ home at the last minute before the Christmas celebrations to buy presents for us, as this was the only shop that was still open. For me, this turned out to be a bottle of champagne and an ice-scraper for my car. Champagne is always a good idea and the ice-scraper – which first leads to laughter in the family – I still use every winter morning to get my car ready for work.

I need to start thinking about what to give him this year. Maybe this pizza blanket would be a good idea:

Hester: My idea for a non-traditional Christmas gift is rather selfish – as I would actually really like one for myself this Christmas. Over the past years, I have grown so tired of flipping through the streaming platforms that we all know, like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney +, etc., which all have the same problem: they have decided what I might like and pre-selected what the general public should enjoy. Well, I don’t enjoy it and have been longing to pull out an old VHS player or DVD player to watch all the jewels I have been collecting. So this is a gift idea if you have reminiscent friends like me: Get a DVD player and five excellent movies on DVD that are not streamable.

OR, on the same idea, if they already have the DVD player, offer to digitalize all childhood VHS cassettes or even older media that have childhood recordings of first bicycle rides, birthdays, and more.