Not sure what presents to buy for friends or family this Christmas? Why not choose gifts that will be appreciated and at the same time help to make the world a better place for our animal friends.
Whether it’s something for children small or large, parents, grandparents or friends it’s easy enough to find a good animal-related present. Books are always a good idea, whether fact or fiction. Doing a quick search on amazon.co.uk I just found over 2,500 books with “amazing animals” in the title!
Children of all ages love animals and they often love books too – a great combination! Let’s get them inspired about the wonderful creatures we share the earth with. Of course there’s countless to choose from, including older classics such as The Animals of Farthing Wood and Tarka the Otter or more recent offerings such as Gruffalo, the hugely-popular Tiddler: The story-telling fish, or the excellent Dragon Whisperer. Books with a moral tale can captivate whilst also teach value and respect for animals.
There are some wonderful photography books to inspire readers of all ages about the beauty and wonders of the animal world. Natural history books are a great idea too - maybe you know someone with a real passion for a certain type of animals – be that baboons, beavers, birds or butterflies, you can be sure there’s books about them. Finding out about animal’s fascinating minds and behaviour can change people’s perceptions and there are some engaging books such as The Emotional Lives of Animals, When Elephants Weep, Dogs Never Lie About Love and Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals.
If a DVD would be more appropriate there is a massive range of these too. I know many people who would be delighted to unwrap a box set of one of the BBC’s epic natural history documentary series such as Life. For younger kids there’s a wide range of entertaining films including titles such as Chicken Run and classics such as Disney’s Bambi and Watership Down.
As long as they send positive messages about animals and our relationship with them, any animal-themed presents are a great idea.
Nowadays there’s a large range of vegetarian and vegan cook books full of delicious and nutritious recipes. These would no doubt be well received by anyone who would like to reduce their consumption of animal products or has done so already.
It seems this cold spell is set to continue for some time. Why not share some compassion for wild birds by giving a bird feeder or bird table and some feed such as peanuts or seeds as a present. This could go down especially well along with a bird identification book and could re-enthuse an existing interest in birds or even create a budding new ornithologist!
Needless to say that it's never a good idea to give animals as presents. If you know somebody who is considering getting an animal suggest they carefully consider the long-term time and financial implications. If they are still keen then encourage them to visit a local rescue centre to give a loving home to an animal in need after the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over.
Of course a great gift idea is a donation to an animal rescue or protection charity such as OneKind. Youn may also like to sponsor a rescued animal at a sanctuary. Sending charity Christmas cards also helps to spread the word.
These ideas are of course just the tip of the iceberg and there are endless others. No doubt you will have some other thoughts and suggestions – please do share them below.
Let’s use this festive opportunity to share some happiness and have an animal-friendly Christmas whilst at the same time helping to create a OneKind world for the future.
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