Holiday Gift Guide - Many Hands

Giving gifts feels good. And giving useful, planet-friendly gifts makes a thoughtful gesture even better.

Sweet somethings
“Sweet, local and healthful” sounds like a winning combination. Honey, a favorite for sore throats and as a winter immune-booster, is produced at several area farms, including Warm Colors Apiary in Deerfield (warmcolorsapiary.com), where you can find varieties such as raspberry, locust, goldenrod and basswood that start at $4 for an 8-ounce jar. Goldthread Apothecary in Florence offers a kids’ herbal honey ($14.99 for a 9-ounce jar) and several other honey herb blends as well.

Holiday angels
Diana Cooper is playing with a new deck: She created “Teen Angels,” a set of 52 inspirational cards for teens, who can make them a daily habit, or save them for when they want a bit of advice. “Your thoughts drive your life, so steer them carefully,” advises one Thought card. And an Earth angel card suggests, “Be an angel, help someone today.” About $9 at barnesandnoble.com.

Less chaos, more order
In “Live More, Want Less: 52 Ways to Find Order in Your Life,” simplicity expert Mary Carlomagno shows readers how to create order by stripping away nonessentials, making room for serenity, change, creativity and even enlightenment. Working on the principle that small steps are the most effective path to change, she offers a practical, realistic, week-at-a-time road map to living a life free of chaos and clutter—physical, mental, and emotional. ($12.95, Storey Publishing, available at www.storey.com.)

Lights on
Winter is an excellent time to think flashlights — one for the car emergency kit, and a few to keep in the house for when the lights go out. And instead of a traditional one, how about going solar? The Greenfield Solar Store carries a Solar Pull Light by eGear ($20) with a rechargeable battery. At www.21st-century-goods.com, you can find several models of hand-crank solar flashlights ($9 to $15).

A warm hug
We aren’t the only ones who like to wrap up in cozy wool on winter’s coldest days. Knitters can visit local yarn stores for patterns, or hunt online. Meanwhile, a vast selection of ready-made pet sweaters is just a Google search away. One website, www.onlynaturalpet.com, offers a range of sizes and colors (about $49).