It's December. The most complex month of the year. You love and hate it. One part of you is relieved it's the end of the year and can get ready to start a new year! And perhaps to add some changes in lifestyle? The other part of you might feel overwhelmed with the gift process and feel stressed - what to get - how sustainable, important, and needed is the gift? It can be exhausting, but I will share my personal approach.
I try to find practical gifts which will create more positive memories and emotions. Sometimes it is something you can make, e.g, I make my photo calendar to my family. But usually, I try to have a gift to which I could say something like "so now we can go outdoors more/so now we can do this or that or go there and so or just the person..." etc.
If still planning Christmas gifts, then why not to plan to give something that can bring people closer more often than annually? AND as a new year's change - go outdoors more often! In Sweden I learnt to live by their proverb: there is no bad weather, but bad clothing. Which entirely describes the whole term of "being Swedish".
Quote from lightmyfire.com "Winters are long and summers are quite often chilly in Sweden. And yet, we Swedes love spending time outdoors, in the woods, on the beach, in the mountains. We're blessed with a country that isn't just breathtakingly beautiful and varied, it's also open to everybody. This makes us very aware of nature - and the environment - from an early age."
I won't recommend indulging in buying expensive outdoor clothing straight away, instead, start with products that could help you to enjoy being out in nature for a short while. Don't you get tired of yourself when you have your yearly complains about the weather? Wouldn't it be nice after all we learn to adapt and live learning about nature and loving it? If we do care about the climate changes, there is a whole new information you should get into to know how to start getting involved in climate change movement. Then you'd need more sustainable/zero waste gifts!
In this post, I will share what I think could be nice and practical for a start. Depending on your comfort level and how you want to create your outdoor atmosphere, and also on your lifestyle - sustainable and a zero waster, and a vegan. Then you have to research more. I would like to have fancy outdoor coffee machines and such, but me and my partner we stand for the idea of minimalism in our backpacks - as we are travellers by foot or relying on public transport or our own energy - cycling, it is the best to carry light. If we had a car, I guess we would bring out to campsites whole living room to make beautiful Instagram pictures ;)
A good outfit is obviously the most important aspect of being comfortable outdoors, but that can come to your wardrobe by the time you know you definitely will try to spend time in nature without complaining about the weather. Outdoor clothing is expensive. I started with whatever I had - putting on 2-3 layers on, walking like a penguin, as the want to sit by campfire was way stronger than sitting on a coach at home. In 2017 I noticed so many new outdoor kitchen equipment popping up like mushrooms after rain, so, my list will be based on such things. Search for that espresso machine, a pancake or a waffle pan for a campfire, support someone's small business by buying the fancy enamel mugs with cheesy quotes which speak your heart. If you are a person who really likes handmade design then can look into finding outdoor sitting blankets, warm cosy hats, mittens, etc. Or, hey, hammocks are a cool thing!
We often upgrade our outdoor gear that it never is a question about the weather - if we want, we pack bags and go for a cycle cruise to find a beautiful spot to drink coffee in cold. After all, we don't need only Xmas season (or Valentine's day) to remember to come together with people we love and care about... ❤
First, let's share some inspiration moments of our outdoor kitchen experiences.
THERMOS for hot drinks.
We have one old-school found in a second-hand shop and the water keeps hot for 24h, and also a bit fancier one from recent "Naturkompaniet" purchase. So, it's up to your budget, your need of how long you want to be outdoors on how good your thermos should be. Obviously, 2-3h heat hold is not really a good idea. It's better to buy a good thermos from actual outdoor/adventure stores than from design/casual kitsch shops (done that, and it was the wrong idea)... I add this link here to see more, but out there are so many brands for thermoses, just search what's in your nearest outdoor shop or local online shop. If I had saved, I would have kept thermos what my family had used for more than 20+ years. You can do whatever you want to do with your thermos - let it be just hot water, tea or coffee, but I try to separate each. I would not pour coffee in my thermos, instead, I would use the coffee-thermos-mugs.
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| Photo credit: naturkompaniet.se |
OUTDOOR KITCHEN.
This part of outdoor lifestyle has improved and have been upgraded in the last few years so much that one might get overwhelmed with all offers! BUT start with something small and simple for the short escapes, if you plan to do several day hikes or live on the road for a while a would need to research this subject (I think I would go for gas Trangia than fire on fuel, but then again- depends on what trip I am doing). A few years ago on my birthday, I received the best gift from my friends in Malmö: my own outdoor kitchen the large size with a meaning that I can share it with others on my trips, and that I don't have to worry anymore about eating only prepared/petrol station food. TRANGIA has been my best friend on outdoor adventures since then.It's simple and practical. It has a smaller size too which we own as well, and on camping trips, we use both for our vegan meals.
ADVENTURE KNIFE.
There are so many available options as well, and the choice of a knife depends on your budget and the need for it. I have several knives, and I will recommend the type/brand I have used. From all my adventure knives, two of them are sentimental pieces. One is made in Finland Lapland which was my grandfather's knife, and after his death, I kept it as mine. And the other small outdoor knife is custom made by Karl Walter tools in Latvia (check out his Instagram feed and get one of his knives for yourself too). His knives are a great custom made gifts and are unique just because it's one time made! But here on photos, I share some other I own and can be good as starting kit for outdoor adventures - making fire or using for cutting food.
Travel HAMMOCK.
These things also have been updated through 2017, I have seen so many small hammock business popping up in each country that can't fallow all of them. I obviously have not paid attention much to outdoor gear companies in the USA, as those few times when looked up on online shopping, the shipping costs expended to more than the product, so, I looked up for more local products. And I found two brands I like from Latvia.
But, hey, out there are plenty of new brands, just go for whatever you need/want/like. I have two hammocks, one is from Independent Wolf Latvia, other is from LIFEEVENTURE. My Indp_Wolf hammock I call it my leisure hammock, if I used a hammock for light packing for a longer trip I would use my other which is 2x smaller and lighter, but not necessarily better, I prefer Independent wolf expansions - easier to find spots where to hang it. So, pay attention to small details, and for visual, buy for your own taste. I prefer Independent Wolf than Mans-Fifi hammocks just for the colourfulness reason. More simple, more matching tones with nature than standing out with bright colours. Those who like the colours, so "Mans Fifi" is a great choice then. Here is a blog post about hammock guide 2017(click).
You will never go wrong with getting a SPORK.
They are in various sizes, they are for babies, adults, for soups and porridges for fried potatoes and they are just simply a great idea - fork and spoon in one! We have plenty of them, and we use them even on everyday meals at home. Since we changed our kitchen food mixing spoons from plastic to wooden, we got wooden sporks too! I would love to say - carve yourself one, but then need to add on a list "woodcarving kit" (that was one year a gift to my partner). The most famous brand - LIGHT MY FIRE. Made by Swedish outdoor products. These babies I love to have colourful ones, but when we are outdoors... Unfortunately, we use our wooden sporks from Naturkompaniet and titanium spork by Light my fire. Or there are plenty of more fancier options now available. Your money, your choice!
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| Photo credit: lightmyfire.com |
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| Naturkompaniet |
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| Light My Fire |
COFFEE.
Okay, let's speak the coffee language. I don't have any fancy outdoor espresso makers, but I have seen on Instagram some, but I have not thought of buying it myself as I know my nature escapes are a bit more based on "survival" than trying to create a living-room outdoors. But I would love to try one day some of these coffee things myself! I use trangia coffee (kaffepann), which is old school and maybe boring for today's trends. I will just share with few, not to overwhelm with choices, but there are a lot to choose from! Okay here is one "GSI Outdoors Ultralight Java Drip Coffee Maker" - it doesn't make espresso but it's written that can do a good strong brewed coffee and travellers can use it for making just picked herbal teas too. I will mention again, you choose and decide for your own lifestyle beliefs, as for zero waste and sustainability there are many options which include the old good old school way, but for modern living, some designers have come up with few interesting outdoor coffee projects, so, dig in further reading about all different coffee makers than my list. For example, this article (click). And this one is a good article too, can see also the idea of using the famous French press outdoors (click).
Drinking cup!
This is my favourite things. I WOULD LOVE TO OWN every single possible outdoor mug, but as I am a nerd on minimalistic commodities at home, then I only stare at them when I visit any adventure or kitsch shops. This list could be long, but again try to think for your own needs and what you stand for - sustainable mugs are easy to found, but which will be the most practical? For what sort of adventures do you want it? If it is for surprise picnics with hot chocolate, then get any of that cheesy quote tagged enamel mugs or colourful bamboo material or keepcup, or... the list could go on but I hope you get it. For more adventures, I recommend looking into "Light my fire".
About these beautiful old school vintages hitting the new trendy hipster shelves, I really recommend to buy it from a local design brand, supporting the local small business you know, a good karma point. For example, piparmetra.com is Latvian brand I noticed this, 2017, year. On Instagram, I have seen several other small businesses with this idea! So, research!
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| Photo Credit: Urban Outfitters. |
SHOW ME THE LIGHT.
Oh, this is something for a bit perhaps more advanced level gift when one to give a gift, but this is worth mentioning. On the outdoor online shops, you can find any kind possible light/lamp you want for outdoor. It can be a torch, headlight or tent lights. I have got my small light-torch as a gift many years ago, maybe even as a kid. It was somehow a mandatory to always have your own little torch. These still are practical, but maybe not so much loved by modern nature hipsters. Here are two my favourite lamps we have. The old school lantern we don't really take with us on adventures, but light it up at home for "outdoor feeling", but we have used it outdoors too. And the other one is my life-saving candlelight lamp to use inside a tent to have it warm, dry air on cold campings. Maybe this is not so "beginner" gifts, but can be useful for an upgrade. When I was hitchhiking during late evenings, I used "lights on batteries".
All other small things.
What are they? If you have been clicking on some of my links I added here, for example, on naturkompaniet.se links can see a wide range of outdoor kitchen equipment and wonder "SO MANY THINGS!". I will calm you down, once again mentioning, that many of those things are really unnecessary. They are fun and cool to have, but in a real adventure in my own and together with my boyfriend we have noticed that we don't really need the "lightmyfire" or any other food boxes on our adventures. One of us has the folding bowl (an image in examples down), and other can eat straight out from the cooking pans. Sometimes we forget sporks, so, we make spoons from branches... The same about cups, but in the mornings you don't want to share your coffee cup (then I guess it is a good a lesson on"calming down your morning mood"). If you want to give a gift to someone who already has an interest in outdoor adventures, try to have a conversation on their gear, a sneaky chat when you show an interesting and question what they have and would like to have, and you will get the idea! One of recent things what makes beautiful photos of outdoor adventure on Instagram is having a cool picnic blanket! Can sit on it or wrapp up in it and drink your warm drink from thermos while at the beach (hopefully not windy)!
So, after all, what you need is just to feel comfortable! All the gadgets for outdoor are for many different type outdoor adventures - one or two day trip, or longer, or for just few hour picnic. It's up to you what you'd like to enjoy. We try to have several escapes during the cold season with the overnight stay, so, we have a bit more things to reach the comfortable-ness level. Sometimes I do just wish I had a magic wand and could get cortado and nice vegan spinach sandwich straight away than eat porridge, but at the end of the day the whole meaning of getting out in nature is to connect with simple living and needs, enjoy just being, connecting with yourself and nature. And I hope you can find something for your own level or take yourself outside the comfort zone for a bit!
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| Handloom / piparmetra.com |
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| Piparmetra.com / Naturkompaniet.se |
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| Handloom / Independent wolf |
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| Naturkompaniet.se |
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| Mansfifi.lv / wacaco |
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| Coffee thermos mugs / lightmyfire sport / trangia |
If you want to give a gift to your partner, then maybe a good beginners kit for trial can be 2 sporks, thermos and
any of the prepared meals which only needs hot water and no cooking(click).
I hope something inspired you to find your gift idea or not just that, but even a starting kit for going outdoors more! Many products shown here can be found in various second-hand shops around your town as well (well, in Sweden outdoor gear can be easily found). Some stuff I really recommend to get brand new or even custom made supporting someone's small business. Here are overall suggestions, but some other time I will try to focus on sustainable outdoor lifestyle and maybe analyze my own gear. As I am a weekend escaper at the moment, my gear is minimal and small. Just what always remember when go outdoors and it's a Swedish law: "inte störa – inte förstöra : don't disturb, don't destroy".
Enjoy! And love nature, we only have one nature.
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