We are currently in the middle of Christmas gift frenzy 🎁 Every year we think of starting to buy Christmas gifts early on, but every time we end up rushing in December, hours before shops closing 😱 . Obviously many of us get into the same situation yearly, so we thought of sharing with you some ideas of distinctive Swiss Christmas gifts that we are also considering.
This year we want to give it a local twist by proposing distinctive ideas and at the same time support small local businesses. We are sharing these ideas with purpose of sincere help so it’s not a paid promotion but our personal proposals that can fit different tastes.
Books about Switzerland
As this year marked a big return to traditional book reading we thought a book about Switzerland can fit Christmas gifts list. Here’s few suggestions:
- “The Expert Guide to Your Life in Switzerland” – a perfect book for those who are new to Switzerland. An entertaining reading and a roadmap to guide you through living in or traveling in Switzerland
- “Helvetic Kitchen” A wonderful cookbook by owner of Helvetic Kitchen web-site, the author Andie Pilot. A treasure of Swiss recipes like Alpler Magronen, Rösti and others.
- For travel inspiration seekers you will be spot on by offering 99.9 Ways to Travel Switzerland Like a Local by Chantal Panozzo’s.
Food & Drinks à la Suisse
You have a myriad of choices here, from Swiss wine to Swiss Cheese to Chocolate, and all can come with a nice twist!
If you or your beloved are chocolate lover then you might want to raise the “bar” and why not offer a monthly chocolate subscription to a close family member or a friend? The Small Batch Project is a perfect way to do it. Their chocolate collection is made by producers that are all “bean to bar”, so you can guarantee authenticity and quality.
98% of Swiss wine stays in the country, but some like it “hot” 🔥 ! Christmas is a perfect season for… vin chaud (or Gluhwein) or hot wine with plenty of spices in plain English. We found “Artisan du vin” for the ready-made vin chaud. Just needs to be warmed up obviously 🤓
If you are a coffee lover there is a new way of consuming coffee! We stumbled upon this local marvel – a coffee that you can eat – “Coffola”. Can be a distinctive alternative to the mainstream decorated “mugs” presents ☕️
Art from Switzerland
We are amazed at how many talented people live and work in Switzerland: painters, illustrators, creators of furniture and jewellery, and the list goes on.
Just to name a few art ideas for Swiss Christmas gifts:
- A variety of Swiss theme postcards by “Varsy’s”
- For adventure lovers you can find perfect craft gifts by “Swiss Wood Maps” – very nice wooden maps of Swiss lakes, as well as notebooks with Swiss peaks.
- We also wrote about the Advent wreaths in our article about Christmas traditions. Isa, a wonderful local creator who displays some of the best we have seen: so lovely and simple.
Swiss Local Business Gift Card
If your beloved ones like freedom of choice then here is your find! This COVID HEROS website allows you to buy a voucher or a gift card with plenty of choices to redeem from local shops. This is like a 2-in-1 gift as you will be at the same time giving a Christmas gift to one of these local businesses by buying from them.
Et voilá! If you don’t want Santa to miss your gifts this year, hurry up and check all of these distinctive and lovely options, and don’t forget to wrap your gifts with love and kindness 💝
For more inspiration about how to celebrate Christmas this year, head to our guide about how to celebrate Christmas in Switzerland, and our article about Christmas traditions.
