During this time of year, I am always on the lookout for unique gifts and the opportunity to support people/companies that sync with making the world better. Below are eight gift ideas (which includes eco-friendly Holiday cards, because gosh darn it, they are a gift. I applaud everyone who dares to approach the post office in December). This post contains affiliate links. THE THANK-YOU PROJECT book by Nancy Davis Kho Gratitude is a buzzword right now (and rightly so). The Thank-You Project: Cultivating Happiness One Letter of Gratitude at a Time tells the story of the year writer/podcaster Nancy Davis Kho wrote thank-you letters to 50 people, places, and pastimes that had shaped her, inspired her, and helped her become the person she was. Using her own story as a springboard and incorporating facets from the emerging science of happiness to understand why her gratitude letters worked so well, Davis Kho gives practical and reassuring guidance to readers who want to start their own Thank-You Project. I received a copy of the book and can confirm it will make you laugh, reflect, and itch to start writing your own letters to the formative people in your life. Consider gifting it to someone special, with a personal thank-you letter to them attached. Art Space Surprise Give the young artist in your family a space of her own. My talented friend Jany Lee shared several ideas with Girls That Create on setting up a fun and functional art space geared towards young children. She stresses any art space must give …

Clothing creator Aluma’s small studio is light-years away from the hustle and bustle of London Fashion Week. The independent businesswoman likes it that way and prefers the slower-paced approach she now gives to her designs. Living in Tel Aviv, Aluma credits her mother with bringing sewing into her life. At 14 she proclaimed there was absolutely nothing to wear in her closet. Her Mum respectfully disagreed, but said they could go to the fabric shop and that she would teach her daughter to make clothing from scratch. It took only a handful of sewing lessons for Aluma to realize she was hooked. Teenage Years After making pieces for herself, Aluma began designing clothing for friends. One of them, an aspiring photographer, recruited her younger sister and classmates to model for a makeshift photo shoot featuring Aluma’s clothes. The younger girls went gaga over the pieces and asked to purchase them. Even the attendant at the shop where the pictures were developed wanted to know where the clothing could be bought. “Much like today, my clothing sold by word of mouth,” Aluma remembers. “Even though I was selling items, going into fashion full-time didn’t seem possible. I simply thought it wasn’t a “proper” profession. While fulfilling my commitment to the Israeli army, I managed to get a job as a graphic designer. Working on the army’s magazine in that role made me think graphic design was what I should pursue in school, which is what I later did. But my heart was always with clothing design. …