Holiday Gift Guide to Meaningful and Ethical Gifts that Sustain Palestinian Livelihoods

It’s time to buy a gift for your loved ones. You’ve searched high and low for meaningful gifts that will bring a smile to their faces. You also want to make sure your purchases are ethical and contributing to a good cause. This can be a daunting task, and not for the weary at heart. I’ve had my fair share of roadblocks trying to find that one perfect gift that checks off all these boxes. I’ll admit – it’s hard to know exactly where to start looking, so I’ve done the searching for you. This list of gift ideas from Handmade Palestine ensures that you’re giving the unique, meaningful, and ethical gifts you’ve been hunting for! Plus we've curated a collection to help you here.

Through fair trade purchasing, Handmade Palestine sells products from local artisans while donating profits to sustain the livelihoods of Palestinians. From jewelry to kitchenware, your purchases from this list will also support a number of initiatives at Mashjar Juthour in Palestine, like wildflower conservation, tree planting, and environmental education work because we donate all the profits from every sale!

For the jewelry lovers in your life, consider the range of sterling silver olive leaf rings, earrings, and necklaces by Zaytouna Jewelry! Each piece is handmade with individual, once-used leaves from ancient olive trees in Bethlehem. These gifts can bring an extra sparkle to your loved one’s day while making a meaningful impact with your purchase by supporting the three artisans in this project.

For something inspired by traditional Palestinian motifs, snatch up the hand-carved brass jewelry made by the Beit Doqo Women’s Society. Each piece of jewelry is lovingly hand carved from brass plates and polished to perfection. I’ve always believed that jewelry is more meaningful when it’s made with heart and made with hands. That’s why this jewelry is a wonderful way to express your love and support the cooperative who makes these pieces.

If you have little ones on your shopping list, nothing is better than knowing your gift is made from organic and safe materials. The olive wood baby spoons from Little Olea provide just that. Stemming from Bethlehem, these handcrafted baby spoons are carefully made to ensure safety and peace of mind. These are the perfect gifts to create memories for years to come and support the 7 artisans in this project!

The embroidered handicrafts from the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children provide another wonderful way to gift your loved ones something special while still giving back. These colorful crafts come in keychains, cardholders, coasters, and much more! Your purchases will help the hundreds involved in this project by funding education and speech therapy at the school for the deaf in Gaza City. 

Whenever I receive kitchenware gifts, I can’t stop raving about how much I love them. In my home, these are the dependable go-to gifts. That’s why I have to mention our incredible range of ethically-made kitchen tools to give the chef in your life. Made by women in the village of Nisf Jebil, the handcrafted set of ceramic zeit o zaatar dishes are a staple in any kitchen. These vibrant dishes are individually hand-painted and can be a showpiece for your loved one’s dinner table while supporting the five women in this project.

These pair beautifully with the hand-carved olive wood tools and bowls from the Bethlehem Star Olivewood Factory. Get a number of these hand-carved kitchen essentials, like a set of bowls, cutting boards, honey dippers, and lemon reamers and support more than 12 artisans who are part of this creative process!

If your loved one likes to personalize their belongings, these multi-purpose interchangeable bag straps by Sarab are perfect! You can choose from a number of designs and colors, all of which use fabrics that feature traditional Palestinian motifs. Your gift will help the nine artisans who supported the creation of these beautiful crafts at the Al Amari Refugee Camp Center, where each strap is carefully handmade.

We hope this holiday gift list saves you time and stress in your search for ethical holiday gifts for your loved ones! Not only can these gifts provide a great way to make your loved ones feel special, but they also invest in the prosperity of Palestinian lives. With every purchase you make from this list directly funding initiatives that protect and sustain the environment and heritage in Palestine, what better way could there be to shop for your loved ones?

We hope your search for unique and meaningful gifts includes a purchase from the wonderful artisans at Handmade Palestine! Please visit all our collections here.