Mindful Gifts: Wrapped With Love From Hong Kong

These items from local brands make the most perfect gifts for those in and outside Hong Kong!

As busy parents, we often find that every time we have a birthday, wedding, festive or special occasion coming up, it creeps up on us quite suddenly! When we want to take gifts from Hong Kong back home (as and when travel opens up), we might find that navigating all the new rules, testing and vaccination protocols have got us falling behind on our shopping. It’s not been the easiest of times, and no doubt friends and family will have found it stressful as well, so how about gifting them presents that focus on health, wellness and conscious living? You could also use this as inspiration to gift yourself something (some amount of self-love never hurt anyone!). Read on for some mindful gift ideas from Hong Kong brands and entrepreneurs.

Read more: For Her: 2020 Christmas Gift Guide

cravings.byjv

Brought to you by mother and daughter duo, Natalie and Jessica, cravings.byjv offers the sweetness and comfort of homemade infused and creamed honey products. We all know the benefits of honey, including improved heart health with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. It also helps fight coughs and respiratory infections (so useful in Hong Kong!) and aids in digestive problems with its antibacterial properties.

Over Christmas, cravings.byjv has special festive flavours such as Spicy Chocolate Creamed Honey and Pumpkin Spice Creamed Honey. Plus, there’s always the classic selection of honey infused with lemon, ginger and even garlic to help boost immunity (regardless of the season). Mix them with hot water and snuggle up on the sofa, holiday movies optional. You can catch them in Discovery Bay’s Pop-ups or order your own jars of goodness through the Instagram page.

cravings.byjv, [email protected], www.instagram.com/cravings.byjv

Read more: Gut Health: All You Need To Know And How To Improve It

Em’s Scented Soy Candles

What first started as a pastime of melting left-over wax from candles turned into an actual hobby of experimenting with fragrance oils and all-natural soy wax. Joey Repayo, or “Em-em” as she was called when she was a child, started organising “Candle Nights” at home with her friends where the team would play around and experiment with different wicks and scents. It was one of those nights when her friends planted the idea of turning the hand-poured candles into a business.

Must-try scents include Beautiful Mess, a fantasy bouquet fusing jasmine, gardenia, guava surrounded by blooming plumeria, English pear and freesia, and Ber Month, a fragrance infused with cinnamon, orange, clove, cypress and pine (with a touch of ginger and vetiver) to remind you of the festive holiday season. Perfect for enhancing a relaxed vibe, Em Scented Soy Candles are personally hand-poured. Take a look at her other unique and special scents online.

Em’s Soy Candles, 9154 5323, www.instagram.com/emsoycandles

OMSA

Asia’s online portal for wellness and spirituality, OMSA brings you the gift of well being this holiday season. Co-founded by our former That Mama, Coco Chan, and Valerie Ho, OMSA offers hand-selected goods sourced from around the world to cater to your self-care and pampering needs as well as specially curated kits to help you cultivate your inner peace.

The collection features essential oils, natural self-care products, healing crystals, expert-approved oracle cards and more. Favourites include the SOAK Society Bath Salts with aromas of peppermint, rosemary and bergamot as well as the OMSA Crystal Healing Kit with rose quartz, amethyst, clear quartz tumble stones, selenite and palo santo. For the month of December, all orders over $500 will get free shipping and a free mystical self-love e-workbook as a gift.

OMSA, [email protected], www.omsa.world

Read more: That Mama: Coco Chan, Founder Of Voltage PR And Co-Founder Of OMSA

Zohm Yoga Mats

Zohm was created by a yoga teacher and long-time practitioner. Underwhelmed by the current selection in the market, Zinzi wanted more than a plain lacklustre yoga mat, while avoiding loud or borderline distracting designs. While exploring different functional materials (other than the common PVC, TPE, jute or cork), the Zohm suede yoga mat was born.

Made only of natural and recyclable sources, Zohm mats feature original artwork and soft watercolour shades to brighten up your home or your studio. Made of velvety, luxurious microfibre suede on top of natural tree rubber base, and SGS-tested safe from chemicals, these are longer and wider than most mats (183cm by 66cm). They are 5mm thick to provide cushioning for the body and joints while practising yin, vinyasa or hot yoga and/or seated meditation. There are four shades to suit your mood: Sunset Breeze, Summer Blush, Lavender Spell and Tropical Mist. Find out more on the Instagram page.

Zohm Mats, [email protected], www.zinzi-yoga.com

Luxury Himalayan HK

For many centuries, music and sound have been used as tools to promote healing and meditation. One of the first instruments used for this purpose was a “singing bowl”. These mystical metal bowls come in a single, inverted bell form in different sizes producing very distinctive sounds. When struck, they can create contemplative and heavenly sounds. Singing bowls have been used for healing, spiritual and religious practices in India, Tibet and other parts of Asia.

Luckily we don’t have to travel far to get one in Hong Kong. Luxury Himalayan in HK curates high-quality singing bowls as well as antique copper bowls. It also has the more modern crystal version which likewise has the miraculous ability to bring the listener to peace and calmness. Take a look at the collection on Instagram and you can also find handicrafts and real Himalayan salt and salt lamps.

Luxury Himalayan HK, 9785 5680, www.instagram.com/luxury.himalayan_hong_kong

Read more: Your Guide To Meditation And Mindfulness In Hong Kong

52 Thoughts for Conscious Living

This is a great book to begin the new year with. It features 52 inspiring messages, one for every week of the year, to help you live more consciously. Author Sonia Samtani is a licensed Clinical Hypnotherapist and founder of All About You wellness centre in Hong Kong. Her seminars and workshops attempt to raise consciousness and empower individuals to navigate through the ups and downs of life with awareness and acceptance.

Sonia’s book presents deep concepts in an easy-to-read manner. Each thought of the week comes with an exercise to consciously imbibe the concept into your daily life. Through thoughtful reminders and altering habits, we can start to attract and manifest greater success, happiness and well-being.

Available on Amazon and at the All About You Centre

All About You, 10A, Wing Cheong Commercial Building, 19-25 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, 2992 0828, www.allaboutyoucentre.com

Make & Do Hong Kong

Sharing the love for all things crafty and handmade, sisters Becky and Lucy Gilmour set up Make & Do as a creative hub for events and craft workshops. With a combined background in Textile, Fashion, Crafts and Embroidery, you can join meetups, online tutorials and design workshops that bring together like-minded individuals to make and do.

Ready for creative therapy? Choose from the beginner-friendly classes and workshops, usually scheduled during the weekends in the Chai Wan studio. Becky and Lucy guide students into the world of embroidery, weaving and macramé. Learning a new skill is often an exercise in mindfulness. You’ll see time fly by as you apply these techniques to your masterpiece. Alternatively, you can also order Christmas or Hong Kong-themed Embroidery Kits to be delivered straight to your home.

Make & Do Hong Kong, Three Keys Craft Space, 906, Paramount Building, 12 Ka Yip Street, Chai Wan, Hong Kong, [email protected], www.makeanddohk.com

Read more: Handmade Gifts That You Can Make With Your Child

SKIN NEED

If you’re looking for ethical and environmentally-friendly beauty products, consider newly-launched SKIN NEED. Founded by biochemist Christal Leung, this brand celebrates individuality in a person’s skincare needs and routines. It also promotes wellness by replacing mass-market chemical compositions with natural and organic raw materials. Amongst the signature products is the Smooth Sail body oil (ideal for the winter), the Snooze Pillow Spray and the Mindful Presence Oil – a blend of rosemary, bergamot, and cedarwood essential oils – that promises to relieve anxiety and instil calm. Most of the products and festive gift sets have been formulated especially for Hong Kong skin types, climate and conditions and are available online on sister brand, Woke Up Like This (WULT). Local delivery is free on orders of $1,500 and above.

Skin Need, [email protected], www.skinneed.com 

La Taula

Looking to gift something that is vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free and yet is perfectly festive? The cheese chocolate artisanal box from La Taula ticks all the boxes. It includes your choice of one flavoured vegan cheese, chocolate orange cake, chia crackers, linseed crackers and a pickle sampler. Pre-ordering is required for this set, so WhatsApp to place your order. Even if not for gifting, this set is ideal if you are inviting anyone with dietary restrictions home for Christmas.

La Taula, WhatsApp: 5944 4971, [email protected], www.la-taula.com

Luüna Naturals

Looking for a gift that’s useful for you and the planet? Luüna Naturals, that makes eco-friendly menstrual products, is offering an Honest Period Festive Set this year (if sold out, look out for other specials with popular Hong Kong brands). It comes in a  special period care storage box, designed by artist, Ellie Suh. It also includes curated ethically-made goodies from local female-led brands. There’s a night light candle from Woodco and a Christmas blend chocolate bar from bean-to-bar specialist, Conspiracy Chocolate. The set also includes a Christmas card designed by Ellie Suh and a lifetime discount code on organic cotton LUÜNA products.

Luüna Naturals, www.luuna-naturals.com

Editor’s disclaimer: This post has been written by Zinzi, yoga teacher and creator of Zohm Mats. 

Read more: Practical Period Advice To Share With Your Teenage Daughters