Unique South African gifts

The South African Christmas has changed. What was once extravagance and opulence around the braai or dining room table has turned into more festive family gatherings filled with love, laughter, and, you guessed it, unique South African gifts. Best of all, this newer format of handmade and homemade gifting is still happening around the braai or dining room table – phew!

With the tinsel season just around the corner, we’ve been awash with excitement at the FinGlobal offices. Short of hanging sparkly lights on our employees and handing out the mince pies (after all, there are still quite a few weeks to go, and we’re already humming all the festive songs we can think of!), we’ve decided to put our minds to something more productive for you (and our festive spirit). And that’s giving you some great ideas for South African gifts for him, South African gifts for her, gift hampers South Africa, and of course, some of the more unique options you can whip up at home and still wow even the most discerning of gift recipients.

Let’s look at some good old-fashioned unique South African gifts you make yourself and will be an absolute treat!

South African gifts you can make yourself

 Forget hunting for South African gift shops – make something yourself! What started off as a few suggestions scrawled on our whiteboard turned into quite the extravaganza of gift ideas, so prepare yourself – we’ve selected our top pick to share with you!

• Koeksisters

There’s nothing more South African or festive than a delicious pile of sticky, sweet koeksisters. Whip up a batch (or several, if you dare) and pop them into wax paper-lined gift boxes. Simply attach a cute name tag or gift card, and you’re done. Oh, and before we forget, we’ve got just the koeksister recipe here for you to try for this. You can get creative by making mini koeksisters or even try to make the biggest koeksister ever – the choice is yours! Koeksisters make for the perfect South African gift basket!

•  Biltong

Nothing says “I’m South African, and I love you South African style!” than a perfectly finished off box or paper bag of homemade biltong. This is a great idea for South African gifts for him or her! The nice thing about making your own biltong is that you can customise the taste to the recipient’s preferences! If they like something sweet, make chutney bites. If they like something spicy, add some chilli. You can get super creative with these and as you guessed, we have a nifty biltong recipe here for you to try making at home. You may need a practice round to ensure you get this right, so feel free to post your pics and comments when you try it out – we would love to see what you come up with!

• Clay footprint bowls

Here’s one we haven’t done before, and it’s ever-so-cute. These are great if you need to help the kids make gifts, want to make something cute for your partner, or spoil your grandparents. The thing is, you’re not limited to making this a footprint bowl. You can use your hands, a pet’s paw, or the children’s feet – the choice is yours. There’s a great website called Messy Little Monster that provides basic instructions on making these clay bowls at home here. Once you’ve made your bowl, all you really need is some pretty festive ribbon to wrap around into a beautiful bow on the bowl and pop a cute brown paper gift tag on – no wrapping paper required.

• Rusks, coffee/wine & a good book care package – the ultimate gift hampers South Africa

One of the themes that kept coming up when we were brainstorming gift ideas was how much everyone seems to be looking forward to some downtime. While the festive season is about spending quality time with family and loved ones, it’s also about taking a break from the hustle and bustle so you can renew your body and mind. What could be a better gift than spoiling someone to all the titbits required to take some time out and focus on themselves? Instead of buying gift hampers South Africa, why not try your hand at making a more meaningful one yourself? For this one, you’ll need the following:

• A cute gift box (you can find these at any Cardies or Birthdays nationwide, or pop into your local China Mall if you have one).
• South African wine: the general agreement in our office is the Chenin Blanc is a top pick! In fact, some of the best bottles you can get are the Cederburg Cellars Five Generations, DeMorgenzon Reserve, Durbanville Hills Collector’s Reserve, and Stellenrust The Mothership. You can check out our favourite South African wines list here.
• South African coffee: if you feel coffee is better suited as part of your care package, you will be delighted to know that there are several coffee options made proudly in South Africa! Robusta and Arabica coffee beans are grown right here in SA! Black Insomnia is a great choice for someone who loves a serious caffeine kick, as this is considered the strongest coffee in the world! Assagay Coffee is a great gift because it comes packaged in a cute bag, but Douwe Egberts and Colombo are also great choices.
• Rusks: we all know that Ouma rusks are to-die-for and if you’re not one to try your hand at baking, you could invest in a box of Ouma rusks and repackage the delightful treats in a glass jar or sealed box with a cute festive ribbon. However, making your own rusks will add an element of charm to the gift and we have a brilliant rusk recipe here for you to try!
• A book: while you can choose any book, especially if you know the recipient’s favourite author, a South African book would be tops. There are many talented authors that hail from South Africa, ranging from serious in-depth writers and poets to those who err on the funnier side of things. Some great South African book ideas include Alan Paton’s Cry The Beloved Country, Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime, John van der Ruit’s Spud, Deon Meyer’s Devil’s Peak, and Athol Fugard’s Tsotsi, to name a few.

While we would happily continue our list of South African gifts for him and South African gifts for her, we feel these are our top picks! If you have a few unique gift ideas of your own, please share them!

Share the festive cheer at FinGlobal

Jingling bells, the rustling of wrapping paper, and the smell of freshly baked mince pies and coffee are soon to be wafting through the air. We can certainly feel the festive energy rising here at FinGlobal, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve already packed it in for the year. Our gift to you is a few more weeks of dedicated emigration and finance-related advice and assistance to aid you with your upcoming (or already-happened) move from South Africa. We’re here to assist if you need FOREX assistance or advice about tax, retirement annuities, or financial emigration. You can contact us for more information and advice. And you can expect to be received by a great deal of festive cheer if you call us at +27 28 312 2764 or email us at info@finglobal.com, and we will assist you as best we can!