What is a good gift for a vegetarian?
The fact that vegetarians don't take any meat and other animal-based products does not mean that they are all the same.
At the end of the day, they are also people with personal preferences like everyone else. Thus, they should not be classed together as a unit of people who are the same in every way.
Considering that, there is a wide range of great gift ideas for your vegetarian friends, family, and lovers.
We explore all the different categories and broad selections below.
For a better effect, we have also selected those gifts that will work well with a lot of vegans and vegetarians, no matter their personality.
Best Unconventional Gifts for Vegetarians
The gifts above are great, but what if that’s what all your vegetarian friends and their grandmothers are getting?
You don’t want to get pigeonholed into what the world has defined as the best presents for veggies. Thinking outside of the box, you can get creative with the following ideas.
1. The Gift of Time
A watch is a timeless present that can be given anytime, to anyone, and for any purpose.
You can make things personal by buying the watch and engraving it for the recipient. That makes it even more personal than just copping a wristwatch from anywhere and sending it to them.
Speaking of wristwatches, though, you need to be careful with the ones you pick for vegetarians too.
For example, leather is an animal-based by-product which they might not appreciate. The good news is that you can choose a faux leather watch for them – so they enjoy the premium feel of a leather watch without betraying their beliefs.
Nordgreen's vegan leather watch collection makes it extra easy to find the perfect gift for you vegetarian friend or family member.
2. Charitable Donation
Various causes need support all over the world.
From getting basic food and water across to people in areas where such is inaccessible to providing better health facilities, the chances to make a difference are almost endless.
Make your vegetarian friends feel better about themselves by donating to a reputable cause in their name.
You can even hit closer to home by donating to an animal rights movement, an animal conservation center, or any other related establishments. That's an easy way to win their hearts better.
Side Note: purchasing from brands like Nordgreen allows you to give a normal present while still allowing your recipient to donate.
With the unique serial numbers on our watches, you can choose to let part of the proceeds of your watch purchase go to improving clean water distribution and enhancing better education of the less privileged, among other things. You can read more about Nordgreen's 'Giving Back Program' here.
3. Apparels
Besides a great watch for vegetarians, you can also buy them other forms of apparel.
A pin/ brooch that carries a proud vegan/ vegetarian message is something we know that they will like to use every day.
You can also get them faux leather bags/ purse to carry with them every time. Like the faux leather watch/ watch strap, they will love to use these gifts because of the controversial stares they would get from those who know them as vegetarians.
That gives them the perfect chance to start a conversation about how it’s not real leather – and how more people should use materials like this.
If you know your recipient personally, check for other forms/ set of apparel that they would like and include them on your shopping list.
4. Vegetarian Gift Set
Like the gift box above, you can also use a vegetarian gift set to good use.
Unlike a gift box, it is preferred that you go with an already packaged vegetarian gift set or hamper.
You would find stores, shops, and vendors offering such around you. Since the hampers and sets could differ in what they carry, make sure to look through each one for the pick your recipient will best appreciate.
What do you buy a vegetarian for her birthday?
Most vegetarians love to cook their meals by themselves.
For one, this is the best way to ensure that they are getting the right vegetables and nothing animal-based in their foods. On the other hand, cooking their food themselves also ensures that they don’t have to go through the hassle of looking for a vegan-based restaurant/ one with a vegan-based menu.
That said, not everyone likes to spend time cooking also. No matter what category your vegetarian friend falls into, these would do just fine for her
1. Recipes' Book
There are different recipes for cooking diverse kinds of veggies and we are sure your vegetarian/ vegan friend is yet to discover them all.
These days, you can buy such books with tons of great recipes off Amazon or any other supported eBook platform.
Going the digital way makes them happy in more ways than one.
For example, you have minimized the carbon footprint from the production of a paperback book by supporting the digital movement. On the other hand, they have a book that they can take with them anywhere in the world.
2. Kitchen Knives
Those recipes won’t cook themselves.
If you have ever spent any time around veggies, you will know that they need a lot of cutting to get them in the right cooking dimensions. This is where the kitchen knives come in.
When choosing knives, ensure to read about all the materials of make. Some new knives have handles made from animal bone materials – which defeats the purpose of your present in the first place.
3. Kitchen-ware
Easy pick here.
In line with kitchen knives, you can give some kitchenware too.
Pots, pans, spoons, and just about anything you can think of will be appropriate here.
Thanks to the different brands selling quality products today, you can always get the best value for money on most kitchen-ware.
For a better touch, make sure to buy this kitchenware in sets. They love it.
PS For tofu lovers, a tofu presser and/ any other piece of kitchenware that makes their lives easier. They will always remember you when they are making their tofu much better and faster.
4. Coupon/ Gift Card
Not every vegetarian loves spending time in the kitchen.
This is where the free coupons come in.
If you know where they love to shop, you could get them an in-store coupon to get what they want from there.
Even if you had no idea where they liked to buy their stuff from, find a general merchandise store and buy them a shopping coupon.
This idea is perfect for when you have run out of options on what to buy. This way, you are giving the recipient a chance to go buy what they will appreciate best.
In another way, you might have just given them the best present.
5. Gift Box
The gift box is an especially swell idea for lovers, best friends, and close family members.
You could go two different ways with the gift box game:
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Personalized – you find a lot of the little things (new or old) that they like and you combine that into the box. These could be things from their childhood, around the house, stuff that they have shown interest in in the past, or what else you deem fit. The personal, thoughtful touch to this kind of present makes it very appreciable.
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General – some vendors specialize in customizing gift boxes for different clients. You could also go to your favorite store and pick a couple of thoughtful presents that would be perfect for the box.
6. VejiBags – Extend Produce Life
Almost every vegetarian we know worries about how best to keep their produce from going limp so fast before they get the chance to cook them.
It seems that most farm produce doesn't even respect the refrigerator anymore. Before you know it, they go limp and start sagging in other aspects.
That is where a Vejibags comes into the mix.
These bags are designed to keep your kitchen produce fresh for longer than normal. It has something to do with the water-vegetable agreement, but the science is not all that important right now.
The best part is that the bags themselves are made from biodegradable organic cotton – as sustainable as they come.
7. Starter Kit
How did we miss this since?
You can encourage your vegetarian friend to produce their veggie at home with a free starter kit.
Even if they would not be making enough for consumption, they would still have something to tend to and care for. That is about as thoughtful as it gets.
8. Customized Shirt
One of the best gifts that you can give anyone at all is a cool T-shirt. The idea isn't new, but it works still.
The T-shirt doesn’t have to be a standalone if you can pair it with other presents. Fortunately for you, they don’t cost too much.
There is a caveat here, though.
Make sure you have something cool to print on the T-shirt. It has to be something they will be willing to wear and won’t find offensive to themselves/ other people.
If you are stuck for ideas, it's easy. Google some vegetarian shirt concepts for inspiration.
9. Mesh BBQ Mat
Again, for those who love to cook, a BBQ mat is just perfect.
But, isn’t BBQ for meat eaters only? That could not be farther from the truth.
The grill might have been made famous by the meats but they can do more than just add smoky flavors to animal protein. From making grilled sausages and veggie burgers to ordinary veggies themselves, there is an abundance of other things to cook on grills.
If you think they might not have an idea what to do with this mat, pair the present with a suitable cookbook so they can find appropriate recipes.
Again, another thoughtful combination.
10. Subscription Box Present
Help your vegetarian friends and family members connect better with like minds.
Subscribe to a newsletter/ magazine that delivers to their mailbox frequently. Beyond their birthday, they have something to look forward to from you every month – or the preferred timeframe of delivering the magazine/ newsletter.
Final Words
We believe that all the help you need to come up with great gift ideas for vegetarians can be found above.
From the options best suited to female vegetarians (on their birthdays or other special occasions) to unconventional items that they would not see coming, things are suddenly easy.
If in doubt, always know that a timepiece is never out of place. Even if they had one or more before, there is no law stating that you cannot add yet another beautiful wristwatch to their collection/
Over to you. Which is the best present for your vegetarian friend?
