The holiday season offers plenty of opportunities to show kindness to animals in your home and community. From helping at a local shelter to choosing thoughtful, animal-friendly gifts, you can make compassion part of your celebrations.
Adopt, Don’t Shop!
If you are ready to welcome an animal into your family, visit a shelter or rescue instead of buying from a pet store or breeder and give a companion animal the gift of a loving, forever home this holiday season. Beyond dogs and cats, rescue organizations may have rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, reptiles, and even fish awaiting adoption.
Remember that a companion animal is a lifelong commitment, so consider the time, resources, and care they will need long after the holidays are over. Adding a companion animal to your family and home can be a significant lifestyle shift that deserves thoughtfulness about personality traits, proper introductions, and good timing, which means animals are not an appropriate surprise gift for others.
If you’re not ready to adopt, you could try short-term fostering to give an animal a break from the stress of shelter life and much-needed socialization and love in a home environment.
With so many animals waiting for loving homes, choosing to adopt or foster is a meaningful way to make a difference.
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Volunteer at a Local Shelter, Rescue, or Sanctuary
Give the gift of your time and skills by volunteering. Many local shelters and other animal organizations offer volunteer programs with weekly time slots where you can help prepare meals, clean enclosures, or provide enrichment and companionship.
Animals in shelters often need regular human interaction to help them adjust to life in a home when the right family comes along. This socialization can include positive-reinforcement training, playing with toys, going for walks, and taking day trips. These activities can also help animals decompress from the stress of living in a shelter.
And, don’t discount using your expertise to help animal organizations in other ways, as well. Shelter and rescue groups often need expertise with social media, event planning, offsite adoptions, fundraising, and much more.
If committing your time is not possible, consider donating supplies instead! Many local animal organizations need toys, blankets, bags of food, and other essentials and will gladly accept new or gently used items.
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Humane Feasting
Many holiday celebrations center around sharing a meal with loved ones. Sadly, most time-honored staples are not often animal-friendly – but they can be! Easy swaps or simple vegan recipes can elevate a ho-hum holiday meal to a fabulous (and humane!) feast.
For appetizers, create a festive plant-based spread with assortments from Rebel Cheese or Darë Vegan Cheese, bringing all the flavor and texture without the cruelty.
For mains, swap the customary roast for a veganized version from Field Roast or Tofurky or the usual beef wellington recipe with this Unbelievable Vegan Wellington. Ready to start a new tradition? Try this Easy Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta recipe, which also happens to be nut-free and gluten-free, making it suitable for just about everyone.
For dessert, whip up a plant–based version of traditional pumpkin pie or plan ahead and prepare this tasty Vegan Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake. If baking doesn’t inspire holiday cheer, make it effortless with Yvonne’s Vegan Kitchen and Southern Roots Vegan Bakery. Both have ready-to-ship cakes for you and your loved ones to enjoy.
Representative Image (Brent Hofacker/ Adobe Stock)
Good Will in Gifting
Check out the cruelty-free options below, and remember to keep animals in mind when you do your holiday shopping!
Delicious Delicacies
Who doesn’t love a sweet treat or yummy snack to brighten up the winter months? And everything tastes better when it’s cruelty-free, so make the compassionate choice and enjoy some delectable delights with your favorite people.
Plant-Based Chocolates – Try high-end, fair-trade bars from Coracao Confections, order fully vegan advent calendars and other holiday delights from No Whey Chocolate, or enjoy a vegan version of a familiar favorite with Break Free Candy’s vegan dupes.
Baked Goods – Maya’s Cookies or Alternative Baking Company has you covered for cookie sets.
Tea and Coffee – To fill your loved one’s cup, literally, give the gift of tea from the iconic Traditional Medicinals, or for a more-caffeinated boost go for fair-trade coffee from Peace Coffee.
Family-Friendly Gifts
For the young — or young-at-heart — people in your life, bring the fun with these cruelty-free ideas.
Movie Night – Put together a movie-night basket with plant-based candy, popcorn, and a glow-in-the-dark blanket, then settle in for a movie that helps kids see the world through animals’ eyes. A few classic examples are Bambi, Charlotte’s Web, Finding Nemo, and Happy Feet!
Build a Plant-Based Gingerbread House – Yum Earth has a vegan gingerbread house baking and decorating kit that is sure to be a fun time in the kitchen!
Planet-Friendly Stuffed Animals – You can never go wrong with a stuffed animal toy. Some of the best options come from The Bear Factory, Naturepedic, and Stuffed Safari’s Eco-Friendly Plushies.
Out-of-the-Box Ideas
Book a vegan travel experience through World Vegan Travel for you and your loved one! These all-inclusive vegan group tours are unique, exciting, and take the stress out of planning a fully plant-based adventure.
Or, give the gift of plant-based cooking knowledge with a Scoolinary course! They offer innovative courses on cooking vegan and plant-based meals, with a wide range of cuisines to suit your favorite home chef’s tastes.
Representative Image (tan4ikk/Adobe Stock)
The Best Choice for Those Who Have Everything
Some folks are hard to shop for. They may have everything they need, or may request no gifts at all. A great option for them is a simple gift that gives back to animals in a meaningful way.
By making an Honorary Donation to LFT in their name, you can celebrate someone special while helping protect animals around the world.
However you celebrate during the holidays, thank you for keeping kindness to animals at the top of your list. All of us at Lady Freethinker wish you a happy and humane holiday season!
Representative image (ksuksa/Adobe)
