Help me be the coolest mother in the world!

[gemandjule]

My daughter is in first year in Uni in Edinburgh. We do not live in the UK and due to travel restrictions we haven't seen her since Christmas and will not see her until June at the earliest. It's her birthday at the end of March so I am trying to think of a present or selection of presents that I can sent her by post or get delivered to halls that will appeal to a 20 year old who is great fun and very sociable but also very environmentally aware and will only buy sustainable clothes, vegan cosmetics etc. I also am nervous re brexit charges. I ordered something on line recently which came through the UK and I had to pay €60 customs which I was only informed of when it was delivered! Budget would be approx £100.
So if you were a socailly and enviromentally conscious fun loving 20 year old uni student what would you love to get delivered to your door.

If you are on Instagram, look up Nayna Patel! She's a university student at Edinburgh who is vegan and very into sustainability. My DD follows her for advice and recommendations. Will give you an idea of what that sort of demographic are into at the moment. I think she's on YouTube too.

www.instagram.com/naynaflorence/ this is her account, I used her for inspiration for my daughter's Christmas gifts. :)

This stuff in gorgeous www.edinburghskincare.com and local or try some of the zero waste refill type place and see if they do local delivery www.pebblemag.com/magazine/living/7-of-the-best-zero-waste-shops-in-edinburgh

Came on to say Considerit donuts - yum!

Edinburgh lockdown economy is also a good place to start. I found a very nice face mast from Rissie through there. Obviously I wouldn’t recommend a face mask for a birthday, but their other accessories look lovely - bags, hair bands etc.

@ BrotherlyLove snigger away there to yourself. She hasn’t left halls for months. She had a “party” with the flat next door. That’s 12 people in total. Obviously it’s against guidelines, not arguing with that for a second. Am I happy she’s facing a disciplinary; absolutely not. Do I think that somehow means everything else she has committed to since she was 15 is negated and she should be sniggered at; categorically not. Not sure what parties looked like when you were a fresher in uni but I presume not what she described. Again not condoning it at all but honestly, sniggering at the idea that a 20 year could be described as socially aware and still make a mistake; I think that says more about you than her.

Ok, back on track. Thanks for all the great suggestions. So far have bought Social bite brownes and coffee, Guurum face masks and Kind Clothing t shirt and joggers, I think I'll have a look for some seaglass jewellery on Etsy as well and then call it done. What do ye think?

How about a vegan afternoon tea delivered?

I have just discovered Etsy and can definitely recommend. What a fantastic experience - the sellers have been so communicative and friendly and the items I’ve received have been gorgeous.

Not sure if this is your daughter’s style, but these sorts of things are beautiful (mixed wood and resin jewellery):
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/895831022/woodland-themed-pendant-handmade-epoxy?ref=shop_home_active_23&frs=1

I got my brother a burger kit from a trendy place for him and all his housemates - you could go down food route?

Or etsy is great for more unique stuff

www.beeswaxwraps.co.uk/vegan-wax-wraps/

Not particularly local, but these are a vegan version of beeswax wraps. Their beeswax wraps are absolutely beautiful. Haven’t used cling film since I bought them.

Empowerment Pants from MsMissMrs

Chocolate from Grace Chocolate

Something from ReTweed. All Scottish based, female focused social enterprises.

@doadeer

I got my brother a burger kit from a trendy place for him and all his housemates - you could go down food route?

Or etsy is great for more unique stuff

Sorry realise she's vegan! But the concept of food sharing still works!!

A food hamper from The Vegan Butcher?

rudysvegan.com/pages/vegan-butcher

I ordered vegan brownies to be posted through the door from a website for my friend in Scotland who is vegan. She RAVED about them!

Soul vegan I think it was called. Lots of different vegan selections like donuts and bronuts (apparently this is a donut brownie hybrid, who knew?)

Pip box subscription?

There's a lovely vegan Cafe in Portobello called Gogo Beets. It would take her about 45 minutes to walk there if she's in Pollock Halls. You could order and pay for her lunch, she could walk and pick it up and eat it on a bench by the sea.
My vegan friends tell me its the best vegan baking ever. I've only had a vegan cake from there once and it was absolutely delicious but I have nothing vegan to compare it to.
I don't think they deliver but it would be a nice day out. Lots of cafes open along the prom by the sea

Just to say when I had my first uni birthday my Mum sent a banner, blu-tak and some balloons to my next door neighbours and asked them to decorate my door for me while I was out, that was great to come back to (not sure if she will actually be going out, but could probably be done by stealth with her inside).

Bambu is an Edinburgh based sustainable living company and you can order online www.bambuliving.co.uk/ Real Foods do deliveries and gift vouchers and Easter Greens do deliveries - both plant based food stores

@SciFiScream those empowerment pants are the coolest things ever! She'll love them. They are also bought. Ok, I'm going to have to stop soon. I could keep going with this all day. I'm hoping also that they'll come in dribs and drabs over the next few weeks until her birthday so she'll have cool things coming randomly. I'm all excited to "see" her reaction now.

Definitely recommend Etsy for jewellery there are so many great jewellers and a good variety.

Ahhh, now I see @Ladsladslads post.. never heard of a PIP box that's also genius
@BestZebbie, what a great idea. I might try and organise that too

@gemandjulie surprise decorating is a lovely idea but balloons aren't very eco (helium and plastic waste) so perhaps look for paper or recyclable decorations if you go for that

i had a nice pasta and sauce hamper delivered to my daughter over Christmas- she's in London but she loved it so something similar might go down well so she can assemble/cook a special meal with her flatmates if that's possible.
I've heard Edinburgh has been a tough gig for students this last year so i dont know if she has flatmates as such!

@gingercat02, that's a really good point. She used to get really cross when we bought non sustainable stuff for her. We had tears more than once on Christmas Day when she was in her mid teens and I got it wrong. She has grown up a lot since and realises how it's hurtful to be upset when people have tried hard to do something nice for her. She really loves when people do get it right though and I have tried to respect her principles because I do admire her for them. Probably why I got snippy earlier when I thought @BrotherlyLove was being snide about her credentials

www.luckycloudskincare.com/

Based in Edinburgh and sell beautiful handmade skincare. The cleansing balms are amazing