HOWZAT

www.presentaid.com

You don’t actually receive this can of worms, costing £15. They go to someone in Bolivia, where worms turn poor soil into nutrient-rich, arable land. Run by Christian Aid, this site offers a feelgood way to cope with Christmas excess, because it gives a gift twice. You present a card to someone with a picture of the present and, for £7, someone else receives a stethoscope in Cambodia; for £150, a midwife can be trained in Burkina Faso. If, as a UK taxpayer, you tick the gift-aid box on the registration form, Christian Aid can claim an extra 28p for every £1 you spend.

F IS FOR FLOWER VASE

www.indiangiftsportal.com

An elegant 9in brass flower vase from India (£9) will add an aura of mystic chic to the living room and is made — in the flowery language of this fast, Uttar Pradesh-based website — “with a combination of skill and sincere workmanship”. From a range wide enough to fill a Delhi marketplace, good present choices include a sweet handmade paper folder with paper sheets and envelopes (£5), paper lanterns (£2-£3) and beaded or bone belts (£5-£13). Shipping costs £9 for up to 500g.

G IS FOR GIADA

www.canfora.com

Giada is the name of one of the dozens of styles of sandals handmade by this family-run firm in Capri. Fashioned from leather and costume jewellery by Amedeo Canfora and his daughters Angela and Rita, they have names such as Frog, Lulu and Aida. If you don’t know what you want, you have to scroll through all 13 pages, but each shoe is well illustrated. Prices range from £113, for the Hillary, to £171, for the limited-edition Botticelli’s Venus; the Giada costs £150. Shipping is £24.

H IS FOR HAND-PAINTED HELICOPTER

shop.wohlfahrt.com

This elaborately decorated Rothenburg-based site does its best to make you feel you are at one of Germany’s famous Christmas fairs. The hand-painted helicopter (£7) is one of several wooden tree ornaments in a shop devoted to decorative kitsch. The incense-holders look like benign versions of Hieronymus Bosch monsters (£12), and the wooden nutcrackers (£9-£84), are carved in a style that goes back to an 18th-century tradition of mocking royalty. Among 3,000 easily searchable items are candle-holders (£32-£53), and Christmas chocolates (£1-£3). Shipping costs £5.

I IS FOR IKA

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