Even with our strict commitment to social distancing, you can send your love to your loved ones at a physical distance. By giving gifts to your family and friends that they would love to receive, you can stay connected and show them how much you care from afar.
We’ve partnered with local businesses that are providing goods and services to support the community as we collectively face the COVID-19 pandemic. From food and drink to self-care and fitness, these thoughtful gift ideas will help you show your appreciation for the special people in your life while you support local businesses in this time of need.
OCO MEALS
Chicken Cashew Nut Thai / Photo: Oco Meals
Food is the sixth language of love. Even from a distance, you can win over your loved ones’ hearts (and stomachs) by treating them to a surprise they’ll truly appreciate -- their meal planning struggles all taken care of!
Oco Meals provides healthy and affordable meals made by local restaurants and catering services for weekly front-door delivery, eliminating time-consuming meal preparation tasks such as grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning. And, for this week, customers can get up to 20% off already budget-friendly prices, where you can get meals for less than $6 each.
Their extensive menu covers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with bakery, dessert, and drink selections; they also include a variety of cuisine choices and cater to dietary restrictions and preferences such as the keto diet and plant-based options.
It’s easy to place an order -- just pick the meals for the week, select the delivery day, and have the meals delivered to your recipient’s address. While you’re at it, place an order for yourself and schedule a time to dine together virtually.
For new customers, Oco Meals is offering free delivery on the first order. To redeem, visit this link or input the code ‘WELCOMEBONUS’ at checkout. Follow Oco Meals on Instagram.
GRANVILLE ISLAND BREWING
Island Cerveza / Photo: Granville Island Brewing
Being socially distant is important these days, but so is being socially engaged. You can enjoy a virtual happy hour with your friends by sending over a case of beer (one for them, one for you).
Granville Island Brewing has launched their curbside delivery and pickup service. Operating 7 days a week, with free same day delivery for orders placed before 5pm, their online store is the best way to enjoy the classic selections along with some new limited-edition summer releases hitting the market.
Check out their Island Cerveza, brewed Cuban style with real cane sugar and 4.5% abv; it’s sure to be a summer drink of choice. If you and your friends fancy something with a splash of fruit, then enjoy their Watermelon Lager. Brewed with real watermelon and sitting at an easy 5% abv, this fresh tasting lager just might be ‘the one’.
Follow Granville Island Brewing on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
LIFE UNPACKED
Green Groomer Box / Photo: life UNpacked
All of this time spent at home provides an opportunity to refresh our daily personal grooming routines. For your environmentally-friendly friends, as well as friends who want to live a more eco-conscious lifestyle, you can introduce them to the green groomer movement.
On a mission to protect the planet, life UNpacked is inspiring people to shift their consumption habits towards a more zero-waste lifestyle by providing sustainable alternatives to bottled and plastic bathroom products. Their self-care essentials are made of all-natural ingredients and will have you showering, shaving, and cleaning your teeth in style.
In terms of their impact, the results speak for itself -- to date, the life UNpacked community has eliminated the need for over 46 thousand pieces of plastic.
With their build your own subscription box, you can curate a customized self-care package for your friend (and yourself too!) with earth-friendly everyday necessities like bamboo toothbrushes, tooth powder, and shampoo bars. Recognizing that everyone uses their bathroom products at different rates, life UNpacked gives customers the opportunity to choose the products they wish to give and set the frequency for order intervals.
From compostable boxes and shipping labels to recyclable tape, life UNpacked aims to make every element of their business as sustainable as possible. Even more, they plant two trees for each order shipped!
Sustainable lifestyles are built one choice at a time, and creating a sustainable future for all is made possible through our collective actions.
For more about life UNpacked’s eco-friendly products and subscription option, visit lifeunpacked.com, and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
TURNFIT PERSONAL TRAINERS
TurnFit Personal Trainers / Photo by This Is It Studios
Nothing strengthens a bond quite like working out together! Though physical training spaces may be temporarily closed, you and your loved ones can stay fit while staying indoors through at-home virtual fitness training.
TurnFit Personal Trainers strives to help their clients build happier, healthier lives every day through focusing on holistic health. Their trainers offer qualified advice for exercise, recovery, and nutrition, personalized programming, and regular interaction.
To help people stay in shape during COVID-19, TurnFit is helping clients gain access to many of their online personal training services. Their programs and workout routines are designed specifically to be done at home, with no requirements to have prerequisite experience nor special equipment--for those who do have equipment at home, TurnFit can build a program based on what clients have available to them.
Their online training programs include holistic health components such as daily programming (from cardio workouts to meditation), nutrition plans, mindset coaching, and access to their health and wellness community on Facebook.
For those that have lost access to their personal trainer or have lost their gym memberships at fitness facilities that have permanently closed due to COVID-19, TurnFit are helping clients get set back up. With complementary video coaching calls and free training for the first month, their trainers will support clients in formulating a new health-based training regiment and empowering them in their personal health and wellness journey.
Packages are offered at reduced monthly pricing between $9.95 and $29, with individual coaching calls offered at $75. Clients can use the discount code 'FIRSTMONTH' to get their first month of training with TurnFit for free.
Visit TurnFit’s website for more details on their online training package rates during COVID-19, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
EMELLE’S CATERING
Ready-made meals / Photo: Emelle’s Catering
In these uncertain times, there is one thing that’s certain--we want to do our best to take care of our loved ones and lend them a helping hand. Whether you want to help a friend with their weekly meals or safely provide for your family, Emelle’s Catering will take this one thing off your plate.
The Vancouver-based company has catered for events such as the Bard On The Beach Festival and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, believing that bringing people together over food is cause for celebration. With 2020 being their 20th year anniversary, it is Emelle's wish to help customers celebrate more with the people they live, love, and grow with, and they are here to help grant that wish at a distance.
Emelle's now offers contactless delivery of ready-made meals, including a variety of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts. Meal delivery menus are updated every Monday and include comfort classic selections such as the chef's choice soup and salad, and featured entrees like garlic butter prawns and cheese tortellini. Vegetarian options are also available and Emelle’s can accommodate any food sensitivities and dietary restrictions.
Meals start at $100 for 2-3 days and go up to a full week’s worth of meals. Orders are available for delivery or pickup on Thursday and Friday for orders placed by Tuesday of that week. Each meal is individually packaged and ready to reheat and serve. Your loved ones will be eternally grateful for the delicious treat!
For Emelle’s current meal delivery menu, visit emelles.com and call 604-875-6551 to place your order. Follow Emelle’s on Facebook and Instagram.
PAINTILLIO
Paintsmallio Kit / Photo: Paintillio
Looking for something for you and your loved ones to do at home that’s…different? Try binge-painting: a unique (and oh so creative) way to spend the days indoors. With this creative gift idea, you can turn your recipient’s living room into an artist's studio.
Paintillio has hosted collaborative, community paint-by-numbers mural activations at local events like the Vancouver Mural Festival, Skookum Festival, and the Vancouver Pride Parade. Now that events are on hold, they want to offer people the chance to bring the creativity home; all you’ve gotta do is pop open the paints and watch the magic happen.
New to the shop are Paintillio’s recently launched paint-at-home version of their kits, called Paintsmallios. This is a customized paint-by-numbers kit that allows anyone to paint a masterpiece featuring their favourite photos. From a cute candid of your friend’s puppy (aka #petportrait) to that sentimental (or hilarious) throwback of your parents’ wedding, Paintillio will turn any image into a hyper-realistic paint-by-numbers canvas piece.
Each Paintsmallio kit includes everything you need - from a numbered set of acrylic (mixed-by-hand-to-match-your-image) paints to professional paint brushes, and a canvas that is display-ready on its wooden frame. Whether it’s fun for one or for the whole family, this easy and creative at-home art project is sure to add a burst of colour and joy to you or your giftee’s days. All you’ve gotta do is match numbers to numbers...and just try to stay inside the lines!
For more info, visit paintillio.com and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
