African Gifts and African Cards

The holiday season is with us once again and most of us are searching for suitable Christmas and Kwanzaa gifts. African gifts and cards are the perfect solution for people who would like unique gifts that reflect the rich African culture. This hub outlines some great African gift ideas for anyone on your gift list and provides links where you can buy African gifts and cards online. These include ideas for African gifts for women, children and men as well as corporate gifts. Some great gifts for children are: African toys like dolls and traditional games; African clothes including cute African t-shirts; African instruments like rattles and shakers; African flags; and African story books. Gifts for women include: African jewelry; African dresses and kaftans; beaded African sandals; African beauty and skin care products like African Shea Butter or essential oils; and African home décor and art gifts. For the men on your list some great African gifts for him include: dashikis or men’s African shirts; African instruments like the d’jembe drum; African weapons which can be used for office or home décor; and art gifts like tribal African masks or sculptures which are popular with many men. My favorite are Shona sculptures from Zimbabwe. If you are looking for corporate gifts then consider African décor and art gifts for example carved letter openers, key rings, ebony pens, pen holders, bookmarks, African art calendars and diaries. Here are ten African gift ideas which are suitable for any occasion.

1. African Clothes, African Sandals and African t-shirts: Some of the better known African clothes include dashikis and kaftans. However, you can also buy more formal African clothing made from fancy African fabrics. For informal African clothing that just about anyone can wear you can buy African t-shirts with flags, maps and different designs. You can also buy colorful African sandals to match the clothing and to wear during the summer these include beaded and cowrie shell sandals.
2. African Jewelry and Ethnic Jewelry: You can find African jewelry for both men and women. These include beaded jewelry, brass jewelry, cowrie shell jewelry, beaded Maasai jewelry, Tuareg silver jewelry, copper and bone jewelry.
3. African Beauty and Skin Care Products: The best known African skin care product is African shea butter. This is especially good for the skin and can be bought in a variety of places. Another popular African beauty product is African black soap. You can also buy African perfumes and essential oils for a unique scent and therapeutic use.
4. African Toys: Popular African toys include African dolls, African puzzles, African chess sets and traditional African games like Awale.
5. African Musical Instruments: These are another great gift idea especially for children. One of the most popular African instruments is the d’jembe drum and you can even get DVD’s that teach you how to play it. Other African instruments include gourd shakers, tambourines, tic toc drums, gankeke bells, balafons, koras, kalimba thumb pianos and bamboo flutes.
6. African Art Gifts and African Home Decor: African art is extremely popular around the world. Perhaps the most common African art is African masks. African sculptures and carvings are also extremely popular. Other African art includes soapstone sculptures, banana leaf art and African batiks. You can also buy contemporary African art which may include original African paintings and African Art prints. Another idea is handmade African cards or African Art greeting cards which can be framed. You can also buy functional African art gifts like African key rings, bottle openers, drink coasters, papyrus bookmarks, letter openers, pen holders and ebony pens.
7. African Books and African Story Books for Children: For the adults on your gift list you can buy African books which may include autobiographies of famous African leaders like Nelson Mandela or Kwame Nkurumah. Or anthologies of African poetry or short African stories. Popular African books for children include African story books and history books. You can also buy an African bookmark to go along with the book gift.
8. African Movies and Music: The most popular African movies are Nollywood films. You can also buy DVD’s of award-winning African films. African music is also popular and would be a nice gift for music lovers.
9. Kwanzaa Gifts, Kwanzaa Sets and Kwanzaa Cards: For Kwanzaa it is customary to buy children books and give them a heritage gift. Some ideas for heritage gifts may include African instruments, African art, African clothing, African Jewelry, African music and African flags. You can also give educational gifts like African history books or DVD’s with movies about Africa or well-known African personalities.
10. African Cards and African Art Cards: You can find a variety of African cards which reflect African people and their culture. These include regular greeting cards, handmade cards, African Art Postcards, batik cards and African proverb postcards. Some of these cards like the batik cards and art postcards can even be given as a gift since they can be framed and used as office or home décor.