They have a strong collection of stocking fillers this year, including a Rice milk penguin cracker (£3) and Orange rice milk santas and reindeer (£3), as well as an all-important Luxury Rice Milk Advent Calendar (£12). If you wish to splash out on a more generous gift for a true chocaholic, then there are two sizes of luxury Christmas hampers (at £20 and £30 respectively) which feature assorted goodies such as assorted chocolate slabs, dark mint owls and penguin chocolate lollies.
You can buy online, or Holland & Barrett, Sainsbury’s and Asda.
Another brand with similar allergen credentials and also strictly vegan is Plamil (www.plamilfoods.co.uk), makers of the So Free chocolate, which is made from certified Fairtrade or Organic cocoa. Their Christmas chocolate selection is free from all designated ‘top 14’ EU food allergens but carries a ‘may contain traces’ warning for soya only.
They’ve long had a wide selection of advent calendars and stocking fillers, and this year, have added a Smooth Advent Calendar (£4.95) and a Smooth Bow tie Reindeer Box (£3.49) – both of which use coconut to offer both a tasty and a ‘smooth’ milky mouthfeel and are lower sugar option – and a Bow Tie Polar Bear Box (£3.49) with vegan white vanilla bites.
Want a more generous gift? There are two So Free hampers for 2019, both with and without advent calendars, at £35 and £25 respectively, featuring a selection of chocolate treats both Christmas and non-Christmas themed, including a duo of chocolate spreads.
Buy online or in health stores.
If you need your chocolate to be soya free as well as free of all the usual suspects, Essy & Bella (www.essyandbella.com) have a few Christmas-themed chocolate bars in the shape of bars of Christmas Milk Chocolate, Gingerbread Spice and ‘We Three Kings’ (£4.50) each and also have a Rudolph Lollipop (£1.95) which is a perfect mini-stocking filler for children.
Treats
Long-standing Scottish free-from brand Lazy Day Foods (www.lazydayfoods.com) have been working their allergy-friendly magic for over a decade, and operate from their dedicated no-nuts site which uses no gluten, dairy or eggs. Again, soya is the only one of the 14 declarable allergens used by the brand. They are well known for their tiffin selection, but produce excellent biscuits, including shortbreads and gingersnaps, as well. Many are toothsomely sweet, but a welcome treat for many with food allergies. At the time of writing, they were about to add a New Belgian Chocolate Truffle Gift Selection Box to their site …
LDF’s most indulgent offering this year is their Golden Hamper Box (£20) featuring a selection of eight packs from the Lazy Day Range. The packs vary, although if you make contact in the first instance, you may be able to specify preferences before ordering. Nut-safe, gluten free and vegan.
Panettone, the delicate not-too sweet Italian soft bread-y cake which has become hugely popular in the UK in the last five years, is extremely difficult to find in free from format, although there have been some innovations in recent years. Bringing some of the tastiest options to our shores is Free From Italy (www.freefromitaly.co.uk) who offer a GoVegan! Panettone (contains wheat gluten, barley malt and soy flour, but is milk free, egg free and nut free). You can buy on their site, from independent stores, or from Ocacdo.
If you’re buying for someone who likes sweeties, but want to offer them a more sophisticated and less sugar heavy gift, a lovely option is Pandora Bell’s The Festive Treasury Pates de Fruits (www.pandorabell.com). Euro11.50 / www.yumbles.com: £9). These are vegan fruit jellies, a classic French delicacy, and include a variety of flavours – plum, clementine, redcurrant and apple. Safely free from all allergens and made with 70% fruit.
Preserves
Jams, relishes, marmalades, chutneys and pickles all make super gifts. From an allergen perspective, some of the savoury condiments you come across may contain mustard and barley malt, and some of the sweet ones occasionally use milk, and may use fruit preserved with sulphites, so carefully check before you buy, but otherwise there are some super options out there which are almost always safe for nut, sesame and egg allergies, at very least.
If you want an unusual advent calendar, check out Bonne Maman’s Limited Edition Advent Calendar (£23.99 + p&p) exclusively available from the brand’s website (www.bonnemaman.eo.uk/advent).
The brand’s jams are made using only sugar, fruit and fruit pectins, and there is a mini pot behind each of the days, with a ‘special treat’ behind the 24th on Christmas Eve. There are some wonderfully exotic and original flavours, a different one behind each door to have for breakfast – including grapefruit & dragon fruit, pineapple & passion fruit, strawberry & verbena – and the calendar is available until end of November, so be quick if you want one!
The Wilkin & Sons Tiptree brand (www.tiptree.com) is one of the most allergen-aware out there, producing mostly from a nut-free factory, and disclosing whether each product is suitable for vegans, vegetarians, coeliacs, and – perhaps most importantly – whether ‘free from known allergens’.
They have lots of Xmas themed options which are free of the top 14 food allergens. First off, a number of jarred ‘Merry Christmas’ conserves with seasonal ribbon, including Strawberry Conserve and Old Times Orange Marmalade (£5) and Christmas Conserve (£5.50), the latter of which has redcurrants, plums and damsons. Under their Thursday Cottage brand they also have a Christmas Chutney, made with apples, onions, sultanas and cranberries, a Christmas Jam with strawberries and champagne, and a Christmas Orange Marmalade, all of which are £1.80.
Also a strong player in the Christmas condiments game are Hawkshead Relish Company (www.hawksheadrelish.com), who have a number of yuletide-themed goodies to tempt the tastebuds – Christmas Chutney (£3.90, with apricots, onion, orange, cranberries and ginger), Christmas Marmalade (£2.75, lemon, orange and cranberries), Boxing Day Chutney (£3.90, onions, sultanas, apples, ginger) and others, including some triple packs which make ideal stocking fillers.
But if you want a real showstopper gift, then plump for the Gift Box Couture Christmas (£22), which features Chutney, Marmalade and Cranberry Sauce in exquisite four footed designer-worthy glass jars, and which also come in a ‘Petite’ version (£14.95).
Skincare
Cosmetics at Christmas are notoriously, to put it bluntly, a bit smelly. Scent overload is a nightmare for people with fragrance sensitivities and finding low-scent or fragrance free treats that make suitable gifts at this time of year is not easy.
Ermana Natural Skincare
(www.ermana.co.uk) is a small and relatively new brand which uses entirely British source materials (ingredients, packaging, containers etc), and whose founder Claire has experienced problems with sensitive skin herself. They have a Soothe Organic Hand & Body Gift Set (£30) in smart brown bottles, consisting of Soothe Wash and Soothe Lotion which are naturally fragrance free, and suitable for sensitive skins or those with allergies to essential oils. The Soothe Wash is a very simple formulation of gentle detergents, aloe vera, glycerin and gentle preservatives, and the Sooth Lotion boasts sunflower oil, cocoa butter and shea butter, and looks also very hypoallergenic.
Not unlike Ermana, Italian-themed but Scottish-based natural brand Casa Mencarelli (www.casamencarelli.co.uk) was inspired by the founder Lucia’s multiple chemical sensitivities. CM won two Golds in the Free From Skincare Awards 2019 on their debut and their full suite of products is free of fragrance allergens and other key sensitisers. Try their Miniature Gift Box (£60) which features their full quintet of products in travel friendly 15ml miniatures – Green Clay & Lemon Mask & Scrub, Orange & Honey Toner, Sea Buckthorn Balm, Tomato Cream & Cleanser, and Sea Buckthorn Serum. One product contains sweet almond oil, but otherwise free of all food allergens too.
Green People
(www.greenpeople.co.uk) is a more well-known name in natural skincare circles and can be perennially relied upon to deliver some high-quality organic and natural options for those looking to avoid many problematic ingredients – and at reasonable prices too. This year’s best offering for those with sensitive skin is the Skin Retreat Gift Set (£15), which contains Neutral Scent Free Cleanser & Make-up Remover, Light Day Moisturiser, and Anti-Ageing 24 Hour Cream. Free of all food allergens too. Find GP products at Waitrose, Whole Foods, Morrisons and Holland & Barrett.
And finally, it would be unfair to omit something for the kids – whether or not they’re yet fans of bathing and cosmetics! Try the Good Bubble The Gruffalo Prickly Pear Bath Time Gift Set (£10) – which includes a Grubby Gruffalo Hair & Body Wash and a Little Softy Moisturiser. Gentle allergen-free fragrance, food allergen-free too, plus a cuddly toy Gruffalo to boot. What more could the little ones in your life want? Available from Boots (www.boots.com) or the Good Bubble site (www.goodbubble.co.uk)
Other Gift Ideas-
- Tea and Coffee. These can make great gifts, and there are many gift boxes and ‘Christmas flavoured’ varieties too. It’s important you check ingredients, as some added flavourings could in theory contain one of the allergens, but they’re typically botanicals such as cinnamon and cloves which most can tolerate. That said, there are some hazelnut-flavoured coffees on the market, so take care.
- Avoiding the obvious allergen containing tipples – such as Bailey’s (milk), advocaat (egg) and any nut based liqueurs – a bottle can make a nice gift. Remember that liqueurs and spirits don’t have to display full ingredients, but do have to declare allergens, so always check. Tiptree, mentioned above, have a number of English spirits, and gin, vodka and rum liqueurs, which are mostly allergen free. Their Christmas Pudding Rum Liqueur (£19.99) is confirmed free of all allergens and looks a delicious treat.
- If you can tolerate wheat/ barley, which most ales contain, then you have a world of choice, but if not, then it’s trickier. Although there are a number of gluten-free beers available, which are suitable for those with coeliac disease, most are made from barley and/or wheat, so those with allergies to these grains have to avoid them. There are a few brewers making beers from grains such as quinoa, rice and sorghum. Try Green’s (www.glutenfreebeers.co.uk) or St Peter’s (www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk).
- Very commonly allergy friendly. As with all alcoholic beverages, ingredients aren’t always declared in full, but allergens must be. They sometimes contain sulphates. Cranes Ciders do a gift set with a trio of flavoured ciders – blueberries & apples, cranberries & lime, raspberries & pomegranates – plus a branded glass. See (www.drinkcranes.co.uk) for more info. The gift set is available through Amazon.co.uk for £15.99.
We hope you enjoy choosing allergen free gifts for family and friends.
- Is AAA on your gift list too?
Dr Jamal Hayat, Consultant Gastroenterologist;
Karen Irwin, Bladder & Bowel UK Continence Nurse Adviser and
Dr Mani Naghibi, Gastroenterology Consultant;