The holiday season is upon us again and I'm sure most of our minds are turning towards gift ideas for Christmas, Thanksgiving and Kwanzaa. It can be quite difficult to choose the ideal gift for friends and families, particularly an African gift or an African themed gift, and at Clickafrique we've put together a list of ideas to help you choose a special gift for a loved one this holiday season.
African Art African sculptures and paintings are always a popular gift over the holiday season. When most people think of African art their thoughts focus on the more traditional wood, textile and metal work. However there is a growing contemporary art movement both with Africa and by Africans in the diaspora. If you are inclined towards the more traditional African and crafts, then a visit to a local African craft market will unearth an array of gifts. In larger cities specialist museums will also have shops selling African art based on the works they have on display a good example of this is the The Museum of African Art, New York or you can have a look through our Museum directory for a museum close to you. Another rich source of traditional African art are the online auctions sites such as ebay and Amazon auctions. With online auction do take care that you bid only on products from reputable sellers. If you are interested in modern Art from Africa, then a visit to a specialist gallery dealing in Modern Art may be the best place to start of from. A good example is the Tate Modern in London which has showcased artists from Africa like Akinbode Akinbiyi, Mamadou Gomis, Gavin Jantjes, Zaynab Toyosi Odunsi and Chris Ofili. Works by other artistes worth looking out for are by Zerihun Yetmgeta, Odhiambo Siangla, Olu Oguibe, Lubaina Himid, Bruce Onobrakpeya and Bill Bidjocka.
African clothes and accessories Dashikis, Bubas, Kente outfits, mud cloth wraps, stylized hand made jewelry, traditional beads, hand crafted bags the options are endless and clothes and clothing accessories have something for everyone, Men, women and children.
African Wines South African wines have already created a strong reputations among wine lovers, with South Africa's wine heartland the Cape Region providing a variety of wines to suit all tastes. An excellent resource to learn more about wines from South Africa is Wines of South Africa. Most specialist wines stores will be able to provide you with the South African wine of your choice.
Charity donation The holidays are a period for caring and sharing and what better way to do so than by helping the those in need. Across Africa a lot of organisations are doing great work to help the disadvantaged and every penny helps. Consider giving a donation on behalf of friends or family to organisations such as Medecins Sans Frontiers, Water Aid, The Red Cross and others.
Films from Africa Whether you love the classical African tale or the new brash but incredibly popular Nollywood films, films from Africa are more available than ever. Enjoy the delights of award winning films like the South African Totsi and Zulu Love Letter, Yeleen from Mali or the Burkinabe classic Yaaba with your family over the holidays. share the joys, pains and complexities of modern Nigerian life as portrayed by Nollywood stars like Genevieve Nnnaji, Omotola, Segun Arinze, Ramsey Nouah Jr, Bob Manuel Udokwu and others.
Music from Africa A CD is always a great holiday present so what better gift than a music CD to bring home the vibrancy, soulfulness and rythmn of traditional and contemporary African music. From modern urban sounds of Anselmo Ralph, Kleptomanix, Nameless, P Square, Juma Nature, Two Face Idibia and Zamajobe to the more traditional genres with evergreen artistes like Baaba Maal, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Awilo Longomba, Femi Kuti, Yossou N'Dour and more.
Winter trips In most of Europe and North America the holiday season is also the coldest time of the year and if you yearn to escape the biting cold and the long nights what better than a trip into the warm embrace of sunny Africa.From Europe there are plenty of short haul destinations in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt that offer you ideal opportunity to relax by the warm waters of the Mediterranean and enjoy the traditional Africa hospitality. If you happy to venture further afield then a whole new horizon opens up to you and ClickAfrique's giuide to 101 holiday ideas in Africa is just what you need (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).