15 Cultural Kwanzaa Gifts for Seven Days of Celebrations

Handwoven by a group of female artisans in rural Rwanda, this decorative woven basket features a loop attached to the back for easy hanging. Each purchase allows these women to support themselves and their families with fair wages.

More: Cute Kwanzaa Gift Ideas for Kids

Keep their love for their African heritage close to their heart with a cute gold-plated pendant that outlines the entire continent. It's a great way to honor their culture and the spirit of Pan-Africanism.

She'll never run out of essentials to stash in this handmade printed zipper pouch. Stuff it with some useful goodies for Kwanza gift-giving, like a face mask and some sanitizer, or choose a set of nail polishes that are as colorful as this cute pouch.

There are no hard-and-fast rules on which dishes to serve at your Kwanzaa celebration, but if your host tends to lean more traditional with their edible offerings, opt for a cookbook that can educate and inspire them. 

From Nigeria to Ghana, Kenya, and Morocco, these recipes from different regions will help bring something new to their table.

More: Give These Festive Hanukkah Gifts Instead of Gelt

Don't be afraid to go outside the lines with a festive coloring book that'll get your family's creative juices flowing. It's completely kid-friendly — with large and simple drawings that'll teach them the principles of Kwanzaa — but it makes for a great gift for artistic adults of all ages, too.

This wearable symbolic gift displays each of the seven principles of Kwanzaa: unity (umoja), self-determination (kujichagulia), collective work and responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamaa), purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba), and faith (imani). 

These principles are represented by the seven candles that are displayed on the kinara, which is the traditional candleholder used to celebrate the festival.

This holiday is all about family and unity, so don't forget about your smallest celebrant when giving Kwanzaa gifts this season. 

This fun and educational children's book will introduce them to the principles of Kwanzaa and convey the importance of community in a simple way that little ones can easily comprehend. 

How epic is this colorful fabric collage, featuring a powerful black-and-white photo of Nelson Mandela at its center? It beautifully celebrates the anti-apartheid activist and his mark on the world with vivid African-inspired patterns to honor his culture and heritage.  

Any bold coffee lover will be thrilled to receive this flavorful Kenyan-grown blend, featuring rich burgundy undertones and bright citrus notes with every sip. 

The brand goes beyond making great brews by providing employment and education opportunities for female artisans and orphans in Kisii, Kenya. Each package of coffee comes with a removable piece of women's art that's crafted with dried bark from banana trees and handmade paper.

The rich history of African American folklore had, in the 19th and 20th centuries, largely been seen in the United States via white appropriations — particularly the distorted retellings by Joel Chandler Harris.

Here, noted academics Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Maria Tatar endeavor to return these stories to their roots, and in doing so, restore the beloved works of folklore to the intended tellings of their ancestral authors.

Celebrate these special 7 days with this cute piece of seasonal decor. Not only does this comfy throw pillow add a splash of color to any room, but the embroidered kinara candles can actually light up at the press of a button. 

Hoping to bring the little ones in on the holiday fun? Introduce the values of the seven principles early with these adorable PJs, available for kids from as young as 6 months all the way up to five years. 

Along with colorful kinara and vibrant vegetables, the print on these PJs features all seven principles, as well as some wrapped gifts. After all, what kid doesn't love presents?

In 1986, Wole Soyinka became the first sub-Saharan author and first Black author of any origin to receive the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature. Now, in 2021, the acclaimed author and playwright has released his first novel in nearly 50 years.

Named a New York Times Notable Book, Chronicles From the Land of the Happy People on Earth is both social satire and intriguing mystery. It's a new and vital work from a crucial figure in Nigeria's rich literary tradition.

While other holidays have an overflow of seasonal cinema, Kwanzaa-celebrating cinephiles have to rely solely on the Rugrats Kwanzaa episode and the excellent documentary The Black Candle. Indeed, it’s easy to get discouraged, and feel that the African American experience in general hadn’t been authentically told onscreen. That is, until The Learning Tree.

In fact, African Americans were some of the earliest innovators of filmmaking, with a rich industry of films by and for African Americans thriving in the silent era. This collection by Kino Lorber helps to recontextualize the role of African Americans in the history of cinematic storytelling.