Our Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide
Whew boy, Christmas is my shit. I love the gift wrapping, I love finding the perfect present for someone and watching them open it, I love baking and buffalo plaid PJs and cranberry cocktails. So, why not share some of my favorite finds in our holiday gift guide?
If that makes me basic, so be it, but turkey and mashed potatoes can take a damn seat because by Thanksgiving this year I’ve already put up the tree and shipped off packages of Christmas presents to far-away family. I’m the kind of person who keeps insanely long online wishlists and moves everything from my Amazon cart to ‘saved for later’ approximately as frequently as I throw out the unopened box of spring mix from my fridge, so I’ve got plenty of gift ideas stashed away and I’m here to spread the love.
In our holiday gift guide, we’ve got gift lists for DIYers, toddlers and babies, new parents, homebodies, and, you know, basically any other variation of our own interests come to think of it. I’ve also compiled a couple of lists with ideas on great gift ideas from thrift stores which helps your wallet and the environment (because inflation amiright), and a few ideas for gifts that aren’t just physical ‘stuff.’
This last year for our 2-year-old’s birthday, her grandparents did experience gifts with annual zoo and trampoline park memberships that felt like as much a gift to us as her because it gave us a built-in activity to keep them entertained. I’m all about that life.
Anyway, I hope our holiday gift guide is helpful!
Happy holidays!
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Gift ideas for DIYers
Whether it’s an aspiring DIYer or someone who’s got a few projects under their (tool) belt, these ideas are a little out-of-the-ordinary when a Home Depot gift card or drill bits seems too obvious.
The magnetic stud finder has been particularly helpful for us when I might throw the beeping annoying version against the very wall on which I’m trying to find a stud, and the cute safety glasses are an easy win for anyone trying to look stylish while covered in sawdust. Oh, and the laser level has become our go-to new favorite tool but is one you might not think to buy yourself.
Gift ideas for self care
With a toddler and a baby in the family, we’ve really come to realize the importance of self care around this house in the last couple of years and whether it’s 10 minutes to do a face routine or brewing up a fun little emotional support drink, we’ve got ya covered.
The body scrub linked makes you feel like a damn dolphin and if I can vouch for anything on this list, it’s the water bottle that I’ve had for two years now and refill about three times a day. It keeps ice without melting for more than 24 hours and fits a ton of water in it.
Gifts for the homebody
So, yeah, kinda similar to the self care vibe but this is just a whole collection of things that make me feel cozy. The homebody mug? Adorable, and I’ve been seeing lots of people sipping their iced coffee from the clear mug things that I’m also very into.
You can also never have enough reusable shopping or sandwich bags and while that may seem like kind of a lame gift, I promise you to people like me it’s not. I’d rather something organizational and practical over a candle or lotion any day.
Gifts you can thrift
If you’re a thrifty kinda person and are willing to dig through for treasure in your local Goodwill, I’ve got a sneaky little list to give you a headstart in the hunt.
Try take a look for:
- Books: Novels you’ve read and recommend are a great personal touch, and you can never have too many kids’ books in a nursery or playroom. One I especially love receiving is a pretty cookbook and paired with a cute dish towel or utensil set, it makes an adorable little gift set.
- Cookware: You can often find almost new cookware at thrift stores, including appliances and cast iron pans, muffin tins, glassware and bakeware.
- Toys: I particularly look for good quality wooden toys or items like bikes and play kitchens (bonus points if you find something you can give a personalized little makeover to!)
- Board games: We are big games people and love receiving new board games as gifts, but we’ve gotten probably 90% of our collection from thrift stores for just a couple of dollars. Just a tip, though: open up the box and make sure all the pieces are there before you buy!
Gifts for little ones
With our 2-year-old, we try to encourage learning and play that naturally fits into what we’re doing, so we always let her help as much as possible with DIY projects, cooking, and cleaning.
We’ve got a few things like toddler safe knives and a play cleaning set on the list, and then a bigger ticket item that’s saved our sanity: a bounce house.
A bit extra, we know, but for under $200 it’s totally worth being able to plug it in and inflate it for an hour of peace drinking a beer in the backyard on a hot summer day, ya know?
Gifts for tech/travel friends
We’ve slowly but surely become slaves to our house robot and have Google Homes scattered in almost every room, so much so that our daughter knows how to talk to Google now (though she really only asks it to sing happy birthday to everyone).
If you’ve got a tech-savvy friend who’s also giving his, her or their FBI agent plenty of data, then this Google Home holder is a handy way to keep cords out of the way, and this set of smart plugs is really handy for lamps or the Christmas tree lights.
Gifts for your friend that always hosts
After four months of kitchen renovation, I almost forget what it’s like to have people over at our house. But, I’m saving all these ideas to restock the kitchen whenever we do. The projector screen in particular would make the perfect party addition.
Gifts for new parents/families
Again, this is a random list of things you probably wouldn’t consider buying yourself, but that have personally come in real handy on those long parenting days. The baby wrap? A lifesaver. The portable white noise machine? Genius. The bottle rinser? THE BOTTLE RINSER. We actually talk almost every day about how much we love this thing and even aside from baby bottles, it makes a great water bottle or wine glass rinser, too.
Gifts that are experiences
This really, to me, is the kind of gift that keeps giving. The absolute serotonin hit when a monthly subscription service arrives is unmatched, and having a built-in fun place to have a weekend outing or date night really helps take off the mental load.
Here are a few ideas:
- Membership (zoo, museum, aquarium, trampoline park, fitness classes etc.)
- Offer to babysit a few times
- Gift certificate (hair or nail salon, restaurants, AirBnB, massage)
- Subscription service (HelloChef, KiwiCo, Atlas Coffee Club, Date Night In, etc.)
- A workshop (cooking class, online course, painting night)
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