My take on holiday gift-giving in 2022
also known as, I'm officially out of excuses about the fact that we have entered the end-of-year countdown!
Happy Small Business Saturday. I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving! Thank you very much for reading - whether this is your first time, or if you’ve been here for awhile. I appreciate it! Ready or not, here comes the holiday season!
I love gift guides. I love reading them, browsing them, shopping them, critiquing them, you name it. Gift-giving is one of my love languages, and I take great joy in selecting gifts for family and friends.
That said, I am also very particular about the types of things I would actually give as gifts. I often feel like the gift guides I see (read: pour over) have lots of awesome items, but also many things that fall into one of two categories. Category 1: a fairly personal item that might be awesome to receive as a gift, but only if you explicitly requested it. For example - an expensive pair of shoes. Yes, I would love to get a pair of shoes that are on my wishlist as a gift, but it would be a weird gift to receive from someone — how do they know what size/style/color to pick for me? These items also tend to be at a price point much higher than I would typically deem reasonable to spend on a friend or non-immediate family member. Category 2: more crap that people don’t really actually need (or want!). I am a big proponent of if you don’t want to spend much (which is totally fine and fair!) but really want to give a gift - go for food, drink or flowers - resist the urge to give someone a random gadget from Amazon that is most likely just going to add more clutter to their home!
My take - I like to give gifts that I personally have and love (or covet), that fit within my budget (which obviously varies based on the recipient of the gift), and are something I imagine the receiver loving. With friends - a great way to exchange gifts is via a secret santa or “favorite things” yankee-swap/white elephant style celebration. Time together is more important that any gift - so don’t underestimate how nice it will be to get a drink or go out to dinner (or go for a walk, or grab a drink) with a friend or family member in lieu of doing a big gift exchange.
On that note, let’s dive into what I believe to make a great gift, for the wide variety of people that might be on your shopping list this holiday season!
1: A Card Case: I am a card-case enthusiast, and good ones, without obnoxious logos are hard to find! I like a card case because it has a small profile and can fit in any purse or bag that I am carrying. I really love the simple silhouette of this one, and it has 4 compartments - perfect for your license, a debit card, credit card and one extra item you might want to carry on a day-to-day basis. This is a great gift bc most people would not think to buy this for themselves or wait until their wallets/card cases are completely falling apart before replacing them! If you are looking for something with a bit more space, this Cuyana zip card-case is really nice as well!
Also, if you have someone on your list who is a hardcore wallet-lover, I still think a small-profile wallet (if you don’t think they’ll use a card case) is a total game changer. How much do you really need to be carrying around with you every day?? Or, maybe they are a traveler and would use it for a trip!!
Would be a great gift for: Mom, MIL, mom-like figure, sister, friend
2: A fun, witty, custom-embroidered item: This very cool, woman-owned business makes a wide variety of embroidered items and accepts custom orders. There are so many amazing pieces on her site- this is the type of gift that will make someone laugh, or maybe remember something more sentimental, while also gifting the ultimate in comfort- a white Tee, a grey sweatshirt, or a baseball hat! I especially love these ones:
For your Taylor Swift Fan
Your friend who binge-watched “The Bear”
Would be a great gift for: a friend, your partner, a co-worker, your sister.
3: Chappywrap Blanket: These blankets are all over the internet, and dearly loved by many bloggers, and I subscribe to the hype. They are a fleece blanket (high-quality fleece, yes), and they come in some great patterns. We probably have some eight blankets in our family room and I always am under our Chappywrap. They wash very well, are warm and soft, and they make great forts. They would even make a great end-of-bed blanket. I don’t think people buy many blankets for themselves (I think almost all of my throw blankets were gifted), so it’s actually a very nice gift to receive! I also understand that they make great kids-size blankets, especially good for a stroller. We have been gifted more kid blankets than we can keep track of, so have never tried, but our stroller(s) almost always have a blanket in the bucket just in case!
I have and love this one. If you want to go neutral this is a great option. Their holiday collection is lovely, and this is another favorite.
Would be a great gift for: your mom or MIL, your grandmother, your aunt, a kid or parent in your life!
4: Mexican Trains Domino Game: This game is SO FUN. Pretty much anyone can play, the learning curve to pick it up is super low, and it will provide hours of competitive entertainment! We love it! Bonus that kids will love to plan with the domino pieces and the trays (you’ll want to buy these separately!)
Also, another awesome game idea, if you are already into Mexican trains, is The Game. It’s a team-based card game where you cooperate with the people you are playing with to try to beat the game. A lot of fun!
Would be a great gift for: a family, co-workers, a white elephant or Yankee swap party, relatives, truly anyone!
5: Libro.fm gift card: I’ve written before about my love for Libro.FM audiobooks. I listen to a lot of audiobooks, when I’m cleaning the house, doing laundry, gardening, getting ready or even when I workout or go for long runs. So, I go through a lot of books. I always have a list of books I’m waiting on at our library, but for new-er releases, and other instantly-need choices, I love LibroFM. It is audible-like, but the $ for the books you purchase goes towards the bookstore of your choice — I choose our local bookshop! And, with a monthly subscription (~$15) you get one free book credit a month, + 30% off all other audiobook purchases. You could gift an annual or 6-month subscription to anyone in your life that might be thinking about (or already nurturing) an audio-book habit!) As a bonus, it looks like right now if you buy a gift card of any size, you will get to choose from a selection of holiday audio-books for yourself! (Including a Jasmin Guillory book, which is A+ in my book!)
Would be a great gift for: a new parent, your sister or brother, your dad or FIL, your grandfather, a friend!
6: The best book you read this year: On the book theme, I also think giving your favorite book of the year is an amazing gift! I always love to get recommendations from friends, and this is such a nice way to give a small gift that is very meaningful! In 2022, I think the book for me this year will either be Lessons in Chemistry, Detransition Baby, or Klara and the Sun.
Would be a great gift for: any reader in your life!
7: The Appointed Notebook: I tend to think stationery is a little too personal of a gift to give, unless you really know what your recipient is looking for, but paper goods do make great gifts, and these notebooks are a lovely little luxury. I love the color options, the spiral binding, and the fact that you can tear out pages. You could have it monogrammed, and you can pick pages and a color that is right for your gift recipient. If you are certain you want to go for stationery, I love this set.
Would be a great gift for: a coworker, a friend, an aunt, uncle or council, your parents, a teacher!
8: A Desk Calendar: Most people’s desks are pretty boring and don’t have anything besides the bare essentials. Gift someone you love a beautiful desk calendar to bring some art and brightness to their day. Bonus that both of these calendars that I love — by Inslee Farris or Mallie Loring Pratt are so beautiful that the pages could be framed and saved forever once the month is passed.
Would be a great gift for: anyone on your list, especially someone who works from home!
9: Caroline Chambers WTC subscription: If you haven’t heard of Caroline Chambers, what are you waiting for?? Caroline is a caterer/recipe developer/cookbook writer turned newsletter author who has turned her Substack into a weekly cookbook - every Sunday, you get a new recipe delivered to your inbox - it will be delicious, it will be easy-to-make (her instructions are developed for any level of cook), it will be a complete meal, and it will take less than 1 hour to get on the table.
Would be a great gift for: anyone in your life who cooks or wants to cook.
10: Lil’ Tooth Bracelet: These are just really cool, really fun bracelets. They could be added to any stack for any jewelry lover who likes something a little quirky or different to be included in their stack!
Would be a great gift for: anyone that you know who wears jewelry!
11: Laundry room studio phone case: I discovered this artist in an Instagram spiral, and quickly become obsessed with their whole collection of guest pad sketches (I mean!!), and I learned that they also have a collaboration with Casetify and a whole collection of phone cases. I always admire fun phone cases, but it’s not really something I would ever splurge on for myself. Instead, I am usually buying the cheapest option on amazon or from CVS. An fun phone case is a really great treat that will make the recipient of this gift smile everyday! I love this one so much, and I relate deeply to this one.
Would be a great gift for: anyone with a phone? Just kidding - a friend, a cousin, a sibling, your partner!
12: LL Bean Boat & Tote Bag with a funny monogram: This is a classic gift, and the recipient will always find a way to make use of it! I love the medium with long straps and no zipper, and the large with long straps and a zipper makes for an excellent carry on! Even the small ones are great - you can use them as a basket or a bag! You can always go classic with initials, or maybe you are going for something more ironic. Lots of inspiration to be found via @ironicboatandtote. You could go with a nickname, favorite phrase, zip code, or special date! Or, you could find some additional inspiration via The Cut, Harper’s Baazar, or Vogue.
13: Anine Bing Sweatshirt: Anine Bing clothes are synonymous with chic. I especially love her sweatshirts - who doesn’t want a super comfortable oversized sweatshirt to add to their collection, and the great thing about her sweatshirts is that they also look great with jeans or black pants. Something your gift recipient (or maybe you!) will pull on all year round and just love. My favorite options are below (this one is on my personal wishlist:
Would be a great gift for: anyone on your list who loves fashion or comfort!
14: Photo Frames: I never have enough photo frames, and I love to diplay photos, and I love to look at other people’s photos when I’m at their homes! The ones I want are usually just a little too expensive to buy “just because,” so I think these make a fantastic gift. Someone will also have a place for it. Framed pictures made a house/apt/condo a home, and they are a nice gift to receive! Bonus if you print a special photo to go in it! Some favorites I have seen (also a great thing to look for at your local gift shop!):
Aerin Frame (this one would be a big splurge, but is so beautiful!
Green Bamboo Frame (I got this for Mother’s Day this year!)
Would be a great gift for: someone who moved recently, or bought their first (or a new!) home, a photo-lover, anyone!
If none of these things strike your fancy, some other, simple ideas:
A restock of their favorite beauty product (if you know what it is!)
a gift certificate to a local restaurant
an offer to babysit or dogsit
a gift certificate to their local nail salon
a nice bottle of wine (or drink of choice)
a nice jar of hand creme
What did I miss? Let me know if you have other ideas or anything else you love to give as gifts!
Next week, I’m planning to share whats on my personal wish list - with the caveat that it is a totally unrealistic wishlist in that I have things that I love that I would never expect anyone to give me, and I probably won’t even be able to gift myself for a long, long, time! But hey, it’s fun to dream and dreaming is part of what manifesting is all about, right??