29: A Holiday Wish + Gift List

All I want for Christmas this year is – again! – for this virus to go away and for everyone to see their families and loved ones without having to take precautions. I know this year seems a little better than last year and lots of people will undoubtedly get together, but we will still not travel for the holidays this year.

So let’s distract ourselves with some pretty things and shiny objects, shall we? I put together a little holiday wish list/gift guide for you, so we can all feel like it’s a regular old and boring Christmas around here. You’re welcome. 

Admittedly, I have a little bit of a love-hate relationship with gift guides because I don’t really want to buy into the consumerism around the holidays, but I do love finding inspiration and discovering new things that I had no idea existed but that others recommend! I hope I can do the same for you here.

Some of these things on my list are things I own and love, some of these things are on my personal wish list or I think they’d make nice, useful gifts. Maybe you’ll find some gift inspiration here, too. 

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1. Come on, you knew Puzzles* would be on the list, right? (I don’t do them nearly as often as I would like, but everybody likes puzzles.)

2. I bought this Tree of Life Facial Serum Trio a while back on a whim (because I wanted to see what they hype is about) and I must say, I am pleasantly surprised by this (very affordable) trio of facial serums. Would make a nice gift.

3. I picked up this mini felt garland at Trader Joe’s the other day and it just puts me in a good mood. One cannot have too many garlands for the holidays.

4.I received this ‘earth’ optical illusion lamp last year as a gift and I love it. It looks really nice and creates a pleasant ambience. It almost has a 3D feel to it when it’s turned on.

5. I have not tried this hair product myself, but have heard good thing about the Elizavecca Hair mask here and there. Inclined to give it a try sometime.

6. I am appalled sometimes about our use of paper towels, so these Reusable Paper Towels sound like a good alternative. Has anyone made the switch?

7. Not that I have much space for a decorative item like this in my small kitchen, but a Recipe Book Stand* does usually come in handy (you got to put your recipe somewhere) and bonus points, if it looks pretty, too.

8. I watched Samin Nosrat’s four-part Netflix series Salt Fat Acid Heat* and was fascinated. The book is probably equally worthwhile.

9. As we can all not have enough reusable water bottles, I usually am drawn to the pretty ones. Like this National Parks of the USA Insulated Water Bottle* from the Parks Project. If someone loves the National Parks and the outdoors, this is probably a gift they would appreciate.

10. My favorite running socks are from Balega*. I love giving and receiving them as gifts. I know, socks are often considered “awful” holiday gifts, haha, but not for me!

11. I’ve given cute (inexpensive) jewelry like this floating heart necklace* to friends before and they’ve loved it. It’s a small gesture of friendship.

12. If you are like most normal people, you can always find use for more pretty journals*, amirite? Haha.

13. Give someone (or yourself) the gift of an electric milk frother. It’s a little luxury that you don’t want to miss during the holidays. I have the one pictured above, this link* is for the updated model, I believe.

14. I brought one of these Collapsible Shopping Baskets from Germany and I swear, everywhere I take it (mostly to Trader Joe’s or the Farmers Market), someone will comment on this basket. It does make shopping a bit more pleasant, I’ll have to say.

15. Isn’t this Crate Collective Pakkawood Spurtles Set* the most beautiful kitchen utensil set? This is the equivalent of a pretty mug to have your coffee or tea from. Nice utensils make cooking/baking that much more exciting!

And there you have it… a little random hodgepodge of gift ideas and recommendations.

What’s one of your favorite gifts you’ve ever received? And which item would you give to others over and over?


* #notanad, This is not a sponsored post. I have not been compensated by the brand or anyone else for linking the websites.

  1. The felt garland is SO cute.

    Puzzles (over 200 pieces) stress me out. It boggles my mind people put together 500 pieces of blue sky by way of relaxation.

    Definitely agree we can always use an extra journal/notebook and we are huge fans of socks for Christmas. Like even the kids love getting them. I try to have one fun/whimsical pair (like food-themed socks, for example) and another, nicer practical set (e.g. merino wool).

    Love the gift guide/favourites and hope despite the lack of travel this year, it’s a wonderful holiday season.

  2. I love the National Park Water Bottle – so pretty.
    Extra (workout) socks haven’t hurt anybody.

    Thanks for sharing these ideas!
    xo

  3. I do have reusable paper towels! They work pretty well. I have never been a person who has used regular paper towels much though, so not sure how they compare.

    All of these are great ideas!

  4. Hmmm! Reusable paper towels… I’m intrigued. I love gift guides and this is a fun one! I would be happy if any of these items appeared under my tree.

  5. I love gift guides. They do tend to show me things I’ve never seen. I’m also someone who loves to be gifted socks. :)

  6. I love puzzles! I just finished a 1,000 piece one. I bought a puzzle mat that rolls up so you can store the puzzle when you aren’t working on it – which is key for me w/ little ones around!

    I also have a love/hate relationship with gift guides. It’s fun to see what it out there, but we are not big gift people so I don’t actually do anything with the guides… I really only have to get gifts for the boys and for the cousin gift exchange. And then the siblings get something for my parents. But that’s it, besides cards/cash for teachers. So we get by really easy! I talked to someone yesterday who detailed all the people they had to buy for and it stressed me out just hearing her list it all out! So I am very thankful that my family doesn’t do much in terms of gifts! My MIL still buys us gifts (we told my parents they could stop and they took us up on that since they have 10 grandkids to shop for). I asked for a new sweatshirt and that’s all I really want!

  7. I’ve really tried to lower my paper towel consumption and now I buy one small roll every quarter or so? I used reusable paper towels for a while but I didn’t love the kind I bought. I think I need to spend the money on something that’s a bit higher quality! I’ll have to check out the one you linked!

  8. So many great gift ideas. I don’t know when last I did a puzzle but I remember how relaxing it was. I think it is time to get another one :)

    We are still being careful but managed to see my in-laws in November – it felt like an early Christmas gift just catching up over a braai.

  9. These are great! I love that garland – it would actually be cute to leave up year round, in my opinion. It doesn’t LOOK particularly holiday-ish to me, but maybe I’m missing something. :)

    Puzzles. I like them, but I don’t really have anywhere to do them. So, yeah, a dilemma. Also, I never have enough time to read (or, as much time as I would like) so I struggle with whether / how to bring in other (non work) activities and not lose too much reading time.

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