I thought I’d round up a few ideas for gifts for this year.
These are just things I have found and loved to give some inspiration to you in your shopping this year. All of these items for women are under $50 and most are in the $20-ish range.
1. Minnetonka Slippers– I have the moccasins (you can see them in my instagram pic and they are crazy comfy. I asked Santa for the slippers).
2. 2015 Calendar– isn’t this pretty? I am splurging on this one this year because it will look great in the kitchen. Usually I just print out free calendars from Pinterest but I decided to roll with a full size calendar this year and get the darn thing off my fridge.
3. Naked on the Run by Urban Decay– (I know this is ridiculously expensive but I splurged with my Sephora rewards and this is a gorgeous palette. All the colors are really rich. My only criticism is that it doesn’t come with brushes.) If you are like me and don’t have a lot of fuss with makeup- this is an easy palette with everything you need for day to day wear.
4. Bath and Body Works candles– These are so yummy and always a safe choice- my favorites are stress relief, Eucalyptus Mint and Fresh Balsam. If you want something AMAZING and a little more special- Rewined Candles from West Elm smell amazing. I highly recommend them!
5. Kate Spade Tumbler– I love Kate Spade and this tumbler is so fun. The cheerful blue might make you want to drink more water.
6. The 100 Foot Journey on DVD– I LOVED this movie (actually more than the book) and it would be a fun gift with some Indian Spices or a Sandalwood candle or something.
7. Pizza Stone– few things in life are as perfect as pizza in my humble opinion- get this to make amazing pizza at home. You can gift it with my homemade marinara sauce– so simple to make!
8. Custom Notebook- any other list makers out there? Boy do I love a list and these pretty notebooks make to do’s a lot more fun. These are my favorite pens in the world and would be perfect with this notebook.
9. What if I Fly Mug– there are tons of choices for beautiful, custom mugs that are fun and inspiring. Something about the word Darling instantly reminds me of an old British boyfriend I had and I feel very fancy and worldy so that was my choice. Pretty sure Audrey Hepburn would have had this mug.
And here are some things for children of varying ages– I tried to stay away from the things in every toy catalog from week to week and come up with some other things that you may not have considered getting.
1. Gund Boo Plush– these dogs are so darn cute and so soft. I love this one and I equally love Grumpy Cat here. Tough call.
2. Hover Ball– do you have a little soccer star at home banging soccer balls around the house? Or is that just me? Well we have two and one of our Coaches had this thing at his house and my girls went nuts playing with it. Game on!
3. Charmsies -these are so fun! You can get different shapes and colors and they are little sticker things that get flat ironed into hair. We bought gold ones for my daughter to wear at the Daddy Daughter ball this year- they were very easy to use and came right off in the shower. We got gold which blended into her hair too much to really see. I got these for stockings this year.
4. Pottery Barn All in One Lunchbox– yeah I know lunchboxes are boring but hey- stuff it with some candy and it turns into a favorite gift! This is a super practical idea for Mom and I actually grabbed these for my girls for Christmas. Goodbye 8 zillion little baggies and containers- here it is all in one, easy to open and to wash.
5. Kinectic Sand- This stuff is really fun to play with. It is sand so be careful that you have it in a safe place in case of a little spillage (we put it on a cookie tray with a beach towel underneath). My 5 year old and 7 year old love this stuff.
6. Radio Flyer Little Red Wagon- This is a toy for little ones. I think it is just adorable for carrying around books, cars, dolls etc… Plus you can use it for storage when they are done playing. Put this up by the Christmas tree to hold gifts, put it outside with a few potted plants in summer or put it by a chair in a nursery to hold books. Absolutely adorable! And of course a regular Radio Flyer wagon is always a fantastic gift. They totally justify the money you spend by all the use you can get out of them.
7. Lego Minifugure Watches- these are so fun! Choose from all sorts of characters for boys or girls.
8. Drop Popz- these look so fun. You might be able to find these at Target- make sure to read the reviews here though. A person tells you exactly how to use them.
9. Light Up Football– Doesn’t this look cool? A light up ball! It is dark outside at basically 4pm here these days so this could be something your kiddos have fun with.
10. 1989 by Taylor Swift- this is a great one for older kiddos. Buy the CD and you will get free auto rip- which means you get the MP3 for free. You could have one for yourself and one for a gift. (I listen to this all the time- shhhhh…)
And here are some ideas for crafty kids– I love giving books and art supplies as gifts and my little ladies absolutely love craft time. It is amazing the things they can come up with and these supplies might help to stimulate little imaginations.
1. Usborne Books- there are so many of these to choose from and they are all really fun. Sticker books, activity books and don’t miss the wind up books that come with little cars and trains and such and they can race around the book. Really awesome!
2. Smencils- these are fun scented pencils and such. They cost a small fortune at PB Kids. You might find a deal on Amazon or I actually found one variety hidden in the kid’s stuff at Michaels. (Use a coupon for a deal)
3. Jelly Beadz- these look so fun! I was reading the reviews and it looks like some people had issues because they were maybe trying to keep these forever and ever (thus getting mold on some beads) and some people had children making messes by puncturing the beads. We are all smarties though and know to just make enough to play with today and to supervise the kiddos when they are playing with them. I am grabbing these for my 5 year old’s stocking. She will love them.
4. Washi Tape- this is basically the answer to most of life’s little problems. Washi tape is miraculous as it adheres to things like tape but doesn’t leave a nasty sticker residue. You can also write on Washi Tape to label things- like Tupperware or folders. It comes in every color under the sun and textures and pretty glittery colors that your kiddos will love.
5. Martha Stewart Glitter Glue– well this is a tiny pricey but you can also get it at the craft stores with a coupon. Martha Stewart is the queen of glitter and this is so fun for dressing up crafts and little pictures they draw. We use this all the time but I do hover over the kiddos to monitor how much of this they are squeezing out. Martha Stewart glitter is like liquid gold ’round these parts.
6. Scratch Art- this is so fun and no mess at all. Scratch off tons of designs and it looks so cool. These are great for in the car.
7. Crayola Pastels- pastels are a tiny bit messy (they are soft so the child can smear a little on paper if they aren’t paying attention) but they make the most gorgeous and vibrant art. My girls love these pastels and we have essentially abandoned crayons in our house for these.
8. Liquid Watercolors- these are more money than traditional watercolors but you will get incredibly vibrant and gorgeous colors! I always see the most beautiful projects on pinterest and people have almost always used liquid watercolor.
If you do give the art supplies to a child, you might consider grabbing The Day the Crayons Quit to go with it. Great book!
I am terrible with gifts for men so here is my sad little attempt at a few things 😉 . I see lots of beauty products like shaving gels and such and the men in my life absolutely do not want creams and such for gifts so I didn’t include anything like that.
I didn’t include the obvious items like bluray players or iPads or power tools because you probably already have a good idea there.
1. Hiking Socks. When we lived in Seattle and it would rain…well daily… I would get my husband really good hiking socks. Isn’t it awful to have soaking wet and cold feet? These help.
2. Junk Food Shirts– I love Junk Food. You get cool, weathered looking t-shirts that are soft and comfy and still look nice. I have found these run small.
3. Sambas. Sambas are a pretty safe bet for a casual shoe for a guy- I got these last Christmas for my hubs. He actually plays indoor soccer so he actually has a ratty pair he insists on wearing and a “fancy dress up” pair 😀 If you have little ones at home they have crazy cute pairs for little kids to match Daddy. My baby girl has bright pink Sambas.
4. Fitbit. Is he slightly techy and maybe looking to get fit this year? Ta da!
5. Under Armor Sweats- these look so much nicer than standard sweats. My husband has these and they are super comfy and don’t look like some dumpy old Dad wearing sweats 🙂 These are Saturday at Home Depot pants in our house.
6. DVDs- sometimes these can be easy gifts– Indiana Jones, Godfather, Sopranos, Old School etc… For Christmas National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation or Elf would be fun.
7. Boots- I like these Sperry ones.
8. Tervis Tumblers. These are nice because they come with zillions of styles- sports, super heroes, activities etc… These are cool because they keep cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot. You don’t need to chase him around throwing coasters either because they won’t leave a mark on the table.
9. NFL Merchandise. And you can’t go wrong with sports clothes for the most part. My husband always gets Seahawks and Mariners and occasionally Sounders gear this time of year. That is essentially his wardrobe for the rest of the year so time to splurge on some nicer pieces 🙂
10. Fun gadgets. These Star Wars USB ports are fun or maybe something else that your fella is interested in.
Whew! So those are my ideas. What do you think– any great ideas you have tucked under the tree this year?
Tara says
love your lists!!! I found so many new cute things on here. Thanks!
Jessica says
Do you know how many Charmsies are in the pack? I just see 2 Sheets.
Charlene says
Jessica there are not many at all. It might be 2 pages and then each page has like 4 squares and you literally take that entire square with say 8 charms on it and flat iron it in. These are not a steal with tons and tons of sticker charms inside but rather something really fun for a special day. Probably 3 times of wearing them if you want quite a few in your hair.
Charlene says
Oh I am so thrilled! Thanks Tara—
Jessica says
Thanks!!
dodi says
Thank you! I needed a few ideas and some of these are perfect! Happy Holidays to you and your family Charlene.
Charlene says
So glad Dodi! Merry Christmas!