 |
| //via pinterest// |
It’s time. Time for the dazzle of lights and sequins, party dresses, punch glasses, balsam and fir livening up
the drabbest corners, holly spangled everywhere. It’s time for comings and
goings and meetings and celebrations. It is, in fact, Christmas time! And one
of my favorite parts of Christmas has to do with giving gifts to friends! There
is really nothing as fun as choosing the ideal gifts for all the many, many
fantastic people in my life. I love having only a vague idea of what I want to
get someone and then finding just the right thing. Since my best friend lives a
high-profile life near Atlanta, I don’t get to see her often. Not infrequent packages fly to her
throughout the year and I’m always excited to meet the challenge of making this
one the best yet. Most times I have no idea what I’m going to send her until I
see one item, and then another, and pretty soon a theme for the box has built
itself around the individual pieces. Every Christmas I wait anxiously till I
receive her text:
“Got
it!” with about a million smiley-faces attached. Then I wait as she opens it,
holding my phone, checking my notifications every few seconds until the
capslock burst of excitement and “THIS IS SO PERFECT! OH MY GOODNESS” comes
through. Then I grin like a fool and listen to her spazz out and generally feel
like the Ghost of Christmas Present (no, that wasn’t a pun.). Sufficient
statement: I like giving gifts. So to celebrate the kick-off of this splendid season, Carmel and I have written
sister-posts with gift ideas for any sort of person in your life. Hoping this
helps you along!
For your foodie:
The Forest Feast Cookbook. by Erin Gleeson – a gift from
my boss for Christmas last year, this cookbook holds a very special place on my
shelf. Erin Gleeson beautifully illustrates her cookbook with colorful watercolors,
combining photography, art, and food in a way that only a truly understanding
soul can. The recipes are practical, vibrantly healthy, and delicious and shy
away both from boredom and pretension. Highly recommended.
A subscription to a food magazine – what can I say? My boss gives
insanely specific and perfect gifts. For my last birthday, she spoiled me with
four magazine subscriptions. I eagerly, eagerly haunt the mailbox each month
waiting for the latest issue of drool-worthy, glossy publications. If your
foodie is more into useable, inspiring recipes and fun food-spot highlights, I
recommend Bon Appetit. If he/she more
enjoys the heart/stories/passion behind food, I recommend Saveur Magazine.
For your traveler:
Places To Go, People To See by Kate Spade – This beautiful, hard-bound book is a celebration of travel and
makes a person want to pack up and GO immediately. I know because I bought this
book for my best friend’s birthday and read it cover to cover before I sent it
to her. Best friend privileges and all.
A travel journal – We’ve discussed the importance
and pleasure of keeping a travel journal, so if you know that one of your loved
ones has a big trip planned for the coming year, why not buy them a journal to
write in? Look for one that is unlined, small enough to fit in a cross-body bag
or small backpack, and that fastens closed. A favorite place to find a broad
selection is Barnes & Noble, though many good options can be found online.
For your artist:
A new creative outlet – As an amateur artist myself, I
can speak to the importance of stretching myself creatively and artistically. I
love messing around in a new media, whether it’s a different variety of paint,
pencil-sketching, pottery-painting, or paper-art. Try getting a gift
certificate to a pottery studio, or graphite pencils and a sketchbook, or
something of that nature.
Pieces of their favorite artists – I like making gifts
person-specific. Nose about and discover who your artist friend counts among
their favorite artists. Buy and frame one of that artist’s prints or, if the
artist is currently at work (like some of my favorite fashion illustrators,
Inslee Farris and Kerrie Hess), buy them a phone-case, stationery, or wall
calendar from the artist! Bonus points for supporting industry!
For your fashionista:
A Hannah Everly skirt: This girl is a fairly new find
for me, but I am such a huge fan of her perky designs. The fact that she is so
young and successful excites me and I am thrilled with my plans to feature her
on the blog in the near future. That being said, check out her shop and take
special note of my favorites of her skirts:
A unique gift-card: I realized gift-cards are kind
of a cop-out, but let me defend this choice: if you buy a gift card to a
company the person loves but cannot ordinarily afford (Kate Spade, Boden,
Anthropologie, J.Crew) you are helping them be able to more reasonably splurge
on an item that they will love viciously. It is really quite an exciting gift
when you raise your head above the $25 mass-chain cards you can buy at Walmart.
Take that amount of money and apply it to a brand that will thrill instead of
bore your loved one.
For your barista:
Locally-roasted coffee beans – One of my sisters, while not an
actual barista, loves to make espresso and coffee drinks and when she gets a
bag of good beans will guard them with her life. My favorite roasting place
locally is Rogue Elephant Roasting Company. I first encountered their beans at
a coffee-enthusiast-friend’s wedding that had a great coffee-bar. I was hooked
and whenever I’ve gotten a chance to have another cup, I do so.
Coffee-jewelry – so this borders on tacky, but
do we really care? Some Mondays just call for Starbucks earrings in addition to
the daily cup. Here are some cute ideas:
Merry
Christmas shopping to you, and don’t forget to head to CARMEL for more ideas in
more categories!
Hurrah for Christmas + presents! Thanks for joining me on this fun endeavor. <3
ReplyDelete"The Ghost of Christmas Present"--HAHAHAHAHAHA.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right--gift giving is SO much fun! One of my personal favorite gifts to pick out is religious jewelry, since there are soooooooooooo many nice options and you can find "just the right thing" for whoever it is.
The barista, travel, and foodie gift ideas are all gift ideas that will promptly be added to my Christmas list. ;) Love this! Y'all should put together a men's Christmas gift ideas list! I have trouble with that every year. ;)
ReplyDelete