2022 GIFT GUIDE
‘Tis the season for gift giving
We’re coming up on the best time of the year! It seems each year it get’s harder to be creative with gifts for our loved ones. Here’s a gift guide filled with unique, thoughtful, and affordable gifts!
Of course, diamonds are still a girls best friend, but sometimes a handmade scrapbook brings a different kind of warmth this holiday season. Another plus to ship-less gifts is being able to support local businesses and reduce your part in the carbon footprint holiday shopping leaves behind. Nonetheless sites like Amazon are affordable, convenient, and accessible! This guide is to encourage you to do your research about the origin of where you are buying your gifts from this year and add a little mix of Amazon and local! To spark some inspiration below are some fun gift alternatives!
1. Experiences
Investing your money into an experience that becomes a memory is priceless. The best part about this is that there is truly an experience for everyone. Gift your best friend a massage at your favorite spa! Perhaps your parents would enjoy a weekend getaway in an airbnb. Maybe your grandparents want to make a trip to your local jazz bar for the night? Regardless of where you are in the world, you will be able to find some kind of experience that checks all your boxes. Here’s a list of some lively and enjoyable experiences to share:
Concerts
Art classes
Museum Tickets
Pasta making class
Drag show
Top golf
Amusement park
Sports game
2. BOOKS!!!
Nothing is better than a good book. NOTHING! This is my personal gift to give to all my friends. To make it a little personal, I have a “from the library of Emma McGoldrick” stamp I imprint in each book and I write a note on the inside cover. Sometimes if I loved a book I will give it to multiple people a year at Christmas time. Here are some of my favs to give:
3. Themed Basket
Go thrift a basket and fill it with goodies! They can be curated to each person in your life whether they have a special occasion coming up or just enjoy a certain activity. It’s your chance to show how attentive you are by filling it with things they love. If a relative/friend enjoys cooking you can make a basket with a unique cookbook, popular ingredients from the book, new cooking mittens, or maybe a funny customized apron. The possibilities are endless. Personally, this Apron is a gift I would be begging to receive. Here are some other ideas:
Spa basket (facemask, conditioning hair mask, gua sha, face oil)
Travel basket (weighted sleeping mask, hydrating gel eye mask, new comfy lounge set, snacks)
Art basket (canvas, brushes, oil paints, liquin, cleaning solution, how to guide book)
Wine basket (Automatic Electric Corkscrew, unique wine stoppers, cheese board, and your favorite wine of course)
Sports basket (a new crewneck, beer/seltzers, grilling utensils, snacks)
Nail basket (Check out Lizzy Wong’s Nail Kit store front)
4. Handmade Gifts
The sentiment of this can mean so much more than a store bought gift. Letting someone know they are worth your time and energy is basically a new love language. In the same way a picture is worth a thousand words so is a handmade gift! It’s not just a candle you made from scratch but it’s the act of making something as unique and special as your loved one. You could learn to make wire jewelry or how to work with resin to create some irreplaceable art! The limits does not exist with these! Some other handmade gift could be:
Pottery
Scrapbooks
Annotated book
Poems
Flower arrangement
Knit apparel
5. Food & Beverages
No matter where you travel in the world, we all have one major similarity…our love for food. This can come in so many forms! You can make your own sweet treats and send them out or buy the ingredients and encourage others to get their bake on as well! Any way you go about this your loved one is sure to enjoy. Food can be gifted in ways such as:
A local gift card to your favorite place
Bottle of their favorite liquor and ingredients for a new cocktail.
Homemade goodies. (My grandmother’s favorite gift was when I meal-prepped 12 dinners for her freezer).
Sending food or beverages via a delivery app and having a facetime call
6. Subscriptions
Gifting subscriptions can be inspiring but can also lift the weight off for the year or months you gift it for! I got a Masterclass subscription 2 years ago and loved it! It wasn’t something I would purchase for myself but I loved the opportunity to explore and learn for the year! Here are some of the favorites that I think would be anyone happy:
Whether you’re shopping for your spouse, bestie, little brother, or colleague, there’s something for everyone on this list!
