Did Somebody Say...Gift Guide?

You guys know that I’m a holiday-holic of Clark Griswoldian proportions. In our house, I’m hounding everyone to put up the Christmas tree before the Thanksgiving dishes are even in the dishwasher. Last Christmas, for my family, was rough. We were mourning a very fresh loss, on top of so many other smaller cumulative losses we were already trying to manage. And yet, on the designated day, we still built a fire (okay, we turned it on and lit it) and drank cocoa and sat together, because…because, because, because, because, because…we were together, and that felt worth celebrating, however quietly.

This year, the calendar is trying to help me make up for lost holiday time by putting Thanksgiving on the early side. (Did you hear Busy and me trying to figure out if Thanksgiving can even *be* early on the podcast, LOL! I knew in my heart it could, but she had me doubting myself!!!)

A lot of you have been asking if I would put a gift guide on this Substack! Please understand that whenever I say “A lot of you have been asking” I always feel like an Instagram skinfluencer who is like, “A lot of you have been asking about my 10-step routine, so here it is!” when I have a feeling that, in fact, nobody was asking. But that is judgmental of me, and mean and *not* in the holiday spirit at all. Anyway, a lot of you have REALLY ASKED, I swear. And I am not one to deny wishes this close to my favorite sparkly season!!!

Note: I’m only one person choosing gifts for the people in *my* life, so what would be really cool is if we could turn this into a collaborative gift guide. Please, in the comments, share what you have bought or are planning to buy or things that you are looking for but haven’t found yet and maybe we can all work together to bang out our lists well before Hanukkah/Las Posadas/Solstice/Yule/Soyal/Christmas/Kwanzaa/New Year! Then we can just sit back, look at the lights, watch some movies and marinate ourselves in the festive sugary drink of our choice.

I’m not gonna genderize these because every f*cking year, gift guides come out being like, “For the man in your life, buy these Whiskey Stones!” This assumes so much, including A) All men like whiskey B) No women like whiskey C) That you have a man in your life D) That anyone wants to put actual rocks in a glass vessel filled with a drink that lowers your judgment and reflexes, which you are then, at the end, possibly going to tip back toward your teeth and esophagus E) that we have forgotten that whiskey stones have been the main item that gift guides have suggested for men every year for the past ten years and they have never come up with another idea. If you have ever bought whiskey stones for the man in your life, I’m sorry, I think you were tricked!

I’m gonna try to get to 10 things I am gifting/have been gifted/hoping to be gifted that I think should cover most of your list. Wish me luck and I’ll wish you luck in getting to the end, because you know your girl can talk and this post is already long somehow.

1. I’ve posted about Ready-Made Jewelry on Instagram in the past and I stand by this recommendation so solidly, for life. The pieces are beautiful. Some are delicate-looking, some are chunky statements. Everything comes in choices of colors and lengths, and is able to be embellished with additional pendants or danglies for earrings. I own literally dozens of pieces and the quality of everything is so high that I have actually put my real gold/platinum/silver jewelry away because this stuff looks consistently better and never tarnishes. When I tell you I am hard on jewelry, I mean it. I never take it off. I wear it in the shower and pool. I wear it to bed. Oh, that’s another thing. All of their earring designs are created knowing that we are over getting stabbed in the neck by studs. And all of their rings go up to size 11, many to size 13, so there are gorgeous rings for all sizes of people. They have items that would be appropriate for anyone from age 13 to 113. And, even though I am in no way affiliated with this company, other than loving and boosting their product, I have it on good authority that they have a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale starting early on 11/20, so make a note in your calendar and jump on it because they goodies do sell out.

2. You know I’m about inclusion and won’t recommend a brand if they aren’t making clothes for EVERY BODY. Well, sometimes that sucks when there’s a brand I really want to try because it looks SO GOOD, but I can’t compromise on this one very important thing. Well, hallelujah, because this year, one of those brands got the message! Quince. Quince is known for a couple of things. 1) Cashmere 2) Reasonable prices, including on cashmere. And now 3) EXTENDED SIZING, including on reasonably priced cashmere. They also have a lot of other gorgeous stuff including housewares and home decor. The look isn’t particularly splashy, it’s classic and polished, but I honestly think you could find something for everyone on your list there no matter their gender or stylishness level. I’m not affiliated with Quince, but I did receive a coupon for $20 off your purchase. I’m not allowed to post it here, but if you want it, email me at busydoingherbest@gmail.com and I’ll share it with ya. Put Quince in the subject line, please! OR JUST EMAIL ME TO SAY HI, LOL!

3. Okay, okay, okay. We advertise a lot of things on the podcast, and you know we have rules about not plugging anything unless we actually use it and love it. And while not everything we encourage you to try falls into the “giftable” category, many things do. Including Wildgrain! We talk about subscribing to it ourselves, but Wildgrain members are ALSO able to send e-gift cards and one-time gift boxes to friends and family from their Member Accounts! They also offer corporate gift options for members and non-members! And my heart is pounding just saying this, but I heard the free croissants for life offer for members is ending soon, so…tick tock, I guess? Check out their options here & get $30 off your first box!

4. This next item, well, it ain’t cheap. It ain’t sexy. But…it is a life changer. The Dyson cordless vacuum. I’ve owned this for a few years now because it was MY big Christmas gift a few years ago from my mom when we moved into our house. I’m gonna be honest about what it does and does not do so you can consider it with eyes wide open. It’s rechargeable with a built in battery. The battery doesn’t last a long time per charge, maybe 15-20 minutes on my shaggy rugs, and it has some weight to it. That being said? The weight of the battery, for me, is so much less cumbersome than dragging out a corded vacuum with a long hose. For me? I only need 15 minutes of charge to do my kitchen, living room and den. And also for me? Knowing the task of vacuuming is only going to take 15 minutes before the thing conks out is kind of motivating. I know it’s not an endless task! And if I have to do other rooms, I know I have to charge it for a while again before I can get to those and I find that helpful. I vacuum SO MUCH MORE FREQUENTLY since owning this. If you are one of those people who finds seeing how much dirt and dog hair you got off of your floor very satisfying, I have good news. This thing is easy to empty and you will see everything going into the garbage. The only negative is my dogs hate it, but they hate everything, so I just put them outside for 15 minutes when I clean. AND I KNOW I SAID I WASN’T GONNA GENDERIZE THIS LIST!!! However, if there is someone in your family who you think could stand to pitch in a little more with the daily cleaning and maintaining of the home you share, maybe this gift would be a cool way of prompting them to take some ownership of one of those tasks? IJS! (I’m also not allowed to plop a best-deal link in the body of this post, but I will pin a good link in the comments!

   

   5. Okay, my next suggestion is also pricey, but it’s a little more sexy than a household cleaning device, IMHO. When I was considering what to get Matt for our 25th anniversary, I was stumped. But then I started thinking about things we share with each other every single day and one word popped into my mind. Coffee. No matter what, whether it’s our busiest, toughest day or our most leisurely, aimless day, we make it a point to share a cup of coffee together. In fact, one of the most romantic things that has ever happened to me in my entire life was, as I was drifting off in bed, my husband once whispered, “Have a good sleep, and when you wake up tomorrow, there will be coffee.” We had what I thought was a good coffee maker and when one crucial piece broke, I was eager just to replace that piece. Well, they don’t make that model anymore. Extreme side-eye. So, I went back to my research from when we were originally purchasing our prior model to see what our second choice was back then and it was the Moccamaster. At the time, we skipped it because even though it had stratospheric reviews and was very attractive, we thought it was just too expensive, and so we crossed it off the list. But, this time the stars aligned and I caught it on a sale and OHMYGODDDDUHHH, I am so upset that we didn’t splurge the first time and buy it. I’m so upset for the lost years of superior coffee we could have had. And I’m not gonna lie. I’m not sure exactly how one relatively simple device that heats water and drops it over beans can make the resulting pot of coffee taste SO FAR SUPERIOR to another simple device I believed was doing the same thing. But, I swear to you, it does. I have not had a mediocre cup of coffee since it came home in October and, in fact, I’ve stopped buying coffees outside of the house because I know they will taste disappointing compared to what I can make at home. So, in a self-enabling way, it is paying for itself, probably? There are many colors and options for thermal carafes, etc at varying price points. If you wanna check it out, I’ll put a link in the pinned comment!

   

   6. Okay, this one is sneaky good, but, I first saw a LEGO Icons flower building kit at a super cool wedding I attended last year. They had one at every table, unbuilt, and guests worked together to build their own centerpiece. I thought it was a great idea, fun and a wonderful ice breaker with end results that were adorable! LATER, and I hope she doesn’t mind me telling you this, at Emily BB’s annual holiday gift swap, someone brought one as their swappable gift and it literally caused some heated competition and a bit of a beef serious enough that constituted a gift-swap rule change for this year! Now, that’s a hot item! One was also featured in an episode of Abbott Elementary, which made me feel very cool for knowing about it? What I love about it is it could literally be a gift from anyone TO anyone, adult to kid, kid to adult. It’s a thing you can do together and then display and it’s not only not hideously ugly, it’s cute and colorful and kind of hip? It’s not hip to say hip. I KNOW! There are different sizes and colors for each flower kit. Again, I’ll put a little link in the pinned comment for that guy.

   

   7. Okay, when I was a kid, the two gifts I begged, BEGGED for year after year were A) An Easy-Bake Oven and B) The Play-Doh Fuzzy Pumper Barber shop. I never got ‘em and that’s because they violated two of the rules in my childhood home - nothing that could make a mess, and no extra snacks for the kid who was always on a diet. Well, frankly, fuck that. (And you’ll be happy to know that when I worked at The Rosie O’Donnell Show, our head writer Janette gave me both of those toys at one time for my birthday once and they completely lived up to the hype!) One gift I have given to so many of my little cousins over the years kind of combines both ideas and that gift is…a real pasta maker. Here’s why I love it. It’s not *super* expensive, you can get a decent one for 35 bucks. And any kid who can make pretend food with Play-Doh can also make real food with real dough! The ingredients necessary are probably already in the kitchen, but if you want to throw in a bag of flour and a box of eggs, it’ll cost you a few extra dollars. Now, this isn’t a gift you can just give to some 7 year-old and expect them to enjoy it. No, I sincerely believe when you give a gift like this, it must come with a promise that you will go into the kitchen with them and learn how to make that pasta together. And you must uphold that promise. And best case scenario? You both have so much fun that you make a standing tradition, yearly or even monthly or weekly if you can, where you get together to make fresh pasta. Worst case scenario, you do it once and it doesn’t even come out that good, but definitely still tastes better than eating Play-Doh. Don’t act like you don’t know what Play-Doh tastes like, we’ve all eaten it. Either way, I think this gift tells a kid a lot about how you feel about them. That you trust them to do important things with real tools. That they’re worth nourishing and that they are capable of nourishing others. That a little bit of a mess is okay, especially when the spoils taste so delicious. That you have time for them and you appreciate them spending their time with you. You get the picture! (If you’re not a pasta person, I think a little mini waffle iron could be equally exciting in the same way?) I’ve got a link for you in the pinned comment!

   

   8. Is it basic if I suggest Bop-It? Because Bop-It is a classic. It’s kind of an electronic game that might appeal to a video game lover, but it’s active and gets everyone on their feet and teaches them coordination, possibly. It makes enough noise that if you were hoping to annoy the parents of some kid on your list, you’ll be satisfied, but also, the noise is kind of catchy and infectious. You can dance to it. It makes most people smile. If Bop-It can’t bring at least a little grin to the corners of someone’s mouth, I’m worrying about that person. It’s fun to watch young people succeed at it and it’s fun to watch older people fail at it and the playing field between all participants is pretty level from the jump. And, you can technically play it alone too, and it’s still pretty fun. Nothing sadder than being an only child who gets a gift that requires two players that immediately goes into the closet forever! Bop-It has such manic Nickelodeon in the 1990s energy. It comes in a bunch of different versions, including one that looks like a Minion, but the orig is my fave and it still costs under fifteen dollars. Link in pinned comment.

   

   9. BATH PRODUCT SETS! This is such a great way to get bang for your holiday buck. They work for anyone who has a tub where they live and is spry enough to get in and out. There are products for those of us who only have showers too! They’re for adults, kids, adults who act like kids. They honestly come is so many varieties that it’s easy to personalize your choice to the recipient even if you only know, like, one thing about the person. Is your new boyfriend’s daughter a Spider-man fan? There’s one for her. Does your nephew’s kid love slime? There’s shower slime. Does your co-worker always wear purple? There’s legitimately one million versions of lavender bath sets that heavily feature the color purple. I personally love bath sets because it is possible to show that you were thinking of who the person truly is with the set you choose, while also not spending so much. If your budget is twenty bucks, you’ll do okay! But, if you want to spend more, you certainly can look toward more luxurious brands. Fun fact, every time I have ever visited Busy in a hotel room, she has stopped in the local drug store to buy herself a bag of Dr. Teal’s epsom salts for her bath before bed. I just found a Dr. Teal’s Sleep Soak package of things I know she will definitely use and appreciate and I pray she is not reading this right now. WEIRD NOTE: Men’s bath sets tend to be MORE expensive in my experience, which seems counterintuitive. However, I found a great one by this clothing brand everyone in my house likes to wear, Ben Sherman, that has body wash, lotion, a manicure set AND A ROBE and it’s $25. What? Add to cart! Anyway, I always loved getting a bath set as a kid, I continued to love it through my teens and young adulthood, and I still love getting them now that I’m aged. They’re consumable, so they’re not something that will be taking up space in someone’s life forever. And even if I don’t take as many baths as Busy, those bath fizzies still smell hella good under my bathroom sink until I get around to it, LOL! I’ll link the ones I suggested in the pinned comment.

   

   10. A Projector. This is more a category suggestion, than a specific model recommendation. There are many types of projectors with all different capabilities at price points from tens of dollars to hundreds. This one looks a little like Wall-E and is dirt cheap for what it does! My advice here is to think of how your recipient might use it, then find the model that fits those parameters. The reason I love this gift is because it is kind of perfect for anybody I know! It’s great for an entire family and it’s also great for my single friends who like to take a girls trip. It is very satisfying for the tech obsessed, while also pleasing the Hallmark Holiday saps, because here’s the truth, there is just something a little special about watching a movie or a slideshow that is being projected, large as life, onto a screen or wall! It’s an event. Over the years, we have used our mini projector and either a cell phone, laptop or Firestick to show movies both indoors and outdoors at home. We have also used it while on vacation, indoors and outdoors. Ask us about the time the people in the neighboring house came over to see if we were okay because they saw the lights from the windows as we were watching Hot Fuzz and thought that an actual SWAT team was at our place, LOL! My kids have also used the projector to play giant video games with their friends during sleepovers and we’ve used it even more creatively as part of our Halloween displays and to complete art projects that required blowing up an image to be traced. It’s one of those things that, with a little imagination, can have dozens of special uses for a reasonable cost and without having to install some giant, heavy permanent monitor in your home. I just decided I’m gonna get ours out and project a planetarium video on our ceiling tonight!

   

   Whew! I made it to TEN RECS, baby!!! I hope you did too. And I can’t wait to read your gift ideas. I hope that whatever your end of year plans are, that you’ll feel safe and loved and as peaceful as you can feel. We all deserve that.

And stay tuned for early 2024, when I’ll be publishing a piece about personal finance and how to save more money than you’re spending. I just, uh, need to learn how to do that real quick!