My love language is gifts, which means not only do I get joy from receiving gifts, I get the biggest thrill out of finding the perfect (or what I think is the perfect) gift for those that I love. While I do thoroughly enjoy shopping, the age of online ordering has made holiday gift giving a breeze – for better or for worse.
I highly recommend making wish lists, either for all gifts or individual ones for each person you buy for. I throw things on there throughout the year so it’s simple when a birthday, christmas, or other special occasion rolls around. I use Amazon Wishlists for everything that can be bought there, but I also keep a note on my phone where I can add quick ideas from anywhere. Any time Jess (or anyone!) mentions that they’d like to have something, I pop it into my note to remind me for later. Although a lot of these things are probably pandemic-everyone-is-at-home-and-bored themed, many will be useful beyond COVID-19, I promise!
Another great feature of Amazon is choosing your delivery day – after the thrill of getting a package every day wore off I really started to think about how wasteful it was, so now I set my delivery day and all my orders for the week get rolled into as few boxes/deliveries as possible.
You can also shop small AND local on Amazon! While I’m not saying it absolves all of the mega-monopoly guilt you may have for shopping on Amazon, it does help. You can filter by local (really just regions – not super localized), military family-owned, black-owned, women-owned, and more!
Another general shopping tip I want to share is using Rakuten. To be honest, I was skeptical whenever I’d see ads for Rakuten (formerly eBates), but it’s legit and I use it as a browser extension so that when I am shopping on a website it’ll pop up a little notification if there is a cash back offer for that website. I’ve earned over $60 this year on things that I was purchasing anyway.
Disclosure: there are some affiliate links below and I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post, but these are all products I recommend. I won’t put anything on this page that I have not verified and/or personally used.
50 gift ideas for anyone on your holiday shopping list
- Kindle (I was anti-Kindle for a long time but I got one for Christmas last year and have 100% joined the fan club)
- Kindle Unlimited (my mom got me Kindle Unlimited to go along with my new Kindle and it’s great! In addition to my local library card, I have so many available books at any time)
- Wireless earbuds (big fan of these from Target if you don’t want to splurge on a big brand but still want high quality)
- Puzzles
- Book journal
- Joking Hazard card game
- Audible
- Amazon Prime
- Bucket list journal
- A life planner from Erin Condren (this is my fave design)
- Dot grid (or lined) notebook – perfect for bullet journaling!
- Calendar (to track all the things they won’t do if the pandemic doesn’t end soon…)
- 1000 Places to See Before You Die
- Thera cane (even if you think they won’t use it, they will. Buy one for yourself, too!)
- Candles (These are fun literary-inspired candles and I LOVE DW Home candles)
- Charging station because we all have too many devices…
- Wooden decorative serving tray (I have the gold-edged round tray on our coffee table!)
- Reusable rubber twist ties (I bought these for everyone last Christmas and they were a hit!)
- Salux exfoliating cloth for a little pampering
- Pashmina for that person who is always cold
- Throw blanket…also for that person who is always cold. If you want to go bigger you can get the king size fleece blankets from Costco – they’re amazing!
- Julep Night Shift sleeping mask
- Aveeno foot mask
- Captain America waffle maker (I’m going to be really honest and say that I have this and it truly makes wonderful waffles, I was pleasantly surprised! It also makes me chuckle a bit every time we use it.)
- French press coffeemaker
- Herb scissors
- Herb stripper
- Elephant watering can
- Cards Against Humanity (this one is best honestly if you really know your audience…)
- Mini Projector
- LED beanie cap (another past gift that I still get thanks for!)
- Magnetic wristband (great for anyone who works in a shop or with tools frequently)
- Clip on bluetooth speaker (also waterproof is a great addition!)
- USB charging tower re: that thing I said about too many devices…)
- Grypmat
- 23 and Me DNA test
- Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza (a family friendly and quick-paced game!)
- Crush Light Chroma lantern (I rented this for my trip to Yellowstone from Arrive Outdoors and loved it so much I bought one for myself and may have picked a few for gifts at the same time)
- StowCo iceless cooler
- Experiences: tickets or season passes to a local zoo or museum, a gift card to rent camping gear from Arrive Outdoors to get out of the house, a plane ticket or better yet a gift card to their favorite airline for when travel opens back up, or perhaps pay for a class/classes for a new hobby or skill they want to learn.
- Subscription boxes: I LOVE getting mail and am a real sucker for subscription boxes. There are tons out there and you can find the perfect one for anyone with a quick search online. Try Fab Fit Fun, Book of the Month, Surprise Tackle Box, Kiwi Crate (for kids), and Man Crates to find something for everyone.
Do you have any go-to gifts or something you’re excited to give this year? Tell me your “must gives” and what is on your wishlist in the comments. Happy gifting!
Terrific post however I was wondering if you could write
a litte more on this topic? I’d be very thankful if you
could elaborate a little bit further. Bless you!