What Are Your Gift Guide Needs?
Nov 14, 2023
Another holiday season is upon us. My Christmas decorations only partially came down last year, so I’m already half done! (It’s important to define success in your own way.) But as the holidays are just around the corner, I decided to start gift guides this week, instead of waiting until after Thanksgiving. Because if the retailers aren’t waiting, I suppose I can’t either.
Here are the guides that I have planned:
- My Personal Christmas Wishlist
- Secret Santa/White Elephant Gifts
- Under-$75 Gifts for Almost Anyone
- Kyle’s Gift Guide for Dads, Husbands, and Brothers
- Gifts for Your Colleagues, Interns or Boss
- Gifts for Parents
- Gifts for Kids (since I have one now)
If you have any other gift guide needs, leave them in the comments. Some of the very specific requests I may not get to because they’re not generally applicable to more people. But I’d like a better sense of what you’re searching for, what your price points are, and what I can help you find.
Gifts for sisters / best friends (maybe already incorporated into your other lists)
This!
This may fall into the weirdly specific category, but maybe I’m not the only one who’s married into a crazy tradition….my husband’s family always gathers on Christmas Eve, when we exchange “stocking stuffers,” except the stockings are massive – like, the size of my arm – and the gifts are individually wrapped and stuffed inside of the stockings. And did I mention that this includes extended family, so we have to buy for approximately 20 people? So I suppose, I’m on the hunt for a gift I can buy en masse for approximately $5 – $10 a pop; this tradition doesn’t even cover the real gifts.
Wow, sounds like a job for your husband!! 🙂
C – you’re not wrong!!
I’m going to be posting some Favorite Things/White Elephant gifts. Those might apply.
Gifts for boomer parents/grandparents who live out of state that are small enough to take home in a suitcase. Under $100 preferred.
Without fail, I struggle with my mother-in-law and men in general. For mothers, all the guides seem to include the same items – robes, bath bombs, slippers, floral delivery, a damn digital photo frame, and the same goes for men – no, I don’t need to buy my husband/father/brother a new razor, nor do they need another ice mold or whiskey rocks, and my husb is so particular about picking his own watches and wallets I wouldn’t dare. (This isn’t geared at you, it’s towards all the guides I see every year on other blogs, Wirecutter, influencers, etc.)
tl;dr – some out-of-the-ordinary gifts for older women and men, please!!
I bought a custom mini bar name bracelet from this Etsy shop (Caitlyn Minimalist) recently and have been very happy with it. Maybe a gift for the MIL?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1228586816/custom-mini-name-bar-bracelet-by-caitlyn?ref=yr_purchases
Separate note – I look forward to Kyle’s gift guide every year! And I love that you’re sharing your own gift guide.
Stocking stuffers! Particularly some cheap options under $15 and things for men and teenage boys. Kids and women are easier to fill stockings for with so many toy and beauty options.
I always buy my best friend a Christmas gift every year and sometimes I struggle to find something fun and interesting for her. I spend under $100.
Cool clothes and accessories for the men on my list. Tech stuff that is not, I repeat, NOT headphones or some kind of portable speaker which, I swear populates most of the recommended gifts for men.
Gifts that travel well. We are doing a family vacation, and won’t be able to send gifts ahead of time. So I’m looking for things I can fit in a suitcae/carryon
Gifts for couples – but only if you have time!
Yes to this!
My go-to “gift that travels well” is a packable travel bag. One of those bags that unfolds into a duffel or a backpack, then folds back up to be about the size of your palm. Great for travel (you can throw one in your suitcase for bringing back souvenirs) or for stashing in the trunk of your car. Also, they’re very cheap, so they’re great for white elephant parties.
Would love gift ideas for nieces/nephews/godchildren (especially tween- and teen-aged) that would help me be the cool auntie. (Wishful thinking…)
Under $15/20 stocking stuffers!
Gifts for adult kids (30’s)
I always love Kyle’s gift guide, thank you! Definitely need some in-office gifts at all levels (bosses, admins, subordinates) and that awkward tween/teen age for nieces and nephews, please. Thank you!
I would love to see a gift guide or gifts on guides that link to local shops, Etsy stores, smaller retailers, etc.
Along the lines of gifts for coworkers, can you include nice gifts for clients/referring attorneys? Love your blog!
Gifts for new moms and first time grandparents – my sister has a 1 month old. None of them need most stuff – suggestions on items they would actually use/cherish would be amazing!
Gifts for your besties (~$50-75)
Incorporating some “experience” ideas would be nice to not add to the glut of stuff that everyone already has. Restaurant gift card has been our fallback the last couple years for our parents but would like something a little more unexpected. Monster truck show tickets for our 3 year old’s bday in January.
Gifts for people who *aren’t* into fashion, beauty, or design? I have lots of older relatives (think aunts/uncles in their late 50s/early 60s, pre-retirement but getting there soon) to buy for and I never know what to get them.