This week’s gift guide is a collection of things I’ve given to other people, or to myself, that might make a perfect present for someone you know (or for you). There isn’t really a theme this week, much as I tried to come up with one!
NB: some of these links are affiliate-coded, which means a portion of your purchase comes back to us at no extra cost. Our affiliate sales are one of the revenue streams that keep the hot pink lights on in the hot pink palace, so shopping through our links is much appreciated!
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I bought The Remarkable Life Deck: A Ten Year Plan for Achieving Your Dreams for two friends who are experiencing transition in their lives, and they’ve both been so pleased with them! I read about these in Roxane Gay’s newsletter, as they were designed by her wife Debbie Millman. They would make a lovely present or stocking stuffer.
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I interviewed Dr. Perpetua Neo in Episode 516. This is What Matters and have been slowly making my way through her workbook since we recorded.
I have a digital copy, so I tend to rewrite the questions I want to answer in my journal and then write out my response or list of ideas. I frequently ask myself questions like these to identify what it is that I want, or what I’m looking for, and I appreciate the emphasis on acceptance and processing of a crisis.
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When the eto wine decanter was a crowdfounding campaign, I backed it, and then after the decanter arrived, I bought a second one. We have one for red wine and one for white wine. I’ve tried the wine preserving sprays, the balloon inside the bottle, and the rubber stopper where you pump the air out of the bottle. The eto is the best way we’ve found to preserve wine and we love, love love ours.
eto wine decanter, $185-195They’re expensive, but if you need a really nice gift for a wine fan in your life, this is terrific. We decant the wine into the bottle, and lower the stopper to the surface of the wine to seal out the air. We’ve kept wine in the eto for days, and it works every time.
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One of probably the last good finds I’ve encountered on the dying whale of Twitter: Hugimals!
Hugimals, Darby the Bear, $64Hugimals are weighted stuffed animals for kids and adults. Each one weighs 4.5 pounds and the weight is distributed through the entire structure. It’s a calming weight that helps soothe, and it’s soft and fuzzy (and the outside is washable, no worries). I love smart and adorable!
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There are a few puzzles I’ve put on a wishlist that look like gorgeous fun.
The World of Jane Austen 1000 piece puzzle, $18
There’s also a World of the Brontë Sisters puzzle, which is $20.
Reader’s Paradise 1000 piece puzzle, $20
I love puzzles like these that are interior scenes, almost like a miniature.
The Book Shop 1000 piece puzzle, $25
This is so charming!
And then there’s this adorable stamp collection:
Love Letters Stamp College 1000 Piece Puzzle, $18
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One year I bought an assortment of greeting cards at Costco, and WOW did I love it. Whenever I needed a greeting card, or a note card to send to someone, I had one! And they were all cute!
Since then I’ve bought mystery assortments of cards from Etsy sellers and independent artists, and boxes of greeting cards from Amazon. I love knowing I have a card to send. (This may be a Me thing but seriously, it makes me so happy).
Here are a few assortments that might make your correspondence easier, too!
This Hallmark assortment is $20, comes with a storage box, and includes 48 cards, including 12 birthday cards; 2 thank you cards, congratulations cards, sympathy cards, baby shower cards; 1 thinking of you card, just because card, encouragement card, and blank card.
This Minimalmart card set is $14 and includes 32 designs for many occasions. Some are blank inside, and some have messages. Look how cute some of this artwork is!
Etsy vendors who do letterpress and illustrations often list assortments of cards, and while you can’t always pick which ones you receive, cards never expire!
These illustrations are so cute:
If you like brown Kraft paper and simple illustrations, this set of 36 cards for $13 is perfect for you.
This set of 12 from Little Creek Card Company features watercolor illustration of different wildflowers – they’re gorgeous!
And this sampler of cards appealed to me for Very Obvious Reasons: the NobleWords Vintage Adult birthday card set includes 36 cards for $27, and there is a LOT of excellent style included as well:
Yeah, this one is definitely going into my shopping cart.
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After we moved almost seven years ago (wow!) I bought a “congrats on your new job” massive 4600+ piece Lego set for Adam, which isn’t available any longer. It was the Lego Ghostbusters fire house set, and he and the young humans spent hours putting it together. It was so much fun.
There are so many Lego sets that make excellent gifts for the people in your life, no matter what their interest, in all different price ranges from “holy crap” to “gift exchange at work.”
This one dropped my jaw:
Super Mario Nintendo Entertainment System, 2646 pieces, $270.
IT’S. SO. CUTE. OMG.
This LEGO/Disney Encanto set is so cute – the Madrigal house! You change the weather by spinning the weather vane on the chimney!
Madrigal House LEGO set, 587 pieces, $40
Two words: LEGO. Bookshop.
LEGO Bookshop, 2504 pieces, $200
If you or someone you know has joined the succulents fandom (Hi, me, too!) this LEGO set would be a lovely addition to their shelves of weird, wonderful plants:
LEGO Botanicals Succulent Garden, 771 pieces, $50
There’s also an Orchid set for $40, and a Bonsai tree for $50.
The Lego City Camper Van is so cute, and perfect for anyone who loves camper van holidays.
LEGO Camper Van, 190 pieces, $16
Also, Minecraft folks, there are SO MANY different LEGO Minecraft sets ranging from $20-$130.
Do you need a LEGO Infinity Gauntlet?
LEGO Infinity Gauntlet, 590 pieces, $64
(This is so much fun!)
LEGO Fender Stratocaster for the guitar fan in your life:
LEGO Stratocaster, 1074 pieces, $100
Know a Transformers fan? Is Optimus Prime one of the original caretaking Alpha characters? Do you need a Lego transformer that does the entire transforming thing? Signs point to yes!
LEGO Optimus Prime, 1508 pieces, $145
And, finally, when I saw this, my eyes got SO BIG. A LEGO typewriter!
LEGO Typewriter, 2079 pieces, $250
I have to go lie down for a minute.
See anything you like? What are you shopping for this week?
I also bought a box of assorted cards at Costco several years ago and it was great! Made it so easy when the kiddo was invited to birthday parties, a friend was ill or had a death in the family, etc., etc.* Definitely going to scoop one of those up.
*One of my forms of childhood rebellion is that I always have stamps in my house. We never had them at my house when I was a kid and it drove me nuts. I have relatives who live abroad so I have domestic and international letter and postcard stamps.
@Fashionably Evil: I am the same way – I always have stamps, domestic, postcard, and international, too.
The Lego Typewriter has been a hot ticket item for more than a year. It’s supposed to work, though from reviews I’ve seen, don’t expect to be able to use it for all of your correspondence. 😉
My parents-in-law bought the camper van Lego set for my son (almost 5) for Christmas. My husband’s sister has a camper van and my son was so excited about just getting to sit in it when we were over in the UK visiting earlier this year. I predict it’s going to be a great success, even if no ninjas are featured. 😀
We have the Lego typewriter. It was fun to build. It does not actually type, but the keys and carriage do move.
I’ve been doing a unique gifts thread on a board I frequent for a number of years. This year’s thread (five pages long) includes some nifty ideas. Here is a link ~
https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/722178-2022-edition-~-have-you-encountered-a-unique-gift-post-it-here/
One of the docs I work for gave us a box of cards for Christmas one year. It was one of the best gifts I ever got. Absolutely recommend.