Holiday shopping is on my mind, how about you? I have a select few go to websites for gifts and I’m happy to share them with you. As a working mom I tend to shop online or at a one stop shop kind of place like Target. Seasonal shopping should be fun, not stressful! I hope to help inspire an enjoyable shopping season. As the song goes…These are a few of my favorite things!
We all want to see that excited look on the face of a loved one opening a gift. My daughter had it last year when she opened a pair of ruby red slippers! I remember one year when I had mentioned how much I wanted a pair of Timberland hiking boots. My Aunt Suzy and Uncle Sam had gone in on the gift together, but I didn’t know that. I opened Uncle Sam’s present first with the Timberland box and was in tears to find only one boot! I was crushed and assumed the store had made a mistake. Later, when I opened Aunt Suzy’s present, I was so flabbergasted and ecstatic to find the other shoe that I jumped on the coffee table and started dancing!
Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping . ~Bo Derek
For the grandparents…Photos always make a happy gift! Everyone loves pictures!
At Chic Canvas you can easily upload a photo and get it printed on canvas. Sizes range from 8×10 to 40×60 with prices starting at $79. You can even have it personalized and stylized with captions and borders.
Another thing I love to do is make personalized ornaments, calendars, magnets, and photo books. Like my second graders say, “Easy peasy lemon squeezy!”
Most people love books! Even with the tech savvy kindle and ipad users, there is something wonderful about the smell, feel, and glossy pictures of a new book. Here are some of my favorites:
• Star Wars: A Scanimation Book by Rufus Butler Seder
Scenes from the movie comes to life when the book is turned from side to side. This is a book that is just as popular with big kids as it is toddlers.
• I can’t wait to read Cleopatra because like Euripides said, Clever women are dangerous women, and no woman has gone down in history as more clever or dangerous than Cleopatra.
• For my mom, an expert in finding beautiful things, The Encyclopedia of the Exquisite was made for her! This book is an educational read on how beauty can be found in the most unlikely places.
• The World of Gloria Vanderbilt: I’ve always had a fascination with her because she was a renaissance heiress: a painter, a designer, a model, a writer, an entrepreneur, an actor, a socialite, a survivor, an icon…
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things
Ashley’s Favorite Gifts:
• Chocolates, Wine, Tea, Coffee, Pasta, Spices, Olive Oil- Can all be found in one of my favorite stores Dean and Deluca
• Stationary- Needle in a Haystack Thank you notes are so much easier to write if you have beautiful stationary. Dallas’ own, Needle in a Haystack is the perfect place to find your writing inspiration.
• Tickets- One of my favorite gifts are tickets to a show! See what’s playing at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House
• Cocktail Napkins- Sur la Table has an unbelievable selection and are guaranteed to make you laugh.
• Cookbooks- My favorite of the moment is Barefoo
t Contessa’s How Easy is That?
• Knit Hat- Stitches of Faith The perfect baby gift!
• Socks- everybody needs them, everybody loves them!
• Candy- Dylan’s Candy Bar
• Umbrellas- MoMa has my favorite color spectrum umbrella
• Diptyque candle– The best scented candles ever!
• Makeup- Sephora (my kind of candy store) I remember when my Great Aunt Dee had given me some Estee Lauder lipstick for Christmas. I was so excited to open that shiny gold tube! Makeup is always a fun gift!
• Slippers- JCrew
• Magazine Subscriptions- There’s a new magazine called Anthology about home décor, travel, design, entertaining, and culture.
Kitchen gadgets make excellent stocking stuffers or just a little ditty:
• Red Envelope– heart measuring spoons
• Microplane Grater-Zester- a popular chef favorite
• Pop Strainer- my favorite kitchen utensil
• Kitchen Cuicine Soap
Three really cool websites for those hard to buy for people on your list:
• Mxyplyzyk pronounced mix-ee-pliz-ik, MoMaStore and American Museum of Natural History
There is no doubt that you will find something unique and impressive here. The holiday cards at the MoMA are without a doubt the coolest cards ever! The dinosaur toob at AMNH is every little boy’s favorite thing!
For the men in your life…Cabelas covers it all! For your athlete Sports Authority is the way to go. For your Mr. Fix it you can’t beat Lowe’s or HomeDepot!
Happy shopping! xx
Please share your favorite holiday gift ideas, too!
