themed gifting
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I know it’s only October 8th….but I am WAY behind if I want to reach my goal of all Christmas shopping completed by Nov 1! I say this is my goal, and it always is, but setting it for Nov 1 means I usually finish around Thanksgiving…eh maybe Cyber Monday.
Either way, I love allowing myself the flexibility to go past the goal instead of scrounging around the week before Christmas when I could be spending time with friends and family. I know you all know that December is just SO busy! If I can avoid shopping that month by shopping now, I am allll about it.
I’m just about finished with the kids, but I am always left struggling with what to get most of the adults in my life and that includes spouse, siblings, parents, in-laws, friends, teachers, coworkers etc. I’ve got quite a few on my list and only great ideas for about 3 of them…
I have been drawn to, but never accomplished, the idea of an underlying theme of all gifts you give that Christmas. Last year I began but didn’t follow through with the idea of books. I gifted some coffee table books, fiction, historical, cook books. Instead of wondering what in the world do I get this person, you just determine what book would they like best.
In theory, I could have spent one long afternoon in a bookstore with a coffee browsing every section until I left with a mountain of books perfect for each on my list AND my shopping complete.
In reality it wasn’t super easy because I struggled with a book costing less than I would spend on that person, so I still needed to find more ideas. But, it helped for at least one of their gifts.
This year I once again feel stuck halfway through the list. An idea of making it easy with an underlying theme may be gone since I’ve bought things here and there, but I thought I’d ramble about it here for a bit in the event it inspires others!
These were my thoughts while watching my kids fight/play with each other during bath:
Experiences – Sometimes I am super minimalist, so the thought of giving an amazing gift that isn’t stuff is exciting. Think tickets to a favorite play, a concert, a sporting event, a trip (like our Ireland trip present we can never ever top). Or maybe passes to the zoo, an art museum, one of those cool traveling exhibits. For the hardest person to shop for on your list, even a gift card to the movie theater is nice. I love gifting those because seeing the movies is becoming cost prohibitive if you want to eat or take the whole fam!
Drinkware – So o the surface this sounds really lame. But from browsing gift ideas, I’ve come across so many neat glasses for all different needs, budgets, and styles. These fun Bloody Mary glasses are what got me thinking.
Art/framed photo – I know I’ve said it before, but I like things that hang on the wall. This could be a framed photo of the grandkids, a cool vintage print you find while out thrifting, a saying, something related to their favorite sports team, etc. You can frame so many meaningful things like heirloom scarfs, needlework, tea towels or letters.
Coats/Jackets – also may sound a little silly as a theme but I can’t think of a single person on my list who wouldn’t enjoy a sherpa pullover
Is it weird that I like the idea of all the packages looking the same too :0
I honestly think I like this idea because of The Family Stone, one of my favorite Christmas movies. She finds a photo, blows it up and frames it 4 or 5 times, all exactly the same. She hands everyone an identical box and bam. It was a great gift!
Anyway….is it time for Christmas movies yet 🙂 🙂 🙂
