The Most Gorgeous...Gifts
The holidays are here and whew.
As a “fine living” advocate, things can still get tricky around the holidays. On the one hand, it’s a designer’s dream season – there’s so much shopping, decorating, cooking and planning! Then on the other hand, it’s a hot mess nightmare season because – there’s so much shopping, decorating, cooking and planning!
I don’t want to brag, wait – who am I kidding…I LOVE to brag about my organized approach to the holiday season. I’ve also crafted a rep as a decent gift giver. Um, ah let’s pause for a second… I want to acknowledge those who feel less than joyful this time of year. I see you, I hear you - I am you. The holidays are a mixed bag of gratitude, joy and sadness for me now. When I was a child and I’d hear people say they disliked this time of year because it made them “sad”, I honestly thought those types of people were unreal. Did they not like great food, fun songs, presents, snow, decorations? Even the scents of the season made me happy. Now in my ripe old 50’s, I get it. The sweet memories of the holidays past can be one trigger after another. I have ways of coping when it’s just too much – I lunch with friends or binge watch some trashy tv, or “sleep read”- don’t act like you don’t know about glorious sleep reading! The point is, if you end up feeling sad, I hope you have a plan on how to pull back in order to move forward. But hey, however you feel, it’s okay to feel it.
Now back to the show…
I believe the “fine living” secret to a sane holiday season is planning. There. Easy. You know it’s coming like death, taxes and lying politicians – best to have a plan for all of that AND the holidays. I think this rings true whether you celebrate the holidays or not, ya? If you don’t celebrate the holidays, it can be a ton of bullshit to navigate – kinda how I feel during Superbowl “season”. I digress. I know it’s simple to say “plan” but it really does make it so much easier. My husband and I have a boat load of relatives/friends we happily give gifts to every year. The key to good gift giving is love. If you love the person, you hopefully know what they like, their hobbies, some of their desires/hopes/dreams – so, your gift can reflect that. I think all gifts should strive to be personal, otherwise what’s the point? Just checking off the list? The saying “It’s the thought that counts” is, in my opinion, misleading. Yes, all gifts should hopefully be given in the spirit of love and graciously accepted… However, I think we’ve all received gifts that made us scratch our heads on exactly which “thought” the giver had while shopping for us. And I can’t be the only one that feels offended when the gift is way off the mark. Yeah, I’ll send the thank you note for off the mark gifts, but ding dang y’all. Just don’t give a gift if it was a last minute grab off the end of the Target aisle (no shade on Target). When I shop for my loved ones, I let the vibe of that person guide me, which is much easier to do, the more time you give yourself to think on it. I’ve been known to think about holiday giving while lounging on our deck in July…while sleep reading. I’m also I big supporter of small businesses. The way I figure, even if I pick a gift that isn’t a perfect match, at least I supported a small business. If you prefer online shopping, Etsy.com has a shop by location option and many local small businesses have websites now, so there’s really no excuse not to shop locally.
These are a few of my favorite non trendy/techy “last minute”, locally focused gift ideas:
Monthly flower bouquet subscription. This tops this list because 1) this IS a blog associated with the amazing Hummingbird Bouquets shop and 2) this gift brings joy monthly! Flowers really do brighten up the home and the middle of winter is when we need it most, ya? Flowers are also universal - gender neutral – all age appropriate. When I was 10, if I had received monthly flowers from someone…whew – my self-confidence would have sky-rocketed. Which is probably why my family didn’t give me monthly flowers – I was already overly confident. I digress again. Flowers are great gifts, personal and considerate always.
Photos. Pics, even from my phone, turned into canvas prints, is one of my favorite gifts to give. There are a few places that can turn a sweet or fun pic into a wonderful canvas piece of art. The fastest turn around on pics to canvas art is the photo division of a company that begins with G and ends in oogle – but they aren’t sponsoring me so you know, shop around. I’ve even framed long forgotten pics and wrapped for family. Photos are always a good personal gift that melts hearts or brings laughter.
Recipes and/or the finished dish. My family has wonderful memories of our mom’s great cooking. I’ve had some of those recipes nicely printed on cutting boards or nice paper and given along with the special pie or cake in a lovely pie plate. For extra credit, there are places that will take images of the original recipe card in your relative’s handwriting and put onto a cutting board, etc.
Experiences/Memberships/Lessons. We took our niece to a performance of Cirque du Soleil about 20 years ago and that gal is still talking about it. For real. She had to wait a few months for the performance, but it’s been a highlight in her life. I think the combination of the show, plus the individual attention from her uncle/aunt is what made the gift so special. I don’t think we should ever overlook or devalue the gift of time and attention. Those gifts are the ones we really cherish.
As for lessons, the options are huge. My husband is constantly trying to improve his golf game, so he’s received lessons from his preferred club as a gift. If the person has a hobby or a dream, lessons are very welcome gifts. Also, memberships to museums, theatres, the zoo and the aquarium give all year long. You can cover a whole family with a membership gift. Ah, please note, a gym membership – unless requested, might not be the best gift…I personally would be ready to throw punches if I ever received a gym membership gift. I don’t think I’m alone in that.
Self care. This is a big one for me and my peri and full-on menopausal pals. Many of us are caring for everyone and everything at home and work and in our communities - we sometimes feel busted and grumpy. (That’s a collective “we”, I’m personally never busted or grumpy. Or honest apparently.) For this reason, I tend to give my besties self-care focused gifts, like bath bombs, aloe infused socks/gloves, spa gift certificates, edibles (Kidding. I have no stoner pals. (Just winos.) But you hopefully know what your pal needs to relax and that will be a great gift!
I hope that list helps spark some ideas for your gift giving.
Lastly, as I was thinking about this post, I remembered some of the best gifts I’ve been given and the people who gave them. Thirteen years ago my mother gifted me my very spoiled, perfect dog Vinny. Vinny is one of the great loves of my life. My older brother is one of the best gift givers on the planet. He always makes the gift useful and personal. Just before my first year at college, he gave me an answering machine. For the youngsters reading this, before we all had cell phones, if you didn’t have an answering machine, you didn’t have a clue who called. (For some people this was ideal.) I was the only one in the whole dorm with her own answering machine. But of course that gift was for both me and our mum who was upset her “baby” was so far away. Brilliant gift. Then there was the year my parents divorced when I was nine. My parents like many, were busy navigating their lives and apparently the breakdown of their marriage, so individual play time with them was limited. Just before my father moved out of our house, I remember the two of us spent the whole day doing whatever I wanted to do, unlike our usual outings - visiting his rental properties and going to the track – we went bowling and later danced. To be clear, my father isn’t a “dancer” – but that day in the rec room of our house, listening to Motown records, he danced with me. The best gift he’s ever given me.
I wish you all a good, safe holiday.