gift ideas

Favorite Gifts (Given + Received)

This was such a fun Christmas season. I know we’re a few weeks out, but I wanted to share some of the fun things I received and gave! As always, I tend to go overboard on gifts so I’m just sharing some of the highlights! I hope this post doesn’t come across as tacky or braggy. Personally, I love to read posts about what people gave/got because I file away ideas for birthdays and the next holiday season! Unfortunately, it’s not really a post I can do before the holidays because it would ruin the surprise…

Coffee Table Books

GAVE:

I got my dad another pair of Allbird sneakers. I normally try not to repeat gifts, but they were such a hit last year that I wanted to make sure he had another color option to work into his wardrobe!

For my dad and sister (both Florida alums), I purchased a Hillflint sweater for him and a sweatshirt for her.

I also got my sister this food sensitivity test. I know that sounds kind of lame, but I knew that she’d love it. She even sent me a photo of her bandaged fingers from the test about two hours after opening. She already has her results and has been tweaking her diet to accommodate her allergies. (As predicted, she’s basically sensitive/allergic to everything!)

My mom is harder to shop for, but I got her a gift certificate to DryBar because they just opened one up in Tampa. Whenever I’m home, my mom always requests that I straighten her hair for her, haha, so now she’ll be able to get blowouts on the reg! I try to avoid gift certificates because they can seem a little sterile, but this one is more like an experience she can use for months to come! I also got her some personalized stationery and a recipe book from our favorite Instagram account.

I spent the holidays with my boyfriend’s family and he’s one of five siblings so I had so much fun shopping for everyone. I won’t share everything because it’d be too hard to list the whys for people you don’t know haha, but here are two of the biggest hits. I got his youngest sister a Lilly S’Well bottle from the Starbucks collaboration. (We’re both obsessed and I bought it for her back in October because I knew she’d love it!) And for his brother, who is into all sorts of healthy things, I got this foot massager which is amazing– highly recommend everyone buy this for themselves. Also, his dad and I got each other the same gift (a biography of Alexander Hamilton) and we thought it was so funny!

RECEIVED:

Even though I was adament about not getting gifts from anyone (I have everything I could possibly need), I felt pretty spoiled… My boyfriend commissioned a painted portrait of the dogs and I cried when I opened it!

I also got so many books, which is the best! The coffee table books featured above (Paris in Color, In the Company of Women, Explorerare all amazing. Interesting to look at and read!

A few other things: these super comfortable slipper loafers, this Champagne candle that smells SO good, Liberty Floral mugs, and a slim monogrammed wallet.

Because I told a lot of people “no gifts,” I ended up with a ton of holiday candy which I love/hate. I have one cabinet now that I have to actively avoid because the chocolates and sweets are so tempting. Sugarfina remained a top pick– both to give and receive. I sent out holiday bento boxes and bars of chocolate and everyone seemed to love them!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

20 Comments

Ripple

I love posts and videos about gifts too! I always want to come up with some creative and fun gifts but sometimes I give up because of lack of ideas. I loved your mum gift! I am actually a fan of getting something practical. <3

With kindness

Reply
Jasmin

What thoughtful gifts to give and receive. Especially the painting of your pups. I really love coffee table books as well – The Paris in colour one is especially appealing.

Reply
Heather

Is it the Hamilton bio by Ron Chernow? That one is such a good read!

I love the idea of a pet portrait – a few years ago my friend got me a “Pop Your Pup” canvas (takes an Instagram picture of your dog and makes it a pop art picture) and it’s still one of my favorite gifts!

Reply
Meagan

I’d love to see the painting of the pups! My parents sold their house (my childhood home) last year, so I had a painting of their house commissioned for them as their Christmas gift! I love giving meaningful art as gifts!

Reply
Lauren

I love those mugs! I don’t know if you ever saw the show ‘Once Upon a Time’, but they remind me of Mary Margaret’s mugs.

Reply
Ebony

I love that you were adamant about not getting gifts but you still got them 🙂 so sweet. Definitely will be using this list for next year xx

ebonyknowles.com

Reply
Evelina

I got the Liberty of London S’Well bottle from Starbucks for myself and my sons girlfriend. Love those mugs. Are they made in England? Please lmk – can’t find the answer on the website. Thx!

Reply
Elizabeth

I love gift-giving posts! Both gift guides and what was given and received are super fun to read through…not braggy at all!

Reply
Betsie

Great post. The foot massager is going into my cart pronto! I’ve been doing a lot of high impact workouts and could really use it!

Who was the artist that painted the dogs? I commissioned an artist, Amy Brazil a few years back to paint my dog. It remains one of my most treasured pierces. So special.

Reply