Gifts I Gave & Received

This is one of my favorite posts about the holidays even though it comes after the holidays. Gift giving is definitely my love language. I always have so much fun coming up with ideas for people and I keep a running list of notes and ideas throughout the year as people note or mention things. For example, Maria Shriver was on the news one day and my friend mentioned how she loved her. I added her new book to my Amazon Wishlist and sent it out when her birthday rolled around six months later!

MY SISTER:

Stacy just turned 27 and is absolutely killing it right now. I’ve always been a proud sister but this year I feel particularly proud. She put in a lot of work at her job and is definitely reaping the rewards right now. Her birthday is December 15 and we also celebrate Hannukah as a family in addition to Christmas so her gifts are almost always lumped together– I try not to do that so she gets to truly celebrate her birthday. I like to spoil her with things that she wouldn’t necessarily buy herself.

For her birthday, I got her a pair of AirPods. She hadn’t specifically asked for them, so I kind of took a gamble that they’d be something she’d want. And when she opened them she goes, “I really wanted these!!!”

Now for her Christmas gift, I had an idea for the better part of the year. We’re both really into collecting jewelry right now. I bought a rainbow gem ring from Ring Concierge for her on Cyber Monday. It’s sadly sold out right now, but here’s a similar one and here’s a more affordable option. SHE LOVED IT! It’s dainty and pretty while still being fun.

FOR MY DAD:

My dad is notoriously hard to shop for and he’s never shy about saying that he doesn’t like something. The second I saw these sleep buds online, I bought them for my dad’s gift. A few years ago, I got my dad the noise canceling headphones for Christmas and he wears them at night sometimes to block out my mom’s snoring. (Sorry mom for exposing you to the world 😂I snore too though 😉) The funniest part of this gift though was that the week leading up to Christmas morning, we must have had four separate conversations about my mom’s snoring and my dad trying to sleep through it. My mom knew what was sitting under the tree for him and we could hardly keep ourselves from laughing.

When he finally opened the gift Christmas morning, he was intrigued but not sold on the idea. They’re not noise canceling headphones. Instead, they’re buds with pre-programmed sleep sounds (like the ocean). But they fit perfectly into your ear so you can sleep on your side. The first night he slept with them, he couldn’t hear my mom AT ALL. Victory, all around.

FOR MY MOM:

I walked by the John Derian store in NYC one day and spotted beautiful cake stands in the window. My mom collects cake stands and has an entire bookcase of them in her office. She uses them for all of her desserts and even lends them out to clients for events. She has stands of all shapes and sizes. I got her this petite John Derian stand! The colors are absolutely gorgeous and the details are exactly what you’d expect from John Derian. (My sister actually ended up giving her a little John Derian tray too– loved that we were on the same page.)

FOR MY BOYFRIEND:

I got my boyfriend an AWAY suitcase. I was so excited to buy it for him because I knew it was something that he really needed and wanted from both a work and personal perspective. That was going to be my main gift for him but then at the last minute, I was on the Ritz Paris’ Instagram account and saw that they opened an e-commerce site. Since we stayed there for our trip and had such an incredible time, I thought I’d get him something (I was thinking a book?) from the store. Then I saw that they had a branded monopoly game and it couldn’t be more perfect! His reaction opening that was priceless!!

FOR HIS FAMILY:

I wasn’t sure what to do gift-wise for his family. I wanted to do something personal and festive and was actually inspired by a blog post I did here! In that post, I found this black lab ornament and figured I’d get it for someone in their family. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of ornaments for everyone. I had so much fun picking all of them out. Some of my favorites: a kettlebell Santa (LOL), a Rosé bottle, and a baguette.

FOR ME: I really, really made it clear to my family that I didn’t need or want anything. But my mom was kind of insisting so I asked for an iPad. I was debating buying one for myself, so it seemed like a good gift idea. Let me be the first to tell you, I AM OBSESSED. It’s so much faster than my old, poor 2011 one and the capabilities are incredible. The split screen and compatibility of Apple Pencil are game changers. I’m going to be doing a full post about it soon as I continue to use and get the hang of it more. My sister got me a pink case for it and a bluetooth keyboard– I am so happy with both!