I know these usually have a fun “volume 5!” after the title, but I’ve surprised myself and have done enough of these now that I no longer remember the number I’m on. So you’re welcome for that oh-so-compelling title. Naming blog posts is one of the hardest parts about writing, and I joke a lot that if it were truly up to me, these would all read like the titles of Friends episodes (“the one where…”). So at least I got to do that today!
If you don’t understand my Friends reference, please take yourself to Netflix and fix that immediately. You’re welcome.
I’ve had a lot of fun the last week wrapping up my Christmas shopping. Literally. I have 95% of my gifts wrapped and I am LOVING it. All of our gifts hide out in my office closet and I was getting tired of having to slam the doors shut every time Matt or Madi walked in so they wouldn’t see their gifts. I also despise last minute gift wrapping, so I took an hour the other day, turned up my Christmas playlist on Spotify and got to work.
And then had to go find a screwdriver so I could put batteries in one of Madi’s toys. Dear toy companies – thank you for being safe so my child can’t eat the batteries, but HOLY COW. At least I got that frustration out of the way now and not on Christmas morning. Hashtag mom win 😉
In case you’re still shopping around for some fun gifts, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites with you. Affiliate links are included because I love coffee and this sometimes helps pay for it. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be able to afford that trip to Starbucks around this time in 2016 – I’m amazing at this part of blogging. Ahem.
If you have a kiddo in your life, you need to get on this trend. We discovered these cute little guys (what my husband calls “the new Beanie Babies”) a few months ago and they’ve been the highlight of Madi’s birthday and Christmas wishlists. And there’s a good chance I have my name on the preorder list for Elsa & Anna already.
With dozens to choose from and characters that range from Star Wars to Mickey Mouse and every Disney Princess you can image, these soft little toys (that don’t make noise! hallelujah!) are the perfect little gift under $10. Most are available in-store only, which means you’ll need to go find ye a Hallmark store to start shopping, but you can check out the 2014 release list here, and then head here to get a head start on your 2015 wishlist. My sister is already wishing they would come out with an itty bitty Thor, mostly because she thinks the hammer would be adorable.
So this one is a gift you’d likely give yourself, but one of my least favorite things to do is pick out new glasses. At the end of the year I usually try to take care of all those annoying appointments – eye doctor, dentist, etc. so I can check them off the list. But I hate the pressure of trying to find THE pair while a bunch of strangers elbow you for a spot at the mirror. I get overwhelmed by the hundreds of frame options when there are really only three in the whole store that will work with my face shape (and haircut, let’s be real. Priorities.).
So when I had the chance to test out the Warby Parker Home Try-On program, I was all in. I got to choose five frame styles from their new winter collection and they were delivered free just a few days later! And since I’m a sucker for curating opinions of all my social media friends, I loved that I could snap a few photos to share online without the rush and hustle of my usual frame place.
And since Madi is in a big “I want to wear glasses because mommy does” phase, she loved that she got to try them on, too! Now listen, she looks much cuter than I did and I’m not sure I can be friends with the people online who voted for the ones I dubbed the “Harry Potter” glasses, but we had such a good time trying the Warber Parker frames on! Bonus? They shipped back free! On trend glasses, the comfort of my own home, and fun for the whole family? Yep. Loved it. (and they have super cute sunglasses, too!)
I love bacon. If there had been a 6th love language created, it would have been bacon and it would have had my picture beside it. I’ll order the maple bacon latte off the menu simply because I can. I’ve had chocolate covered bacon and I adore it. I’ve made maple bacon cupcakes, I’ve sent friends maple bacon “beverages”…I’m a fan. And of my favorite places to order all things pork related is Pig of the Month.
If you have a guy in your life who is hard to buy for, this is a sure winner. Order the ribs that celebrity chefs rave about (they’re amazing). Order the snack kit with the jerky and the bacon popcorn. Go ahead and sign him up for a monthly delivery of pork goodness right on his doorstep. I’m pretty sure you can’t go wrong.
Elf is one of my all time favorite Christmas movies. If I see it on TV, I have to stop and watch – it beats out all other options. It’s hilarious, heart warming, family friendly and has great music. What more could a gal ask for? Well, apparently they’ve made Elf: The Musical and today Zulily has a bunch of really adorable products for sale. Like great tshirts, coffee mugs, and this adorable cookie jar that I probably wouldn’t use for cookies, because let’s be real. We eat ours straight out of the Oreo package. But how cute are they?
So those are the highlights so far – at least some of my favorites I can share without giving away any Christmas gifts that are currently under wraps in my closet (snort. see what I did there?). What are you loving right now? And favorite deals, shops, gift ideas? I’d love to hear them!
So many things in this make me sad that my big kids aren’t littles anymore!
But honestly, I’ve been wanting to try WP for awhile and you’ve just pushed me over the edge!
You mentioned Starbucks and I’m at Starbucks right now. And then you mention maple bacon latte, and my brain totally fritz-ed. I almost ran up to the counter 🙂