In the wake of my extraordinarily tomboy-meets-girly six-item me-centric Christmas List, may I present to you the flipside of the coin: ten things that I already have, that you should give people for Christmas, because they are awesome. Broken down into who the eff those people are. You’re welcome.
Female, Any
- This Coach Mini Skinny wallet is the same one I currently use, but in an all-leather upgrade at $50 (if you live near a Coach outlet, these are normally on sale under $30).
- Urban Decay Naked on The Run. Or Flushed. Or Basics. Plus Perversion—it’s a must. And no woman, even the tomboy-est of them out there, won’t at least try a new kind of makeup if it is given to her—and these are gorgeously packaged, making them feel extra treat-like.
Female, Tomboy
- Nike Pros, duh. Everyone is wearing them. But for tiny scraps of fabric they’re kinda pricey.
Female, Girly
- Subscription to Rocks Box. It’s $19 a month (get $25 aka first month free with this code) and she gets shipped three new pieces of jewelry every time, unlimited shippings back and forth.
Dude, Any
- Craft Coffee Subscription – the gift that keeps on giving. Giving coffee aka lifeblood. Subscription boxes are fun because you get them again and again after the holidays! (Use code ag8-fey for 15% off)
- Favorite NFL team … onesies. Guaranteed to please. (OK, so I don’t own THIS onesie, but I swear no one will buy themselves a onesie but everyone freakin’ loves them. ipso facto buy this for someone else, and they will love you.)
Dude, Related
- Sevenly tees … now that they’ve expanded their reach to include past designs, you’re guaranteed to find something you want to give—and $7 always goes to a charitable cause. Give and give!
Dude, Not Related
- French press mug. OK, so I don’t so much own this as borrow it without a term limit, but this thing is amazing. You can make coffee anywhere. Anywhere! You can pack it in your backpack with grinds and just pour hot water over it when it’s time to have coffee. The REI version has a “normal” and french press lid, but you don’t really need that fanciness. I’m telling you, this is genius.
- Wine. Cameron Hughes, to be exact. Send better wine than you can afford by using CH, which sells extra wine from big-name wineries anonymously.
DIY, Unisex
- Decoupage. Buy a frame, box, tray, coffee table, end table (I’ve made all these) and get crafty: cut out words, phrases, photos, shapes, etc from magazines that inspire you. You may print out some photos. Arrange them, using a glue stick to hold them in place until you get everything where you want it, then paint mod podge over it. Leave as little white space, or original surface space, as possible. The more dense it is, the better it looks. [This probably should have made its own post: how to decoupage. Oh well]
- Cookie/pie/bread/dry ingredient recipe jars: all the rage on the ol pinterest, fill a mason jar with the dry ingredients for your signature dish, write out the recipe on a note, tie it all together with a pretty ribbon, and boom.
A final note
Always wrap gifts in discarded magazines (or newspapers, should you still “take” the paper). Tape the pages together if you need to. Buying paper to wrap and throw away or even recycle is stupid. This way you’re recycling, and then you’ll recycle again.