My Favorite Things Gift Guide

My favorite things gift guide

My favorite things gift guide

Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  You can read my disclosure policy here.

I really enjoyed putting together the Gift Guide for When You Have No Christmas Budget and the Handmade Christmas Gift Guide.  Today, I want to give you one last gift guide before Christmas:  a list of my favorite things!

I'm not a great gift giver.  Giving/receiving gifts is not my love language, so to speak.  While some people are great at remembering who likes what and then finding gifts that perfectly compliment their interests, I'm not one of them.  however, I do love that giving gifts at Christmas can remind us of the Ultimate Gift that our Heavenly Father gave to us in the form of His Son.

And over the years, I have found a few items that I have truly enjoyed, so I thought I would share them with you today as a way to help stimulate your gift-giving creativity!

Adult Coloring Books - I loved coloring as a child, so adult coloring books really appealed to me.  I also love that many of them are very affordable.  (Please note that, sadly, one producer of adult coloring books focuses on profanity, so please be careful when choosing one online.)

Mason Jar Water Bottles - My sister-in-law showed me her mason jar with lid and straw, and I fell in love!  You can get different colored lids and straws and combine them with colored mason jars (double check that you get the same sized lids and jars).  If you want to take them a step further, hot glue on a loop of raffia and add a sunflower for a burst of flair!

Olive Oil Sprayer - The healthy-living side of me didn't like aerosol non-stick spray, so I tried a Misto-brand olive oil sprayer.  I love it!  I've not had any issues with it clogging, and I feel a lot better knowing that there is only olive oil in it and not several other weird ingredients.  The down side is that the oil will still burn onto your pans just like it does with aerosol sprayers, but the great news is that these also work with avocado oil, too!

Make Over Your Mornings - A friend gave me Crystal Paine's Make Over Your Mornings course as a gift, and I loved it so much that I purchased Make Over Your Evenings when it came out later in the year.  These courses are professionally done, simple to implement, and affordable.  They're a win-win-win!  I also received Make Over Your Year in a bundle I purchased earlier this year.  Any (or all!) would make great gifts for someone wanting to get her 2017 year off to a great start.

Books - I love reading.  There are so many books I love that it's hard to narrow them down to a few favorites, but if I had to choose, my top picks would be The Hiding Place, Evidence Not Seen, The Boys In the Boat, Hands-Free Mama, and Stepping Heavenward.

Flexi-Clips - I have baby-fine hair that's very difficult to manage.  Nearly every kind of barrette slides out of it, so when someone recommended flexi-clips to me, I was skeptical.  But I decided to try a mini-sized clip, and guess what?  It stayed put!  I think flexi-clips are beautiful, and I love that they work with my hair.  If you don't yet know a flexi-clip consultant (it's a multi-level-marketing company), I'm sure my friend Caroline would welcome your business!

Planners - I've kept a variety of planners over the years.  Two years ago, I used Debra Bell's Homeschooling planner.  I loved that it gave you room for spiritual goals as well as academic ones.  Last year, I'm using Ruth Soukup's Living Well Planner that was gifted to me.  Although it took me a bit to get used to the small writing space, I grew to love it!  Having it already printed and ready to go (as opposed to printing and binding my own - another popular option with digital planners) made using it a breeze. 

This year, I used the Brilliant Life Planner from Brilliant Business Moms.   I’ve had the privilege of testing out a lot of planners, and this one is my very favorite! From the weekly reflection page (room to note what went well and what needed improvement) to the habit trackers and weekly timeblocking pages, this planner really worked for my needs. I love that it combined my work needs with my homemaking/homeschooling needs. Win-win!

Amazon Gift Cards - A lot of people dislike giving gift cards due to the impersonal nature of them, but I actually love them!  I think most people have a wish list of some sort, and since Amazon sells almost everything, I love both giving and getting Amazon gift cards.

Kindle e-Reader - When Jon got me a digital-ink Kindle several years ago, I didn't know whether or not I'd like it.  I generally prefer paper to plastic when it comes to reading.  Although I will still choose a physical book over a digital one when I have the option, it turns out that I also love my Kindle!  It's especially helpful while waiting in doctor's offices; since I can toggle between lots of different books and reading options, I'm not limited to just one book.  Plus, I've also been able to get many really good books for free or steeply discounted by grabbing the Kindle version.

These are some of my very favorite things!  I'd love to know:  what are your best recommendations?  Share with us below in the comments!

My favorite things gift guide

My favorite things gift guide

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