Holiday Gift Guide for your BFF
I have decided to put together a list of my favorite things and coincidentally, they would make great Christmas gifts! Theses gifts are perfect for moms, sisters, bffs, co-workers and even that tricky Secret Santa office gift (well, most of them anyway)!
I am going to start off with a few of my must haves and then let you know what's on my Christmas list this year.
The item that tops my gift giving list this year is Saphira's Mineral Mud. My good friend, Heather, who owns Hairs to You Salon and Spa in Wyomissing, PA brought this product line to her salon. She is the only distributor in PA and she let me be one of the firsts to try the mineral mud. I cannot say enough good things about it!
The ingredient list is impressive, including 26 minerals from the Dead Sea. It is advertised to use on your hair as a damage repair product HOWEVER, we found that you can use it on your skin too! My friend Heather gave it to a client who had severe psoriasis on her scalp (and was balding terribly) and within 8 weeks the psoriasis was gone and new hair growth had taken its place! My nephew (13 years old) is using this right now and within 1 week his pimply forehead is almost clear! I am also having my daughter, who is 12, use this on her hair and face. Her hair gets very greasy and this helps control it better then anything we have tried! Also, it makes my hair feel fabulous, like I just paid $200 for a professional blowout (not like I would ever do that!).
In a nutshell, it is a really incredible product and for about $30 it is worth every penny!
The next thing on my list is a cute holiday slouch sweatshirt. I love the gal, Kari, at Shop at Bash. I bought my "Merry & Bright" sweatshirt there last year and wore it most of December. She has also made me some custom items and they all turned out beautifully.
She has some cool shirts on her site now, but I still like mine the best from last year.
This was a custom request- color and lettering. I wanted red with gold glitter but she was out of red and suggested this combo. Turns out, I LOVE it! And it matches my glitter wine glass (that is filled with beer because I don't drink wine but I still like the fancy glasses)!
This is the other shirt I have from Kari. Did I mention I love her stuff? But be sure to order one or two sizes bigger then you would normally wear. They run small. Don't order a small if you're a small, no matter what your inner size chart is telling you. Go for the medium, or better yet, the large! It's ok!
Next up is an adorable ornament for your Christmas tree. You can also use these as decorations on your packages, on a wine bottle for a hostess gift or for a small gift for a teacher or bus driver. I love how Beth, from Buttons and Burlap Primitives, uses old hymnals to create these beautifully crafted ornaments. Last year I ordered 30 of them and decorated my entire tree! I also gave some as gifts. The best part was that I had Beth use an old hymnal that belonged to my grandmother, so they also had a special meaning to me.
Next on my list is an adorable necklace. They come in a variety of styles, so you can choose the one that is best for your intended gift. Personally, my favorite is the Merry & Bright, mostly because it goes with my shirt (see above). The cool thing about these necklaces is that they can be customized. You can order them on the website, www.itsallaboutyouamy.com or through the Etsy site.
Bath and Body Works is next in line. A holiday gift-giving guide can't be complete without at least one item from the mega-smell-store BBW. My favortie thing in the store is their famous 3-wick candle, Champagne Toast. I love this candle because it smells wonderful. It reminds me of mimosas on Christmas morning and yet it is a scent that is good to burn all year long. Plus, with the color and packaging, it will blend with almost any decor, yet is festive enough for a holiday gift.
Not every gift has to be tangible. How about a gift that you can enjoy together? A perfect gift idea for your mom, sister, bff or even a work party would be a paint night at Art and a Bottle in Lititz, PA. I have been to many classes there and every time it has been a blast! I have gone with my best friend, my mother, my daughters and celebrated two birthdays painting. I love that you can bring your own drinks and snacks and the relaxed atmosphere. Plus, you get to leave with your own artistic masterpiece. Check out their schedule and purchase a class or simply get a gift certificate to redeem later!
This is my mom and I celebrating Mother's Day.
Celebrating my youngest's birthday.
Celebrating my oldest's birthday.
Since we are on the subject of gifts that you can enjoy later, how about we talk about the gift of massage therapy? I have a friend that has gifted hands and she can help me overcome any pain, tension or body aches that I am feeling. She owns Circle of Life Massage and Wellness Center in Ephrata and she and her team of ladies can help your gift recipient relax and unwind. And let's be honest, after we get through the holidays, shouldn't we all line up to get a massage?
Another no fail gift of my list is perfume. What woman doesn't like a good bottle of perfume? I have amassed quite the collection of perfume bottles over the years, but I will share with you my favorites.
Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana
I am a believer that this perfume can be worn by almost anyone.I love the way it smells on me and I love that it smells different, good-different, on my friends. A winner every time.
Elizabeth and James Nirvana White
This perfume is by the Olsen Twins. I am a huge fan of the White, but the Black, not so much. I think I like the peony undertones in this scent versus the sandalwood tones in the Black. I like to mix this perfume with some other ones I have and I always get compliments every time I wear this. Right now I am out, so this is definitely on MY Christmas list this year.
Anyone who knows me, knows I am obsessed with nail polish and probably have enough bottles to paint the fingernails of all the girls in a small country! It's an addiction that rehab won't cure! That being said, one of my favorite products to keep nails healthy is by CND. It is their Solar Oil. Right now, I'm into gel nails but I still use this on my cuticles every day. It makes your real nails stronger and grow faster. You can get it at CVS or most any drug store, or online.
Slippers are another tried and true gift at Christmas time, but my favorite are Snoozies! I found these at a small shop in Huntingdon, PA last year on small business Saturday. I bought a few pairs for gifts and everyone loves them. They are so soft and cozy plus, they come in a zillion different patterns. The hardest part will be picking which one you want to give and which one you want to order for yourself.
A quick google search will show you that you can order these from just about anywhere. Buy local if you can. If not, try Smile.Amazon since they will donate .5% of any purchases to the charity of your choice!
Do you LuLaroe? Yeah, me either. I can justify a lot when I shop, but $25+ for a pair of leggings isn't one of them. Luckily, I found AWESOME leggings that are super soft, comfortable, they don't slide down and you can't see my underwear when I bend over! Bonus? They are $11.99 with free 2-day shipping on Amazon Prime. They have amazing, personalized customer service and offer free returns! They come in a lot of different patterns, not as many as LLR, but that's ok with me. I have a hard enough time making decisions as it is...
Who likes sushi? Almost all of my friends share my love of sushi. A few of us have even tried our hand at making our own. Although this is always fun, its hard to do and it makes a big mess! A friend of mine posted a video on Facebook the other day with an ingenious contraption that made sushi making super easy!
You pack in a layer of rice, the center ingredients, another layer of rice, snap it closed and then squeeze it like you would if you were caulking your windows! Out pops this amazing cylinder of sushi goodness! Just wrap with seaweed paper, slice and serve!
A quick search landed me on the site (above) and it is listed for only $8.09?! I don't know anything about the company offering it, but I am adding this to my Christmas list!
Let's talk about batteries. Who has a cell phone that's battery is starting to last them less and less? Me! Me! I was tired of always being somewhere and my phone battery going from 40% to DEAD! So I searched and searched and finally found this gem.
I love this because it gives my iPhone 6 two full charges +!It is slim enough to fit both my phone and it in my back pocket AND it has 2 USB ports! (The one on the right is the lightening port) At under $25 this is a great gift for anyone. I bought one last year for our work gift exchange and the girl who ended up with it loves it. Plus, it was one of the coolest gifts at our exchange, which made me feel like a STAR!
So this next thing is so cute and so practical. How many times did you want to prop your phone up but just didn't have anything handy? This happens to me a lot. Maybe I'm on my phone too much but when my daughter showed me hers, that a friend gave her, I have to admit I was jealous! I thought about going in her room and taking it (hey- don't judge- my kids take my stuff all the time!) but instead I found them for really cheap on...Amazon, of course. Free 2-day Prime shipping to boot!!
I mean, how adorable are these? Can someone say stocking stuffers? I think I'm getting one for everyone I know! $5.99 for a pack of 5!
I think I could make this list go on forever, since it turns out I want a lot more stuff then I thought. I usually tell my kids and husband, "I'm not sure what you can get me. I have what I need." Now I can just direct them to this blog post!
The final thing I will add is specific to my wants. I'm into gel nails right now. I do my own and thanks to, you guessed it, Amazon, have been able to secure all my supplies. However, the Christmas nail color that I'm looking for is no where to be found on Amazon. CND Masquerade or Crimson Sash. I hope they weren't yanked from the site for selling to amateurs like me!
If anyone can find this...let me know!
Thanks for checking out my Holiday Gift Giving Guide! I hope you found it useful in at least one of your gifting searches!
Disclaimer: These are my gift giving suggestions. No one asked me to be on this list. I did not receive any compensation for doing this. In fact, I contacted the shops after I made this post just to let them know they were included.
