Inflation is high, and still rising. But the holidays are coming. How are you going to afford gifts for everyone this year? Well, you can cut down your gift list. You can also DIY gifts (E.g. I make blue-ribbon jam and jelly and gift that to special people). But if you’re not in the mood to make things, what then? Here are 6 unique gifts that will give back all year, and beyond. Most are well under $30 and all are under $50. I suggest you pick your favorite, buy some for others, and keep one for yourself! 🙂
Color Your World With Cubes:
These cute little CMY Cubes are more than just a decoration. They are elegant physics toys that I think are relaxing as well as instructive. Hold the cube up to a light source (or sunshine) and it will bathe your room in a shifting spectrum of color. Each face of the translucent cube is coated in electromagnetically subtractive materials that show up as cyan, magenta, or yellow. As you twist and turn the cube, you will create new combinations. Truthfully, I just like playing with these when I need to take a break from writing or need some “ME” time. Most of these cube gifts are under $50. Visit us.cmycubes.com The original cube is $30 the mini is $20. The mega is $70. You can get all kinds of different shapes and colors too. Get free shipping over $50.
Think Drinks!
Winter Cheers: Cold Weather Cocktails and Drink Recipes (Adams Media/October 31, 2023) are a great gift idea. Colorful cards are housed in a hard-sided box. They feature 72 colorful and detailed recipe cards to answer your question “What should we drink?” With all the choices, you will find plenty to keep you “happy” through the holidays and beyond. Would you like a recipe for Kaluha coffee or a pomegranate cosmo? They’re in there too.
What I like about these drink recipe cards is that they show you the drink. If you don’t know what it looks like, it’s harder to decide if you did it correctly, or how to garnish it. These recipes are simple to make. You don’t have to have strange or unique ingredients, either. Whatever the taste profile, there is more than one drink to satisfy it! These are great gift ideas for family, friends, and co-workers. I found it on Amazon for $17!
Bad Kitty Calendar!
Every year I suggest calendars. But my personal favorite is always the Bad Cat Calendar 365 Not-so-Pretty-Kitties by Workman Publishing. The square desk calendar is a page a day of adorable cats, kittens, and quotes (attributed to the cat model of the day). This is the gift that keeps on giving. You can make someone smile every single day. Laughing is good for the soul, and the Bad Cat Calendar delivers joy. The year is much happier with the Bad Cat Calendar on your desk!
The new 2024 version has cats doing what cats do, such as leaving little “presents” in the just-folded laundry. The cats are often dressed up, or doing something they shouldn’t do, but hey, they’re cats, and they’re ultimately cute. The calendar is printed on responsibly sourced paper and is 100% recyclable. I’m including a photo of one page of last year’s calendar that I think a lot of us can relate to (LOL)! In order to be eco-friendly this calendar has a built-in, pull-out cardboard stand on the back of the calendar. It is also printed with soy-based inks and you can use the reverse of each page a day as graph notepaper. Get it in lots of places. I found it for $17 on Amazon.
Wrap it up, Victorian Style!
You don’t have to be a cat lover to like this incredible set of cat-centric wrapping papers. Are you tired of poor-quality wrapping paper with the same old holiday designs? Cynthia Hart’s Victorian Cats: 12 Wrapper Paper & Gift Tags (Hachette Book Group) will elevate your gift-giving. Each of the wrapping paper sheets fold out to a generous 18 7/8” x 25 3/4“. If you don’t feel like using these precious papers full of cat collages for wrapping gifts, these can also be used to line drawers, decoupage, and lots of other projects.
The set also includes a dozen beautiful Victorian cat gift tags. I’m using them to decorate my home during the holidays. Whatever you choose to do with this set (or give it to a cat lover) the cost is just $20 in various stories. These Victorian cat designs are so beautiful, they will not be thrown out with the trash when the gift is opened. Buy two sets and keep one for yourself. Cat designs on good quality paper are a year-round appropriate wrapping paper!
A Wise Way to Carry Cards/Cash:
Sometimes the best gift is the one you never thought of getting for yourself. Then someone gifts it to you and it is used every day. The Doshi Vegan card and ID holder with a zippered potion holds all the things you need in one place. It is made of vegan leather that’s scratch-resistant. Amazingly, it has RFID protection (great for when you travel or are in crowds or shopping). There are 3 slots for cards on one side, a clear ID area (for your driver’s license, etc.), and a slim zippered pouch for a few dollars or some change.
I love this because I can grab it and put it into another purse and feel confident I have everything I need at hand. If you have a lot of cards, maybe get two of them. But at just 4 7/8″ x 3″ you can pop it into a pocket or even a small crossbody (as long as you don’t overfill it). It’s the perfect gift for everyone from the boss to your co-workers, to the person who has everything (but not this vegan item). My photo shows our silver version with slots, and the red stock photo shows the ID side. You can also get metallic copper or all-black. This is a great gift under $50. It’s just $29. I added the owls to my photo because I think it is a “wise” gift for the holidays! Advicesisters.com loves Doshi and I’m sure you will too, visit https://doshi.shop/
On a Roll!
If you’re like me, you use a lot of tape during the holidays. And what always happens to the roll? The tape sticks to the rest of the roll and it’s a struggle to find it again. The Roll Ranger solves that problem. This stocking stuffer gift is way under $50 at only $12.99 on Amazon, Ace Hardware, and the Roll Ranger Store it’s a little gadget that you need now. Gift them to everyone else for the holidays, and they’ll thank you for years to come. Using it on a roll of duct tape is simple: Move the Roll Ranger along the surface of a tape roll. When the sensor reaches the lost edge of the tape, the LED indicator light will turn on. Use the scraper tool to lift the edge and separate the tape from the roll without splitting.
It’s easy and actually, fun. The only issue I had with it occurred when I tried to use it with a roll of duct tape in a dispenser. The dispenser got in the way of the Roll Ranger. Of course, you can remove the tape from the dispenser. Otherwise, this is a time-saving gadget everyone will want to have. Visit the Roll Ranger store https://www.rollranger.store/ or Amazon.com
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