You know those undereye masks you can buy, the little patches that look like big commas? Do you have some you’ve used and liked, or some you’ve heard of as being cool/trendy? I want to get some for William’s stocking. He thinks he has undereye circles. They’re genetic, I’m sorry to say, but that doesn’t mean I don’t empathize with his motivation to feel as if he’s Doing Something About It, and little luxury items are great for stockings.
Also. And this is tricky, because several members of the group read here. But I am looking for good friend-group Christmas gift ideas. I am in a group of eight women, and we used to do a Yankee Swap for Christmas, but now we each bring seven matched (or BASICALLY matched, like everyone might get a different windchime but they’re all windchimes) gifts to hand out to each other. This means finding something that works for seven fairly different people. Some of us are better at it than others.
I had what I thought was The Greatest Idea of All Time, but it turns out I am not temperamentally or skillsically suited for it. Long ago, not long after we formed our group, we had a local artist paint us matching wine glasses: same overall design for everyone, but then each person’s own name on the base of the glass. More than half of us have broken our glasses by now, and the local artist is no longer local. I thought I could watch some YouTube videos and paint us new ones! I started saving shoe boxes in dreamy anticipation of this idea. I would hand out a box to everyone, and make them open them all at the same time! Everyone would be so surprised/amazed!
Then I watched YouTube videos. Number one and number eight brushes, plus a cone brush. Enamel paints in many colors/formulas. Gloves. Patterns. Brushstrokes away from center. Setting the paint. Etc. It’s not that it looks UNDOABLE, but it definitely does not look as if it overlaps with any of my own personal strengths and/or supplies. And then: surely we would all just start breaking the glasses again. And what if some of us were actually a little RELIEVED to have our glass broken, and now here I am replacing it?? I myself have stopped bringing my unbroken glass to get-togethers, because I don’t want to break it, and I am more than content with my replacement glass, which is a large plastic wine glass one of the group members handed out as an earlier group gift. So perhaps I should leave well enough alone.
But that means it is November 15th and I am just now abandoning the plan I came up with last December. I have wasted 11 months of thinking time. And we generally try to have our party early/mid-December, before the real holiday busyness begins.
I think I should say that I am not in any way trying to COMPETE with the kinds of gifts some of the women in this group come up with. They have had insulated tumblers and candy jars and wine bottles custom-printed, with our names and/or with photos of our group. There have been group t-shirts, group hats. One of them made a group birthstone bracelet. Another ordered us all matching bracelets with secretly coded swear words. So there is no trying to EXCEED the current showstoppers, but I would like to be IN RANGE of the MOOD of the gifts, which ranges from funny to sentimental to club-reinforcing. Last year, after handing out bags of travel wine glasses, canned cocktails, and assorted chocolates, I thought to myself “I think I need to step up my sentiment game a little here. Or else be funnier.”
But, as I say: several members are HERE IN OUR MIDST. So please WHISPER your ideas for good friend-group gifts if you have any, because I plan to take credit for them. And I will trust my friends NOT TO READ THE COMMENTS!
(And if you read this and think, “Well, I have a GREAT friend-group gift idea, but it sounds like my group spends a lot less/more than yours,” please mention it ANYWAY, because these posts are NEVER just for me, and are ALWAYS meant to ALSO be for anyone else who has a similar need for ideas!)
I am eager to see the answers! As a DIY sort of person, for my book club, last year i had a friend design a logo for our book club and laser engraved it on wood coasters. I often see the coasters out in my friends’ homes. This year (if I get my act together) I will screen print our logo on tote bags. I presume either of these things could be done via Etsy. For something easier/less sentimental I have enjoyed receiving fuzzy slipper socks from a coworker who did group office gifts. Candles were also nice to receive.
I have gifted and been gifted a custom book letter and I love it so:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/795881546/book-letters-pick-your-own-gift-book?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_-home_and_living&utm_custom1=_k_CjwKCAiA9dGqBhAqEiwAmRpTC_MA2Y7DJT6pcrJtwpqS2TvCW5RJVBbSsCILlk12HEbWqT8dBY5ZmBoCVqIQAvD_BwE_k_&utm_content=go_12665398257_121762925993_511610210343_pla-303628061699_c__795881546_12768591&utm_custom2=12665398257&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA9dGqBhAqEiwAmRpTC_MA2Y7DJT6pcrJtwpqS2TvCW5RJVBbSsCILlk12HEbWqT8dBY5ZmBoCVqIQAvD_BwE
I’m not 100% confident that link is going to work, but I will cross my fingers and hope for the best. I’m also not sure this hasn’t been done in your group and not sure on shipping time, so maybe an idea for the future if nothing else?
I have been the recipient of a custom bookmark and LOVED it. I can’t find the exact one, but something like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1404364095/birth-flower-bookmarkpersonalized?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=custom+name+bookmark&ref=sr_gallery-1-3&pro=1&bes=1&edd=1&referrer_page_guid=f765697887a.f9a872111645fed74296.00&organic_search_click=1
Oh I would have a hard time coming up with ideas for this type of friend group gift giving. I will list what I can think of.
Wine themed: wine stoppers (maybe a unique one to suit each individual?), specific chocolates that are meant to go with specific wines (maybe like 3 chocolate and mini wine pairings?), too late for this year but I like when people make their own wine/beer, bottle it, and give it as a gift.
Sentimental: hm I once got all the women in my family mantra bands. I picked out a mantra I thought really matched each of them. Black Friday they always have sales so this was much more affordable than it seemed. Cross-stitched bookmarks (or sewn some other way). Name a star the initials of everyone in the group & then give everyone a certificate, coordinates, etc of the star.
Random: cloud slippers are a big thing now; $20 each on Amazon. Flowers – like a custom bouquet for each person. Shower steamers (big round balls w/ fragrance). “You are my Golden Girl” fill-in book from Amazon would be funny, but it might be hard to fill out seven times.
Uncommon Goods might be a good place to browse for something like this.
Are you sure you need to give up the wine glasses? I am just wondering whether you have a local artist daughter in your house who could do a commission project and get some money to spend at school over thanksgiving.
Etsy is the perfect place for customizable things IMO. Your group sounds so fun!
Yeti stemless wine glasses with monograms etched. Yeti will do it for you or you can get more designs options on Etsy.
Unbreakable, dishwasher safe, keeps white wine or cocktails cold, etched names/initials never fade.
Yeti will load custom designs too – I have a waterbottle with a hand drawn picture/note from my kids. Just incase you need other adult gift ideas.
Boy, does this hit home for me: “But that means it is November 15th and I am just now abandoning the plan I came up with last December. I have wasted 11 months of thinking time.” I’m all about the wonderful, homemade, best gift ideas ever in March, but here it is – mid-November and nah – it’s not gonna happen!
Happy almost-Thanksgiving! I’m loving these great ideas. I’m planning to make oyster shell trinket dishes as for friend gifts this year. You can personalize them with favorite colors or monograms. The instructions look pretty easy, fingers crossed! https://www.apieceofrainbow.com/anthropologie-diy-oyster-shell-trinket-dish/
For undereye masks, I really like the ones from Klorane with soothing cornflower. Something I’ve discovered about undereye masks is that some are kinda wet and that excess moisture irritates my eyes while I’m wearing them. These strike the right balance for me and I can also wear them under my glasses without leaving damp spots on my lenses. The instructions say to leave on for 20 minutes, but I’ve left them on for an hour with no ill effects when I’m having a cozy relaxation on the couch. Not sure if they’re trendy, but I’m 35 and love treating myself to them. Here’s the link to them on Amazon (currently slightly on sale): https://www.amazon.com/KLORANE-Smoothing-relaxing-soothing-Cornflower/dp/B07VGJZMXN/ref=asc_df_B07VGJZMXN/
The PoisonCookieShop on Etsy has really funny cookie cutters. You could buy a few appropriate ones and make cookies (or get each person one that suits their personality). Of course, you’d have to supplement with other stuff, but maybe that satisfies your funny component. I got my mother-in-law a cutter that reads “Welcome to Book Club, Bitches” before our first family book club meeting, and she made us all cookies! (I double-checked with my husband first that he thought she would appreciate the sentiment). Speaking of husband, he is a woodworker and makes beautiful, small-sized cutting boards. That would be fun to give out. Maybe you could find a woodworker on Etsy. (He has a shop, but he paused it to take better pictures of his stuff).
I bought most of my girlfriends these personalized bags a few Christmases ago and they have different designs and they are a good not too big, not too small size. https://www.etsy.com/listing/605546913/personalized-makeup-bag-bee-makeup-bag?ref=yr_purchases
You could put a few stocking type goodies in them, lip balm, a nice hand lotion, chocolate or a favorite snack, a gift card to a place they love, sassy stickers, nail polish.
I remembered some other things that would work for friends and could be personalized or not. Charcuterie boards or serving platter, with a book of grazing boards, cheese knives, crackers, chocolates. Ramen, ramen bowls, chopsticks, spoons, ramen toppings . Fancy tea cup, fancy teas, cute sugar cubes, petit fours. Dried sourdough starter, a starter jar, a proofing basket, and a lame.
Custom group-themed temporary tattoos to freak out everyone’s family members when you all come home from the get-together? (potentially, for each recipient, a list of all the *other* names in that “I love my mother” sailor-tattoo font?)
Everyone’s name carved onto a grain of rice in a little bubble that goes on a necklace? Custom music boxes with a snippet of a song significant to the group or the group’s generation?
Or completely-ridiculous socks? There are many ridiculous socks out there to go with different interests, but *also* you can now photo print onto socks. (I am unsure how successfully, since I have not done it, however.)
A themed squishmallow for each (either matching their name, matching an interest or favorite animal, or just the one you think would be the best fit for each person for no identifiable reason)? Packed in a too-small box so they floof out?
(or maybe browse Etsy for customizable things and see what treasures/oddities are out there and which ones tickle your funny bone or make you go “ooooh”)(which reminds me, one last ridiculous possibility: coordinating vibrators/etc.)
Fundamentally, good luck.
I LOVE Warmies and have bought them for pretty much everyone I know— https://warmies.com/pages/season-of-savings-sale?g_network=g&g_adid=680245907272&g_keyword=warmies&g_adtype=search&g_adgroupid=107509200456&g_keywordid=kwd-14496324619&g_campaign=M6+-+Search+-+BRD+-+Exact+-+CPC+-+US&g_campaignid=10886409112&g_acctid=168-542-6056&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=M6%20-%20Search%20-%20BRD%20-%20Exact%20-%20CPC%20-%20US&utm_content=Warmies%20%7C%20Exact&utm_term=warmies&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAmNeqBhD4ARIsADsYfTe0ecar7NIM2KKJ86iovItROUJ-17OxKhFTMsi1C5PiyIc6cwpIf2kaAnotEALw_wcB
Warning: do not wash a Warmie in the washing machine. Ask how I know…… https://laurenandlloyd.com/2019/04/09/slimy-warmie/
Options that come to mind: Beeswax tapers and candle holders; fancy jam and honey sets; expensive coffees and teas; unique kitchen items (I like these: https://www.ancan.store/product/ipil-ipil-cooking-utensils/)
Wooden personalized ornament with book theme:
https://macorner.co/products/bookcase-ornament-personalized-wooden-ornament-with-bow-boo020902dotl?currency=USD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=1440ee8f9ed9&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=17850920317&utm_content=&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI86XH2rLJggMVFc3CBB1TJg-FEAQYAyABEgJIS_D_BwE
Stonewall kitchen has Holiday 2023 Individual Holiday Jam wrapped in a festive box.
When I was looking for some prank gifts, I found that Yankee Candle allows you to personalize.
https://www.personalizationmall.com/Candles-c92.lp?fitemid=99083&g_acctid=707-965-3200&g_adgroupid=&g_adid=&g_adtype=none&g_campaign=NE+Shopping+-+Performance+Max+-+Home+Décor&g_keyword=&g_keywordid=&g_network=x&&did=964099&wordID=&gcampaignID=17665198680&pmkid=-&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI58-zzrXJggMV2gWtBh12sQFdEAQYASABEgKHhPD_BwE
Check out Harry’s Under Eye Cream for Men, at Target.
Family favorite: Pick one to match the recipient’s personality:
https://wtfnotebooks.com/collections/bold-and-sassy-notebooks
Someone did those last year and they were a big hit!
Pixi under eye patches are my favorite. They work well and feel like they do something immediately. Plus, they don’t irritate my eyes at all.
https://www.target.com/p/pixi-detoxifeye-hydrating-and-depuffing-eye-patches-with-caffeine-and-cucumber-60ct/-/A-53963668#lnk=sametab
I second Pixi! Another option is to purchase a reusable set–I love Dieux’s forever eye mask. https://www.dieuxskin.com/products/forever-eye-mask. I just layer on my own regular products and pop them on.
https://maliciouswomenco.com/collections/all-candles
Fun swear-y candles. Too many good choices!
We will definitely need an update on this once you’ve done your gift exchange!!
I like snarky pens. I have been browsing T Swift pencils today with little song lyrics on them but generally you can get a pkg of girl power kinds of pens and likely find enough so that everyone gets a pen or two with different sayings. They would go nicely with those WTF notebooks. I like the sock idea too. I wear nothing but snarky socks at work (today’s say “imperfectionist”) and they are a huge hit.
If you know someone who has a Cricut, you could have them do glasses for you. Or you can get etching gel and a template and etch something yourself. Could you get Friends photo frames and then photoshop a funny photo with everyone’s face?
What about a memoir or biography for each person of someone who matches their first name? I would try to find the weirdest people I could because that is what I am like 😂
Swistle, I am so curious! Is there a tension/hesitation in inviting someone to read your blog (where you intentionally remain anonymous to most), knowing that those folks could never UNKNOW this information?? You can never again remain anonymous?
Or even, does it filter your writing sometimes? Like, as much as you want to, you aren’t going to bitch about the holiday festival at your kid’s school, because JENNIFER FROM THE PARENT COUNCIL reads your blog??
Oh, definitely. I remember it had to come to a point in the relationship where “keeping the blog a secret” became a bigger deal than “telling them about the blog.” But…it has consequences, like I can’t talk about any of them behind their backs, and also things like this gift-idea post become trickier.
Personalized necklaces? Michaels carries what you need to make a necklace, and I think it would be within your skills. They also have lots of charms, but even better would be if you have a “bead bar” nearby. I’m thinking something that references a story/trait/running joke about them.
We always have some group gift we make to give friends we love but cannot spend money on. We dip-dyed candles as our general gift this year. It turned out gorgeous, especially the birthday candles–I melted half an old candle with a bit of crayon for color (using a tin can in a pot of simmering water), then dipped birthday candles at an angle for splashes of color up the side. Yellow over the already-pastel candles looked particularly lovely.
Last year we made spice mixes from rosemary, orange peel, and good salt.
The year before that I made homemade simple syrups in tiny jars. Which would pair very nicely with airplane bottles of liquor.
I had a friend give me a small bottle from a craft store filled with vodka infused with oranges. She put a bow around it and had orange zest floating in the bottle. It was pretty, tasted good and it got used up and went away! I dislike filling up my house with stuff, but that might just be me. Also if you make jam or lemon curd, that’s always nice to receive too.
Homemade Bailey’s Irish Cream in a nice glass bottle. So easy to make and always a crowd pleaser!
One year I bought some of the hoop-type earring wires from Michaels (will link b/c I can’t describe them accurately), a few packs of fun beads, and some little metal tins, and I made a set of wine charms for each of my friends. Even if they wouldn’t need them at YOUR get togethers since everyone has their own wine glass, they’re great for hosting a group who does not come with their own glasses ;-)
this is the hoop type I mean – very easy to get on/off a wine stem: https://www.michaels.com/product/bl-fnd-contr-rnd-gld-20mm-10pc-10716694
If you can get your hands on vanilla beans, homemade vanilla extract is startlingly easy to make – you can always gift it with just 2 weeks of curing and let giftees know to keep it in a cool dark place for another ~2 months. I made a batch years ago and am still going through it, lasts forever: https://everydayannie.com/2011/10/13/diy-vanilla-extract/
I make (and often gift) Smitten Kitchen’s homemade Irish Cream (aka Bailey’s) every holiday season: https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/12/homemade-irish-cream/
I’m jealous – I used to have a similar friend group, but people keep moving away :-(
Someone else posted about Smitten Kitchen’s homemade Irish Cream and I second that – it has been a hit with my kids’ teachers the past few years. You could also by Advent Calendars for the post-holiday times (wasn’t it you who had the idea to save an Advent Calendar for something to look forward to in that early part of the year when things just seem so BLEAK?) You could specifically select different types of calendars with themes tailored towards different members of the group, or just get everyone the same wine calendar, etc.
Oh drat, *buy, I really hate when I make that error!
My friend just sent me and my hubby a couple of coffee mugs about reading. One says “Bookmarks are for quitters.” The other says, “I’m not addicted to reading. I can stop anytime (right after this book)!”
You could also put your calendar shopping to good use. I’m certain you already have your Amazon list for that ready. It could be personalized, but themed.
This is going to sound weird, but one year I gave my group a fresh pineapple with a Core & Cut tool attached with a pretty red satin ribbon. Very offbeat, but huge hit. I’ve also done a large jar of Spanish Olives (Olive the Holidays!) with a recipe for the perfect dirty martini and attached a card that listed a few appropriate book/music pairings.
Oh I love this!
I like to give my friends tea towels as none of us would get through the week without one. I’ve found perfect ones on Etsy, matching interests or hometowns, favorites. Maybe you could get a custom one with something that they’d find amusing from your history.
This might sound nuts but there is an ad on TikTok that keeps coming up for me for a cloth that replaces paper towels. They have really pretty designs and claim to last a long time and remain antibacterial.