Here’s a whiplash of a post, after the election despair! But family members are asking for updated wish lists, and my parents like to do all their Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving, so I wondered if we could have a bit of a group discussion about what we’d like to get for Christmas when what we might really want for Christmas is to avoid a relentless flow of terrible things happening for the next 4+ years. Let’s see if we can instead come up with a bunch of clickable material ideas that we can steal from each other, as we try to build lists that don’t involve this all being a bad dream.
On my list:
The new Elizabeth Strout book, Tell Me Everything (Target link, Amazon link):
(image from Target.com)
Human Rights Campaign’s Unicorn Rainbow Pride t-shirt:
(photo from shop.hrc.org)
(image from Converse.com)
Yes I have a bad knee and these shoes have zero support, WHAT IS YOUR POINT. (Also, I did buy these purple Skechers, for days when the knee needs to be babied.)
Bunk-bed cat hammock (I AM FINDING JOY WHERE I CAN AND I THINK YOU SHOULD TOO):
(image from Amazon.com)
Assorted French Bull dishware (I particularly like the Garden Florals pattern, and have the dinner plates, appetizer plates, dessert spoons, and spreaders on my list):
(image from frenchbull.com)
(image from Target.com)
I have two games I play on my phone (Pokemon Go and Love Nikki Dress-Up Queen) that CAN be played without in-game purchases, but are VERY MUCH IMPROVED with in-game purchases—but I can’t make myself spend money on such purchases. But if I have a gift card!—well, then, what else can I do but spend it? Also, I play both of these games every single day, and even in times like these they bring me a measure of happiness, and that’s something I think we may need to scrounge for.
On that topic, I also want a Pokemon Go Plus, which Paul has heavily implied he has already purchased for me:
(image from Amazon.com)
It’s so silly, but I belong to a Facebook group now called Old Ladies Playing Pokemon Go (“old” defined as 20+), and MANY of them have this and love it. I don’t even entirely know what it IS, but they love it so I want it.
Please please tell us what you want for Christmas so we can all poach ideas for our lists.
I want a hat from Wombhouse Books, but I really don’t need another hat and also I can’t decide because I want them all. Talk about problems!
I ordered a crocheted strawberry plant from this Etsy shop last year, and it was delightful! I see she has a bunch of lovely flowers, and I think they’d be cheerful gifts.
Pink Lady Works: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PinkLadyWorkshop?ref=notif_psffs§ion_id=1
Oh thank you for this! Perfect gift idea for my Grandma, I bought one of the crocheted cherry blossoms!
I’m afraid my list this year is going to end up mostly in the dry pasta, lotion, shampoo, catagory because I want to stock up for potentially losing our main income amid tariffs… but there is also this cute dog calendar https://paulcastlestudio.com/products/mr-maple-calendar
I brought myself a mystery sock bundle from this shop https://good.store/collections/all-products-new-collection (all their profits go to charity!)
I want some of the Jellycat amuseables – love the croissant and egg ones, and am hoping the napoleon gets restocked. More boring but still exciting to me – I need a new nonstick saute pan, around 6 qt size? Still useful for eggs and can hold a lot of stir fry, etc. Harry & David pears – I send a few boxes out every Christmas and send ourselves one too. This is not a Christmas gift for me but as a suggestion for others – a friend gave me a Bonne Maman jam advent calendar for my birthday, so I felt ok with punching recklessly through all the doors at once to try whatever flavor appealed first. I think that it’s a fun holiday gift too!
My parents live right by a store that sells a wide array of Jellycat plushes, and I’ve gotten one practically every Christmas and birthday since they moved to that neighborhood. I can’t explain why I love them so much, but I do.
(*Can’t explain why I love the Jellycat stuff so much, not my parents. Although I do also love my parents.)
hahahahaha
oh my gosh, I had not yet been exposed to these amuseables. THANK YOU. how are they this adorable.
I made a list of many of the little things that I’ve purchased and LOVED just for occasions like this:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y3xx8YQE5dTQzwum8Y1OgaTKWL4BKCUZMlR9b90J0jU/edit?usp=drivesdk
What I would love to have above all else is a print of the painting “Night and her daughter Sleep”. It’s been on my wish list for ages, but alas. Maybe I will buy it myself for the next “0”-birthday. (It’s a little unclear for me where to purchase it so that would be part of the gift…). I also like “Exit Games”, a specific leftish online newspaper subscription and shower products that smell like lemon or grapefruit. The Pokemon go Plus is great!
wayfair has it—I linked it in my name
I have those exact purple converse and also I have weak ankles and need a lot of arch support in my shoes. The solution? Buy Birkenstock insoles and put them in the converse! https://www.zappos.com/p/unisex-birkenstock-blue-footbed-arch-support-casual/product/7198408
My work desk is glass and gets very cold in the winter. I have asked for a heated mouse pad https://www.amazon.com/HAOCOO-Heated-Desk-Pad-Galaxy/dp/B0CFR13H59/?th=1
and also some sweatshirts because even though I live in the South I expect four long, cold, cold years.
I am hoping for SMALL and/or CONSUMABLE stuff this year, since I’ll be traveling for Christmas and I have an international move coming up next year, so I want to minimize the number of large items to take with me.
I’d never considered getting a Pokemon Go Plus, but now I maybe kind of want one? Especially since they discontinued the Apple Watch version of the app.
For my birthday (which is right after Christmas so I’m counting it) I’m planning to take a little weekend trip with a friend to celebrate, so I’m asking my immediate family for money towards that. My birthday is right at the time of year when everyone is fresh out of gift ideas, so my family tends to appreciate suggestions that boil down to “just cash.”
Knitting and crochet supplies are always on my list. I have a favorite yarn store in my hometown and my aunt and I are both friendly with the owner, so my aunt will sometimes go there before Christmas and ask the owner to help pick something for me. It will be a bit of a drive for me, but I’m hoping to make a trip there before Christmas this year so I can do the same for her. Knitpicks.com is my other go-to for supplies.
I’m also asking for a couple of eyeshadow palettes this year, since I live in a damp climate and most of my eyeshadow went MOLDY this year. I’m still looking at options, but I’m thinking I’ll ask for a boring-but-practical neutral-toned one and a fun sparkly rainbow one.
New controllers for my Switch, since one of them keeps getting disconnected for no reason.
WARM items, because I am always freezing. Socks, scarves, gloves, hats, that sort of thing. Last year I got a really good down coat and it has changed my life.
Where did you get your coat? A new pne is on my list but I can’t decide…
The Elizabeth Strout book is on my Christmas list, I told everyone in my family about it the second I discovered it was published – I am SO excited to (hopefully) receive it. I mean, I’m almost 100% sure it’s going under the tree for me. I have a few other books on that list, and also I’m hoping for some pretty serving bowls. What else, what else. I don’t know! Pajamas are always on my list. Always! Last year my son made bookmarks for me because I was so sad to lose all my bookmarks in the move, and I’m not sure that gift can actually be topped in terms of how happy it made me.
Two of my small kitchen appliances – the waffle iron and the food processor – are on their last legs, so replacements for those will be on my list. I would like to get a couple more fleecy velour blankets – not for the human members of the household, but for our cats who sometimes fight over the single one we have now. They might share the couch with us better if there are two laps with a fleecy blanket instead of just one!
I will put some books on my list but I’m not sure which ones yet. I am slowly collecting travel guides for places I want to visit in the next ten years or so; trying to build towards big things to look forward to in the long term.
I am still struggling with passive-aggressive anger at my family, most if not all of whom voted for the despocheeto. So I’m contemplating asking them for charity donations to organizations that may in some way mitigate things, such as environmental organizations in our state.
I’ve been soothing myself with nature art books, and I have two on my wish list: Tiny Worlds of the Appalachian Mountains: An Artist’s Journey by Rosalie Haizlett and Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark by Leigh Ann Henion. Both authors are stunning nature artists/illustrators.
I would love a really pretty mug that’s large enough to hold all the coffee I want, like 20 ounces. Those are hard to find!
Why are all the cute mugs so small? I need a good sized mug. 10 oz is not enough!
Look at the HENLEY style. 20+oz and great patterns!
https://www.thebeeskneesbritishimports.com/collections/dunoon?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAABjN7TV08VFXmc74Cv4wd7BAunUFg&gclid=Cj0KCQiAuou6BhDhARIsAIfgrn7VNu96F8l_9cCb331wJ-F9Qn_ZnlvtAY4zhlGBPFJwApxwnwmTL8EaAozUEALw_wcB&page=1&pid=8772646371623
I want something called a Dry Gloss manicure kit, which I think is just a series of files/buffers and some nail oil. I don’t usually “do” my fingernails and have never been able to replicate the results of a salon buffing I got before my wedding, so this seems like a perfect stocking stuffer. Fun and unneccessary.
Are there any good ipod replacements out there? My MacBook and iPod are 12 years old and I worry about them dying. I am thinking about buying a refurbished MacBook before the end of the year but I don’t think my old ipod will work with a new computer. If something exists, that’s what I want for Christmas! (I don’t do streaming music because I already own so much music)
Currently my wish list includes a puzzle board/thing so I can move a puzzle in progress without dismantling the whole thing. It goes without saying, new Isotoner ballet slippers and some books.
Oh, and a job!
We just purchased a puzzle board that spins on a turntable and has little drawers to sort pieces and I must say, it is a GAME CHANGER! We started a 1,000 piece puzzle this weekend with visiting family and it was so nice to be able to all sit at the large dining room table and work the puzzle, but then just lift it off and put it in the corner when it was time to eat.
I want a folding table and chairs so we can invite more people to dinner, a deep freezer so we can support local farmers, a chimney inspection so we can have fires, a local flower subscription, and oodles of beeswax candles for the hygge. Those first 3 are not things I can really ask for.
So I asked for an ereader, a glass dip pen for calligraphy, and a Mary Oliver shirt: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1807380622/it-is-a-serious-thing-just-to-be-alive
My friend’s kids got me into Pokémon Go. Definitely improved by purchases, or as I call them “bribes”.
I’m asking for a few knitting accessories, a few books, some clothes by wool& (the most expensive part of my list!), fancy candy. Last year, my brother got my husband a fancy flight of three gins from a distillery local to him, and I’d love to try something like that.
Swistle, I have someone on my list who really likes puzzles, and I know you’ve gotten nice puzzles from a particular source before, like a donut one? What kind of puzzles do you like?
OH!! So. I am not a Fervent Puzzler, so that needs to be taken into account: people who love to be TRULY CHALLENGED (e.g., a puzzle that is all candy corn, a puzzle that is all one color) will not like the puzzles I like. I like puzzles where I can go click-click-click pretty steadily, and not get too frustrated. Where I overlap with Fervent Puzzlers seems to be on Eurographic 1000-piece puzzles. I LOVE their doughnut and cupcake puzzles, because they made the BACKGROUNDS different colors, in stripes! So even if you are struggling among many, many pink pieces, or many, many brown pieces, the BACKGROUNDS make it more like several smaller puzzles. But also: even WITHOUT the helpful backgrounds, it’s still surprisingly easy to scan for That Particular Shade of Pink or That Particular Texture of Beige: they make a real distinction among the similar colors. I have purchased the Christmas Doughnuts puzzle for myself this year, and am really looking forward to it.
That’s exactly what I wanted to know! Thank you!
Jenny, these are embarrassingly expensive and maybe way more than you’re able/ willing to spend, but Liberty Puzzles are really amazing. My husband loves puzzles and these are just really neat (but crazy expemsive).
I am a fervent puzzler, and for anyone in your life who loves puzzles and likes a challenge (that’s actually fun and not 100 pieces of popcorn), I can definitely recommend a Wasgij. People think they’re really hard because the picture on the box is not what’s on the puzzle, but they’re not that hard because of the bright, varied, cartoon pictures. Lots of fun
I love this artist’s online classes. They are so relaxing: https://amandaevanstonartworks.com/
I like bath bombs from this woman-owned business: https://www.museebath.com/
The third book in the Fourth Wing series will be released in January and is available on pre-order:Onyx Storm. I’m already planning to take a vacation day and read while the kids are in school.
My go-to store for candles is another made-in-the-US company: https://voluspa.com/ I love their French Cade and Lavender scent.
I’ve been eyeing some personalized stationary, knowing that I like the idea of being someone who would send personalized correspondence more than a person who actually sends letters. There are so many good, not too formal, not too frilly options on Etsy.
I hate spending 20 USD on Smartwool socks, so they are good to ask for at Christmas. The precious few I have seem to end up in my daughter’s room.
I got a bunch on clearance recently. Maybe $15 or $17 a pair? Felt like a steal.
Ohh I am asking for Birkenstocks. I’ve never had a pair.
Maybe some Dior Lip Oil.
Santa got us the Ninja Flip Toaster thing.
I can’t wait for the Calendar post. I got the best calendar last year from the comments and I’m waiting to read before I order 2025s.
I desperately want a Rainsisters raincoat, but the only people likely to get me a gift this year are my teenage children— so that is not in their budget. I will save my pennies!!
In anticipation of what might be a more-stressful-than-usual year, I’m requesting a year of twice-monthly massages, monthly pedicures, and 3 separate weekend getaways. My kids always choose from the standard list – matching pajama sets, lavender or sandalwood candles, a bottle of my perfume, and travel coffee cups or water bottles. I don’t trust any of those yahoos to choose my books!
I need a new wallet because my current one is falling apart at the seams, also new pj’s that are long sleeved, plus as always socks. My husband is getting a phone cup holder for the car and a onesie because he asked for that in particular. I’m not sure yet what to get my parents, probably small household items they could use better versions of. My kids’ teachers each are getting a fancy Xmas tree ornament and probably a little cute plant. Love hearing all these ideas!
On another note I’m not seeing the button about getting notified for follow up comments below?
We need new pans, so that will be a gift I ask for and I really want a tiny spoon from world market to eat my lady yogurt with.
I might ask my sister for a blender or a hand mixer.
After a recent trip where I handed over my suitcase and the airline counter guy was like, “did you want to zip up this pocket?” and I had to admit that the pocket no longer zips, I would love for someone to intuit exactly what kind of medium-sized suitcase would suit me best and buy it for me. Also, I keep seeing videos of people cooking with very skinny tongs and I think I would like some of those as well.
I want a family trip to a resort in Thailand (we live in Asia) where none of the kids complain for like a whole four days. I think we are taking the trip but the complaining part is a pipe dream.
I asked my mom to just send a box of paperbacks she has already read bc that she liked so that I can read them and then give them away and not feel like I need to keep more stuff. Other than that I don’t really need or want anything. It is 90 degrees here every day of the year and while the city has been decorating for Christmas it just doesn’t feel like the holidays at all.
I want you to feel free to monetize your blog a little bit. While I always love your posts and appreciate the old school nature of your posts, I wouldn’t mind some posts with some affiliate links. At this point, you’ve established some pretty clears likes/dislikes. So I would be fine with a sponsored post from See’s candy, a calendar company or something similar to that.
I am asking for a Manon and the Thirteen shirt (I read the Throne of Glass series in the 11 days I didn’t have power after Hurricane Helene).
A small bottle of the Tom Ford perfume called Fucking Fabulous.
If you do get the Pokemon Go Plus, can you report back on it after you’ve used it a bit?
I have a pre-phone age child who has been asking to play Pokemon because she hears about them at school. I was thinking that Pokemon Go could be a good option– get us both out in the fresh air, etc. Maybe I could get the Go Plus to give her something to be hands-on for herself, instead of her holding my phone. If it works that way with the game?