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Christmas Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers

If you’re new around here, you might not know that my family does a “Secret Santa”-type gift exchange. We use the website DrawNames.com to input all five of our names, and then we’re randomly sent a single person’s name (and wish list) to shop for. Our budget is capped at $100 and we only give and receive one gift each, which makes Christmas so much less stressful and it’s no longer a financial burden either. We started doing this about four or five years ago, and it’s something we all look forward to. It’s also really fun to try to keep the secret up until Christmas Day. Couldn’t recommend this method more!

One area where my sister and I tend to go a little hog wild, though, is where stockings are concerned. We have yet to set a limit on stockings, and anybody can buy for anybody. Kat and I take the job very seriously. She and I have individual spreadsheets that we fill all throughout the year with gift ideas that someone might happen to mention in passing. It’s always such a blast seeing the surprised looks on people’s faces, and we don’t care that the stockings end up overflowing or cost more than the one big gift we each get. Keep scrolling for a list of stocking stuffers that may or may not be on our lists for Christmas 2020.

Christmas Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers

1. Essential Oil Blend: The perfect spicy, woodsy blend to diffuse all throughout the holiday season.

2. Pillow Covers: These fold up tight so they fit easily inside a stocking.

3. Wool Dryer Balls: We switched from dryer sheets to wool dryer balls years ago, and haven’t looked back.

4. Amazon Fire TV Stick: This turns any television into a smart TV!

5. Reusable Glass Tumbler: A water bottle fancy enough for Christmas morning.

6. Pizza Cutter: I love the minty color of the handle.

7. Gold Chip Clips: I’m pretty sure you can never have enough chip clips.

8. Dog Collar: For the dog-lover in your life!

9. Rechargeable Batteries: Again, can you ever really have too many batteries?! I appreciate that these are reusable.

10. Plant Moisture Meter: I treated myself to this gift months ago, and love it. It’s perfect for indoor gardeners.

11. Gold Strainers: The prettiest strainer I ever did see! I use these all the time in our kitchen after juicing a lemon or for rinsing quinoa.

12. Modern Playing Cards: My sister asked for these for Christmas. She’ll just have to wait and see if they show up in her stocking this year!

What’s your favorite pick from the list above? I really love that Tumbler, and the Essential Oil Blend is something I wouldn’t mind receiving over and over again. Share your own stocking stuffer ideas in the comments below, and let us know how you do Christmas gift exchanges. Are you into “Secret Santa,” or do you guys not set any limits?

Christmas Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers

*I earn a small percentage from purchases made using the affiliate links above. Affiliate links are not sponsored. Rest assured that I never recommend products we wouldn’t use or don’t already love ourselves.

Wine tasting party idea

I know everyone (and especially every blogger you follow) is starting conversations or posts with the following cliché, but I just can’t help that the thought is top-of-mind: how the heck is it already December 4?! There are only 21 days until Christmas!

Since time is absolutely sprinting by right now, I figure I need to take full advantage of the weekend ahead by filling it with holiday crafts, recipes, and a few family traditions, too. Keep scrolling for all the details, and let me know in the comments which holiday month traditions you look forward to each year!

Weekend Inspiration: No.119

1. As I mentioned before the Thanksgiving holiday, we’ll be making near-daily Rudolph Sandwiches. This has been a family tradition ever since my mom started making them during her years as a preschool teacher. Full “recipe” this way.

2. Speaking of recipes, here’s another favorite for this time of year. We love this dinner on chilly weekday nights because it comes together in about 30 minutes, and is super comforting when the wind’s howling outside. Sub lactose-free milk and cut down the amount of cheese if you’re sensitive to lots of dairy, like we are.

3. Did you catch my tutorial for DIY Twisted Paper Ornaments earlier in the week? Now that I’m not under a big deadline for that project, I think I’ll take my time this weekend experimenting with other kinds of paper patterns and bauble shapes. It could be a good holiday craft to try with your household if everybody’s feeling antsy.

4. Another tradition I’ll definitely be indulging in this weekend is watching Christmas movies while wrapped up in a big cozy blanket. A few favorites include The Holiday, Family Stone, White Christmas, and Love Actually. What are yours?

5. This weekend, I plan to whip up a glass (or two) of my ‘Everything in the Pantry’ holiday cocktail.

6. Did you end up doing any Black Friday shopping? I bought myself another Blink security camera for our front door, not to see visitors, though. I actually got it to keep an eye out for wildlife! I get tons of Neighborhood app alerts from people in our area who have captured footage of bears and foxes, etc. in their yards thanks to their Blink cameras, and I wanted in on the action. Keep an eye on Instagram, because I’ll share anything I might catch overnight on Stories over there! What’s the weirdest thing your Blink camera or Ring doorbell has ever recorded?

Wine tasting party idea

Christmas Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers

Christmas Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers

Weekend Inspiration: No.119

Weekend Inspiration: No.119

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