family & friend gift guide

I made a kid-friendly gift guide already, but here are some ideas for the grown ups in your life! These would make great main gifts or stocking stuffers.
Some of these are affiliate links and some are not!

(By the way, I’ve noticed that if you are reading this post via email you won’t see the linked product images, so make sure to click through to the blog post!)

First off, there are actually a couple kitchen gadgets that I love and use daily to weekly. I may or may not have already purchased them as holiday gifts. 🙂

I am in love with my Instant Pot (this is $20 less than I got it!). Pasta is a work in progress, but I’ve got the soup option down. 🙂 Making the boys’ food is very easy, thanks to my Instant Pot (and immersion blender). Daniel got me the largest Instant Pot size a few years ago. I guess he knew our family was going to get kinda big. ha!

A family friend gave us her Verismo espresso machine, which has been my favorite way to make coffee since. Currently I love almond milk honey flat whites, so I have sort of created my own version with oat milk. 😛
(These are the pods I use.)

Along with the coffee maker, I froth my milk with this little frother. It definitely does the job! It makes the milk nice and foamy, mixed up with the honey, and then I pour it into the espresso.

One of my coworkers is super into drinking tea. She has loads of tea. Instead of looking for more tea to give her, I got her these lemon & honey spoons and she absolutely loved them. I was surprised that I had gotten so lucky with a tea accessory!

Pretty things that I get myself as well as others include jewelry from my favorite company, Veatge! We work together sometimes but I also purchase plenty – especially when I get any personalized necklaces for family, or earrings for myself. 🙂 The products are gorgeous and the packaging is pristine. She recently let me know that they’re shipping everything ready to gift by including a gift bag and tissue paper (along with the lovely boxes she places the jewelry inside).

For two years now I’ve raved about Rothy’s shoes, which I still highly recommend, but I recently shared my love for Rothy’s masks. I finally caved and ordered some after pining away. They are so comfortable! The material is thick, it seals nicely, puckers so that you can talk/breathe just fine, and sits on your face in a flattering manner. We’ll be wearing masks for a while, so might as well get some you really like.

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I was recently gifted a beautiful hat from Tenth Street hats. I have yet to take some nice photos, but I wore it the night it came in the mail because I loved it so much. The hats are reasonably priced, so if you have a hat lover in your life, definitely check them out!

A few stocking stuffer ideas include my absolute favorite brand of nail polish strips. I used to get them on Amazon but noticed a few months ago that they are a lot cheaper at Walmart. Yay!
Another pandemic related idea is a No-Touch Door Opener. Basically a hook that goes on your keychain so you can pull door handles open without touching them. I use mine on my work lanyard.
Robo Roku has a lot of awesome stocking stuffers. Their pin collection ranges from cute to hilarious. Lila and I have a couple pandemic-related t-shirts that I love, my laptop is covered with their vinyl stickers, and my most recent obsession is the planner I scored on one of their PopShop giveaways!

I recently bought a friend of mine some local handmade products (candles, bath salts, and more) from TJinspires. They sent me a couple products to try and the scents were so soothing and the prices are so good, they are definitely a great idea, and you get to support local!

If you have a family member or friend with a pop socket, photo stickers are a great idea! I’ve had a few custom made by this company and they’re always a hit.
Not a stocking stuffer – but on the sort of topic of electronics – this bluetooth speaker was a sweet gift idea! I got one for our backyard hangs, too. 🙂 We recently went on an evening walk and played holiday music while looking at lights.

Finally, have you heard of hot chocolate bombs. You put the bomb in a mug, fill it with hot milk, it melts, and the mix and marshmallows are released. So good! A friend of mine that has a bakery makes some beautiful ones. Totally great stocking stuffer idea!

Clothing wise, I’ve been a bit addicted to Abercrombie sales – specifically this sweater (and the ones that are similar). Old Navy and GAP are also my go-tos for myself and gifts. I’m a sale fiend!

For Daniel, we’ve really liked the Howler Brothers brand. They have okay sales, but the quality is definitely worth the price. Also these Carhartt beanies are totally trending.

Books
Honestly, I was preoccupied for a long time and not in the right mental space for reading. Recently that changed, and I’ve been overlapping my reads. The Cruel Prince Trilogy is not new, just new to me. Lovely young adult read. And I just finished Sarah J. Maas’s newest book, Crescent City. More YA. 🙂 I recommend her Court of Thorn and Roses trilogy. Open Book by Jessica Simpson was surprisingly good, as was JVN’s memoire, Over the Top, and Tan France’s Naturally Tan.

Do you have any recommendations? I still have a couple people on my list to buy for!