2022 Holiday Gift Guide: Affordable, Practical and FUN!
Updated: Jul 12, 2023
It's the most wonderful time of the year! Holiday decorations, music and ugly sweater season is upon us. It's also a time for gift-giving and remembering those you hold near and dear. If you're on a budget it can be a challenge to gift everyone in your circle something useful that doesn't break the bank; especially if your circle is a wide one. By the time you gift friends, family and the special co-worker or two, the cost of buying gifts can quickly become a hefty expense.
My recommendations are affordable items I've given or personally own that might work for someone you know (or even yourself 😉).
One of the things I think about when choosing a gift for someone is to consider their likes; favorite color, favorite food, hobbies, etc. The point is to give them something they will actually use or enjoy. When all else fails, you can never go wrong with a gift card. But do select a gift card to a place you know they'll actually find something they love.
SELF CARE
For the person who either loves music or for whom music soothes them; You know this person. They always have their headphones in/on listening to music or it's always playing in their home, room or office. Or maybe you know someone who deals with anxiety and music is the one thing that keeps them sane. During the months of lockdown during the pandemic, I discovered a newfound anxiety I can't recall ever experiencing. Music was one of the few things that offered a pleasant distraction to the point that most days I had to keep super mellow smooth jazz playing in the background during the day and into the night until I fell asleep.
Unfortunately, at night, my anxiety was increased by worry that a) the sound of my music was annoying my neighbors because I had to crank it to drown out the sound of the A/C, b) if I put in my headphones/earbuds, I couldn't hear outside noises made by an potential intruder, and c) wearing earphones and earbuds meant I would awake with one or both buds lost in the bed. Thankfully, I progressed beyond needing music every night to sleep, but for those occasions when I need it to relax, the item mentioned below has been a life saver. Not only does it block out any external lights, but the music that comes out is soft, soothing and close enough to my ears that I can hear, yet not overwhelming to the point that I can't keep an ear out for safety reasons. And it's adjustable so that it stays on my head all night.
Night Mask with Bluetooth Speaker
As part of using music to counter my anxiety, I found another wireless speaker for my shower and it turned out to be a random purchase I didn't know I needed. While walking through Five Below, I saw it was available for $10 and didn't expect much, but it was very much life changing. Being able to control my music from the shower and accept calls while in the restroom was a luxury I didn't know I was missing. Two years later, it's still working and very much a vibe! The sound is also pretty good for ten bucks.
Wireless Shower Speaker
HOME
If you know someone who recently moved who's still getting their domain in order, consider getting them a nice house warming gift that will also function as self-care. It could be something practical like a nice toaster, but if they already have the basics covered, think about something that could bring them joy within or outside of the home.
In my opinion, a charcuterie board serves a practical and fun self-care purpose. It can be used for a romantic date night at home, to host guests with a light snack, OR for a self-care day of relaxation at the park or beach. It comes with all the little utensils needed for slicing meat, cheese and fruit and if you order it in enough time you can have it personalized. I ordered this for a co-worker who loves to cook and was in need of some rest and relaxation, but I ran out of time to have it personalized before the presentation date. For that, I was bummed because it would've added that extra special touch. So, keep timing in mind if you want to give the item an uber-luxurious feel!
Charcuterie Board/Set
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To compliment the charcuterie board for my colleague, a picnic basket was also purchased as part of the gift for R&R. I'd seen baskets priced at over $100 in the past, so embarking on finding one at an affordable price felt like a task. Turns out, Amazon has a nice selection of quality baskets that give a "luxurious" vibe without the luxurious cost. These baskets, too, can be personalized for an additional fee and still be affordable. Therefore, I'm including it on the list as part of house wear that doubles as a self-care and fun item.
Picnic Basket
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Do you have a candle-lover in your life? Are they still striking matches (like me) to light their candles? Have they mentioned not being able to enjoy candles the way they'd like because of the residue candle smoke leaves on their walls and furniture? This became a problem I personally ran into a couple of years ago, which I didn't know existed, until I kept coming home to mysteriously soot-covered items. Initially, I thought maintenance was coming into my apartment while I was at work and possibly smoking, but I never smelled smoke. A simple question to google about what could be causing the issue led me to the culprit. Turns out, others had this soot issue caused from candles with long wicks that left a long stream of smoke in the air once the candle was blown out. So much for my relaxing candle burn as I got ready for work in the morning. Simply keeping track of the wick length was something I never paid any attention to (even though it's advised to cut the wick on virtually every candle you buy. Lately, though, I've been burning candles on Sunday mornings when I'm able to open my balcony doors to allow ample ventilation and sometimes I remember to check the wick. To diminish the amount of smoke that disburses when I blow out the flame, I just make sure to immediately place the top on the candle. That's worked for a while, but I recently found this candle wick set that made cutting the wick a fun experience and snuffing out the flame less stressful. It comes with other items that also make candle-burning and flame extinguishing less damaging. I wish I had purchased it long ago. The candle lover(s) in your life may find such a small gift a great relief that contributes to a vast amount of enjoyment.
Candle Wick Set
*affiliate links for Amazon items*
This next item is very practical and useful to both men and women. However, as a woman, being able to put air in my tire, as needed, is such a relief. There's been too many times the "low tire pressure" warning came on while I was driving and the fear of driving on rims soon after would fill me dread. The panic of finding the closest gas station or auto shop to get some air in the deflating culprit before it's too late can be a lot. The worst is getting to a gas station and the air machine is either not working or requires a handful of quarters that I don't have and my wallet has zero cash. Or the air machine only takes a credit card, but the card reader doesn't work. Having my own tire pressure kit to instantly solve this problem was a no-brainer. When I found out I could buy one of these at an affordable price and keep it in my car at all times, I couldn't check out fast enough. It works like a charm and makes seeing that "low tire pressure" warning a whole lot less stressful than it used to be. The only thing I need to do, now, is find a safe spot to pull over quickly and fill 'er up. It's a great gift for anyone with a car to have in their car kit. They'll thank you every time that tire warning light comes on.
Tire Pressure Kit
*affiliate links for Amazon items*
Is there someone you know who loves plants or wants to start a garden, but has a brown thumb? This next item is a bit on the pricey side, but the smaller models can be affordable if you catch a decent sale. My brown thumb and I have grown salad and herbs in abundance in this contraption. The only caveat is the owner will have to be vigilant about keeping it maintained from time to time with adding plant food and replenishing the water. But for the most part, it takes care of itself and prompts the owner when it's time for food and water. It doesn't consume a lot of electricity as one might expect and looks pretty cool. The amount of organic herbs and salad I've harvested and enjoyed has been plenty and flavorful. My only warning would be to avoid growing mint in it. I made that mistake and ended up with the a mini little shop of horrors. Mint is an invasive species and the overgrowth will not only take energy away from other plants growing in the unit, but the roots will clog the internal workings as well. For the most part, your brown-thumbed recipient will get lots of joy from watching things grow without too much fuss and they'll be able to enjoy their organic bounty.
Aerogarden
BEAUTY
As a woman who has this hairbrush dryer, I can tell you if you give this as a gift, the recipient will tell you she loves it! I consider myself part of this group. If you have shorter hair, it might not be the most suitable because the paddle is fairly large. If you or your gift recipient have enough hair for the brush to flow through, this will be a life changing part of having to wash and dry hair. Not only does it cut down the amount of time it takes to get hair dry, but if you have super coily hair, you know the struggle of trying to hold the dryer with one hand and a brush or comb in the other to distribute heat evenly. You also know the struggle of having those attachments on the end of the dryer repeatedly coming off as they fight to get through your curly strands. Not only did this flow throw my hair easily without any ripping or excessive shedding, but cut the drying process down by 70 percent. A standard blow dryer could take me over an hour and my roots would still be damp and there would be way too much hair on the bathroom floor. With this brush, I was done in 35 minutes and my hair was pretty dry with minimal -almost no- breakage. This is an item I feel every woman, or anyone with hair, should own. Your hair will thank you!
Revlon Hairbrush Dryer
TRAVEL
Who's the travel junkie in your life? Or do you know someone who wants to travel, but hasn't had the opportunity or made the time? For the junkie, this item could be something they've not given any thought to and for the travel dreamer this item could be an item of inspiration to get them going. You can have it personalized or make it fancy so something as bland and boring as a passport feels like the item of value it truly is.
Passport Cover /Wallet
TECH
As a content creator there's so many things involved besides the actual content. As I've taken this journey I've come to discover bits of tech here and there that make the process easier and more efficient. The two things that I've come to rely on is an external hard drive and my own personal camera person called PIVO.
If you have tons of pictures and videos on your phone, you know how much storage they can hoard even if you're using an SD card for additional storage. If you're a content creator, you also know how much storage lengthy videos eat on your hard drive. This can result in your system working at a slower pace or struggling to process simple or complicated tasks. I purchased a new desktop with ample storage and RAM in 2021 and 9 months afterwards my available storage was already at 50%. If you're going to be a content creator or know someone who's thinking about it or starting that journey, do them a favor and get them a gift that's both practical and inspirational. Knowing your material is stored safely on an external drive that allows your computer to function at max capacity in cranking out those videos is a load off. It makes the creation process a lot less stressful on the technical front. There's nothing worse than planning content, creating it and then having your computer seize up so that the finish product either isn't its best or doesn't see the light of day because your computer just can't handle it. I've had this 2TB hard drive for 10 months and it has made a world of difference. My videos get saved to the external hard drive with ample space for storage and my desktop is free to process all the transitions and special effects my creative heart desires when producing videos. This thing is small, but oh so mighty!!
2TB External Hard Drive
*affiliate links for Amazon items*
This next device is also critical to my content creation, even though I've yet to use it to the max of its ability. My goal for 2023 is to do just that, but - for now- I know it does the basics of what it's been advertised to do. It's a portable camera person for when you have no one to take your photos or shoot videos of you. With a simple remote control, you can set this item up anywhere and it will literally track your moments the same way a photographer or camera person would. It's a little pricey, but if you catch a great sale, it can be an affordable investment in being an independent content creator just starting out. If you are a creator who's not at the point of being able to pay someone to film or photograph, this is an invaluable tool. I can't wait to get further acquainted with all the amazing things it can do and expand my expertise.
PIVO
FITNESS
When you say the word fitness, most people wouldn't associate it with fun. However, there are ways to have fun while getting fit. For me, using a rebounder has been a great way to work out in an unconventional way and find joy. Who didn't love jumping on a trampoline as a kid? Well, you can do it as an adult and get in shape. Not only is it a great device for cardio and toning, but it's beneficial to the lymphatic system we depend on to fight infections and heal us. Even NASA utilizes rebounding to rebuild muscle mass and bone loss in astronauts who spend a long time in space. I use it as part of my warm up when working out; to get the heart pumping and blood flowing. And sometimes I use it for a full-blown workout session, jumping up and down or off and on the contraption for a good 20 minutes. It gets the endorphins going one way or another and I love it. If you know someone, like most of the population, who's planning to get a fitness goal together for 2023, consider giving them a rebounder to incorporate into their fitness journey. They look expensive, and some are, but they can be affordable and still effective. Jump into the new year!
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