Holiday Gift Guide 2019

Decorate with fresh flowers! I love the selection from Teleflora.  They come fresh, on the day I pick for delivery.  After Christmas I can keep the vase for other things.  I used them as a centerpiece on my kitchen table and got a ton of compliments.  They really brighten up the room. 

There is so much when it comes to Christmas beyond gifts.  I love the family time.  All the fun baking and cooking.  The kids having a few weeks off of school to spend with family and friends.  Going on adventures to museums, trying new restaurants and the extra down time.  We volunteer at our church’s Christmas Shoppe to help others get presents for their families.  It is a time to purge and do some deep cleaning in the house and garage.  So there is a lot to get done.  But I’d be lying if it wasn’t about presents too.  I love shopping for my family and I love blogging and getting gifts for all of them plus I donate some of the toys and games to the Christmas Shoppe.  A lot of the links below are Amazon links, so when you click on them and shop Amazon I can make some money from a percentage of the sales.  But I also have store links.  Either way,  I hope you enjoy my HGG.  I’ll be adding to it, as I catch up and as more arrives on my porch.  I hope you and your family has a fabulous holiday and get all that your hearts desire.

 

If you are all at home, having family time the last thing you want to do is cook.  At least that is how I feel.  Especially if the kids and I are watching Christmas movies.  I am loving that I can order from my favorite restaurants (Thai and Chinese are the top two on my list) and have it delivered to my door in a jiffy with DoorDash.  The kids don’t understand how awesome this is!  When I was a kid the only food available for delivery was pizza.  Now I can order from almost anywhere and have it hot and fresh at my door. I can even have the food customized, ask for things like chopsticks and extra soy sauce and I can pay online, including the tip.  When the food arrives I just have to sign and accept it from my DoorDash delivery person.

For Women & Men:

 

Some of this might be gender-specific others- it is up to you.  I don’t want to decide that for someone else so I’m putting everything for adults in this section. 

Cricut Explore Air 2 Printer.  This is new to me and there is sooo much it can do.  A lot that is beyond me at this moment.  So much to learn.  I’m in two Cricut Facebook groups so I can see what others have posted and have some help learning (I’m asking a lot of questions too).  The Cricut can make stencils, iron-ons, window clings and so much more.  I have a few boxes of supplies and will post as I go, learning how to make some fun and personalized gifts for Christmas.  I love how there is so much vinyl available, including Disney prints.  I got some Hello Kitty Iron-ons to create something for my BFF.  I just purchased some blank coasters, oven mitts and a few other items.  I can see this as a shopping addiction!

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If you are going to a Christmas Party, White Elephant Party or want some cool Christmas sweaters or PJs than you have to check out Ugly Christmas Sweater.   I received three items from them.

• Snowflake & Reindeer Adult Onsie Pajamas.
• Going To Party Cuz It’s His Birthday Christmas Sweater.
• Dunder Mifflin Paper Company Sweater.
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They also have other clothing for Christmas and other holidays.  The ugly Christmas sweaters are my favorite.  I have a Star Wars one from last year too.

Cute every-day wearing socks!  I love this set from HappyPop!  I picked it, thinking I’ll have to decide later which kid to give it to.  They’ll both love them. I love the selection and how fun and crazy these socks are.  They come in adult sizes too. 

 

If you have someone in your family that is into the environment and goes out a lot than you’ll love this set.  First is a multi-purpose insulated water bottle called the Icy Bev Kooler.  Not only does it store and insulate water but you can also add a soda can or bottle into it and it’ll keep that drink insulated and cold too.  The black fanny pack (comes in about 20 colors) is great for travel, shopping, garage sales, concerts, etc.  Plus fanny packs are making a comeback. I like the extra mini-pockets in the front as well as the hidden pocket in the  back.  Last is the Silicone Travel Straw.  In California there has been a restriction and ban on plastic drinking straws since they are used once and thrown away.  These are a perfect way to have your own straw and a way to store it and keep it clean.  I’m putting them in my kids’ stockings.

 

I haven’t tried essential oils and don’t own a defuser.  There is too much worry about some that aren’t healthy for cats to breath in too.  But I saw these and thought they’d be great to try.  They are Aromatherapy Rollers from Verde Goddess.  Easy to apply on temple, inside of the wrist, back of neck, etc.  The kit included a Queen Tea too.  I’m liking the scents of them and have tried a few.  The Pain one is for muscle and body soreness and I applied it to my lower back and it helped with the tightness and inflammation.  I’d say these are a great gift idea but they are also a gift idea for yourself.  It is easier to buy for others than to remember some self-love and care.  I’ll be keeping these for myself.

 

 

 

If you have a gadget person that likes to tinker and fix things than this is a perfect gift to add to their keychain.  The GeeKey is a multi-tool key (but not really a key to open a door).  It can do 16 different things, including act as a screwdriver, bottle opener, wrench, wire stripper and more.  It is a great tool to have in a scrap or when you don’t have a whole toolbox around.  I’m debating giving it to my son in his stocking or giving it to my dad or stepdad since they are both ‘fix it’ type of people.

My son loves fishing.  Would fish all day, every day, if he could.  I gave him this GoFish for a Christmas present and he said it was his favorite present of everything he received!  It works with your cell phone for live feedback on the fish!  Right now you can save $50 with a coupon at checkout on Amazon.  I can’t wait for a sunny day so I can go with him to the pier!

Toys and Games, including STEM, hands-on, board games, slime and more.

 

This is not a gumball machine.  It IS but it isn’t only that.  Kids actually get to build a gumball machine.  There is 12 different tricks and experiments that can be done with it.  Make the gumballs go in a circle around the track, be a part of a domino track, pinball launcher, pendulum and more.  It is set for ages 6+, comes with all the parts and some gumballs.  Additional 5/8″ gumballs can be purchased.   Next to it is a perfect stocking stuffer.  Ooze Labs Make your own glow-in-the-dark slime.  Ages 7+ and is easy to make.

If your kids have a Nintendo Switch (or you are getting them one) than they might really like this N-Switch Controller.  Great for games where you have needing more hand control or two hands to play.  It is wireless and works for up to 20 hours before charging.  Great for any RPG or FPS game.

If you have Google Assistant than you’ll love this new game by Ravensburger called kNOW!  It has over 1,500 questions and there are a few different games that can be played.  Ask, Guess and Know!  For ages 10+ (but need to be age 16+ to have a Google Account) and 3-6 players (or teams).  I love Ravensburger for their high quality toys and games for preschool to adult.

I also received the game King Me!  A new and improved checkers game for 2 players (ages 8+).  This is a game for those with patience.  Average game time is 45 minutes.  Think like a mix between checkers and chess.  

Playmobil has all sorts of fun toys for make believe play! This set, Spirit, is a whole set based on the movie.  Kids can play with the horses in the stables and barn.  Pretend to feed and ride them.    All the sets have lots of props in them including applies, carrots, water buckets, saddles, hay and more.  Ages 4+.

 

Jaws! This is an old movie buttnew game.  I love Ravensburger games! They have toys and games from toddlers to teens.  They make high quality products that last a long time.  This game is set on an island where sharks prowl the waters, trying to attack swimmers.  Your job is to find the shark’s location and save the tourists. There is a second game where you are on a sinking boat trying to find out where the great white is and when it will strike. Ages 12+.  2-4 players.  60 minute game time.

 

If you have kids that like stop motion than you have to check out #StikBot!  They are different figures that can be used to create stop motion videos.  The kid even comes with a Stikbot, Stikbot Jr, a Stikpet, two prop boxes and a Tripod.  You’ll need a smart phone to record.  The extension pack, Thud, includes a figure that can be made into all sorts of different combinations.  

These Pop Pops are all the craze with kids right now!  They have a special ‘slime smaller hammer’ to pop to Snotz or Pets to find out what is inside each one.  There is 60 in the Snotz collection and 64 in the pets collection.  Not all bubbles will have something in them.  Some are slime.  Some are slime and something else.  Use the hammer to see what you can burst out of the bubbles.

 

This is a fun slime lab by Ooze Labs!  Alien Slime Lab is not only fun with slime but it has 10 experiments in it including making color-changing clime and glowing slime.  Great STEM fun for ages 6+. Everything is non-toxic and comes with everything you need for all ten experiments.

These two board games are perfect for some laughter and fun for kids.  The King of the Ring is a ‘last sumo wrestler standing’ with smash and crash. 2-4 players at one time for ages 4+. Fish For Fish is a fun fishing game for 2-4 players.  Kids try to ‘spear’ fish to win.  Each kid comes with four plastic fishing spears and cards. Game time for both games is about 15 minutes per game.

 

If your teens like outdoor fun they’ll love this Hyper Strike by Zing!  It shoots zonic whistle arrows up to 250 feet.  It comes with the bow and four arrows.  Set up cans for some practice and have fun.  Ages 14+. Also by Zing.This awesome axe throwing called Zax. Sticks to most walls and has three suction cups.  Have fun with your own targets.  Ages 5+

 

These are some crazy new games with lots of challenges in each game!  Thinking Putty Puzzle is great for hands on game for kids that like play dough, slime, putty etc.  This is actually something fun to do with it and you can play it alone.  There is 60 challenges in it with six different colors of putty.  Domino Maze is like dominos as a kid but in a whole new way.  You don’t have to get books and other things to elevate the bricks.  The game comes with a grid that has stairs and a top level.  You can choose beginner to expert levels.  Last one I am totally loving.  Invasion of the Cow Snatchers.  Mooooove the Magnets Logic Game.  Players use magnets to move the ufo on the grid to beam up cows while trying to avoid obstacles.  Five challenge levels so play.  All three games are single player and ages 6 or 8 and up.

If you want your kids to get outdoors more and use up some energy than you have to check out all of the Air Warrior blaster options!  You can play in the backyard or at a local park.  Some of the blasters have a distance of 100 feet!  They have the ultimate dart play for the family.  Dart refills are available for purchase too.

Get into some fun make make believe with Playmobil The Movie set.  It comes with a food truck, fake food and two people.  The food includes a sandwich board, pots and pans, burgers, etc.  Kids can enjoy this set of Del’s food truck by themselves or with friends so hours of fun time.

Have some interactive fun with these new toys from SpinMaster.  Hatchimals Wow, Owleez and Hatchimals CollEGGtibles.   Kids won’t be able to stop playing with them.  We opened the Hatchimals Wow and the kids had so much fun petting it, cradling it, talking to it and seeing what it would do next.  The adults were all curious too.

These games are for some thinking-fun!  All from PlayMonster.  Want some non-stop laughs with a crazy-fun game?  Try Brain Fart.  The ‘board game’ is a brain with a letter and count down and you have some dice.  You’ll need to come up with an answer before the time is up and the brain farts at you.  Think it is easy?  There is a reason it is 14+.  Sometimes being on a timer for crazy categories makes you draw a blank and have a brain fart.  Relative Insanity is a game 14+ with cards in order to find the craziest family member.  You have a setup card and than the other players choose a card and the reader picks the funniest punch line.  This game is easy but fun.  Great for a group of people and good for teams. Expansion packs are available too. The 4-Bar Link Maker Kit is a fun tinkering game where you assemble a kit made of wood to build a marble machine.  It is a good family project or something a kid (recommended 9+) to do on their own.  It is also a STEM toy.

 

Check out this lovable Knighted Bear, book and a loving story to help you kids sleep in their own beds at night.  Sir William a 12-inch plush bear dressed as a medieval knight.  Sir William becomes each child’s New Forever Friend who guards and protects them while they sleep. 

Stocking Stuffers:

I try to do a mix of chocolates and other sweets for the kids’ stockings.  More quality, less quantity.  I love the special Christmas shaped Fruit Snacks by Welch’s.  They are made with reay fruit and for a limited time come in five different Christmas shapes.  The kids love them for lunches and snacks.  You can get them in a 5-pack box or a larger 28-pack box.

 

The Kiss My Bass is perfect for the fisher in your family.  Mine is my son.  I’m putting this in his stocking because it has a fish on it.  But it is also a fun game sorta like “BopIt’ where you have to touch 7 electronic points, in the right order, to win.  If not- the fish will fart.  As you progress the game will get faster and add more points to touch.  Stinky Pig Game is another gross and funny game.  It is like a ‘Hot Potato’ game where you have to pass the pig and not get caught holding it when it farts.  You roll a dice to see which way to pass him.  The winner is the player with the fewest tokens.  The original Wooly Willy now has a few others, including Hair-Do Harriet.  They are great fun and something we always had in the car for long road trips.  All you need is the magnet wand and some creativity!

 

These are great travel games.  Perfect for car trips, airplane, etc.  They are magnetic so harder to lose pieces.  Both are two-player games.  Hangman is like the old fashioned game with letters, removable body parts and a scoreboard.  Tic-Tac-Toe is red and blue pieces that are easy to grab and includes a scoreboard and die.

 

These are perfect for pre-teens.  Random assortment of toys.  Bob’s Burgers keychains including one mystery figure.  Smooshy Mushy Besties tin cans.  Hair Dooz spin to reveal with frooty scent .  Ryan’s World pocket watch.  Light Ups.  Marvel Spider-Man 3D Puzzle Eraser.   I love the variety in this box.  Something for everyone.  Kids will have fun opening them up to see the hidden treasures inside.  All by Bullsitoy.  Toys are available at Target.

 

I can think of quiet a few people that would love these talking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Babble Heads.  They say 50 phrases and move their head, mouth and eyes.  They even give High Fives! 

I’m totally thinking this is a perfect tween and teen gift.  Polaroid keeps coming out with newer and more awesome cameras and printers. The Polaroid Mint is a pocket-sized printer that is also wireless and compatible with IOS and Android phones and tablets. The photo paper has a sticky-sided back so you can print photos from your phone and then put them on your wall, folder, mug, etc.  The printer comes in 5 colors. The printer comes with a starter kit of 30 sheets of paper.  Additional paper is available for purchase.

 

This backpack and the stuffed animals from Axol & Friends is a win-win.  Not only are you getting a nice leather backpack and some really cute plush animals that are on the endangered species list.  There is some plants too.  Axol & Friends’ goal is to bring awareness to not only endangered animals, like the Axol the Axolotl, but to let people know more about youth empowerment programs and ethical production and raise money for these groups.  I love how the plush toys are made with eco-friendly materials too.

 

Household Items:

I love ways of  being more efficient.  I never have enough time in the day and discovering ways to save me some time is always a win-win in my book.  Especially when it is environmentally friendly.  I found these bags from Lotus and am loving them! The bads come in a set of four and spread out across a grocery cart (trolley) so that as you shop you can place your items into heac bag.  Once at the register the cashier can scan the items in each bag and put them back in the bag for easy transportation to the car and into the house.  They are washable, reusable and insulated.  They even have pockets for eggs.   For produce there is mesh bags that close at the top.  That way the produce can breath and the cashier can scan the items.    They even come in different colors. 

 

For the Family:

 

If you have younger kids that like to help in the kitchen they check out this Chefclub Kids kit by Kiddoz!  The kit includes measuring cups and spoons, 20 recipes and an app to download to get the recipes.  The kids can have hands-on learning.  Reading the recipe, measuring is math, mixing and creating something like batter to cake is science.  The app has videos on it and the recipes are creative and healthy.  You can check out their Kickstarter to learn more and see when it will be available on the market.

 

 

The Logo Game is a fun family game but it is great for adults too.  Bring it to the next family dinner or when you have friends over.  I played it two two of my friends and it is harder than it looks.  Some things are ‘on the tip of our tongue’ but we couldn’t remember the answer.  Once given it was like a ‘oh, yeah, I remember that.’  It is a 2019 game so even has trivia on companies like SnapChat, Yahoo!, Yelp, plus restaurants, clothing stores, food items, etc.  Our game took about 40-60 minutes but it might be quicker a second time, since we were learning how to play it too.  We didn’t make a dent in the question cards either.  There is 400 of them in each game.

Exercise families will love this Fun H2O Belt.  It is a fanny pack and water bottle holder combined.  If you are on a hike with the kids, out for a long-distance run, a concert, the zoo, etc.  I like that the pockets are a large size, that it holds two water bottles.  That it is hands-free.  Plus there is an insert to put earphones through if you have your cell phone inside the fanny pack.  It is adjustable for different waist sizes too. 

 

If you have limited space in your garage than you’ll love these Christmas and Hanukkah ornaments from Magic Ornaments.  They are perfect space savers that flatten to fit so much better.  I chose the Christmas themed ones and received 40 ornaments and ribbon.  I love how fancy they are and how easy they are to make into pretty balls.

 

 

If you are looking for a fun and fancy dessert or treat for the family (or to hide from the kids and savor) you have to check out these cookie-biscotti- mandel bread mix from Subarz Sweets. They are great to eat on their own or dipped in hot chocolate.  Come in a selection of flavors and are gluten-free, nut-free and dairy-free.  You can order online and have them shipped nationwide. 

 

 

 

Pets:

 

We are a bit crazy in the pet department!  Currently we have four cats.  All were rescued from a shelter.  Three as kittens.  One at about 9-months old.  Plus my sister has a dog (GSP) that has WAY too much energy and we sometimes dog-sit him.  The cats are getting older.  Not as interested in toys as much as they used to be.  But they do play with them occasionally.  They love catnip, cuddling and one is a great mouser (likes to bring us presents). 

 

Our newest, Sangria, is one we know nothing about.  She is softer than the other cats but really skittish so we don’t get to pet her often.  She is the one that we got at 9 months as a companion cat for Turtle (he was harassing the other two cats too much).  I’ve heard of human DNA testing but never for animals.  I got this really cool kit called a CatKit by Basepaws.  We decided Sangria was the best cat to do the test on.  The kit results will tell us her breed, about her health and habits.  It was easy to use (just a mouth swab and mail back in) and the results are available online.  I can’t wait for the results to come in.