Gift Pepper

Countdown to Christmas

2020-12-02T22:10:00.001-06:00

The season is upon us, and a advent calendar is one of the best ways to build toward the excitement of Christmas! Advent calendars are a versatile treat whether for a college kid away at school studying for exams or grandparents quarantining from family and friends.

Many stores have traditional chocolate filled calendars for the kids. My niece is a teenager, and I wanted to do something a little extra to give her a lift through exams and the end of the semester.

Etsy has a variety of these cute burlap gift sacks marked for the days of the month ($42--may seem pricey but you can re-use them each year). Christmas calendar prints on the bags include Vintage Santas & Snowmen, Jane Austen characters, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, It's A Wonderful Life, Christmas Vacation movie themes and more. I selected the vintage Santas because I'm partial to Kris Kringle!

Fill your bags with knick knacks from the dollar store, the travel size bins at the pharmacy. If you are aiming for a bit fancier gifts both Ulta & Sephora have a great selection of mini gifts near the checkout counters. Other stuffers include chocolate coins, $10 bills, gag gifts, mini rubiks cubes and other puzzles, etc.

Pick up a large ball of yarn/string from Joanns (I picked green string $2.77 for the Christmas theme), and ordered these fun red clothespins from Amazon ($7.99).

Place your stuffed bags in calendar order, and then clip to the string. Then, hang along a stairwell or mantle for fun! If it's too heavy to hang, place in a tray positioning the bags in order in rows.

I was surprised how much my niece loved this calendar! Unexpected treasures and things that made her laugh gave her a little something to look forward to each day. This year, during Covid, this is an important treat!

Even if you're late setting up a calendar, go for it--no one minds catching up a few days in one day. Or, just do the 12 days of Christmas starting from the 13th to end on the 24th or 14th to end of the 25th!

Now, if you don't have the time to build a custom advent calendar, try the calendars at Aldi's ($4.00 and up) which include chocolate, cheese, wine and more. Who wouldn't enjoy snacking their way through December? I've personally sampled the Aldi calendars, and they are excellent quality and terrific bargain!

My friend was an early bird at Aldi and loaded up on calendars. She gifted a set of the wine and cheese for her husband and her neighbors. Each night they check in across the porches to taste test & review the goodies. Now that's a fun way to pivot from Christmas parties to low key safe fun during covid!

Now if you're not into food, but prefer lotions & potions a top flight calendar is the Anthropologie George & Viv 24 Days of Beauty advent calendar ($72). Full of elite brands, their calendar includes lip balm, face masks, hand lotion, etc. These calendars are so popular they are sold out online, but there are a few in store. Be sure to ask your local store as they keep them on a discreet shelf so they don't sell out too quickly!

Merry Merry!

Pour Yourself A Cup of Ambiton & Inspiration!

2020-11-21T15:14:00.006-06:00

In this polarizing time is there any greater unifier than Dolly Parton? She exudes warmth, love, and tolerance.

Dolly stands the test of time in every facet of her life. Her music, lyrics, movies, theme park, books, podcasts. Her compelling life is full of highs and lows we can all relate to. Her latest book "Dolly Parton, Songteller: The Lyrics of My Life" just dropped, and I am asking Santa for a copy (available at Barnes & Noble $50.00 hardcover)!

It's hard to name a favorite song by Dolly, but admit it, haven't we all tried to belt out Whitney Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You?" Probably the most authentic love song ever written, it's truly an anthem. Of course, when I sing along in my off key warble it's cringeworthy! I cracked up when I saw this coffee mug...a must have for any Dolly fan. (Amazon $14.99)

Spice up your Dolly Fandom with these darling embroidered cashmere sweaters from Lingua Franca NYC ($380).

In case you haven't heard, embroidery is "hot" this year.

Want the embroidery without the couture prices?

Check out @apparelbyanne (on instagram) in Dallas. She can tailor a shirt/sweatshirt/sweater to a name or saying to suit you for a budget-worthy price. These are perfect gifts for that college coed with a great inside joke, or your tween who has a favorite song lyric, or the hipster mom who is cutting edge!

Place your book and sweater in this cute canvas bag as your gift wrap. From Draper James, a cute tote we could all use. (Draper James $30)

Top off your Dolly tribute gift with an enameled pin (Etsy $6.92). Among my favorite Dolly lyrics is "Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen, Pour myself a cup of ambition"

Now, if that's not an anthem for 2020 I don't what is!

Be Your Dog's Best Friend

2020-11-13T14:56:00.010-06:00

Anyone who knows me knows I am crazy for my dog Toby. So, when I stumbled across this gift I realized I found the ultimate pet owner gift!

Sweater Hound creates darling knit sweaters ($128), ball caps ($48), hoodies ($128), blankets ($148), cookie cutters ($28) of your pooch. It's easy--you upload a photo of your pet and select if you want the dog in sweater, bow tie, Christmas attire, Superman cape (because your dog is THE Superdog for sure!) etc. It may seem a bit pricey, but it is higher quality than your average product.

Just a heads up that today is the deadline to order and receive in time for Christmas, So, hop on their site and get to it--it will only take you 10 minutes. I ordered mine last night!

Not a dog lover? Have a cat that rules your world? Sweater hound will do custom order for pet owners of cats, birds, turtles, bunnies, etc.

Sweater Hound is truly a show stopper of a present to open on Christmas morning. However, if you want to really spice it up and round out the outfit then add these custom pet socks from Furbaby Socks ($25 pair). Upload a photo of your pet dog, cat, horse, bird, rock and you are all set.

What better way to snuggle by the fire than wearing sweater & socks featuring your best friend!

*Apologies we are experiencing difficulty with the formatting of the new Blogger and are working on fixing the layout. In an effort to get this post out today, we are sending it now despite this awkward layout.