FunnyLove

christmas

Holiday Gift Guide – Home and Kitchen

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Emphasis on KITCHEN, guys. 

One of my favorite types of gifts to give is house-type stuff – slightly fancier items that people may not buy themselves, but that are so enjoyable to have around. These aren’t in any particular order or theme, but they are things that we use in the kitchen and around the house day-in and day-out, with a few items that we (me) are hoping for in the coming months! Basically this is me planning my birthday. Almost all of it comes from Amazon, so it can still be here WAY in time for Christmas with no need to battle the crowds on your part. …

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Holiday Gift Guide – Baby and Toddler Edition

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I included the above picture not necessarily to talk about the toy (its a teeny cheap-o train set from TJ Maxx), but to demonstrate that mainly kids don’t need much AND will enjoy playing with toys in an….unconventional way…before they get into what they are actually supposed to do. For example, Beck prefers to have an adult assemble the train track in this set, then lifts it up and yells NOOOOOOO while letting it crash all over the floor. Then she proclaims “do ‘gain!” and the adult has to start over. The adult never gets to play with the actual trains. 

But! Tis the season, and we definitely love this season around here because Beck’s birthday AND Christmas are within 3 weeks of her. We still have a few methods for spreading out the love that I imagine we will keep for years to come (asking grandparents to do one present per event, or one thing one time and contribute to college the next, holding toys from her party to distribute throughout the year, etc) to keep this time of year from getting more out of control than it already is, but it definitely still is fun to shop for little people. 

Here are my ideas for this year! Some of it we have, some of it we want, some of it we have loved and passed on. I tried to stay away from necessities, gear, etc, and move more toward gifty things. None of this is sponsored, just things we actually love or have heard great things about from friends with kids. 

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Puff Pastry Cheese Straws

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Quick + easy + flavor.  Christmas week musts!  

It always feels like a funny so-close-yet-so-far thing, the last week before Christmas.  On the one hand, work is hopefully winding down and things are done, but on the other hand I have 10 million more gifts to get and am LISTING MY HOUSE FOR SALE TOMORROW.  

But time still marches on and we still have events that require goodies and hostess gifts and snacks, right?  You get it.  

Don’t list your house for sale 5 days before Christmas.  Trust me.  

No matter how busy or unbusy you are this week, you definitely for sure need these cheese straws in your life.  They’re super easy because we use frozen puff pastry as the base, but sharp cheese and a few spices make them super tasty with very little effort.  My grandmother always made traditional cheese straws, the kind that are like a shortbread and require piping.  I loved them so much and miss her so much, but God BLESS I have nowhere near the kind of time or patience.  This is the best imitation I can muster.  

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Baby + Toddler Gift List

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Tis the season!  

Well, you’ve probably done all of the shopping in the world that you need to do, and THAT’S GREAT FOR YOU.  I, on the other hand, have barely started.  I’ve gotten gifts for most of my friends and our adopt-a-kid gifts are due Thursday, THEN I’ll move on to our families.  It’s just how the year has gone.  

But!  My favorite people to buy for are babies, hands down.  I’m fully obsessed with baby gear and like having a few different-but-practical ideas for kids + parents.  Christmas is a perfect time for a few overpriced gems, so spoil away!  PS some of these links are Amazon Affiliate links, which means I get like $1 of whatever you buy if you use the link down there, so that’s nice.  …

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