How Gift Guides Simplify Christmas Shopping

One of the things I always try to finish before Thanksgiving are Christmas list ideas for our entire family.  You know how it is; both sets of grandparents need Christmas suggestions early so they can shop for all their grandkids.  It’s a giant puzzle trying to figure out which gift ideas to give for each of my kids.  It can be stressful, so I always feel relieved when I get those lists done and emailed out.   

Do you prefer shopping online or in store? I love shopping online because it’s fast and easy and ships right to my door.  

But at the same time, I also enjoy the process of surprising someone with a thoughtful gift that I buy at a local store. 

So I believe there’s some balance in shopping for Christmas gifts.  There are times and seasons when all I could do was shop online, but I’m in a season where I have some space in my schedule so I can shop downtown for some gifts this season.  

I have curated a lot of different gift guides in my LTK shop.  All of them are online links that you can easily shop for your family and friends.  I hope this simplifies your Christmas list preparations as there’s some really great items.  I will highlight a few of my favorites below.  

For the hostess, I thought this speaker by Hearth and Hand at Target was so classic and pretty.  Why not make a speaker beautiful?  In my opinion, every hostess needs a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer because it makes baking so much easier and looks beautiful displayed on your counter. For myself, I asked for the Hearth and Hand cookbook stand as I love the warmth of the wood and the brass plate accent. All of the items in this gift guide are linked here.

Gift Guides for Women

I curated a bunch of different gift ideas for a variety of women. For the woman who loves affordable, neutral fashion, check out the gift guide here.

For the decorator, there are beautiful throws, brass accents and Christmas decor in the gift guide here. For the active outdoorswoman, some of my favorites include Ugg boots, tall Sorel winter boots and the warm Rumpl blanket for outdoor sporting events in the cold weather. All of these items are on the gift guide here.

Finally, for the woman who is interested in making her home beautiful and is interested in expanding her DIY tool collection, this gift guide is perfect for her. You can access it here.

Gift Guides for Men

I asked my husband, Mitch, to help curate a gift guide for men (aka items he has and loves). Mitch loves smoking meat on his smoker and grilling in the summer on his Blackstone. The Rctic cooler bags are on his list for boating this summer and the Solo stove is great at home or camping. You can access the Gift Guide for Men here.

Mitch also helped curate a gift guide for coffee drinkers. He worked in the specialty coffee business for 16 years so he has a lot of knowledge about quality coffee items. Our OXO coffee maker is amazing and I highly recommend it. Mitch’s dream espresso machine is very pricey but it’s the best one according to him. You can access the coffee drinker’s gift guide here.

Gift Guides for Kids

Honestly, I think shopping for kids is the most fun. I typically find 3-4 items for our kids to open up under the tree. I used the categories “Something to Wear”, “Something to read”, “Something you need” and “Something you want” for years as guides. However, now that our oldest two boys are teenagers, what they want is pricier. So, I go more based on a dollar amount now.

Many of these items we own and our kids love. I try to be intentional about buying bigger items they will need throughout the year like sports equipment and expensive shoes. They will need those in the future so why not buy them as “large gifts”. I love games and building toys that promote creativity, brain stimulation and relational bonding. My kids are active and I want to gifts that encourage developing the sports and activities they love.

Click on the following gift guides to access each one:

• Teen boy gift guide
• Elementary girl gift guide
• Elementary boy gift guide
• Gift guide for families
• Gift guide for games

Stocking Stuffer Ideas

If you are anything like me, I love opening stockings but they are a lot of work to buy for for 4 kids. I try to find a variety of inexpensive items including things they need like deoderant, toothbrushes, socks, etc. along with fun small gifts like sports trading cards and inexpensive jewelry. To save time, I have learned to only wrap the “gifts” and my husband helps wrap these as well.

Below I have compiled some lists that hopefully will give you inspiration and make shopping easier. I honestly think buying stocking stuffers was easier when my kids were toddlers and I could find everything at the Dollar Store.

Conclusion

Whether you’re a parent or grandparent, I hope these gift guides will inspire you to be thoughtful and intentional about your gift giving (and save you time in the process). There are sooo many gift ideas out there and the amount of options can feel overwhelming. Just remember, that it’s the people who matter the most. Not the dollar amount or the amount of stuff to clutter up your home. Keep it simple. Buy a few things and then sit around the fire, playing a family game or having a ping pong tournament.

Happy shopping and Merry Christmas!