Shopping for Christmas When You Are (or Love) a Practical Person
Are you a practical person? A hopelessly practical person? Have I got a Christmas Gift Guide for you!
I remember being so excited as a girl for new pajamas or socks at Christmastime. As I got older, excited to receive baking pans or other sensible items.
If gift-giving were my main love language, it would be practical gift giving. My heart warms to give or receive a practical gift, much more so than flowers, jewelry, or other “gifty” gifts.
I am not quite to the level of Scroogenomics, but my heart warms to a practical gift, whether it’s a useful item like a power washer (truly–more on that below), or a membership to a museum or other local venue, that can be enjoyed all year long.
Some of the bonuses of giving or receiving practical gifts:
*gifts are more likely to be used or consumed relative to their value. (see Scroogenomics above.)
(small digression: The Planet Money podcast has a classic episode that explained the economics of good gift-giving–well worth a listen to understand the concept.)
*useful gifts are easier to find, and often less expensive, than the “flavor of the year” tchotchke or toy.
*the gift-giver is often remembered long after the actual season. I still have a pair of kitchen shears (pretty much these ones–hey another practical gift!) that a friend of my mother’s gave me at a wedding shower, and I still use them almost daily and think of Mrs. Gorjanc!
So, without further ado, here is a gift guide for practical people, in case you are someone like this, or have someone like this in your life. If you have an uber-practical person in your life, you will probably know it. Consider these gold-standard gifts for this category.
It’s important for me to note that there are affiliate links in this post, which means that I get a small commission if you buy any of the items listed, at no cost to you. But I have purchased or signed up for pretty much everything listed here, with the exception of every single magazine subscription. (We subscribe to Reader’s Digest) I can vouch for the quality of every item.
WEIGHTED BLANKET
My husband went to the grocery store and said, “There were weighted blankets at Kroger.” And I thought, perhaps weighted blankets have jumped the shark? But they are still useful and wonderful gifts!
I need to stand on the record of saying that we had weighted blankets way before weighted blankets were cool or available at Kroger.
As the prices have come down, I have gradually added to our collection, so that we have enough so that almost everyone can sleep with one. And we do! It does make it hard to get up, because they are so cozy, especially this time of year.
My quick advice for weighted blankets?
1. Buy one with a removable cover. The weighted blankets themselves would be difficult to wash (and most have instructions that say spot clean only). The first few I purchased I got without covers, since we had several minky dot duvet covers I had made years ago, and we have just used those. But the ones that come with removable covers are wonderful, since they have ties to attach to the insert.
2. When in doubt, buy a 15 lb. blanket. Weighted blankets are supposed to be approximately 10 percent of your weight, and this range covers most people.
This is the most recent blanket that I purchased. It is $109, but with a $40 coupon, it makes it less than $70.
And here is the one I purchased last year. It is $10 less (and also has a $40 off coupon, making it less than $60), probably because the cover is more minky dot than quilted. Both are lovely.
POWER WASHER
I shared a video on Instagram when one of my daughters and I finally broke out the power washer that we bought this fall. And then several friends said that they love them so much, and I replied, why have you been keeping this knowledge from me? It’s so satisfying to use. I purchased mine at HomeDepot.com.
I honestly did not know the versatility and diverse uses of the power washer until I heard it on the Young House Love podcast.
AN AUTO-SHIPMENT FROM CHEWY.COM
This was a game changer in our family’s life. We used to frequently get very close to running out of dog food, or actually would run out of dog food, necessitating a run to the store. Signing up for Chewy.com has solved it!
Now, we just get an auto-shipment about every six weeks, and we have all we need. It’s WONDERFUL.
We also get DentaLife sticks for our puppies to help keep their teeth clean. I have also recently begun using Chewy.com for their monthly heart worm & flea medication. So worth it.
PAJAMAS WITH POCKETS
Friends, I do not know how I ever lived without pockets in my pajama pants.
Last year, I got a pair of velour or very soft fleecy pajama pants WITH POCKETS for myself and my daughters, and they are legitimately 100 percent terrific. I am not ashamed to confess that I purchased them at Wal-Mart, so I’ve been on the lookout ever since, especially as it is getting closer to Christmas, to make another purchase like this.
Sadly, all the fleecy pajama pants or sets at Wal-Mart are pocketless. I still wait in hope, but in the meantime I have been looking for other options online.
Update: I did find a set at Kohl’s that have pockets, and so I am happy for another year. 🙂
A MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION
Amazon has fantastic deals on magazine subscriptions.
EYEGLASSES
My latest regular purchase is eyeglasses from online sellers. In our family, we’ve had good luck with Eye Buy Direct, Firmoo, and Glasses USA. I have a high prescription, plus reading progressives, so only a few sites work for me–Firmoo and Glasses USA. (I wish EyeBuyDirect was able to fulfill my prescription, because the frames are plentiful and so cute!).
If you haven’t tried Glasses USA yet, this link will take you to a code for $10 off.
Note: I plan to do a much longer post on the how-to of online glasses purchases, and the benefits. I would love your feedback on any sites you use for eyeglasses, and your experiences there.
GLASS STRAWS
I got my first set of glass straws several years back as a promotion, and I find them lovely to drink out of at home.
Over time, since I just throw them in the dishwasher, they will break or chip (not into a million pieces or anything). But they are easy enough to recycle and inexpensive enough to purchase new.
Your Ideas?
What are your go-to practical gifts for Christmas? Let me know and I will update this. I am always looking for more good ideas.
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