Gifts of Gratitude

Presents…in a Time When you Can’t Be Present

by | Nov 16, 2020

November always sparks a bit of excitement for me!  It’s the time of year all my family comes together.  There’s beautiful chaos in the house, blankets thrown everywhere, kids piled up in the playroom sleeping on the floor, food and glasses are left everywhere…I love it!  We have a tradition of after our Thanksgiving feast, we’d shop, check out Christmas lights, play games and just hang out!  I’m going to miss that more than I can even put into words.  So, I’m putting more thought in my gifts this year. I really want to convey: You’re in my thoughts, I miss you, I love you that you are in my life.

Here are a few ideas that I’ve found if you’re like me and won’t be headed out to the malls but want to make sure you find something a little special for the people in your life. 

The KEY to the perfect gift:

At Mark & Graham you can find a cute USB Keychain or a keychain with a leather case for airpods for less than $30. How handy!!

Plus, Brooke Shunatona recommends a Gemelli Keychain (see above picture) from Nordstrom. This unique find allows you to push buttons or open doors without touching them. And it’s a steal for $18.

Keeping with wearable gadgets, Mark & Graham also have some gorgeous charging bracelets.  I love the one in the rose golf finish. Samonpow has a stunning phone case with a sliding card compartment for those who don’t want to travel with a purse or just keep forgetting their wallet.  You can find it on Amazon.

A few games that might be fun is “That’s What She Said” at $9.99 and “Cards Against Anxiety.”  It’s a a Guidebook and Cards to help you Stress Less!

Speaking of less stress and comfort…check out the Zeeq Smart Pillow (pictured below).  It’s a pillow with built in audio.  So, you can listen to music, audio book or podcast without disturbing your significant other and don’t have to worry about losing your earbuds.  It’s $60 bucks and found at Amazon.

Another tech gift with comfort is the Coffee Warmer.  It’s a USB Cup Heater!  It’s less than $20!

Since a lot of us can’t go or afford to weekend at the spa right now.  Here’s a few beauty options:

Cosmo contributor Brooke Shunatona recommends a 5 pack of all natural retinol eye masks, the LED Skin Therapy Mask from Pure Daily Care.  It’s $79.95 and can be found on amazon.com.  A personal microderm pro.  It’s a bit more upfront but should save you money in the future. It’s just under $200 and can be found at the Dermstore.

A couple of my COVID favorites have been the DeeBot by Ecovacs.  It’s a robot that vacuums and mops the floor (my bestie).  She’s worth the $200 bucks.  You can get her at Target and Ecovacs has another robot that cleans the windows!!  Oh what a dream!  You can find it on Amazon.

As a thoughtful present check out Kind Notes.  They have a jar of smiles that produces a positive thought each day, Greetabl.com has a pick-me-up treat with a special personalized box for the someone special in your life,  Notecube is another cool way to let someone in your life know how you feel.  You fill out a questionnaire and they put together a box of compliments specially designed around how you feel about the recipient.

And finally, the gifts that keep on giving!  These are the presents that lift up not only your special someone, but also someone in need.  For $3,500 you can send a college student to learn more about the Bible and how to truly respect other by journeying to Israel with the program Passages.  If you want something extraordinary…take a look at the experience at Charity Buzz.  You could meet your dream celebrity and help a great cause at the same time.  The Glow Media Project uses it’s donations to help teens with mental health issues.  Wwww.godspitcrew.org rebuilds homes and delivers supplies after a natural disaster. Don’t forget to tune into It’s On!’s Fashion Fundraisers for their shopping online segment the first weekend of every month.  A portion of all the proceeds goes to charity.  And finally, Children Mending Hearts helps foster empathy in children around the world, helps educate during Covid-19 and is feeding those who need help during this tough time.  And Kids to Love can always use extra supplies.  Check out their wish list on Amazon.  They help hundreds of thousands of foster kids in the Alabama, Tennessee area.

Truly, it doesn’t matter what you buy!  It’s the thought that really does count.  You may just want to write heart felt letters to those you love and include a gift card.  Maybe send a plant from The Sill, or make some cookies and pop them in the mail.  Whatever you make, buy, write or do…what warms their heart is knowing that they’re on your mind and in your heart.

So, the best gift of all is your love & friendship.  In this month of gratitude I am thankful for all my friends and family, all those fantastic volunteers and frontline workers, our military, police and fire, teachers, garbage collectors, delivery people, and politicians (even the ones I don’t agree with).  It takes us all working together to make this country work.  So, thank you for your service.  Thank you for your time and kindness.  Thank you for making my life a little better each and every day!  Thank you for sharing your gifts with me!

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