Having just moved into a fixer-upper that looked more like a low-budget horror movie set—I am a true believer in the power of home decor. While we’ve had torn up countertops, cabinets, flooring, and a gaping hole in our wall, it’s been nice to make home feel like home with small touches of decor.
This year, I did a quick round-up of some of my favorite things!
Oh Happy Day! Neon Pillar Candles Set of 3
For the Cozy Hibernator Friend
I can’t help but think of candles as “sleepy.” Like when you go to a cabin and snuggle up with a book in the dim candlelight. But the irony is, literally most of the time they will be unlit and sitting on a shelf. Like, when are we going to realize that beige is not the most exciting candle color? I adore these Neon Pillar Candles from Oh Happy Day! A gorgeous punch of color during the day time and you still get your sleepy evening candlelight. Win-win.
Oh Happy Day! Splash Taper Candle
Chaotic Sleepy Sister
Yeah, yeah. I know. Two candles?! I’m not lazy, I just really believe in candles. What’s not to love about these Jackson Pollock-y delightful candles? Because I don’t have much more to say, I’ll spill the beans. My partner, Garrett, spent most of the disaster that was 2020 taking baths (normal for him) but he added candles. Felt like I was walking into a seance. It was a dark time. But these candles surely will fix all your feelings like it obviously fixed Garrett’s feelings! Yay!
Xasmin Interiors Lumbar Pillow
Literally Everyone You Know
I’d say I have too many of these pillows, but it is not possible. Every single one of these pillows has made my life infinitely better. We have them on half our chairs, couches, and beds. Is it that Xasmin is one of the coolest people I know? Possibly. Is it that they are gorgeous patterns and made from quality materials? Sure. It might also be that I really like to say the word “lumbar” and having lots of these gives me more opportunities to say a fancy word like Lumbar. See?
Buddy Throw Pillow
The Caretaker of All Things Cute
Don’t you dare throw them. I saw these and swore on my great-great-great-grand-uncles grave that I would do everything within my power to protect them. There is something about them that remind me of the little Korok’s in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild who I would also die for. These little pillow people need a safe home. I’d highly recommend these for your friend that talks to their plants, will coax a beetle out of their front door, or step well out of their way to notice some small creature.
Velvet Macrame Curtains
Color Loving Renter
Curtains are magic. When drawn, they are gatekeepers of something magical behind them. Like an opera, orchestra, a stunning view, or an unsuspecting half-changed significant other. Curtains are a nice gift because unless your friend/family spends all their time on interior design, they probably have a curtain-less window in their home. Curtains are easy to install and are a simple way to add color to your walls when you are renting.
Heather Rust Throw Blanket
The Book Worm
Bibliophiles usually get books for the holidays. They will probably even ask for books. But like any book worm will tell you, they have a massive backlog of books. Sometimes, what they really need is an excuse to sit down and actually read. This adorable rusty throw blanket is just the thing to get them to snuggle up and finally crack open that copy of Alexander Hamilton’s biography that they bought during the peak of Hamilton but never touched again. I mean, most of us own it, and are we ever going to read it? Is it even a good book? Who knows! Maybe I should buy this for myself.
Anthropologie Face Pot
The Storyteller or Lone Wolf
Who is she? Where is she going? Would she hold my hand? How many hands has she held? What were/are her ambitions? If I followed her, would she lead me to Narnia? She has so many adorable forms and would be a gorgeous decoration in any home. But is that what she wants? Can anyone ever really keep her? No. She is as free as the wind. But she’ll stay at your friend’s house for a while because you gave her to them.
Natural Wood Garland
The It’s-Never-Too-Early-for-All-I-Want-For-Christmas-Is-You Friend
I have kept all my Christmas tree ornaments since I was a kid in a box. I love to break it out every year and dress the tree up. I mean, there are few things I love more than that. But this natural wood garland has tipped the scale again. I got the red version of this and dress our tree up in it every year now and it is stunning! Not to mention, it’s a gorgeous decor piece that can be used for innumerable purposes. Although, it isn’t ideal for jump rope. My kids tried that so maybe just steer clear.
Hand Painted Bells
The Most Difficult Person on Your Shopping List
I mean, we’ve all run into real gift giving head-scratchers. For the low-maintenance person on your list that doesn’t seem to be into anything—like the coworker who exclusively talks to you about the weather while you wait on Zoom for the meeting to start and you’re like, listen, Ellen, we talk about this like every day and it’s Washington so it’s not like the weather is that interesting it’s like constantly raining and observing weather phenomena is not much of a personality for goodness sake what do you do with your free time. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. These bells are great for that person, because then you’ll get a like, “wow thanks! These will be great for alerting me when my iguanas escape their enclosure” or like a “excellent. now I’ll finally be able to know when the ghost of Christmas yet to come is visiting.” type sentences out of Ellen and you’ll finally be able to say, “Hey, Ellen, how is Phineas, your iguana doing on his diet?” on your next Zoom call. You’re welcome.
Orange Juice Carton Vase
The Quirky Sister-in-Law
I think this is the coolest. It might be because we were a “From Concentrate” orange juice drinking family and I’ve literally never seen a carton like this except the Tropicana ads on TV when I was a kid. I’m halfway tempted to give this to my parents and as they unwrap it start crying because, why, why not get the good orange juice for once? Maybe this is the catalyst you use to address years of parent-child trauma that you’ve have been working through with your therapist. Or maybe, this could just be a cute thing for your quirky sister-in-law that finds cool stuff at Goodwill.
Looking for more gift guides?
You’d think that we had a lot of time on our hands or something because we made a lot of gift guides this year. We are likely going to run out of witty things to say by the end of this, but check out all of the gift guides we put together:
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