Christmas gifts

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Holiday Check In + Phoning It In for Dinners This Week

We had a very productive weekend, in terms of holiday prep. It makes me feel like my to-do list is complete… but… I am sure there are still items yet to do. Let’s do a little check in:

Complete:

  • I have a beautiful wreath on my front door, courtesy of my mother. It smells so Christmassy and festive. 
  • My holiday cards are in the mail, except for three that require address updates. 
  • I have still only received six cards, so I haven’t yet begun taping them to the wall as is my typical manner of displaying them. 
  • Nearly all the presents are done – including all of Carla’s beautiful drinkware – and I have boxes for my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and my aunt-in-law all packed with wrapped gifts and ready to go to the post office. 
  • As of yesterday, the Christmas tree is UP. It looks so lovely and warm, with all the golden lights. 
  • Carla and I have finished The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and I think she liked it more this time, and the end – where Imogene cries and cries, so gobsmacked is she by the miracle of Christmas – still makes choke up. We have just started The Naughty List by Michael Fry, which is so far fun to read. 
  • My Winter Break To-Do list is still 75% baking projects. We have added these chai sugar cookies to the list, courtesy of my husband.
  • I attended and survived my husband’s office party. 
  • Carla and I went through all her holiday-themed picture books and made two piles: books to keep for sentimental reasons and books we could give to our next-door neighbor, for her granddaughter. 

Still to do:

  • In terms of presents: I am waiting on a gift for my mother-in-law, one for my niece, and one for my father-in-law. The one for my mother-in-law got stuck at the post office some time last week, and the manufacturer agreed that it is probably lost and has sent us a new one. The gift for my niece arrived in a box that had clearly been opened. After MUCH back-and-forth with the company, we determined that all the parts are in the box and they are sending me a replacement box, which is kind of ridiculous… and they also can’t give me a timeframe to expect the box, so I am vacillating between just sending the broken box to my niece or sending a picture of it in the box of other gifts for her and my sister-in-law or just continuing to vacillate until there is no time to ship anything to her at all. My husband discovered yesterday that a gift we chose for his dad is not appropriate, so we ordered a replacement; I’m pretty sure it arrived already, but the box has my husband’s name on it so I can’t open it.
  • My husband and I are still trying to figure out if Carla needs one more present or not. He thinks the alarm clock I want to get her is “not a present,” but I am all for practicality. The other idea I had was an adjustable bar stool for her craft area. So far we haven’t made ANY decisions, and time is ticking away. 
  • I usually buy pine boughs to put on the mantel. I love the way they look and smell… but maybe I am okay without them this year?

  • Only three of my husband’s gifts are wrapped (and he wrapped one of them; we are giving each other new Apple watches this year, so he wrapped them both at the same time), and I haven’t wrapped any of Carla’s gifts or done any of the Santa wrapping. In part because Santa chooses TERRIBLE wrapping that is very difficult to fit around boxes and which lasts forever because he uses it for only a handful of gifts. So I need to do some more wrapping.
  • I need to figure out what to get for Carla’s activity instructors. Ugh. There are so many of them this year. And what to get for our housekeeper and my husband’s assistant???
  • I need to clean the menorah. Although maybe I cleaned it after Hanukkah last year, and I won’t need to clean it? I can’t remember. It would be so easy to check and yet I continue playing Schrödinger’s menorah instead.
  • I am trying to figure out if I should send a gift to my friend. We don’t normally exchange gifts, but sometimes we send things to one another out of the blue. I saw a T-shirt the other day that reminded me of her but I didn’t buy it. I really want to buy it, and send it to her… but also I don’t want to overstep or seem like I am forcing her to acknowledge me in some way. (She sent me an ornament the other year, and we put it on the tree yesterday and my heart is just so swollen and painful.) Ugh ugh ugh. 
  • I want to listen to more Christmas music. There is so much of the same, when I play it on Alexa or on the TV. Perhaps I need to try making a Spotify list? I don’t really know how to use Spotify? 
  • There is still nothing really fun or special or holiday-specific on our list (aside from cookie making). What else can we do during the long days of Carla’s winter break? 
  • I need to cajole Carla into making the final two mugs for the final two mug-recipients (our across-the-street neighbors, who have been kindly letting her play with their puppy for months).
  • Carla and I need to take presents and books next door to our neighbor.
  • I need to take the packed boxes to the post office and mail them. 

I suppose, since it is Monday, that I should be thinking about dinners. And yet I am not? Even though we all need to eat, daily. We have plenty of leftover soup in the fridge, along with a TON of leftover ragu (it was really good), so that should tide us over for a few days. Plus I never made the slow cooker garlic chicken from a couple of weeks ago, so that’s still an option. Or I could make burritos. I think we’re covered. It’s a call week, so I like to be less structured as it is. 

So far, I can report that I am feeling much more full of the Holiday Spirit than I did last year. It’s a relief, honestly. I like enjoying the holidays. And even though I wish we had snow, I am really pleased to be able to walk around outside. (I really need to find some snow boots that are good for walking.) I feel, overall, happy and on top of things. My only real “problem” (not a problem) is that I keep thinking of little things I want to get my husband and/or Carla, and then thinking, “but I already got them plenty of things…” and then thinking, “or did I???” But that’s not unpleasant, and hasn’t (yet) reached the level of pre-Christmas panic. I think we’re in pretty good shape!

What do you still have yet to do on your holiday list? What am I missing? Surely I’m missing something important.

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Sick Kid, Craft Project, and Another Garbage Disposal Incident

Carla got sick this past Saturday afternoon, right before her beloved grandmother was set to arrive. Fever around 103, achy body (why doesn’t the word “achy” have an e in it????), headache, sore throat, the whole thing. She woke up in a panic at midnight, sure she was going to throw up. (Tell it to the toilet, Carla, do not run into my room to alert me in advance!) She did not throw up, but she did lie on a makeshift bed in her bathroom for an hour, and then finally moved to her bed around 2:00. She was unable to take Tylenol because it made her stomach “feel weird,” so she just lay there until eventually she fell asleep. (I couldn’t sleep, of course, with Possible Imminent Barfing. I went to check on her around 4:00 and she was lying on her back, very still, and I thought she was asleep but then she waved at me. Sigh. Poor child.)

The next day, fever. (Which is, perhaps, why I was able to be awake by myself to write a blog post? After being awakened by a vomit alert, it is very hard to fall back to sleep. Also I was deep in denial on Sunday morning that this was a 24-hour bug.) Sore throat. Movies and TV and popsicles. No grandmother. No special dinner at her favorite restaurant. 

Monday, still fever. No appetite. No energy. No school. I posted my Dinners This Week intentions even though I only finally made it to the grocery store yesterday. She continued to test negative for Covid, but I called the pediatrician and learned that he likes to see a child who’s had a fever for three consecutive days. So we went in. He was SURE it was strep but the rapid test was negative. (This is all sounding extremely familiar; I swear we went through this entire rigamarole just a few weeks ago, although there was vomit that time, so this was an improvement.) 

Tuesday, her fever was very low. In fact, it was so low that it might not have existed. When our thermometer said she had a fever of 100.6, the pediatrician’s thermometer said it was 99.3. Low enough for her to go to school Wednesday???? Hard to say. But not low enough for her grandmother to feel comfortable staying at our house, so it seemed pretty wishy washy to allow school. I don’t know. PCR test for strep was negative. Still a negative Covid test. 

Her doctor acknowledged it could be flu, but usually kids with flu were “much more miserable.” She has had very low energy, which is significant for my go-go-go high energy child. But he’s the expert. He said strep is extremely prevalent in the community right now – “the diagnosis of the day,” he said – but also suggested adenovirus, which sounds to my inexpert ears like a fancy way of calling it “just a cold.” She was able to go back to school on Wednesday, and you have never seen a kid happier to be going to school. She woke up promptly, ate nothing (I forced her to eat a small amount of ice cream, just to get some fat/calories into her), and was cheerful and singing all the way to school. I am so glad she is feeling better (although as of this morning, her appetite remains very slim).

But I admit, it was kind of nice to be together. We made the best of our forced period of restfulness. I did lots of laundry. I addressed and stamped our holiday cards and put them in the mail. I wrapped some presents. (My office is turning into Box Central, but I suppose it is only temporary.) I cleaned Carla’s craft area in the basement; she didn’t want to help me, which meant that I had carte blanche to throw away anything and everything I wanted to. This reminds me that I never showed you the After of the craft area we created in the basement last winter. Is that something you would be interested in seeing?   

While we were at home together, Carla and I worked on a (very expensive) craft project. She is making hand-decorated drinkware for her family members. They are turning out SO well. (But seriously, until you make like, 50 mugs, the cost per mug is astronomical.)

We are using her Cricut to print vinyl objects (hearts, stars, bears) and words, and then we are affixing everything to the mugs with dishwasher-safe Mod Podge.

The recipients’ names are on the backs of the mugs. They have to “cure” for 28 days, which we did not know at the beginning of the project. So we printed out little labels to alert the recipients not to get them wet until the 28-day deadline. Into some of them, depending on the recipient’s other gifts, we are tucking hot chocolate bombs and/or Starbucks gift cards.

Part of the process involves dumping swirls of nail polish into a tray of water and then dipping a ceramic mug into it. The polish adheres to the mug and it looks so lovely and marbley and gorgeous. And every single mug is unique and special.

Apparently, if you turn a bottle of nail polish upside down to dump its contents into a tray of water, the ball bearings that are inside to mix the polish come out, too. I was pretty glad I noticed that because I’d been pouring the pans of water into the sink after each dip (and after using a paper towel to remove any excess polish). 

Only after I dumped out an entire tray of inedible Trader Joe’s microwave salmon did I discover that I had not, in fact, noticed the ball bearings in time. I did not want to chance breaking my disposal after the last incident!

At least I knew the cause of the horrendous crunching noise my disposal made. I used – what the heck are they called? pinchers? tweezers? oh right! tongs! – tongs to remove the remnants of salmon and spinach and very poorly textured orzo from the disposal. But the tongs were too bulky to pull out the ball bearings. And no way in any universe am I sticking my hand down my garbage disposal. No. Way. 

Carla does, however, have an ancient magnet set. My First Magnets or something. Why we still have it, I do not know… but I’m grateful. I requested that she find me her most powerful magnet – she was of course happy to comply – and used it to fish out the two ball bearings. The disposal works once again. And now Carla knows a) mistakes happen and b) creative thinking is the key to a smoothly running life (and disposal). 

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Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Stocking stuffers are my favorite. I think they are SO fun, and I really enjoy finding fun little things to surprise and delight everyone. They seem lower pressure, somehow, than other gifts. I do tend to get carried away a bit. Maybe by listing all the things I WANT to buy (for myself and others), I will scratch some of that Stocking Stuffer Syndrome itch that makes me panic at the last minute and buy too many things.  

Carla and my husband and I each have a stocking. When we have visitors for Christmas, we hang stockings for them, too. But I also like to include one or two small stocking stuffer-y kinds of things in the packages I send my family members. No idea if they end up in a stocking at all, but it makes me feel like I’m covering all the bases.

For other gift guides and stocking stuffer ideas, check out my previous gift guides here.

Magic Rainbow Puzzle Ball: Carla has one of these puzzle balls and plays with it all the time. I think it’s simpler (and therefore more satisfying) than a Rubik’s Cube. My niece will get a kick out of it. Image from amazon.com

Tiny-Ice Cube Tray: This is going in my husband’s stocking. The backstory is that we visited a friend this summer who had an ice machine that makes tiny ice. My husband was enthralled. We have no place to keep a tiny-ice maker, not to mention this is a little more extravagant than I like to think ice should cost (yes, even though our fridge is broken and the ice maker no longer produces ice). So this is my nod toward his desire for tiny ice. Image from amazon.com

Slinky: Why do we not have one of these yet? We have stairs, Carla would love this.  Image from amazon.com

Cajun Peanuts: For those who don’t love sweets in their stockings (we do exist!). Image from parkerspeanuts.com

Spiky Finger Rings: These just look like fun things to fidget with. The package comes with 12, so I could split them up among Carla and my niece (and myself???).  Image from amazon.com

Meat Chopper: This is one of my favorite kitchen tools of all time and I have recommended it a lot. I use it primarily to break up ground beef for tacos or spaghetti sauce, and yet it’s something I would replace immediately if it broke or got lost. Image from amazon.com

Perfume Samples: I could never buy perfume/cologne for someone – too expensive! too big a commitment! – but it would be super fun to find a sample I think someone would like and stick it in their stocking to try. (You can search the site by note – like grapefruit or tea – and then read the descriptions of the perfumes/colognes that pop up. Then you can order a .7 ml sample for around $4-$8. It is very easy to fall into an aromatic wormhole though, so be warned.) Image from luckyscent.com

Silicone Straws: Who doesn’t love a straw? Especially one that is easy to clean, as these purport to be. Image from amazon.com

Photo Phone Holder: This would be such a perfect gift for a grandparent – or many other special friends and relatives. Image from Shutterfly.com

Toothpaste Tablets: This is something I have always been curious about, but haven’t wanted to buy just in case I hated them. But they would make the perfect stocking stuffer. Image from amazon.com

Stress Balls: I bet every one reading this knows someone who needs a tiny neon stress ball. Image from amazon.com

Beanie: Half of the profits made on the sale of all Love Your Melon hats goes toward preventing pediatric cancer. Image from amazon.com

Personalized Post-It Notes: Do other people go through post-it notes like air or water? We do. I have post-it note pads everywhere. These custom options are really cute. (Shutterfly has photo options, too.) Image from vistaprint.com

Shea Moisture Leave In Hair Treatment: My sister-in-law got me a bottle of this stuff last year and I love it. It smells great and it cuts down on frizz while leaving my hair feeling light. Image from amazon.com

Mini Squishmallow: The only thing better than a Squishmallow is a mini one, and this variety pack would be great to break up among multiple stockings. Image from amazon.com

Snake Puzzles: These remind me of the snake puzzles we got for Carla for our road trip. I think they would be a lot of fun for Carla and her cousin to find in their stockings. Image from amazon.com

BLK & Bold Coffee: Is it even Christmas if I don’t get my husband new coffee to try? This brand donates 5% of profits to help at-youth risk. Image from amazon.com

Gel Ink Pens: Pens are practical and these ones are pretty. Image from amazon.com

Motivational Temporary Tattoos: These are pretty and I like having a little reminder to be good to yourself scripted on your skin where you can’t avoid it. (The “smile” one makes me think of Men of a Certain Generation, though, so I might skip that one.) Image from ulta.com

Cat Socks: I want these for me, but Carla probably also wants them for her.  Image from amazon.com

Worry Dog: Forgive me – I cannot remember where I read about this, but it is SO cute and I can imagine having it in my pocket or on my desk and stroking it softly and feeling better about life. Image from etsy.com

Rainbow Pencils: I adore these rainbow pencils. ADORE THEM. They are definitely making their way into Carla’s stocking. If I ever used pencils, I would buy some for myself. Image from amazon.com

Scalp Massaging Brush: I would love one of these in my stocking! Image from amazon.com

Fun Shoelaces: I love these purple ombre laces, but there are so many options. Tie-dye! Metallic! Cheetah print! Image from amazon.com

Fancy Candy Canes: This site has all sorts of interesting candy cane flavors. Nutmeg! Birthday cake filled with frosting! Raspberry chocolate! And candy canes would be so festive in a Christmas stocking! Image from hammondscandies.com

Salt Sampler:  This little tin of sea salt blends sounds so fun! Image from beautifulbrinysea.com

Customizable Pencils: These would be so fun, too! This would make a great teacher gift! Image from etsy.com

Pride Mug: This mug is simple and elegant and 25% of the purchase price goes to support The Trevor Project (which provides crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ young people).  Image from potterybarn.com

Flipbook Kits: Did you ever make flipbooks when you were a kid? I loved making them and then flipping through the cartoon to see it move. These are less labor intensive but still enjoyable. Image from uncommongoods.com

Linen Spray: I adore a good linen spray, and this one from Thistle Farms sounds so lovely and sleep-helpful. Image from thistlefarms.com

Pickle Ice Pop: You should see my face right now, but my pickle-loving child might get a kick out of this. Or maybe the giant gummy pickle is more her style, hard to say. Image from candycarrollton.com

Monopoly Deal: Karen A. recommended this card game as quick (20 minutes) and fun. It is the perfect size and price for stocking stuffing. Image from amazon.com

Reader’s Wine Glass: The only thing better than sipping a nice mug of hot tea while reading a good book is sipping a nice glass of wine while reading a good book. Image from etsy.com

Jelly String Noodles: These look fun. They remind me of the WikkiStix days – oh man, Carla got so many hours of quiet play out of those things. Image from amazon.com

Holiday Deodorant: I think Carla is a little young yet to need deodorant, but it never hurts to have some around just in case, right? Plus, these are SO CUTE. Not quite sure how any of the scents will smell (spiked eggnog, in my underarms???), but they are fun and festive and novel. Image from target.com

Chili Crisp: I have never tried this myself, although it seems to be very trendy these past couple of years and I have heard big claims like “best condiment ever!” being thrown around. (Disclaimer: I don’t think I would like it because of the texture.) Might be a nice thing for a foodie-type to find in her stocking. Image from amazon.com

Japanese Barbecue Sauce: This is a condiment I would like to try. It sounds like an umami-rich glaze or dipping sauce that has no relationship to what we in the U.S. know as barbecue sauce. Image from amazon.com

Juggling Balls: My mom was starting to teach Carla how to juggle over Thanksgiving, but we didn’t really have any appropriate juggling items. (A whiffle ball, a stress ball, and a tennis ball aren’t ideal, I gather.) These will be perfect for her stocking. Image from amazon.com

Fair Isle Ankle Socks: These are super cute. So are the snowflake ones, which my husband might like.Image from bombas.com

Sipping Chocolate: Seems like every year I get my husband a new sipping chocolate to try – he loves it. This one from Chocolat Uzma is the perfect price for a stocking stuffer… and don’t forget to ogle all the gorgeous chocolates on the website. Image from chocolat-uzma.com

5-in-1 Snowball Maker: My daughter loves her one-at-a-time snowball maker, and spends a lot of time outside making huge piles of snowballs, one by one. She would adore this. It’s not really sized for stockings, but it’s priced right. Image from amazon.com

Heart Snowball Maker: Oooh this is more stocking-sized. Please ignore how creepy the picture is. Image from amazon.com

Abandon All Artichokes: I’m always looking for fun card games to play with the family, and this looks cute. Plus, it’s geared toward slightly older kids (the box says age 10+).  Image from amazon.com

Beautiful Stickers: I cannot remember where I heard about this artist who creates gorgeous products with a social justice edge, but I love pretty much everything on her site. A fun sticker (for your water bottle, computer, notebook, etc.) would be a great stocking stuffer. Or look! Three stickers for $10!  Image from graydaystudio.com

Mini Olive Oil: Or vinegar. Image from saratogaoliveoil.com

Herb & Olive Focaccia Mix: This would go great with the aforementioned teeny bottle of olive oil. Image from amazon.com

Tea Pigs Collection: At about $25, this is more than I usually like to spend on a stocking stuffer. But since there are 12 teas in the bundle (and you can choose which teas you want!), you could certainly break this up among several friends or family members. Image from teapigs.com

Candy You Ate As a Kid: These little bags of nostalgic candy, sorted by decade, sound really fun – especially for adults. While I can’t speak to the 1920s and 1930s bags, the 1980s bag looks like it gets it just right. Double Bubble! Warheads! Nerds! Image from oldtimecandy.com

Fidget Toy Pencil Topper: I can’t recall if I’ve shared these here before, but they are a big hit with Carla. Image from amazon.com

Stovetop Potpourri: You can make this at home – although, in my opinion, it’s only worth it if you make a bunch of it to give as gifts – or you can buy cute little packages to put in stockings. Image from etsy.com

I wish I could buy ALL these things for everyone on my list… but it is more likely I will buy three or four things for Carla, one or two things for my husband, and then one thing each for the rest of my family members. But it’s so fun to look for little gifts that will delight my loved ones without breaking the bank.