I’m having great difficulty thinking of gifts for family members this year. On the other hand, I’ve clicked through many of these “best, must-have” lists and found an assortment of useful or sometimes wacky items that I would enjoy having.
Have you looked through any of those lists, and if so, have you found any gems?
I bought these after seeing them on a list and they’ve been very useful in keeping cord ends easily accessible.
https://www.amazon.com/OHill-Multipurpose-Holders-Organizing-Adhesive/dp/B07143JVVN/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=cable+clips&qid=1607461012&sr=8-13
The Grommet has some weighted “couch coasters” that work great. Bought them a couple years ago. Bit pricey at 20 bucks but used continuously. Winner at our house.
Bought an aerogarden black friday (so just met the 100 bucks cut off) but totally love it. Had one long ago but they’ve much improved over the years.
I asked for an aerogarden, small ones are on sale. Glad to hear you liked yours, gouf.
Im stuck on one bigger gift each for my girls and sil. Already have all the smaller things.
As a rather tight-fisted person who hates spending money on silly things, I have found bargain items that I love at Trader Joes. For example, they sell luxurious honey and olive oil sets that are great value and look and taste wonderful. They do wonderful salt sets, delicious smelling hand creams, and mixed lip balms. But of course, they have the greatest selection of seasonal food treats. I love the English Toffee, the cookies, the chocolates, the truffles, the Kringle, and so many other fantastic items. Trader Joes is the best place for one stop Christmas shopping.
Yep, trader Joes has a lot of stuff. I have dipped into many of last years gifts including a honey set, chocolates and hand creams. The best thing is, everything is very cheap. And the edible gifts are great. Pomegrante tea is very popular at our house also.
Sadly, Covid numbers are high and the TJ’s near me is very small. So I think I might have to skip it this year.
Go early. It’s not busy before ten. I wonder if you are near me? My TJ’s is near a shoe store and a pharmacy. I either go very early or very late.
Here’s a very silly true story about me and TJ’s recently. This is a total digression, but worth it, haha.
I had fully intended to make a dessert for an outdoor bbq, but with my cat suddenly needing to go to the vet, I had no time. My veterinarian is near TJ’s. It was a warm day. There were at least 25+ people in line to get in. I couldn’t leave my cat in the hot car. So, I decided I would just have to go to the front of the line, cat in his carrier, and hope that people would take pity on a woman with a cat, who literally just needed one thing. I walked up to the front of the line and apologetically asked people, and the TJ’s employee, if they minded me cutting the line. No one objected, so my cat got a whirlwind tour of TJ’s and I got my dessert for the bbq.
My cat was fine, btw, and didn’t seem worse for wear after visiting TJ’s.
I found these for the stocking I shipped to our son the other day:
Not for everyone, but if your kid is in the Army, it’ll probably be a hit (no pun intended).
Are Aerogardens that good? I was thinking of getting an indoor herb kit and a grow light for my son as an experiment, figuring he could use the light for other plants he may choose to get in the future. The AeroGarden can only be used with its own pods, correct? I’m not sure if he would like growing his own stuff or not so don’t want to over commit.
@Lindagaf I’m far from anywhere my cat could be warm enough this time of year. LOL. Was about 20 degrees this morning. Yikes. I do love TJ’s. Ever notice how nice everyone is at the checkout?
I think I’ll try an off time. I’m always a bit wary but they are pretty good about only allowing a small number of folks inside. And people are also pretty good inside about following the arrows.
The lights on aerogardens are LED so energy efficient. And since it’s hydroponics there isn’t dirt involved so very clean and things grow quickly. Just add water and plant food (it’ll tell you when).
They come with a set of seed pods and if you save the pods and clean them out (you can’t reuse the sponge but there are some cheap alternatives if you google) you can plant what you want. Aerogarden also sells “plant your own” kits too. The seed pods are guaranteed for a year to sprout. The draw of aerogarden is how quickly things sprout. The production usually lasts around 6 months.
I loved my first one. We had fresh herbs forever it seemed. Eventually the pump died though. This new one is more energy efficient with a very quiet pump (I don’t hear it) and easier to care for… I got a slim one so the footprint is smaller also. It came with “salad greens” and withing 4 days they started growing.
Before this I tried a grow light to sprout some herbs and it was a total failure. The hydroponics make a huge difference. You can replant the the sprouted pods in your garden if you like.
One caveat–the light (which is bright) stays on for an avg (on a timer) for 16 hours. So you can’t put it in a bedroom and expect to sleep. Mine is in the kitchen and the timer comes on at 3 am (great night light) and goes off at 7pm.
I know this thread isn’t about Trader Joe’s but… I was listening to their holiday podcast yesterday and they are doing olivewood boards and serving utensils. Olivewood is environmentally friendly and the cost of the boards was reasonable. They didn’t have them in the store when I was there last week but seriously considering going again.
@gouf78 - you convinced me! I found the AeroGarden Harvest (six pods) on sale at Bed Bath for $100 and was able to apply a $20 coupon. So only $10 more than the 3 pod Bounty (which BBB doesn’t have but Target and Amazon do for $70.). I’ll send some other pods via Amazon just for fun. I also probably won’t mention this to my husband, who will think our son will never use it. They can both be surprised on son’s birthday at the end of the month. But this sounds about as easy and foolproof as you can get. Son does claim he wants to expand his cooking skills…
I just got back from TJ’s!
Elegant boxes of truffles (for son’s gf’s fam and daughter’s bf fam), mixed olive assortment (neighbor), marzipan stollen (me…I mean my family), a 12 days of Christmas beauty box with lots of goodies like sugar scrub and body butter (son’s gf, along with small box of Belgian truffles), and hubby’s favorite chocolate passport (only four left on shelf!)
A successful shopping experience, plus all the groceries.
@helpingmom40 I saw the olive wood accessories. They were very nice looking.
@Lindagaf Now I have to go stand in line again!
@helpingmom40 I bought 4 or 5 olivewood bowls last year and a few this year. They are beautiful. Just don’t soak them.
I save a lot of ideas to a list on Amazon, either shopping or possible Christmas gifts.
I seem to always have 15 things in my cart “saved for later”.