It’s usually that time… time for me to roll out a bigger, better Holiday Gift Guide than I did year before and watch y’all go nutso with excitement, which always brought me more joy than you can even imagine. This would have been my 11th year. Change is hard, but often necessary. After clocking 485…
10th annual holiday gift guide
It’s 2021 and this is my 10th Holiday Gift Guide. (And I’m giving away $13,000+ in holiday gifts, too!) Can you even believe that this holiday gift guide is in its 10th year? It has grown from pretty humble beginnings before I’d even been blogging for a full year into one of the most robust…
2020 Holiday Gift Guide
It’s my 9th-annual holiday gift guide, y’all! I’m not gonna lie, friends: my holiday gift guide almost didn’t happen this year. As you’ve heard me say for years, this little labour of love takes many hundreds of hours to put together. And, well, 2020 just hasn’t blessed me with a lot of free time. Like…
18 of the best experience gifts for kids, adventure gifts & unique gifts for friends
I know, I know. I put out a Holiday Gift Guide every year full of…STUFF. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting things for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or whatever beautiful holiday you and your family celebrate with presents. I’m pro-thing. But I’m even more pro-experience, and the trend of giving experiences instead of things is one…
Hot gift ideas: my 2019 holiday gift guide
Can you believe this is my 8th annual holiday gift guide? It’s hard to believe that what started as an already-pretty-intense process has grown every year. Thank you for your continued anticipation and for sharing this with your friends and family — you always make all the hard work worthwhile! What is THE hot gift…
2017 Holiday Gift Guide: babies
There’s something to be said for creating these holiday gift guides every year. They are a LOT of work, but they’re also deeply satisfying. I love being able to help give you tried-and-tested gift ideas for your loved ones. My policy has steadfastly remained that brands can’t buy their way into the guides — and…
2016 holiday gift guide & epic giveaway
The truth is that I wasn’t going to do a holiday gift guide this year. They’re an insane amount of work because I personally choose every single thing that ultimately makes it into the pages of this here blog. Brands can’t just buy their way in. But then I got a few emails from readers asking…
2015 holiday gift guide: for them and for you
These gift guides are a labour of love. I start working on them by late summer, and slowly but surely piece together the things I think you and your child will love. Brands and retailers don’t pay to be part of this — I won’t let them. While I do let them send me goodies…
How do you spell “gifting”? M-A-T-T-E-L
If you were to ask me about my first Christmas present memory, it would be a toss-up between stepping on my brother’s Optimus Prime and breaking it before he even had a chance to play with it and getting my Barbie dollhouse. It was three stories high and glorious. Although I don’t remember how old…
Mommy Gearest’s 3rd-annual Glorious Gift Guide
I can hardly believe this is my third go at a holiday gift guide. Every year, the process becomes overwhelming and every year I vow to simplify. But here’s the problem: it can’t be simplified. And that’s because you can’t buy your way into my gift guide. Every single product that comes through our front…