I am getting Christmassing done LEFT AND RIGHT. I have the cards out on the dining room table, and I am chipping away at them. (I LIKE doing cards, but only if I do them in batches.) Yesterday I did my big Trader Joe’s trip, where I buy a bunch of their holiday items for stockings and also to have on hand to add to other gifts: I like to add one of their one-pound chocolate bars to the gift card for the mail carrier; last year I added one of their cute small tins of those long tubey cookies to a Secret Santa gift that seemed sparse; when a kid had a friend stay with us for a couple of days during Christmas break, I had a little giftie to send home with them; when a co-worker unexpectedly gave me a little gift, I had a selection of little gifts on hand for giving them one back; when I had an impulsive coffee date with a friend, I had some treats to put out on the coffee table.
What I’m trying to tell you is that I vastly overdo it: those exciting successes of earlier years mean I am UNLEASHED in the moment. I buy EVERYTHING. Then I end up with quite a bit of extra. But also: there are seven of us here over Christmas break, so we can eat anything I don’t end up giving away. Also this year they had GIANT gold-wrapped chocolate coins, $2.49 each. GIANT GOLD-WRAPPED COINS.
This year I had an especially fun quest, because Paul’s sister mentioned the following things: (1) that she LOVES Trader Joe’s and the nearest one to where she lives now is four hours away; (2) that she’s always questing for interesting flavors of crackers and chips; (3) that because she is a vegetarian and also someone who has trouble keeping weight on (I know we might usually hate this, but it hugely helps that she is so medical about it—like it is a reason for concern, not a reason to tee-hee and preen), she eats a lot of nuts and seeds for the calories/nutrition. Well. I don’t know if you have a Trader Joe’s near you (THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST), but they have a whole aisle of interesting nuts and seeds. I bought her every weird flavor I could find. Peppermint yogurt almonds! Chili garlic cashews! Caramel coffee almonds! Pumpkin-spiced pumpkin seeds! Plus pumpkin-cranberry crackers and a couple other kinds of crackers that came in small packages. These are not all going to fit in the large flat-rate box.
Plus I got an amaryllis. And a bottle of Cedar Balsam room spray. And peppermint hand soap. It was a festive trip, and I came home a little buzzed.
Hey, so, every year I get Target gift cards for various people: it’s pretty much down to the mail carrier and the UPS guy now, but this used to include, for example, the kids’ karate instructor, or a kid’s piano teacher, or my physical therapist. Now that I am mad at Target (that understates it, but this is supposed to be a festive post), I don’t know what gift cards to get. What I liked about the Target card was that someone could get groceries and other necessities, or they could get fun stuff and gifts, depending on their financial situation. (I’m totally willing to give cash, but lots of professions are not allowed to accept cash?? for some reason?? even though they are allowed to accept gift cards??? I don’t get it but I am trying to follow the rules.)
Amaz0n doesn’t seem better but maybe it is. Wa1mart doesn’t seem better but maybe it is. I’ve seen those Visa gift cards, but I don’t understand how they work, and some of them seem to expire and/or have fees. Maybe a card for one of the local coffee/doughnut shops, but that feels harder to spend, and a lot of people who DO go to coffee shops are loyal to a particular place. Maybe the local grocery store, but that doesn’t feel festive; but it’s also low-risk that they can’t/won’t use it. I do know people can pass on gift cards to others (and lots of charities accept them as donations, including our local food/clothing pantry), but it would be nice to increase the chances of pleasing the recipient. If you too are mad at Target, and you have a few gift-card recipients on your list, what are you doing about that?
While I have you here, do any of you have experience with the kind of razor where you replace the blade yourself, and not with a designed refill-head but with a plain old cheap razor blade? One of the kids would like to try that out. I suspect he will end up learning why people buy the multi-blade replacement heads, so I don’t want to spend a lot of money, but I think it’s a fun thing to try so I do want to buy him one. Maybe up to $20?
I know cats vary considerably, and one cat’s favorite toy is another cat’s no thank you, but I impulsively bought this cardboard cat gingerbread house with my last Chewy order, and it has been a hit with ALL FOUR CATS (I sprinkled cat nip on the floor of it to help with the introduction):
(image from Chewy.com)
They sit in it! They scratch in it! They play in it! They get huffy about whose turn it is! It makes a delightful Christmas decoration and photo op! I bought it on sale for $11 and when it starts to wear out I will be looking for another sale cardboard house to replace it.
Swistle, I don’t know how long I have been reading your blog – 15 years? More? I really don’t know. But every year I love reading all your holiday prep. It is so much fun! So thanks for this happy, cheery post. We have neither Trader Joe’s nor Target up here, but no matter – I ENJOY THIS GREATLY!! Also you have, in the course of our bloggy relationship, really inspired me to have little things on hand for small gifties. Also you inspired my annual Galentine’s Day party! So. Just wanted you to know that you have been brightening my world for a LONG TIME NOW TIME MAKES YOU BOLDER CHILDREN GET OLDER I’M GETTING OLDER TOOOOO
Oh, I know: how long HAVE we been reading each other? Always?
From you I have gained the joy of Tiny Secret Festive Season; the concept of shopping cart karma (I think of it LITERALLY EVERY TIME I SHOP WITH A CART); and an entire separate online library reading list called Nicole Recommends <3
Here for the Fleetwood Mac reference (though what I first knew was the Indigo Girls cover), also maybe crying.
Hard same, I remember when Henry was born and I look forward to your Xmas posts every year. I also take prescribed ketamine and honestly the gift posts are one of my favorite things to reread while high!
Really I cannot imagine a better endorsement for either my blog or ketamine
^^ Hilarious, wonderful exchange ^^
I LOVE that festive cat house!
I bought a Target gift card for my older kid’s teacher last year, but this year I’m giving his teacher a gift card to a local independent bookshop. I know the teacher loves reading, but they also have coffee and puzzles and cards, etc. I am pretty sure she’ll use it, but if not, I’ll still feel good about the local bookshop getting the $$ because I (selfishly) want them to stay in business. I wish Target had gotten their act together by now because they really were the perfect option for gift cards in situations like this.
Oh, that’s a great idea. I could feel good about that idea, too. Our local bookstore used to have a cafe and I wish they still did—but even so, they have tons of gifts as well as books (which can also be gifts but you know what I mean).
Sounds like you are really on a tear. I am having trouble with holiday momentum. I’ve done some gift shopping and the Christmas card photos are selected but the card is not designed or written (that’s my next task).
I don’t even have cats but am finding the Christmas festive cat house delightful. Maybe you’d be willing to gift us a pic of the little kitties playing in it? The only bright spot of the Internet imo are animal photos/videos, lol.
I too am mad at target and get your conundrum. I usually go with a local coffee place and tell myself the recipient can treat it as an adventure or fun treat. People generally will go out of their way to use “free” or gifty thing even if it’s not perfect.
Thank you for forcing Christmas joy and fun on us!
I love the local coffee shop idea! Throwing this one out there – What about gift cards for a gas station? I know, not super exciting, but gas is so expensive and everyone will use it! In our area, there’s a popular gas station chain with made to order sandwiches. Getting gift cards for there would be well-recieved by many!
Gas station gift cards are my go-to for graduation gifts (especially if I know the student will be a commuter), and would be perfect for anyone. Especially if it’s for the gas station with the fancy items, or if you have a Casey’s in your neck of the woods so it can be used for pizza or gas!
I also recommend office supply store gift cards because they have a little of everything, or hardware stores.
Trader Joe’s gift card!!!
I use an old-school metal razor with Astra blades (though I don’t know if that matters). I don’t use it on my face but I do use it to shave my legs/underarms; my husband uses it for his face. I LOVE it. The blades give a MUCH better shave and they cost next to nothing. The only caveats: You have to go MUCH more slowly than with a safety razor, but I’ve never had any major cuts. Also, you will need a sharps container for the bathroom to dispose of the blades. I find that they last about two leg shaves; my husband says his last for three face shaves. I also use a regular plastic travel razor for travelling. Overall I’d recommend it.
THANK YOU. I have put a sharps container in the cart; I would not have thought of that! And I will tell him to GO SLOW.
Really random thought regarding sharps container. I know you live in a big old house and it is possible that the bathroom medicine cabinets have a slot in the back that you never noticed but is there for disposing razor blades. There’s one in my childhood home — built in the 1930s or 40s so maybe this is of that era. I was intrigued when I discovered it. The imagined pile of razor blades within the walls always seems both excellently efficient and a little ominous.
yes! we had this in an old house too.
Yes,Astra! That’s’ what I use too
I love the idea of supporting local with giftcards. But a different route might be cash. Straight cash in a festive moneyholder card.
I always have trouble switching from Thanksgiving to Christmas in my head, and this post helps, thank you. Oh, and you know I bought that cat house right away!
I used to give the niblings Amazon gift cards, but this year they’re all just getting $50 bills (with a cute card that says, ‘It was this or socks’). Cash is an odd concept to the young ‘uns but I think they’ll figure it out. For gift cards I do restaurants I know the giftees will like. My closest Trader Joe’s is 45 minutes away, but you’ve convinced me to make a run. Thanks, Swistle!
Razor recommendation: Kitsch
Feels good in your hand, colors are simple, blades cheap and easy to install. I enjoy the bar soaps and the solid shave butter.
THANK YOU! I have put the razor, blades, and shave butter into my cart!
For me the answer is to gift cash. Universally accepted, not lost or forgotten , and no unspent money left on the card. This could be because my family is terrible at using gift cards.
Spouse uses the kind of razor that takes just… double-edged razor blades and is *very* happy with it. Also yes, super-cheap! And environmentally friendly!
His is a vintage probably-all-stainless-steel butterfly safety razor handle (these things: https://newenglandshaving.com/collections/butterfly-twist-to-open-safety-razors); there is a twistable portion that opens/closes the head to allow insertion or removal of the double-sided blades (which look like rectangles with the two long edges Super Sharp and a weird shape punched out of the middle of the rectangle). My dad gave him some razor blades that he’d found at an estate sale or something, that were individually wrapped in paper and were probably from before 1950 [possibly *well* before], and: still usable (and yes, he used them rather than keeping them; they were very cool, in a vintage sort of way, but we do not have a large house and we already have a lot of stuff, we do not have space for a Museum of Vintage Items We Don’t Use like we would rapidly have if we just accepted and kept everything my dad wanted to give us).
We have a spare handle of unknown provenance and material without tags or packaging, and I’d be happy to send it to you if you get frustrated in the quest to find an inexpensive one. I am not sure, but I *think* we got the spare handle when his razor started clogging and got really hard to screw/unscrew to get the razor out, but I got the gunk off and out of it [hard water buildup, soap scum: it was tricky to get out of the inside, but these are things I know how to clean off/out of other surfaces] and I think Improved Maintenance Procedures (… rinsing the shave cream residue off and laying it sideways to dry) is probably why there has not been a repeat occurrence. The spare razor handle is of unknown material, but also this is the sort of thing where if you do use a cheaper alloy/whatever metal handle and you use it long enough for the cheap metal/whatever to start getting cranky, then… you know you are using the razor enough to merit the [still honestly not *that* expensive for a lifetime sort of product?] all-stainless-steel higher quality handle purchase.
Anyway! I do not know where to get one for less than $20, but I would recommend. I’m personally still veeery sloooowly going through the free-with-rebate CVS-ish razors for my extremely limited personal shaving [armpits; I have the blessing of thin, short, minimal blond leg hair], and also I really like there not being two sharp sides to the razor in the shower and a plastic guard for the blade, since I sometimes knock it off its shelf, but spouse really likes his razor. He gets a lot of shaves out of each double-sided blade, and the blades are also just *so cheap* (if you count your time use in at minimum wage when calculating the cost of free-with-rebate CVS razors, probably cheaper per year for the double-sided razor blades). I’d note that if traveling without checked luggage, you need to carry a TSA-approved safety razor *or* only the base, no blades and pick up blades where you land, however.
Let me know if you’d like me to send our spare [without blades] to an address somewhere near you! I am pretty sure I know where it is… (and it is destined for donation otherwise, so…)
I have switched to cash instead of people I used to get target gift cards for. It does feel a bit weird to give cash rather than a gift card but I’ve decided it’s worth it. Also that cat house is a delight.
(… okay, actually, after striking out a few places for cheap handles [without shipping charges that rendered it Definitely Not Cheap] and leaving my comment, I then found that ebay has butterfly double-edge safety razor handle with case on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/297216327144 – that said, check Amazon first because some ebay sellers are just resellers who buy the thing on Amazon, have Amazon ship it to you as a gift, and pocket the extra $2 or whatever they tacked onto the price)(I kinda hate a lot of things about our current semi-monopolistic system and that is one of them…)
I hate to say it, but the suggestions to simply give cash have merit. I know it doesn’t feel as “giftable,” but as someone whose partner receives a lot of small-denomination gift cards, I can tell you it is difficult to keep track and make sure they are all spent, even when we make a concerted effort to do so. (Of course, we are ALWAYS very grateful for the giver’s intention and thoughtfulness.) I think it’s especially kind that you remember your mail and UPS carriers; I would guess very few do this anymore!
I love you and this post made me feel warm and jolly.
Not sure this is helpful, but anytime we get those Visa type gift cards, we use them to reload our Amazon gift card balance, because unfortunately, we do use Amazon quite a bit. So if you know people are Amazon users, but you don’t want to directly purchase from Amazon, those cards are fine for that. MUCH easier than trying to use it elsewhere.
Also, if you have an Aldi, they have similar cat houses pretty regularly in seasonal categories. Like, a cat cafe, a hunting lodge, a carnival, a tiki torch kind of place? I have several of them around. You have to put them together but it’s kind of fun, like a puzzle. And they come with catnip.
I love Trader Joe’s. One time I had a Secret Santa assignment who also loved Trader Joe’s, and it was the most fun I’ve ever had choosing a Secret Santa gift. I just went up and down all the aisles and picked out whatever looked good.
Actually, what if you did Trader Joe’s gift cards for the mail carrier and UPS guy? It’s a little more fun than a gift card to a regular grocery store, but they can still use it for practical stuff if they need/want to. Plus it would coordinate nicely with the Trader Joe’s treats you mentioned.
At Easter I got an Easter-themed cardboard house for my cat and she loved it so much we have kept it out since then, thanks for reminding me to look for a Christmas themed replacement.
When I finished reading this post, I felt that I had already accomplished all my Christmas and Hanukkah preparations!
I went to Trader Joe’s today for eggs and vegetables. I got those things, but ended up buying a lot of candy. Their dark chocolate peanut butter cups, Oh! We also tend to buy a lot of what I call “sticks and leaves” from TJ’s – nuts and dried fruit.
I am also mad at Target and Walmart and Amazon. I don’t know which is the worst. I asked some friends and they said Walmart was the worst because of their labor practices over the long term, but I just don’t know. I agree with others that if the recipient is local (i.e. the gift doesn’t have to be mailed), maybe give cash.
Most Visa gift cards work just like a credit card. There are some that are re-loadable but most aren’t. And, if I understand it correctly, even if the card itself expires, the funds are still there (I may have this wrong, but I don’t think so).
My (deceased) MIL loved these and I hated them so much because I knew she paid fees and it felt like wasted money to me.
I too decided not to get Target gift cards this year, so I am getting grocery store gift cards and ignoring the way it feels slightly less festive. It’s still a nice gesture, and frankly it helps that I live in Texas and we have HEB (a San Antonio based grocery chain, the pride of Texas) and everyone loves HEB. I think it’s fine to lean into a more practical gift this year.
Love my safety razor! Have used it exclusively for over 10 years. Can’t remember the brand, but it’s something like this—picking one at random from Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Van-Hagen-Mens-Safety-Razor/dp/B00HZ4VFO4
Lasts forever and you get a ton of blades. Highly recommend
My husband bought a Merkur 34C razor decades ago and loves it. It is not in the price range you are thinking about, but I think it is one of those luxury things for men who find the sophistication of putting in a little extra effort or the environmental benefits and long term cost savings appealing.
He says it is not particularly tricky to use.
The cat cabin is adorable! How lucky that all the cats like it. Buying things for cats is such a crapshoot.
Thank you for the reminder about the mail / trash person. I got some cards (at Trader Joe’s! 99 cents each!) for teachers and hair stylist and sports coach, but completely overlooked the mail / trash people. I agree the gift cards thing is so tricky. Maybe I will do a fast food gift card this year – there are a few places nearby that do coffee or food and might seem like a treat? Ugh, I don’t know.
I also grabbed one of the TJ’s giant gold coins! and some other fun treats for stockings. Your post is making me wish I’d grabbed more!
This only works for teachers and is probably most useful for the elementary school ones, but I asked one of Alex’s friend’s moms who is a fourth grade teacher if she had any actual presents she loved getting at school and she said gift cards to Teachers Pay Teachers. So I did that the next year for Alex’s third grade teacher and she went out of her way to tell me she liked it. (You can’t trust teachers telling you that they like gifts because so many people say things like “but the teacher told me she loved the candle/mug/blanket!” Yes, teachers have manners, they will say nice things even if you give them another mug. But this thanking was notable beyond the usual.) And that feels like a nice gift, right? It helps out the teacher you are giving it to AND it is paying another teacher that made the materials? (And also the commission to the website and the people that is making rich but we live in the society that we live in.)
I’m late to the party but wanted to share my non-target-gift-card option…I purchase “Chamber Bucks” from my local Chamber of Commerce.
This works well because both of our grocery stores are members so while I like to think of recipients trying new local shops, I also know they can buy food if that’s what they really need. My postal driver always writes a thank you that he purchased his Christmas ham or turkey with his.
Not all Chambers have this program – and some programs are easier than others. A good program will not have a hard and fast expiration date and will have a brochure to give with the Chamber Bucks so the recipient knows how and where to use them.