I realize it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but frankly I don’t give a shit. If you like to shop early like me, you will appreciate some gift ideas well in advance so that you can scope out when they go on sale!

For the ladies in your life:

My mom is probably the easiest person for me to shop for because she likes everything I like: makeup, books, clothes, housewares, you name it. She’s easy like Sunday morning. But she also reads this blog so without spoiling what I got her, here are some general ideas for the ladies out there.

A makeup or skincare set: This is a very afforadble one from Ulta but I love that it includes trials of a few different products as well as face masks.

Hair care: I also love this little set of different hair masks from Ulta.

Fragrance is pretty personal so unless you know their scent of choice, I tend to avoid that. My BFF in California, Jenna bought me a perfume I LOOOOVE though, but she is awesome like that and knows me well. It’s Bobbi Brown’s Beach perfume. I love it because it smells like sunscreen so it’s a perfect summery perfume. But if you don’t know the scents the ladies in your life love, go for a something easy and light like these shower gels by Philosophy. I LOVE Philosophy shower gels and they can be used as bubble bath too. If the receiver of this gift doesn’t love the scent, it’s no biggie because once they dry off, the scent of the shower gel is long gone anyways.

If any men out there are reading this, unless your wife specifically asks for an expensive wrinkle cream or anything anti-aging, avoid that shit unless you want to be in the dog house til the new year. I love that stuff so I would not be offended but I have friends who would be pretty fucking pissed off if their husbands brought home eye cream for Christmas. So stick to moisturizes or body cream instead.

A subscription to Fab Fit Fun or a jewelry subscription box. These are safe bets for the girly girls out there because the Fab Fit Fun box comes with an assortment of goodies from lotions to candles to housewares. For jewelry subscription boxes, I have one by XIO that I love. I found it because the owner of XIO is the sister of Kathleen Lights, one of my favorite youtube makeup artists. I’ll do a separate posts about the jewelry, but long story short is it’s fucking fantastic! It’s great quality, you get a full set that’s worth at least a couple hundred bucks for just $50 and you can choose between silver or gold jewelry and each month it’s a surprise on what you’re getting. You can do a three month subscription for $150 or just go month to month.

A cookbook! I love cookbooks (I love all books really.) While Pinterest is great for individual recipes, I always appreciate a good cookbook. My favorites are Cravings by Crissy Tiegan because she’s fucking hilarious or any of the Thug Life Kitchen books since they’re vegetarian/vegan. But for a carnivore, Pioneer Woman cookbooks are great for comfort food. You can also make this a more personal gift by buying a blank cookbook and filling it with favorite family recipes. I like this one from Amazon.

An Instant Pot. Probably every one of you fuckers already has one of these, but I don’t, so maybe it’s just something I want.

Silk Pillowcases: Silk pillow cases like these are good for your hair and your skin, plus they just look pretty.

A personalized name necklace. When my aforementioned BFF Jenna had her baby, I got her a necklace like this one with her daughter’s name on it as part of her birthday present. You can have it say Mom or Grandma or your wife or sister’s name. It makes my heart happy Jenna wears hers all the time.

Stocking stuffers for women: Check out the Sweet and Shimmer stocking stuffers at Ulta. Hot tip: On Sunday, November 3rd, they go on sale for a dollar each. I am stocking up on them so I can fill these pencil/makeup pouches I bought for my girls’ teachers. For the women who aren’t girly girls, stuff their stockings with gourmet treats, warm/fuzzy socks, or cashmere lined gloves.

For the men in your life:

Fan wear: I usually get something sports-related for my husband each year. Whether it’s a pair of basketball shorts with his alma mater’s school logo on it like these, or a Broncos or CU travel coffee mug, they’re a safe bet.

A globe that doubles as a liquor holder. I got this one for my husband a few years back and he keeps it in his office. It looks nice and hides the booze! And then you can buy his favorite liquor to store inside for a gift within a gift!

Skin care or beard care set. Hey, men these days like to groom themselves too! You don’t have to be with a metrosexual to have your man appreciate a good beard oil or nice shaving cream. My husband likes Kieh’ls products and they have great gift sets at Sephora or Ulta like this one.

A nice leather wallet. I got Vince this one for our anniversary and he loves it because it’s slim so it doesn’t weigh down or stick out of his back pocket too much, and it has a money clip on the back of it. Plus you can have Coach monogram it which is always a nice personal touch.

For the corporate guy, a fancy ass pen! My dad loves pens. He is to blame for my love of all office supplies in general. He has some worth more than a cheap car which is alarming for a damn pen, but hey, it’s his thing. And once again, you can get them engraved for a personal touch. My favorite are pens by Cross but my dad is a Mont Blanc guy.

A photo album filled with pictures of a trip you took, or a collage frame of a special event you went to. Lets face it, most guys aren’t the scrap booking type, so they appreciate a nicely framed photo or a canvas print of a favorite picture that they can hang up in their office.

A class subscription. This site has classes that are billed annually and you can learn how to write with Malcolm Gladwell, cook with Gordon Ramsay, you name it.

A French Press. For the coffee lover, who doesn’t love French Press coffee? It’s the best. I have a Nespresso machine I adore but you still can’t beat freshly ground Kona coffee in a french press like this one. You can’t! If you think you can, you’re fucking wrong.

Stocking stuffers for men: Beef jerky, gourmet chocolates, a portable phone charger, a wool scarf, or sphere ice cube molds (this would be great if you are getting him a gift that ties in with the globe bar or hard alcohol.)

For both sexes: To keep gifts personal, poke around and see if that special person in your life has a big event or trip coming up. Then you can buy an excursion for it, a travel book about where they’re vacationing, or items they can take on their trip. (Like a snorkel if they’re going to Hawaii, or a converter to charge their phone with if they’re traveling abroad.) If they have a hobby they’re into, find items that fit along those lines. My grandma lives in Oklahoma and is a beekeeper for fun so a couple of years ago I got her a fancy honey jar and some flour sack towels with bees on them for her kitchen. My dad loves to fish and hunt so I ask my stepmom for specific things he needs to replace since those are out of my wheel house entirely. You don’t need to settle for a gift card if you just give it a little thought!