Let's stuff those stockings!

We're in the final days of Christmas shopping and many of you may be at the "stocking stuffer stage" - your remaining gifts are fun, little things for the stocking. This past week on Instagram and Facebook, I shared some of my favorite stocking stuffer ideas which I will recap below, along with some other fun ideas. Hope it helps someone with their final holiday shopping!

Fun pens or pencils

Moonshine Boot Wax

Local bath or hand soaps - Little Seed Farm, Music City Suds or WOW Soap

Paper coasters and/or paper straws

Small pottery bowls for rings, keys, decor

Fun coin purse with a gift card, cash or coin assortment (great for vending machines at work!)

Notepads, list pads or sticky notes

Travel-sized candles

Fun box of matches

Cocktail napkins

Jewelry

Fun keychain

TruBee lip balm or honey

Bang Candy Company marshmallows, caramels or syrups

Cocktail mixers - Walkers, Eli Mason or Barsmith

Roux Maison travel-sized stain remover or detergents

Local snacks/seasonings/chocolates - Batch Nashville store at the Farmer's Market has an abundance of fantastic gifts that will fit nicely in those stockings

Room spray from Music City Suds (love Conway Minty!)

Fun socks

stocking stuffers! image southern giftologist

stocking stuffers! image southern giftologist

Happy gifting!

 

 

 

Let's shop...original {affordable} art

Once upon a time I found original art unapproachable and had the misconception that it would be out of my budget, so I stayed away from those "fancy art galleries". However, several years ago a dear friend introduced me to a local gallery where I purchased my first piece of original art for around $150...and I was hooked. Since that time, I've actually taken a few leaps of faith in buying art as gifts for others and have been pleased at how well-received it was - especially to those who have never purchased original art - so today I want to talk about gifting a truly unique gift...the gift of art.

Click through the slideshow below for pieces that caught my eye.

I sat down yesterday with my favorite local gallery owner, Ron York, whose gallery York and Friends Fine Art in Nashville has a wonderful selection of art at all price points (seriously, as low as $50!) and in all styles. Below is some advice he shared when considering gifting a piece of art:

  1. Play it safe by choosing a piece with a particular theme or color you know the recipient likes. Big fan of birds? Then find a piece featuring a bird. Loves the color pink? Choose a piece that prominently features that color.
  2. Start small. A smaller art piece can be displayed on a bookshelf or table - it doesn't require the recipient to clear off wall space or to find that perfect spot. Now, if you know the person pretty well and know they have a particular space they're wanting to fill, you can take more risk with your gift.
  3. Think carefully before buying unframed art. Ideally, when gifting you don't want to create work for the recipient. Giving a piece of unframed art is fine, but consider also giving them a gift card for framing costs or having the piece framed yourself. 
  4. Give a gallery gift certificate. Art is personal and each piece speaks differently to each person. If you're not a gift risk taker, then consider giving them a gift certificate to a gallery where the recipient can choose their own piece - and then go with them to see what they choose! A $100 gift certificate to a gallery likely will result in a more memorable gift than the same amount to a department store.
  5. Think outside the canvas. Art can be in the form of glassware (vases, tumblers) or pottery (beautiful bowls for fruit or simply objects for display).
These glass tumblers could be used for pens, pencils or even makeup brushes! Image southern giftologist

These glass tumblers could be used for pens, pencils or even makeup brushes! Image southern giftologist

Ron showed me many pieces currently in his gallery for $100 or less, so if you're still searching for a unique gift this holiday season, be sure to visit his gallery (or one in your area if you're outside of Nashville) or a local art show event and support your local artists!

A huge thank you to Ron for chatting with me yesterday...and if you're looking for a gift for me, stop by and he'll happily show you some of my favorite pieces! Happy gifting!

 

MADE South Market Follow-Up

I went to the MADE South Market last weekend and WOW...what an amazing event! Purveyors from all over the South were in attendance and I enjoyed discovering some new artisans that I wasn't familiar with. Today I'll share with you my purchases and some of those vendors I'm now following and keeping in mind for the upcoming gift-giving season!

Here's a peek inside my shopping bag. Image southern giftologist

Here's a peek inside my shopping bag. Image southern giftologist

I blame it on the fact we visited right before lunch that I bought so many food-related items, but it was all in the name of research! Here's what I went home with - some for gifts, some for me:

  1. Guitar notecards from Oak + Ink
  2. Candies from the new Seersucker Candy Co. 
  3. Old Fashioned mix from Eli Mason
  4. Nokes Granola
  5. Molly & Me pecans
  6. Gents ginger ale & cocktail mixer
  7. Great Bear Wax Co. Autumn candle - can't wait to start burning this just as soon as the weather cools off a bit more!

Here are some other vendors that caught my eye that I'm keeping in mind for future gift-giving occasions:

McQueen Pottery: I fell in love with several of their pieces and can see their pottery making a wonderful house-warming or wedding gift.

Cotton & Pine Creative: It's no secret I'm a sucker for cool stationery, prints or other paper products and these guys have a fun selection of all of those.

I foresee gifting several of these coaster sets this year. Image Cotton & Pine

I foresee gifting several of these coaster sets this year. Image Cotton & Pine

Mitchell Bat Co.: I will admit at first glance I thought "oh, baseball stuff" and yes, they have some really cool baseball bats and related products. However, what caught my eye were the neat Tennessee products - hats, t-shirts and pennants. I see their products making great guy gifts!

How great is this pennant for a kid's room, man cave or college dorm room? Image Mitchell Bat Co.

How great is this pennant for a kid's room, man cave or college dorm room? Image Mitchell Bat Co.

There were so many other great artisans representing at MADE South Market that will likely appear in future blog posts as we get closer to the holidays. I hope the folks at MADE South will host this event again next year and if they do, be sure to check it out!

Happy gifting!

 

 

This is a blog about gifts

Welcome to the southern giftologist blog, where we’ll traverse the gift-giving (and receiving) waters! Exciting, right? It is to me! I can’t explain it, but I enjoy shopping for gifts for other people more than I enjoy shopping for myself. Over the years, I’ve had friends and co-workers routinely ask me for gift-giving advice or ideas and, generally, people seem to really enjoy the gifts I come up with. I have no special training in this area – by trade, my job is in corporate America and I do LOVE my day job! But, crunching numbers all day leaves me craving a creative outlet, which I have found in shopping for and giving gifts or coming up with cool gift ideas…and so this blog was born.

So, what can you expect from this blog? I’ll share gift ideas for any occasion, we’ll talk about stressful gift-giving scenarios, we’ll explore local stores in my wonderful hometown of Nashville, TN, and we’ll feature local products and goods – which will hopefully inspire your own creative gift-giving ideas and challenge you to think outside the {department store} box and steer you away from that gift card tree when you’re just too tired to think about giving the perfect gift.

Let’s begin, shall we?