Last minute gift ideas

Here we are...Christmas Eve...and I'm guessing there is someone out there racing around today for last minute gifts. Whether it's the thrill of last-minute shopping or a complete "I have no idea what to get so-and-so", I'm here to offer up some ideas (some of which my loyal readers will recognize from previous blog posts!).

Cozy throws make a great last-minute gift. Image Peacock Alley Instagram.

1. A beautiful water carafe - pair with some fun paper or cloth cocktail napkins
2. Coffee-table book - pair with a ceramic bowl and some local snacks
3. Local/regional cookbook - pair with a fun dishcloth and cooking utensil 
4. A cozy throw, quilt, sheets or fluffy towels - who doesn't love brand-new linens or cozy blankets? I picked up a new throw at Peacock Alley in Nashville yesterday - so soft and comfy!
5. Local cocktail mixers - pair with a bottle of appropriate alcohol, cocktail glasses and bar snacks
6. Spa gift certificate - give the gift of relaxation! This is one exception to my "no gift card" rule.
7. Museum or zoo membership - as I discussed in a recent blog post, give something the recipient can use all year and may not typically buy for themselves
8. Basket of local goods - there are so many wonderful, local products available so put together a local gift basket of items your recipient may like!

Happy last-minute shopping!

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

Happy gifting!

Let's gift...A Membership or Subscription

The holiday shopping season is in full swing! Are you done with your shopping yet? Still wrestling with what to gift to friends and family members or not sure what to ask for yourself? Then let's talk about membership and subscription gifts!

A great idea for a family gift - especially if the family has children - is a membership to your local zoo. We have been members of the Nashville Zoo for many years and membership offers access to members-only events or just being able to skip the ticket line when we do visit - which can be as many times as we want during the year. Even during the winter you'll get that one random warm day where the sun is shining and a walk around the zoo is perfect for getting some exercise and fresh air. This is also a great gift idea for older friends and family members!

Image Frist Center for the Visual Arts

Another membership idea that you can tailor to the interest of your recipient is to a museum or outdoor garden. Here in Nashville, we have many museums but probably the most recognizable ones are the Frist Center, the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum and Cheekwood Gardens. An annual membership allows the recipient to visit as many times during the year as they wish and again, offers access to members-only events. It truly is a gift that keeps on giving throughout the year.

Image Cheekwood Art and Gardens

Other fun membership gifts could be to a gym, yoga or other fitness class, the local YMCA or even AAA or some other roadside assistance membership for those who make frequent road trips. Have a craft beer fan in your life? How about a local Mug Club membership to their favorite local brewery? This is an especially great guy gift!

Lastly, there are subscription gifts - and I'm talking about more than just a magazine subscription (which I feel is still relevant for some recipients). What about hopping on the trend wagon and gifting one of the many "box subscriptions" out there such as Nature Box or Birchbox? A quick Google search of "subscriptions gifts" indicated there's something out there for pretty much every interest. These monthly or quarterly subscriptions can offer a fun surprise of new products to try throughout the year.

Image Nature Box

Have other great subscription or membership ideas? Let us know in the comments below...

Happy Gifting!

Holiday Birthdays

Let me start by saying I love celebrating birthdays - not my own, of course, because I don't age - but I love celebrating other people's birthdays. I mean, a whole day dedicated to YOU and the fact that you were born! That's all fine and good if your birthday is in the middle of summer, but what happens when that special day happens to fall on December 23rd...or 24th...or even the 25th?! Or what about those birthdays that occur the first week of January - right AFTER the slew of gift-giving has occurred?! Don't even suggest that the person pick another day to celebrate their birth - that's their special day! So let's talk about ways to celebrate a birthday while also celebrating a major holiday - regardless of the time of year!

Image someecards

Full disclosure...I have family and friends who happen to have birthdays a day or two before Christmas - smack dab in the middle of holiday celebrations. Before I knew better, I wrapped their birthday gift in holiday paper. I did a Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas card (so embarrassing!) until one of them finally clued me in as to how cheated they felt having a birthday so close to Christmas. They felt as if it were an excuse to give them a unigift - one gift to fit both occasions. Not cool. 

Image redstamp.com

So, what can we do for our friends and family who share their special day with (or near) a holiday?

1. Be mindful that their birthday is a separate event from whatever holiday you're celebrating.
2. Don't wrap their birthday gift in the same wrap as the holiday you're celebrating. Don't even let the birthday wrap share the same colors as the holiday!
3. Carve out time for the BIRTHDAY celebration/dinner/party. Don't try to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by combining a birthday dinner with a holiday dinner unless that person insists. Even then, try to make them feel special by carving out time to celebrate just them.
4. Birthday cake! Balloons! Sing "Happy Birthday"!
5. Make them feel special. People bring joy to our lives - celebrate them! Without them, all the other holidays aren't the same.

Have other ideas for making a holiday birthday special? Please share them in the comments below! 

Happy holidays, happy birthdays and happy gifting!

Holiday Gift Idea: Local for Local

Ok, so the holidays are fast approaching - have you started thinking about your gift list yet? Here's an idea for those of us who exchange gifts over the holidays with friends or family that live in another state - consider a "Local for Local" gift exchange!

Nashville goods. Image southern giftologist.

The concept is simple - agree on a dollar amount (or not!) with the only criteria being that the gift must contain locally-made or sourced goods from each respective state or city. How easy is that?! And what a great way for each of you to seek out and discover local goods not only from where you live but also from another area!

Does your recipient like to cook? Your gift could be as simple as a local cookbook!

So if you and a buddy decide on a local for local gift exchange, post a photo on social media with #southernggifts so we can all see the cool stuff you gave and received! Note: You could also apply this concept to "secret santa" and "white elephant" exchanges that you're involved in.

Local goodness. Image southern giftologist.

Happy gifting!

Get your {local} holiday shopping on!

Now that Halloween is over, the countdown to the biggest gift-giving season of the year has begun - but there is no need for anyone to panic! There is still plenty of time to figure out what to gift everyone on your list and I'm going to do my very best to help point you in the right direction. There are several local, holiday markets on the horizon that would provide a wonderful opportunity to think - and buy - outside the gift box this season.

Happening Friday, November 20th (noon - 7pm) and Saturday, November 21st (9am - 6pm) is the MADE South Holiday Market at The Factory in Franklin. This is a ticketed event for both days - $15.00 in advance; $19.00 at the door. I attended their first event a couple of months ago and it was chock-full of wonderful goods by regional vendors. Get more info here or check out my previous blog post about their last market here.

Image MADE South

You're going to want to clear your calendar the weekend of December 4th - 6th for these next two markets. As I mentioned a couple of blog posts ago, Porter Flea is back for their holiday market Friday, December 4th (ticketed event 6pm - 9pm) and Saturday, December 5th (free event 10am - 5pm) featuring an amazing roster of artisans and their handmade goods. This event takes place at Silver Point Studios in East Nashville. Click here for more info or check out my previous blog post.

Image Porter Flea

Also that weekend, there's a NEW holiday market taking place Saturday, December 5th (10am - 6pm) and Sunday, December 6th (noon - 5pm) - the WEHO Holiday Market & Art Crawl at the Track One building in the Wedgewood-Houston area of Nashville. This free market promises to bring together the "best of art, fashion, design and vintage" and will include artisans and vendors from Nashville and the surrounding region. This event is in conjunction with both the First Saturday Art Crawl in the area and the 2nd Annual Designers in Music City event presented by The WJA Nashville Chapter. Get more information about the WEHO market here.

Image WEHO Market

In case you're wondering, yes, I plan to attend all three markets! If you go, please tag your photos with #southernggifts so I can see all the awesome goods you find. 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

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.

Image McQueen Pottery Instagram account

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

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.

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!