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With so much important, pressing news on our televisions lately, it can be hard to remember your “why” or your passion to do what you love and the reason that calls us to do it. In times like these it can be hard to compare your passion to the urgent needs of so many around the world right now. I am struggling with this a little bit myself—to find the reason why we need gift ideas right now. But then I really try to focus on what the true meaning of a gift actually is. The purpose of a gift is to show some one how much you care about them and even when we are apart, to show someone that you took the time to think and care about them. A great gift brings us together and connects us by giving a bit of yourself to another person. That little piece of yourself might be represented in a small trinket or something you’ve been saving a long time to give, but the goal is always the same, to see love and joy on someone’s face when they open it. Remembering this “why” is what I will continue to do as I post great gift ideas during this time. I know we will come out of this together and will soon need great gifts for everyone we know! Right now, there are so many people that could use a gift from you right now. If you have any extra food or supplies please donate to your local food bank and show someone that even though you don’t know them, you are connected to them and care about them. Visit https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank to find your local food bank today. … VHM

Lately, every email, news bulletin and blog post has been about the COVID-19 outbreak. And with good reason, this pandemic is very serious. In an attempt to combat anxiety and nerves we have to find a silver lining to this dark cloud. Hopefully, if you’re at home you have time to spend with your close family and enjoy each other. In a time like this, when many are dying due to current circumstances, it’s good to remember what and who is most important. If you’re inside and socially distancing yourself from the outside world, remember that the time we spend with our loved ones is truly a gift, so cherish the ones you love and stay safe and healthy. … VHM

What!? I know that’s what you’re thinking! You’re questioning, when did St. Patrick’s Day become a gift giving holiday? The answer is always! Saint Patrick himself gave three-leaved shamrocks to his Irish flock as a tool to explain the Holy Trinity. Even if you’re not Irish or religious, there is no better time to tell someone how LUCKY you are, just to have them in your life. To fully embrace the green theme I send my closest loved ones plants or flowers on St. Patrick’s Day. Here are a few of my favorites: Lula’s Garden I love these super cute and petite little succulents! They are the sweetest little gift at $25 and come in the cutest packaging. Who wouldn’t love receiving this tiny token of appreciation on St. Patrick’s Day? The Sill This website offers a variety of plants and pots at different price ranges, depending on the size of the plant/pot combination. They have a great selection of plants and beautifully modern pots in lovely colors and shapes. And if you’re shopping for someone that kills any living plant that enters their home—they even offer faux plants! The Bouqs I love sending flower bouquets from The Bouqs. They offer both really pretty arrangements, and groupings of just one type of flower to give you options. I like this arrangement of green and white flowers as a St. Patrick’s Day themed touch for anyone’s home! Any of these would make great hostess gifts if you’re going to a St. Patrick’s Day party as well! … VHM

Pisces Star Sign Dates: February 19 – March 20 According to Cosmopolitan Magazine, the Pisces symbol is two fish tied to one another, swimming in opposite directions- because all Pisceans swim amidst shifting emotional currents, and are plagued by both conflicting desires and extremes of temperament. Pisceans are the zodiac’s dreamers and imagineers, highly sensitive, creative and intuitive. Because of their empathy and openness to others’ feelings, they can be very impressionable, changeable and sometimes overwhelmed. Life can be tough for Pisceans, they FEEL so deeply. Read more about Pisces traits here. If this describes your recipient and they are imaginative, sensitive, creative and intuitive then you’ll need one hell of a gift to impress them! For the toughest gift recipients, I like to give personalized gifts. A beautiful picture frame with a picture of a memorable moment or a picture from a meaningful trip would be a very touching gift. This gift might not be applicable to everyone, but to the right person, it could mean everything. For those that constantly battle the East Coast versus West Coast (the best coast). This coin tucked into a nice wallet would be the key to showing how well you know them. For the intellectual Pisces giving them their favorite book, a new bestseller from their favorite author or a childhood favorite, any of these paired with an elegant bookmark would be a touching present. For a Pisces, it's the little, special touches that will really make the perfect gift! ... VHM

Now that the new year is here, my mind turns to finding gifts in advance. Buying gifts through out the year is a great way to distribute the financial (and emotional) stress that can come with the holiday season. Just think, what if you were to just buy one Christmas Gift a month? Twelve gifts already done by Christmas—talk about being ahead of the game! Before you head out to the stores to start on your 2020 Christmas shopping, here are somethings to consider: Will this person be in your life by the next gift giving occasion? When shopping for gifts in advance look for gifts for people that will be in your life by next Christmas. Anything can happen, and we can’t predict the future but if you’re going to buy a gift in January, buy it for someone who’s been in your life for a while. Maybe start with a parent versus your new friend you just met at the gym. Will this person’s size be consistent? If you’re going to buy clothing for someone, make sure that their weight has stayed fairly consistent over the years. If their weight tends to greatly fluctuate, a sweater might not be the best gift. If you have young children on you list that are still growing, then wait on any clothing gifts for them until closer to the holiday season. Will their interests be consistent? Along with sizes for children, interests also greatly change so even though they are obsessed with Star Wars right now, at the end of the year, that could be the furthest thing from their minds. On the other hand, if your husband has been in love with music since he was a child, then there is a better chance he will still be in love with music at the end of the year. Buy from returnable stores. Think about the places that you are most likely to buy gifts from and make sure they have an excellent return policy. The goal is to always buy items that you are actually going to give, but as I said before, you just never know what is going to happen so that was you’re safer from buyer’s remorse. Start with close friends and family. If you are ready to start your shopping early, then my last tip is to simply start with the recipients you know the best and keep your ears and eyes open. The gifts that you buy for your close family now will come as a huge surprise to them when they realized you remembered what they said they wanted months ago! After close friends and family, then work your way to the friends you don’t know as well. For those you may not know as well, be a good listener and you can feel relaxed that you have time to figure out what they need. If you’re not ready to start shopping, at least start your list! Keep track of all of the ideas you come across throughout the year so you are ready to go when the holiday season approaches. - VHM

In a month that celebrates love I wanted to do a post about self-love and self-care. It doesn’t hurt to stop and take care of yourself when you need it. Now that you’ve shown the others in your life the love they deserve, now it’s time for a little self-love! Take some time to think about what you need to make your life less stressful. Do you need more time? Time is precious and fleeting. Yet everyone has the same amount of time in a single day. You have the same amount of time that Beyoncé has, that Mark Cuban has, that Oprah has. What is the difference between you and them—how they manage their time. Prioritization, organization and focusing on what you really truly want. If you need the gift of time, get your self a nice daily planner or organizer. A sleek, leather bound book can help you look and feel put together. I love this one from Moleskin. Do you need to relax? There is nothing better than relaxing with a massage and getting all of the tension out of your muscles! If you need to relax, a massage can help work out the physical manifestation of your stress in your muscles. Massage Envy has locations nationwide, and if you get hooked, they offer a membership for regular relaxation! Do you work too much? Sometimes you need a break, and while a vacation is preferable, a night out with your friends might just do the trick! A special night out could be just the escape that you need from your daily routine. Treat yourself to a concert, or show tickets and make a night of it! How do you show yourself self-love? … VHM

Happy New Year! January is a month of reflection and action. How has the past year influenced your choices and changes for the upcoming year? These thoughts are probably affecting anyone you need to give a gift to this month, so think about what goals they are trying to achieve this year. The best gifts for them will help make their goals a reality! Here are some great gifts for common New Year’s Resolutions: Resolution: Weight Loss New sneakers and workout clothes: New gear can spark intention when it comes to working out, getting healthy and exercising. My favorite workout leggings are from Lululemon and Nike has great shoes for any workout type. Class Pass or class gift certificate: Class pass is a great gift for someone who wants to start working out but doesn’t know what type of routine they'll enjoy. Class pass allows you to go to different classes and experience different exercises. On the other hand, if you know of a class that they are obsessed with, even better—then get them that class gift card like Soulcycle (LINK). Gym Membership: Do you know what local gym they want to start going to? If so, you can get them a certificate to that gym. Resolution: Eat Healthy Grocery Delivery: A subscription to a grocery delivery service is a great gift to help any start eating right! It helps take the leg work out of getting healthy options in your fridge. Grocery Gift Card: A grocery store gift card is also a great help to eating healthy! Meal Delivery: Take all of the guess work out of healthy cooking and get them a meal delivery service. A meal delivery service exists for every type of diet plan. Resolution: Get Organized Moleskin Notebooks: I love a good notebook! Moleskine notebooks are chic, durable and come in so many colors. I especially like the digital version. Having one handy to write down great ideas, write down your to-do lists and keep you organized can help someone’s year get off to a great start. Silk & Sonder: Silk and Sonder is a subscription service where you get one calendar planner notebook a month filled with inspirational quotes and motivation. Getting a monthly organizer can help anyone reignite their resolutions every month. Monogrammed Desk Accessories: Help someone keep their desk organized with beautiful desk accessories. Resolution: Read More/Learn Something New These motivational books can inspire anyone to take charge of their life and go after their goals. Becoming by Michelle Obama You are a Badass by Jen Sincero Girl, wash your face by Rachel Hollis Resolution: Get Out of Debt and Save Money Cash & Gift Cards: A little cash can help jump start someone's new year savings plan. Coupon Book: Some local neighborhoods issue a book of savings that can help save money when cash gets tight. Book of low cost ideas: When you're saving money it's easy to get a little stir crazy, so a DIY gathering of low cost activities can really come in handy! Include a pair of tickets to help them start an active BUT low cost series of events. Resolution: Travel More Airline Gift Card: An airline gift card is such a quick way to get someone thinking about where they want to go in the new year. Where to go When book: This book lists great locations by month. It is such a cute gift to give someone who wants to travel, but doesn't know where. Travel Document Holder: An elegant gift for someone who has already bought the tickets and is ready to go! Resolution: Be Less Stressed/Self Care Massage: Who wouldn't love a nice relaxing massage? Find a masseuse in your area and give them a little "me time". Facial: A facial is a great way to make anyone feel refreshed in the new year. Spa: Do you know someone who needs a full day of self care, buy a pass for a nearby day spa. What are your resolutions this year? Would any of these gift ideas help you achieve them? - VHM

It can be difficult to navigate Valentine's Day and find the perfect give to show your love for the man in your life. Here are a few ideas to help you nail it for all of the men you love! Sneakers I love giving sneakers for Valentine's Day or Anniversary because there are so many cute "lines" you can add to the card on top– "You’ve been running through my mind, all day (all year etc.) - or- I'm so happy you walked into my life, etc. Theragun Do you have an athlete in your life, or a want-to-be athlete? This massage gun is a pro level massage tool to really get into the deep tissue after a workout or game. Goldbelly "They" say the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Goldbelly will give you access to their favorite foods across the country. Pizza from Chicago, Barbecue from Tennessee, Bagels from Brooklyn. Think about their favorite foods that make their mouth water and send it with love! Tasting Collection Tasting Collection offers a distinguished, curated collection of different types of spirits. Pick his favorite alcoholic beverage and get him a tasting of several different brands. Watch box Does he have a growing watch collection or does he want to start one? This box is an elegant gift for the gentleman in your life. An added bonus - a watch inside, of course! What are you getting your guys this Valentine's Day? ... VHM

For this month’s birthday post I wanted to highlight a gift that I am giving to a family member that is trying to look fresher and more awake for the new year. We have all looked in the mirror and seen a few things we’ve wanted to fix. They recently looked in the mirror and needed some help with under eye bags so I put together a cute gift box to help make them look more awake! After some Sephora sleuthing I found some great items! PETER THOMAS ROTH Cucumber De-Tox™ Hydra-Gel Eye Patches These gel patches deliver a cool dose of cucumber infused gel to the under eye to help deflate undereye puffiness MOUNT LAI De-Puffing Jade Eye Treatment Tool Add a little eye cream to this massage tool, crafted from jade for a soothing, cooling effect on the eye area. KIEHL'S SINCE 1851 Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado Mini This moisturizing under-eye cream is formulated with avocado oil to hydrate and smooth the delicate eye area. Paired with the Mount Lai Eye Tool, it’s perfect for reducing puffiness! STARBUCKS Gift Card When all else fails, coffee will wake you up! After gathering the perfect items for a fresh faced new year birthday gift, it’s time to wrap them up and send them off! Check out the full wrapping post here! Do you have any skincare gifts that you’ve given or really want for yourself? … VHM

Have you ever seen a lovely, curated gift box and thought, hey, I could make that! Well I’m walking through the steps to create the perfect gift box. First, you’ll want to decide on a theme. A cohesive theme helps you give a gift that makes sense instead of a few random items that don’t relate to each other. In my gift box for a family member’s birthday I decided to go with items that would help them look and stay awake, including Eye Patches, a De-puffing Tool, Eye Cream and a Starbucks gift card, check out the full post here. Second, you’ll need stuffing and a container. Depending on your gift you’ll need a container that fits all of your gifts and stuffing to support the items within the container. In this case I chose a brown box and recycled paper stuffing that I purchased at Micheals. But for different gifts you can get creative and use a basket for toy gifts, a big pot for cooking gifts, an ice bucket for drinking gifts, etc. Let your cohesive theme lead you to think of great container options. Third, pack everything in the box in an appealing way. Use enough stuffing to make sure everything stays in place and is a wonderful surprise when they open the box. Fourth, wrap it up nice! After all of the hard work you did putting the items together and packing them up, make sure you wrap them nicely as well! If you have a way to give a little hint as to what your theme is with your wrapping, even better! Do you have any ideas for a curated gift box or have you given one? … VHM

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! After Christmas I like to look back and reflect on the highs and lows and what I can improve on. What were the best presents of the season, who loved what and who’s reaction was a little lack-luster? With all of this reflection, I found that the ascent from The Motley Fool published some interesting facts about Christmas gifting. The average shopper buys presents for about eight different recipients. I’m above average on this one. With my immediate family, my nieces and nephew, and my in-laws, not to mention my neighbors and co-workers I purchased gifts for twenty-seven people! Women give gifts to far more recipients. Female respondents give gifts to an average of 9.44 recipients. Male respondents were way behind here, with an average of 6.67 gift recipients. Comparatively, every man in my life, my husband, my father, brother and brothers in-laws The women of the house hold handle the gifting. In my house, my husband purchases my gifts and I shop for everyone else. For us, gif it is definitely my sweet spot and something that I love to do. People are a bit more likely to buy presents for their pets than their friends Well, people do love their pets and I’m no different, but this year I didn’t buy anything for my little guy, where I did buy my friends presents. Baby boomers give gifts to the fewest recipients (of all currently adult generations) I think this makes sense since the older you get, the closer you get to fewer people and those cherished friends and family members that have stayed in your life tend to get a gift or card during the holidays. The Midwest is where the most gifts are exchanged I guess I’m moving to the Midwest! The average holiday budget is $708.03 If the average budget is $708 and if the average person buys gifts for about eight people then, I would surmise that the average cost per person is $88. Does that sound right for your gift recipients? And if so, do you buy one gift for approximately that amount or is it spread out over a few presents? 80% of consumers wrap presents themselves -- but only 69% think they're good at it. Wrapping the present is the cherry on top to a well thought out gift! Until next Christmas! … VHM

The Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale is a great time to stock up on personal goodies and gift picks. After browsing the sale, here are my best gift picks for others and for yourself (hey, you count too here!) Women: RMS Luminizer Set – this natural beauty company has packaged together three of their luminizers/highlighters for a lovely gift. I would snatch this up and pair it with a facial for Valentines Day or Mother’s Day, to keep her skin looking dewy and refreshed. Candles – these Voluspa candles are on sale as well as these Capri Blue candles. With just this little additional discount these are great scores for next years stocking stuffers. Salad Serving Set – This set would be so beautiful with a kitchen towel embroidered with your recipients initials. Men Backpack - This bold, modern backpack is perfect for any guy on the go. If you get it for a traveler, add your favorite book to read on a plane. If you get it for a hiker or outdoors-man, add some gear or a gift card to an outdoor sporting good store. If you get it for a soon to be high school grad, add a sweatshirt from their new alma mater. Chess Set - For the high brow gamer, this elegant chess set would make a great gift. And for the man in you life that wants to learn about non-digital games, this set with a how-to book would also make a great gift. Kids: Cute Speaker – I love this dino or whale speaker for a young child or a new mom with a nursery so they can play soft soothing music when it’s time for the kiddo to fall asleep or play rousing kids music during play time. It’s a Bluetooth speaker so Mom can control it from her phone! Kids Backpack - Fill this oh so cute pack with stuffed animals, kids books, maybe a favorite snack or two and everything a kid might need. Hostess: Poketo Acrylic Stands – These stands make a great hostess gift. Get two for a normal table setting of six people. You can even get three sets if you know the recipient has a large dining table. Add some name cards with a note that says thank you for letting us be your guest and these are perfect! Centerpiece Bowl - This lovely petal pink earthenware bowl would be the perfect hostess gift filled with beautiful fruit from your local organic grocer. How perfect would pink apples look in this bowl? Gifts to myself: I’m getting ready for summer…starting…NOW! And this Panama hat is the perfect addition to my summer wardrobe along with this brown woven belt. My strategy when buying gifts at the sale is to really make sure that it’s worth it. I don’t want to go crazy just because I see the word SALE! What is the dollar amount that I’m saving and the percentage off. 20% Off may be $100 or it may be $10, so just be aware of what you want to get and how much you want to spend for it! - VHM