Holiday Gift Guide – Gifts Under $25

This year, I have four different occasions calling for Secret Santa gifts. Even though I should be accustomed to this aspect of the holiday season, each year I feel clueless. After searching the internet for ideas, I’ve pulled together my top picks of under $25 gifts.  You won’t find any gift cards included in this post as I do my best to avoid gift cards. Even though they can make the perfect gift, I find them a bit too impersonal. I’ve done my best to include at least a few items that can be given to males, majority of items which are workplace appropriate and of course the four items I’ve picked for this year’s Secret Santa gifts.

Secret Santa Gifts Under $25

  • We buy both the traditional peppermint back and the cup version in bulk on Black Friday as it’s the perfect gift for neighbors, co-workers and family alike. If you’ve never tried it, they give out samples during the hoilday season in all the William-Sonoma stores. Trust me, one sample will turn into five if you’re like me. $12-$25
  • This Ole Henriksen On-The-Go set is perfect for that friend who is always dashing from her workout to the next social commitment or spends a lot of time jet-setting. $15
  • Over 8,200 consumers have made the KMASHI External Battery Bank the best selling iPhone batter pack on Amazon! The compact power bank can charge to iPhone, iPad, and Android at rapid speed and contains 6.5 hours of charging when full! $11.89
  • This Sephora Perfume Travel Sampler is perfect for any female as she is sure to like one of the seven scents featured in this mini set. Even better, she can exchange the included voucher for a FREE rollerball or travel spray of her favorite fragrance! $25
  • This Contigo 20 oz snap seal travel mug makes the perfect gift for anyone on your list! A spill-proof way to carry a smoothie, coffee or other favorite beverage to the office, this will quickly become their favorite to-go mug! $12.99
  • This candle brand has a cult following and now that they’ve made a mini size in six different scents, it will make anyone’s home smell delightful during the holidays and beyond. $12.00
  • This tiny Bluetooth speaker will allow everyone on your list to enjoy great sound quality wherever they go. Perfect for beach weekends, home office, cooking in the kitchen or at the park, this delivers up to 12 hours of sound! $15.85
  • This Jack Black Lip Balm set is perfect for anyone on your list! The hydrating and SPF protecting lip balm comes in four delicious flavors ranging from mint to mango. The brand makes it masculine enough for a guy but the benefits make it perfect for everyone! $25
  • This scarf will keep both men and women alike warm and cozy regardless of whether that’s in their freezing office or on the commute. $16.50
  • An ornament that is personalized to their hobbies, interests or their city is a great gift for anyone on your list who decorates a Christmas tree each year.  I typically find great ornaments at Anthropologie, Macy’s and Paper Source!

Your turn: What’s the best Secret Santa gift you’ve received or given? 

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Thanksgiving 2016

thanksgiving-2016

Hi, friends! Happy Tuesday! This post was actually supposed to go live yesterday but unfortunately, my draft mode didn’t work. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend and were able to enjoy some time with friends and family.  After enjoying five days of relaxation, Monday was  a VERY busy work day. I can’t remember the last time I took five days off of work, blogging and most social media without an actual vacation. This Thanksgiving staycation was exactly what I needed. Now, I get to kick off my favorite month of the year, December, energized and ready to accomplish everything on my personal and professional to-do list between now and the Christmas holidays.

In fact, I disconnected so much that when I went to my iPhone just now, to download images for this post, I realized I took a grand total of six pictures over the past five days.

Wednesday I spent the day relaxing in the city, casually running errands and enjoying a few things I rarely have time to savor and enjoy. I took a mid-day Strength class at Uplift, enjoyed a leisurely lunch at ByChefChloe, got a hair cut and watched a movie.

Thursday I started Thanksgiving with the fun and festive Prospect Park Track Club Turkey Trot 5-miler. This year my sole goal was to enjoy the race and gorgeous weather with my good friend Mary. We chatted the entire five miles, keeping a 9 minute jog/1 minute walk pace since neither of us have run very much lately. If you stay in New York City next year for Thanksgiving, I highly recommend this race. It’s very reasonably priced AND runners get great swag including a winter hat and medal.

pptc-turkey-trot

The rest of Thursday was spent in the kitchen with Bo as we prepared a Thanksgiving feast for six. We kept things simpler this year since we were hosting a smaller group and two of our guests were coming directly from a Thanksgiving lunch. Our menu included: perfect roasted turkey, stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, green beans, sweet potato casserole, corn bread and pumpkin cheesecake.

thanksgiving-2017

After cleaning up from Thursday night’s festivities, Bo and I spent the rest of Friday and Saturday together enjoying the sights, tastes and sounds of Manhattan and Brooklyn together. We went for a run together, took a special, 60-minute Turkey Burn Flywheel class with our favorite instructor, Josh Arden, tried a few new restaurants and went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. We ended Saturday with a combined birthday and anniversary dinner at Battersby, a wonderful restaurant that has been a neighborhood highlight since it opened in 2011.

We started transitioning from vacation mode to work mode on Sunday, spending much of the day running errands, doing laundry, cleaning the house and finally decorating our home for Christmas with Russell and Meg. The four of us spent Sunday evening decorating, catching up and laughing our way through Die Hard. Somehow, Meg nor I had ever seen the movie and after questioning how it was listed as a holiday classic Bo insisted we watch it.

die-hard

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Holiday Gift Guide – JCrew 40% Off Sale

I had no intentions of publishing my first Holiday Gift Guide today. In fact, I planned to kick off the holiday season tomorrow night, with my first gift guide going live at midnight on Black Friday.

However, it’s not every day that you get an email from your favorite retailer announcing their FIRST EVER 40% off sale! 

JCrew 40% off

After sharing the news with a few friends, this sale inspired me to do a little shopping for myself and create a favorite things gift guide for you guys. There are so many great things on their site right now at all price points. The collection below includes items as inexpensive as $16 to investment pieces that are around $300. Keep in mind that the below prices do not include the 40% discount that is applied when you use the code HOLIDAY in-store or online. While this sale lasts through November 27th, I would recommend shopping early as a few of my wish list items are already sold out in my size. I ordered the tassel earrings, cashmere sweater and silk blouse for myself this morning before shopping for friends and family.

I guess I’ll just have to stop in the Flatiron store after my workout this afternoon! Shop the sale now online or get more inspiration from their online gift guide.

Your turn – Are you shopping the 40% off JCrew sale? What did you buy for yourself or others? 

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored and instead is a list of the things of my favorite things this week. As normal, it includes lots of beauty and fashion items which means there are a few affiliate links via ShopStyle. It takes time and money to maintain a blog so I thank you for the support and few cents that come from clicking through the links!

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