holiday gift guide: julie o

i am blessed with a fab group of local galfriends.  this particular gal and i share a portuguese heritage, ridic NYC past,  and love of all things awesome.

check out julie o's gift guide.  {case and point.}

julie's gift ideas for . . .

sister, friend or mom:

love the jcrew monogram shop.  always feel like a monogram makes gifts feel a little more personal.  this season, loving the cashmere scarf in orange. lots of cute cardigans that can be monogrammed as well!

one of my go-to gifts, marye-kelley frames.  i like to give one that has personal meaning and when possible to include a picture in the frame.

faux fur blanket from restoration hardware...how cozy for cold winter night!! (could be for hubby too!)

 kate spade 'no sleep till brooklyn' idiom bracelet...to remind us of the old days in nyc!

little girls:

blabla dolls! my favorite gift to give (and get!)

love, love the pottery barn pink retro kitchen set...

also love all of the melissa and doug food sets- some favorites here are ice cream set, sushi. . .

the alex arts and crafts sets are fab (for boys and girls)- paper bag puppets, and cupcake crafts are some of our faves. also love the 'my giant busy box' kit that has a all sorts of crafts in one spot.

LEAPPAD!! If you can find one! Send one my way if you come across one! A is dying for one!

little boys:

superhero capes on etsy...thinking c may be in his every day! :) oh no, look out seaside!

balance bikes (for inbetween tricycle and 2 wheeler)

of course, the star wars sneakers...which i think i am going to live to regret!

stocking stuffers:

Lump of Kohl soap- kind of funny? never used it!

"Lump of Kohl is a skin detox treatment that uses bamboo charcoal to remove impurities and chemicals from the skin and pure goat milk from Beekman Farm to moisturize the skin and keep skin pH balanced."

My Quotable Kid Journal- perfect for any parent to have on hand!

can't go wrong with some jewelry in your stocking (hint, hint mike!)

hostess:

yummy bottle of champagne?

peppermint dipped spoons and hot chocolate from crate and barrel...with some fun mugs or hot chocolate!

LH: what's the best gift you've ever gotten?

JO: hmmm...gold jimmy choo's from my daughter avery (when she was 4!) who loves to share my shoes! :)

LH: what's the best gift i've ever given?

JO: to mike, 3 years ago.  connor was only a few months old, avery was 2.  we were stressed, sleep deprived, adjusting to life with 2 babies.  i thought that what mike and i really "needed" was some time together.  i gave him "the 12 DATES of christmas" (get it, like days...).  i wrapped 12 gifts that went with a date night.  they ranged in price, and types of dates.  1 was a rubber ducky= duck tour in boston (something I had always wanted to do), 1 was ipod with download of 'walking tour of marblehead'...and of course a list of all so we didn't forget! :)

LH: what are you most excited to give this year?

JO: still have lots of shopping left to do! :)

LH: what are your favorite holiday traditions?

JO: so many!! love starting traditions with my kids that we had when i was little- we have the advent calendar that my mom made when i was 1 (and we used every christmas until my bro went to college!), reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve, french toast casserole on Christmas morning, giving a and c an ornament every year that is a reminder of something that happened, somewehere we went, or something they were into that year...

tradition for mike and i of going 'away' at christmas time to take a break from the craziness, and enjoy shopping, eating, drinking, celebrating getting ready for the holidays- started with nantucket christmas stroll, past few years has been staying in boston- but, doesn't really matter where it is! :) 

thanks, julie for always giving me the best gift of all- laughter!  merry Christmas to you and yours!  bring on the champers!