My 2024 Holiday Gift Guide (And A Cookie Recipe!)
If you're still shopping, here are some ideas!
Hello, readers! Wow, there are a few of you here! How exciting! Thanks for subscribing. I hope to keep you entertained.
I’ve been recently making more of an effort to do the influencer thing and reach out to brands I like and see if they’d be interested in partnering. And a lot of them have! But then is the question of….how do I actually get the word out about this stuff? Enter this post. If you’re still looking for gifts for your loved ones this year (I certainly am!) then here are some things I genuinely like and recommend. Yes, for most of these, I get a little bonus if you shop my link and/or use my code, but you get a discount and a cool thing, and I get like, five bucks! Win-win.
So here, without further ado, my 2024 Holiday Gift Guide!
Shirts from Homage - If you haven’t met Homage yet, boy oh boy get ready to feel soft and comfy AND rep your favorite shows and movies (or sports teams!). My husband turned me on to them years ago, and I am not kidding when I tell you they make the best t-shirts around. I have this “No Crying in Baseball” shirt (probably my fave, I am literally wearing it right now), this Leslie Knope shirt, this “Coffee’s for Closers” tee (not because of Glengarry Glen Ross, but the Fall Out Boy song of the same name, which is one of my faves), this Ron vs Leslie tee. They’ve got so many different movies and shows that you can certainly find something for everyone on your list. And did I mention how comfy???
Harney & Sons Tea - The best tea around! We were introduced to H&S by our friend Tara Perry, who gave us some of the Hot Cinnamon Spice when we were over at her place, and we’ve never looked back. Their teas are so flavorful. I just saw they have a salted caramel flavor, so, if anyone wants to get that for ME, well, it’s on my Christmas list.
Bombas Socks - My husband Sean always gets everyone in our families a pair of Bombas for Christmas. And as it turns out, they are indeed the best socks. They have all kinds to choose from - ankle, calf, merino wool, not merino wool - and for every purchase, they donate clothing items to folks in need. So you’re giving double! I also love their grippy slippers - they were huge for my mom when she was recovering from hip surgery recently, and I love my pair too!
Donovan Pottery - Handcrafted fandom mugs. Need I say more? They have LotR mugs aplenty (I’m waiting on my own to arrive!), but they also have Dune, Avatar, Harry Potter, and more. Plus stickers, tees, teas, and other things. Use my code “MKWILES” for 10% off your order!
Elevated Craft - If you, like me, turned into a home bartender during the pandemic, then Elevated Craft makes the best cocktail shaker you can find. Yes, they are pricey, but it’s totally worth it if you make drinks at home just as much as you get them out (and with cocktails costing upwards of $20 these days, who doesn’t??). We love love love our essential edition shaker, which is insulated so your hands don’t get cold while you shake, and it has measurements built right into the lid. Highly recommend for the aspiring mixologist in your life.
Son de Flor - Having seen influencers like Rachel Maksy and A Clothes Horse wearing/posting Son de Flor for years, I’ve been dreaming of having my own. Maybe you have dreamed of this too? Or you know someone who has? I have a pinafore dress on its way to me now, but gosh, I just looked at the new A Clothes Horse collection and GAHHH. I’m droolin’.
So there you have it! I promise not every post coming from me on this new platform will just be affiliate links, but it IS the holiday season and I DO genuinely use and like all these things and I HOPE that this might be helpful to you if you are still trying to decide what to get the people in your life (or yourself)!
In addition to my holiday gift guide, I wanted to share with you my best standby cookie recipe in case you’ve got a cookie party coming up and you need a last minute Hail Mary. These cookies are not exactly holiday cookies, but they are crowd pleasers, and they couldn’t be easier. I have so many fond memories of making them with my mom from since I was wee. I was making them the night I broke my arm in 2022. Me and these cookies have been through a lot together. You have likely had them, or some version of them - I thought everybody had had these, but there are a few folks I’ve come across to whom they are completely new. So without further ado, my version of No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Cookies:
No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Cookies
This particular recipe came out of some old church cookbook my mom has had around for ages. It might have been my grandma’s before her, I’m not sure. We’ve tweaked it a bit to suit us. As you can see in the picture, I’m using Bob’s Red Mill gluten free oats, but you certainly don’t have to use gf oats if you don’t need to be gluten free. (In theory, all oats should be gluten free, but most are not due to cross-contamination in processing, so if you do need things to be gf, make sure you check the labels. I like Bob’s a lot!) Hershey’s cocoa is always gluten free, score!
2 cups sugar
5 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 stick of butter
3 cups uncooked rolled oats (maybe more, use your judgement)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
Prep a sheet of wax paper on your countertop. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, salt, milk, and butter. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil and boil for two minutes, stirring. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, peanut butter, and oats. Depending on the consistency, I usually throw in a few more oats to make the oats-to-chocolate ratio the way I like it, but you do you. Spoon immediately onto wax paper, and let them sit and set up until solid, maybe about 20 minutes. Take a few bites if you want while you wait. Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for a few days - if they last that long.
Hope you enjoy! Thanks again for being here, for reading and supporting. Sending you best wishes for a warm and lovely holiday season.
Wanna support me even more? Here are some ways.
Check out my group Shipwrecked Comedy. We’ve made a lot of shows, shorts, and series you might enjoy, and are currently putting out The Case of the Greater Gatsby, a film noir comedy audio narrative.
Listen to my podcast Anne of the Island - a radio-play style reading of the third book in LM Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series - and consider supporting it on Patreon.
Do you love someone else doing your shopping for you? Me too. I’ve been using Stitch Fix for the past year and a half and I really love it. Give it a try, if you like.
Or, if you’d rather rent than buy, try nuuly, another service I’ve really enjoyed using when I need a fancy outfit or just want to try something new without committing.
Definitely want to try these cookies. Will try and test it with less sugar though 🤔Wish I lived in the US. Best I don't check out the links. Otherwise I see expensive shipping costs plus import tax etc. coming this way 😅