I would like to take one little second to introduce myself. My name is Kelsey Balch and I am the author of ‘The Balch Bunch’. I write about a lot of things, bits and pieces of this and that but mostly about my little nugget Channing Layne and our little family that consists of: Chandler (the hubby), Me, Channing Layne, Benz (the English bulldog), and Bentley (the Maltese). Go and take a look… we are pretty awesome. I am so excited to be guest blogging for Ms. Neely… so here it goes!
I totally LOVE Real Simple and their latest issue has a ton of amazing gift ideas for the people that are hardest to buy for and awesome fashion finds for those upcoming holiday parties that you may be attending! They also have ‘out of the box’ ideas which I LOVE because who wants to give the same old same old? I wanted to share a few of the ideas with you and also just throw in a few web sites that you may or may not already know about that have great deals here and there!
Girly Things:
Isabel Toledo, the designer who came up with the First Lady’s inaugural dress, currently has a shoe line at… PAYLESS! Umm, hello awesomeness! The heels are around $50 and are pretty cute.
http://www.payless.com/images/
I am currently in LOVE with sequins; I like to think of it as my inner Rachel Zoe! I thought the dress below was too cute and what a great price! At $69 dollars this sparkly little number from Macy’s is a great buy and totally cute for any holiday get together whether it is formal or a little more casual. I am a believer that you can dress up or dress down sequins anytime.
http://img4.realsimple.com/
Real Simple also features a ‘Letterpress desk calendar’ It is so cute and perfect for the person who loves a good calendar but does want a generic wall calendar at their desk consisting of random skylines or random flowers. This one comes with a great little stand and cards for every month in different colors with different designs on each one. Price $48.
Who hasn’t swooned over the cuteness of the macaroon lately? Go to the Macaron Parlour on Etsy and take a look! They come in all sorts of crazy flavors and look oh so delish! I think it is $20 for 9.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/
Guy things:
Whiskey Aftershave from www.portlandgeneralstore.com . What guy wouldn’t want an aftershave made with a little whiskey? $12.
Go to www.bambeco.com for the most awesome dog tennis balls ever. They come in all sorts of great colors and also say ‘Good Dog’ on them. You can get 30 balls for $10 and for $2 more you can get them personalized with your dog’s name. How great is that!
Ok I will admit it… I am NOT the biggest NFL fan but this NFL logo toaster just made me laugh! Go to www.hsn.com to look for the ProToast NFL toaster! Price $33.
And for the ‘sophisticated’ spirit consumer in your gifting circle check these little treats out!
Literally the true Champagne of beers. ‘Infinium’ is from the makers of Sam Adams Beer. How fun would this be for the guy who doesn’t enjoy champagne on new years or at the holiday toasting? Price $20 I am not positive where to find it but I am guessing any good liquor store or Central Market or Whole Foods might carry it.
Hudson little whiskey’s. Price $32-42 for 375ml’s. You can find them online at a few different web sites. Hurry if you like them because they seem to be selling out FAST!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/
Mustache drinking glasses. HILAIRE. They come in a variety of sizes and the price ranges from around $15-20.
Kid Gifts and Stocking Stuffers:
Recordable storybooks are the coolest thing out there right now for your little ones. They have tons of books to choose from and they are not all Christmas books. Real Simple Magazine even has a $5 coupon you can use towards one. We are getting one for Channing and asking our parents to each get one for her and record their voices reading the book to her. I think that is the coolest idea.
How great is this? A flat bear to cuddle with when napping or going to bed at night or even just watching your fave TV show ie: sesame street or baby Einstein!! Price $49
How cute is this T-shirt for the little guy in your life? They have several colors and different styles to choose from. Price $37
Forget the play vacuums of yesterday. Give the gift of Dyson to your little one for just $23.50. What a deal and stylish too!
Stuff the stocking of the fun loving person in your life with the straw that is also a pair of eye glasses. Pretty funny pretty funny!
For the beer and wine connoisseur in your live this is a great stocking stuffer. For $5 they can keep track of their faves here and there in this handy little journal! What a deal and a great idea!
http://usa.loccitane.com/FO/
Shea Butter Balm…. You can use this for cuticles, hands, feet, lips and they say even on your hair. Price $15. LOVE!!
I hope that this post has been of some help to you in your holiday shopping ventures. If anything I hope that it was fun to read and sparked some ideas of your own for the special people you will be shopping for in your life. Happy holiday season from my blog to yours! –Kelsey www.balchbunch.blogspot.com
I also want to give credit to Real Simple for these tasty ideas. I tried to link up to every product and give them credit. I enjoyed relaying these great ideas to you guys!
LOVING these ideas!! I have bookmarked your suggestions, I’m going to check out your blog and become a new follower!