I absolutely LOVE shopping for Christmas gifts…and just shopping in general, so I’ve had a blast putting together my holiday gifts this year! Instead of venturing into the craziness at the mall to do my shopping, I’ve been purchasing all of my presents online at http://www.amazon.com – and let me tell you: it’s the best decision I’ve ever made! There is absolutely NOTHING better than shopping stress free from the comfort of your own home. After I stopped working at the mall in September, I haven’t really frequented it, aside from a handful of times. When I went to visit my sister at work on Wednesday afternoon last week, the mall was jam packed and it gave me anxiety!!! There were way too many people and the stores were so trashed that it made even window shopping obnoxious. One of the best things about Amazon is that it’s literally a one stop shop. They have everything you could possibly need to put together an awesome gift. There’s a few gifts that I’ve grown particularly fond of giving over the past few years that I’d like to share with you guys. Hopefully this will spark some ideas to help finish all of your holiday shopping!

TV Series Box Sets: These are literally the bread and butter of my Christmas gifts. It all started years ago when my mom would get my dad the Seinfeld seasons for his birthday or holidays. Then we started watching Curb Your Enthusiasm once we were confident that we’ve seen every Seinfeld episode known to man kind. My mom would get the seasons from the library but that gets annoying really quick when the DVDs skip from being scratched so much. So I took it upon myself to carry on my moms tradition and buy my dad a season or two for every gift giving occasion until we had the complete series. He loved it! Box sets of TV shows are so convenient, especially when the show you like to watch has to be accessed on the computer. Last year my sister was obsessed with Breaking Bad, but she could only watch it on Netflix, so Sarah the Gift Giving Extraordinaire got her the DVDs to solve the problem of her always hijacking the computer. This year I got my parents the box set of Six Feet Under, their new obsession that they can only access on http://www.hbogo.com. I also got my sister the last seasons of Breaking Bad to complete her collection and season one of The Strain. Unfortunately, Kristen already knows that she’s getting The Strain because she told me a few days ago that she planned on buying it so I had to tell her that I already had it pre ordered for her! She was still really happy all the same though!!

Board Games: This might be kind of a lame idea but I promise you that it’s effective!!! Nothing makes parents more happy than family game night….okay well maybe there’s a few things that make them happier – but still. This year I bought a strategy game Cards VS Dice for my brainiac brother and his fiance. My sister has been talking about wanting to get Cards Against Humanity for a while and I’ve heard that it’s a lot of fun, so I bought the starter packs of the game as a gift to everyone in the family. Some other fun games that I’d recommend if you’re thinking about giving a board game gift to your family are: Catch Phrase, Apples to Apples, Crush, and Quiddler. Another thing that falls under the game category would be puzzles. I got one of my brothers a jigsaw puzzle of one of his favorite football stadiums so that we could assemble it together. After the puzzle is complete I thought it would be cool to glue it together and frame it for a cool addition to his room.

Bath & Body Products: I know, I know – this is an obvious one. But let me fill you in on why I’m writing about it. Have you ever felt like a gift that you purchased just wasn’t enough? BOOM. Bath and body care is the perfect add on to a gift to make it feel more full and complete. The nice thing about getting somebody gifts to pamper themselves with is that they might not buy stuff like that on their own. Apparently not every grown woman buys bubble bath products anymore. Go figure. But anyways, I always buy some goodies from The Body Shop for my girlfriends to add on to their presents, and they love it every time. Just an FYI that in store and online The Body Shop has some extremely cute and very reasonably priced gift sets – you can check them out at http://www.thebodyshop.com!

Vacation Planning Books: Is there anyone in your family or friends that loves planning vacations? My dad would be that person in my family! He loves traveling and planning amazing family vacations. Next summer we plan on going to Universal Studios in Florida, so as part of his gift I bought him the 2015 guide to the amusement parks. I’m well aware that lots of local libraries carry these travel books, but it’s nice to own them so you can take notes and highlight things that look like fun in them. Do you know for sure that you’re going to be going on a vacation with family, friends, or a significant other? If so, another fun gift for the vacation planners would be purchasing a gift card to a restaurant in the area or making I Owe You cards for dinner or souvenirs from your travel location.

Gifts That Serve a Purpose: How many gifts have you received over the years that sit in your closet to this day? My number one rule for gift purchasing is buying things that I know for a fact the recipient is going to use. My best friend Lea loves writing down her daily schedule for school and work in a planner, so I got her a really cute 2015 planner and a travel coffee cup to match it. My parents like having a 365 day calender to look at over breakfast in the morning, so naturally that was an obvious gift to get them. My mom needs a new laptop case for work, so of course I’m going to get it for her. Gift giving becomes super easy when you think about what each person would definitely use. There’s also a 99% chance that the people who you’re purchasing for are going to love the handy gift you got them, which will save you from the awkward “did you happen to save the receipt” conversations!

So there you have it, the Lil Red Recommends – Holiday Gift Edition! Hopefully these suggestions will help with your holiday shopping this year! What was your favorite gift you’ve ever received? What gift are you most excited about giving this year? Leave me a comment and let’s chat! -Sarah