Christmas gifts I purchased (for others) 2020

I've never really considered doing a post like this in the past, but I've done most of the shopping online this year so I thought it might be a little more fun! Of course, I can't really review any of the products, but hopefully this might just inspire some ideas if you're stuck for an idea for someone in your life. 

For my parents

Aloha Cuts coral circular plaque

This business does laser cut decorative wood products (included some custom stuff). It's probably not going to be apparent to an outsider, but the coral theme is actually perfect for my parents. They have lots of local themed things including small pieces like ornaments and coasters too!

Not pictured for obvious reasons, but we're also planning to treat my parents to dinner at a nice local restaurant to celebrate the holidays (when it's considered safe as well).

For my mother-in-law

Commissioned piece from @candicedoodles

I had shown this in my previous post about finally adding art to our home, but we ended up saving this piece for Christmas since we ended up giving my MIL a joint birthday gift with my SIL since this one isn't time sensitive. Meanwhile, it's actually been sitting on our cabinet in our house and I'm really going to miss seeing it everyday 😂

For my father-in-law, brother, brother-in-law and my older male cousins (all have a bit different expected gift-tiers) -

TRUFF Black truffle arrabiata pasta sauce and Black truffle pomodoro pasta sauce combo

TRUFF Variety Pack including the Original, White and Hotter Hot sauces in a fancy box

TRUFF Original Hot sauce

We got a variety of items from Truff - truffle chili hot sauces and their new pasta sauce! I had purchased the original hot sauce for my husband after one of my friends suggested it and he really liked it. This is something I didn't think the guys would buy for themselves (if they even had awareness of it at all) and is kind of more of a "fun item" that I think is good for gifting but still has use as a food product and something interesting to try. The pasta sauces are for my FIL and we intend to look for some interesting pasta to go with it. 

For my sister-in-law

TKEES Riley II in Nude Beach

Footwear is not the easiest gift to buy for others since the sizing is a lot more exact than clothing and can make a big difference, but luckily my MIL was able to help me find out my SIL's size. (And now it's easy for me to remember because we're the same size!) 

Commissioned portraits of her doggos by @iisekei 

Similar to the idea we had for my MIL, we thought something with a personal touch would be nice for my SIL. With the artist's permission, we had these drawings printed as wall mounted photos before wrapping them up them as a gift.

For my cousin's spouses/girlfriends

Saltwater Buddha coconut clay soaps in island style rainbow, sugar n shave ice and sweet leilani (2 each)

I had seen this as a product from a local online IG charity auction but I wasn't prepared to bid on it at the time. I bookmarked it instead because I knew I'd want to come back to it as a holiday gift for the women in my family! They all smell amazing but I think my personal favorite is Sugar n Shave Ice.

myHomeBody bath sponge [Amazon]

So the soaps were a bit pricey for my budget but I still wanted to get them sometimes to go with it that so the gift was bigger than a hockey puck, so I went looking for some reasonably priced, not poorly reviewed bath sponges on Amazon. I did initially consider going the natural sea sponge route but after reading about them, I wasn't sure if they were good to gift given that they require some care and aren't good for all skin types. (Maybe for me to try later though!) 

For my husband's cousins (younger than us)

Table top Ping Pong set with 2 paddles, ping pong balls and retractable net [Amazon]

Not from a small business unfortunately. I did get sucked into an Amazon main gift buy because we really thought this would be a great gift in our price range for my husband's 5 younger cousins who are all in college or live independently (from their parents but with roommates who they'd be able to play with). Especially during a pandemic, this seemed like a quick, fun indoor activity.

For my (husband's family's) secret santa (my husband's uncle) - gift not to exceed $75

Vessi Men's Cityscape in charcoal grey

Again, shoes can be a bit of a difficult gift yet I still insisted on buying another pair as a gift for Christmas this year lol. I had no idea to get for his uncle and we had brainstormed a bunch of ideas but nothing really stuck. This seemed like something practical but he probably wouldn't get for himself. Actually the retail price for these shoes definitely exceeds the spending limit but since I got a couple more pairs for myself and my husband as well, I was able to get a discount for these and I thought it would be perfect!

For my grandparents

Bingata-themed hand painted ceramic coasters (set of 4) from @candicedoodles

Her first sets of the coasters sold so quickly - by the time I conferred with my husband about which set we liked best, they were already gone! Luckily, Candice gave us the opportunity to pre-order a second set that were still available before Christmas. My grandma is Okinawan and even if they don't really use coasters all that much, these are still super beautiful art pieces imo!

For my bestie

Her birthday is actually on December 19, so some of these items are actually for her birthday as well and that's why there's so many different small pieces, but I was lucky to be able to take advantage of some Black Friday sales/deals so I wanted to include them too.

Olivia Burton Celebration Bee Pen with Light Turquoise Crystal in Rose Gold

Obvious but I got the December birthstone because her birthday is in December. She also likes bees and it just so happened to come in rose gold! She also doodles a lot and still uses pen/paper for notes sometimes so I thought it would be fun but still useful.

Olivia Burton Meant to Bee notebook set

This was purchased mostly to go with the pen and so I could get free shipping. But also I just think they're cute and didn't even realize Olivia Burton had notebooks until I went searching through every single section lol. It was a bit of a gamble because I had no idea how many pages they would be or what the lining would look like, but since it was mostly an aesthetic purchase to pair with the pen, I thought it would be worth it. 

Local themed washi tape from @okaa_san 

These are ridiculously cute washi tapes with local (Hawaii) themes. I couldn't resist trying to get a set during a really limited release.

Kakou Collective Monstera Planner Clip

This was just a cute little clip that I added to my cart when buying some stickers because it made me think of my friend!

Island Christmas gift tags set from @designjord

I initially put these in my cart for myself but when they arrived and I saw them in person, I knew she would really enjoy them so I put them into her birthday gift so she'd still have time to use them before Xmas!

Saltwater Buddha coconut clay soaps in kai (sea salt & surf)

I absolutely had to get her her own soap because she's a surfer girl and also loves the Punky Aloha illustrations! When I saw this scent, I instantly knew I wanted to get it for her. 

Pikaole Redbubble chicken and chick apron

She's planning on getting some silkie chickens in the future, so I thought of her when I saw this design from @pikaole! 

XIX Palms (local business) Guadalupe Flounce Top and Midi Skirt

This set was her primary Christmas gift. I knew she liked this brand and signed up for promotional emails in early November to ensure that I would be notified of any sales during the holiday season and get a welcome offer coupon. When this set came up and her size was available, I bought it immediately! My only issue was that I had to hope that she wouldn't buy it for herself in the mean time :O

TKEES Duos II in brownie

My bestie and I share the same shoe size so when I was getting a pair for myself during the Black Friday sale, I definitely thought to get her a pair as well to help complete the outfit I wanted to gift her. 

For my husband 

Vessi Everyday Sneakers in Midnight black & a matching pair for myself!

So my husband and I don't exchange gifts for the traditional gift-giving occasions (holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc), but I bought these at this time so I could get the discount I wanted for my secret santa gift to ensure it was in budget! Plus I've been considering getting a different type of shoe for hiking and a lot of Oahu hikes are in dirt/mud, so I thought we might give these a try + could be good for matching shoes for travel?? (when less COVID lol)

For myself ;)

My own Olivia Burton Mean to Be notebook set, Vessi Everyday Sneakers, TKEES studio scalloped II, TKEES Unicorns III, Wrappily Punky Aloha gift wrap set from Valia Honolulu, Punky Aloha E Komo Mai print

These aren't really Christmas gifts but I did do some shopping for myself while I was browsing the sales and then "contributing" to totals for free shipping, haha. 

Although the gift list wasn't entirely from small businesses/shopping local, I still felt like I was taking a step in the right direction while keeping in my budget and finding items that I think the recipients will like. I usually like to just shop in stores for Christmas so this was a change for me but mostly in a positive way. Hope you all have a great holiday season and continue to stay safe!💕