The holidays are fast approaching, and with the early snowfall we got here in Toronto this year, it really feels like it! If anything, it makes it easier to get into the holiday spirit even sooner and allows us to stretch out this joyous time of the year.
It may also act as a reminder to get on your holiday shopping sooner than later! I always tell myself I’m going to finish all of my shopping in November, and of course, December rolls around and then I’m left to battle the crowds.
But not this year! I’m changing the story and getting a headstart on my holiday shopping so I can have somewhat of a relaxing holiday season when all the fun parties and get-togethers are happening!
If you want to join me in getting a headstart on your holiday shopping and make this your first stress-free December, the Joyous Team and I have put together a few of our ideas of what we’re thinking of gifting people this year.
Each of us has our “things” that we’re particularly passionate about. For me, it’s clean beauty & food; for Walker, it’s technology; for Carol, it’s baking; for Rachel, it’s self-care. So, if you are looking for a gift for a specific type of person in your life, you might find this gift guide helpful!
What Joy Is Gifting This Year: Clean Beauty & Food
I love putting together stocking stuffers and clean nail polish is the perfect item because it’s small in size and not costly. I love these colours by Pure Anada and appreciate that they are free of the 5 most toxic ingredients found in conventional nail polish.
2. THE Body Love Holiday Bundle
Giving the gift of non-toxic skincare and converting someone to a clean beauty enthusiast brings me so much joy! This Body Love Bundle is made for either a natural beauty newbie or a seasoned clean beauty pro on the hunt for natural products that work. The body butter in this bundle is something I use every single day and there are many more uses for it that go beyond just applying it to your skin. Stay tuned, this bundle is coming soon!
3. KitchenAid Mini Food Processor
I’ve always said that the most useful kitchen appliance is a food processor. I use my food processor multiple times per week, so this is a gift I love giving because it makes food prep quicker and more efficient. You could also gift one of my books, either Joyous Detox or Joyous Health with it as well, since a food processor is helpful to make many of the recipes in it. My favourite mini food processor comes in a ton of cute colours too! My favourite one is the “ice blue”.
I’m sure you’re not surprised that The Joyous Cookbook is on my list of gift-giving! Even though it doesn’t come out until December 31st, 2019, I will be including gift cards for my friends and family to order my book so they get it delivered on New Year’s Eve—just in time to start off the new year joyously and deliciously! If you preorder The Joyous Cookbook for someone, it’ll benefit you as well since you’ll get my free recipe preview bundle complete with 6 recipes from The Joyous Cookbook.
5. Gift card to a local natural foods store
I LOVE supporting local independent stores like The Sweet Potato or Organic Garage in Toronto, which is why gift cards to local natural health food stores make such a great gift for the foodie in your life (hint hint, are you hearing this, Walker? haha!).
What Walker is Gifting This Year: Technology
1. FUJIFILM INSTAX MINI 9
Much like vinyl records and moustaches, film photography is having a bit of a renaissance these days. Phones and digital cameras are great for SO many reasons, but there’s something to be said about holding a physical picture in your hands.
That’s where the Instax Mini 9 comes in—it’s a small, fun and (relatively) affordable camera that instantly prints out out your shots. Joy and I have been using one for the last few months when we’ve gotten together with friends and family, and no matter how many pictures people take on their phones, everyone always stops and stares at the blank canvas as the picture starts to develop.
2. FAZUP MOBILE RADIATION PATCHES
I recently discovered Fazup Mobile Radiation Patches at a trade show this past September. Originally from France, it claims that: “a passive antenna that interacts with the integrated antenna within your the mobile phone. This interaction modifies the spectrum of radiation your phone produces, which reduces the emission of radiation towards your head when you make a call and towards your body when you carry your phone.”
Given the amount of time we spend around mobile devices, anything we can do to mediate the amount of radiation we encounter on the daily is a good thing in my books.
What Carol Is Gifting This Year: Baking Essentials
My holiday guide is dedicated to the beginner baker in your life. These items are in my arsenal of tools and have taken my baking to a whole new level!
1. KitchenAid Stand Mixer
No tool comes in more handy than a KitchenAid stand mixer—you can make anything and everything from a batch of cookies, a layer cake, to ice cream with this baby. It also comes in so many colours that are sure to match your baker’s personality.
I love nothing more than baking sustainably, and lowering the amount of waste is key when you’re baking a lot. Even though some parchment papers are compostable, a good quality, silicone baking mat is something that every baker should have, and plus, it makes your baked goods come out perfectly!
Chocolate! Yup, chocolate! Really good quality chocolate is essential. While my go-to is always Lindt, Made Good Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips is a really great brand for those conscious of refined sugar.
To thank this special baker in your life for always making you some goodies (because that’s half the point of gifting baking tools, right?), a really thoughtful gift would be this Maple Cake Stand. It’s amazing, not just for showing off cakes, but to proudly display cookies, a fresh apple pie or a savoury galette.
5. The Cozy Tea Holiday Bundle
Last but not least, nothing beats curling up on the sofa with a warm blanket and a cup of tea with a cookie (or two), so your baker will definitely love The Cozy Tea Holiday Bundle in the Joyous Shop.
What Rachel Is Gifting This Year: Self-Care
Self-care, to me, has never really meant occasional “treats” like face masks and bubble baths. In my mind, self-care is a daily habit that includes, but is not limited to, eating wholesome food that you enjoy that make you feel good, wearing clothing that make you feel awesome and moving your body in a way that you love and makes you feel your best!
Self-care is the best gift we can give to ourselves and others, which is why I’ve rounded up some of my favourite self-care tools that I’ll be gifting the special people in my life this year!
Let me put it this way: when I get to the bottom of my underwear drawer and realize there’s none of my Knixwear underwear left, I feel very, very sad (haha!). Not only do I LOVE Knixwear as a company and what they stand for, but their products are amazing and inclusive of all body types. I would recommend everything from their Evolution Tank, Longevity Bra, V-Neck Evolution Bra, Leafproof Boyshort Underwear or Leakproof Thongs.
2. Made With Local Real Food Bars
Anyone who I’ve recommended Made With Local's Real Food Bars to has instantly fallen in love! These are great to sneak into a stocking, or perhaps you want to gift a few boxes of their Real Food Bar Mixes or their Real Food Bar Mix along with your favourite honey and nut/seed butter. Granola bars might seem like a bit of a funny gift, but I can assure you, whoever you gift these to will be thanking you for months to come when they have a whole cupboard full of healthy snacks to turn to. Made With Local is also Joyous Health Approved!
3. The Healthy Hair Holiday Bundle
Someone recently told me I was “hair goals" and I was both super flattered and downright shocked because I truly don’t do a whole lot with my hair, which led me to believe that it must be due to the products that I use.
I only use the Natural Hair Care line that we have available in the Joyous Shop including the Natural Lavender Shampoo, Natural Lavender Conditioner and Dark Hair Dry Shampoo. With the help of our free Natural Hair Care Challenge (which you should totally sign up for!), I can also go longer in between washes, which helps to prevent drying out my hair.
The main thing I’ve noticed from using our Joyous Shampoo and Conditioner is that my hair and scalp feel super clean and with the help of the Dark Hair Dry Shampoo, I’m able to get a ton of volume and body in my hair—and it makes me feel amazing! I'll never use anything else.
4. Peloton App membership
Okay, this is a recent discovery, but I am OBSESSED. Admittedly, I’m a group fitness lover and thought I would never be able to work out on my own again. Then I came across the Peloton App, which allows you to live stream interactive workouts to do on the treadmill, bike and more.
And let me tell you, I’ve never had as much fun on a treadmill as I did when I did a Peloton treadmill workout the other day!
There are so many different classes to choose from, engaging and motivating instructors and they also coordinate with your playlist. You can try it for free for 30 days without putting down any credit card information, but even gifting someone with a 3-month membership to the Peloton app would be such a wonderful gift ($19.49 + tax/month).
5. Wildcraft Geranium Orange Face Cream
Okay, so maybe self-care is a bit “face mask-like” to me, but the difference is that I bring this self-care habit into my daily life every night before bed. This Geranium Orange Face Cream from Wildcraft is SO nourishing and moisturizing, especially in the winter when skin tends to be much more dry. It would act as a great stocking stuffer or gift to almost anyone, as it's suitable for most skin types! I should also mention that it's Joyous Health Approved!
I hope this post gave you some inspiration and helped to get you excited about holiday shopping!
If you’re looking for more gift ideas, I recommend taking a look at this Joyous Holiday Gift Guide, which has gift ideas for the mama, the wellness entrepreneur, health newbie, clean beauty babe and guy in your life!
I’ll also be pinning gift ideas on Pinterest if you want to get more inspiration over there as well.
Have a joyous holiday season, my friends!
Joy xo
