gift – Belle Antiquarian

Countdown to Christmas: This Year’s Best Advent Calendars

It’s November 1st, and if you haven’t started planning out your fun Christmas activities, today is a great day to start. One of our family’s favorite traditions is an advent calendar. They’ve changed over the years as our kids have grown. Some years I put together the little advent goodies to open each day, but on other years I felt like it was much easier to buy one that was ready-made. Today I am sharing a dozen of the best advent calendars you can find this year.

Below you can find a description of each calendar. You can either click on the name of the calendar to be taken directly to the retailer, or you can click on the photo below to be taken to my LTK shop. Did I miss a really great advent calendar that you’d recommend? Be sure to let me know in the comments.

Playmobil was the very first advent calendar our kids did! Pro tip: This is actually a reusable advent calendar. Open the boxes carefully and save them to use again year after year. Click HERE for the Playmobil advent calendar.

Pukka Tea makes a wonderful advent calendar. My daughter and I did this together one year, and it is one of her favorite memories. Pukka tea is organic and sustainably sourced. Click HERE for the Pukka Tea advent calendar.

Dog Treat advent calendar is always fun to do at least one year if you have a furry friend. Our family had a ton of fun spoiling our pups with these delicious treats each day. We even made them pose with a Santa hat to get a cute photo opening their box each day. Click HERE for the dog treat advent calendar.

Rituals bath, body, and beauty advent calendar is really exciting for the makeup fan in your house. It even comes with little string lights to decorate the tree. Click HERE for the Rituals advent calendar.

Sugarfina advent calendar is perfect for the person who wants a little sweet treat each day. Each drawer is filled with FOUR pieces of candy! Click HERE for the Sugarfina advent calendar.

Harry & David Deluxe Advent Calendar is highly rated. These are some of the most decadent truffles you can taste. Click HERE for the Harry & David advent calendar.

This Wooden Advent Calendar is perfect for busy, small hands. No worries if they want to add the ornaments over and over again. With 5-star reviews from parents who love it, you can’t go wrong with it for small children. Click HERE for the wooden advent calendar.

Lego Advent Calendars are a hit with kids and adults who are kids-at-heart! Our college aged son picked this out for himself this year; he remembers having a lot of fun doing a similar one as a kid. Click HERE for the Lego Advent Calendar.

Coffee Advent Calendars are perfect for the coffee lover. They’re going to drink a cup each morning, so why not make it fun and festive? We love this one for the Keurig owner. Click HERE for the coffee advent calendar.

I am especially excited about this Bon Mamman advent calendar. I love their French jams and honey. For the price, I think this is one is a gem. It has sold out on a few websites, but I found one that still has it in stock. Click HERE for the Bon Mamman advent calendar.

Ornament advent calendars can help you get into the holiday spirit each day. At $125, this is one of the pricier advent calendars on the list this year, but I think these little glass ornaments are beautiful. Pro tip: save the calendar to store the ornaments in for next year. Click HERE for the ornament advent calendar.

The Adventure Challenge advent calendar is one of the more affordable calendars on the list this year. It is also one of my favorite finds! This advent calendar has a little scratch off box each day with an activity to do together with your loved ones. The website says, “this holiday edition was created to help build new holiday traditions, find new ways to connect during a busy season, and enjoy time with loved ones.” Love it! Click HERE for the adventure challenge advent calendar.

I’d love to know which ones your family did this year! Follow me on Facebook to share a photo of your advent calendar. You can also find me on Instagram and LTK, just search “BelleAntiquarian.”

Until next time!

Abby

November 1, 2022

AbbyLeave a comment

Activity Gift Guides for the Whole Family

Today I am sharing some activity related gift guides for the whole family. These are gift ideas for the “tech tired” shopper. The gifts featured are ones that will involve the gift recipient in fun activities and hobbies and will get them up off of the couch and off of their phones.

Below each picture you’ll find a list of the items in each group. You can either click on the item’s name to be taken directly to the site, or you can click on the picture to find the gift guide on my LTK where I’ll be featuring curated gift guides all season long.

Here are a few gift ideas for the the men:

Click the photo to find the commissionable links for these exact gifts.

Here are some activity gift ideas for Women:

Click the photo to be taken to the exact links for these gifts.

Here are some activity gift ideas for the older teen boy:

Click the photo to find the exact links for these gifts.

Here are some activity gift ideas for the older teen girl:

Next are some activity gift ideas for kids:

Finally, here are some activity gift ideas for toddlers to enjoy:

If you’re looking for more gift ideas this season, be sure to follow me on LTK or subscribe to my blog in the box below. (You can unsubscribe at any time.)

Activity gift guides for the whole family

October 26, 2022

AbbyLeave a comment

What Do You Give Someone Who Has Everything?

Consumable gifts are gifts that are going to be used. This could be something that is eaten or something that will last for just a season. Of the two categories I am featuring today (Consumables/Experiences), I generally prefer to give consumable gifts the most. Consumable gifts require less effort for the gift recipient.

Here are a few examples of consumable gifts:

Real Christmas greenery – This can work for both local and long-distance gifts. For several years we bought table top Christmas trees or wreaths for both my Dad, who lives 1,500 miles away, and my Mother-in-Law, who lives 30 minutes away. This a great gift that will last for the season, and then it can just be thrown away. HERE is my favorite place to order from. Make sure that you enter the shipping address as the gift recipient’s address. Also be sure to leave a gift message. When I receive an email notification that it’s been shipped, I like to call or send a text that says, “Something we ordered for you should arrive on XX/XX/XXXX. Merry Christmas!”
Specialty food gifts – This is often a decadent splurge that people don’t spend on themselves, but love to receive as gifts. In the past I have sent filet steaks for a big birthday year. I have also sent gifts of gourmet pears, apples, and specialty cheeses. These are great gifts for long-distance family members. For local family members, I like to put together my own basket at World Market or order one from Sprouts. When I am ordering food gifts to be shipped, THIS is my food gift favorite retailer. If you want to take a specialty food gift up a notch, consider a food of the month subscription! I’ll never forget the year my parents were gifted a subscription to the Fruit of the Month – it was something we all looked forward to!
Another great “consumable” gift is a personalized calendar. You can easily create and personalize one with digital photos. At the end of the year, your gift recipient isn’t left with any clutter or junk; they can simply throw it away! One year for Christmas I created a calendar for my dad. Each month featured different pictures of him with his grandkids. I would say that is 100% grandparent gold!

Experience gifts are another great idea for the person who has everything. However, there are a few things I would keep in mind when gifting experiences. Make sure you consider if the experience you are gifting is good for an individual or a couple. Would the experience be something that the recipient would actually enjoy doing? I’ll explain more in a minute.

A good experience gift for a long-distance family member or friend would be to find a highly rated local restaurant, and send them a gift card for it. Take it up a notch and ask if you can make the reservation for them. When you call the restaurant, explain that you are gifting an experience at the restaurant, and ask if there is anything special they can do. Sometimes they’ll offer a complimentary dessert or something.
Theater tickets for an upcoming show or concert are a great “experience” gift. This would require some planning ahead of time to make sure the gift recipient is free on the day of the show. (Tickets for a sporting event would fall into this category as well.)
A gift certificate to take a class would be a fun experience gift for the person who has everything. Maybe they have always wanted to learn French cooking, photography, or salsa dancing. A quick internet search should help you find the perfect class for something your gift recipient is interested in.
A day at the spa or salon. This doesn’t just have to be for women! Try giving a certificate for a couple’s massage. A local Foot Palace pedicure would be enjoyable to both men and women.

And now a few things to consider for the “experience” gifts. If your gift recipient is single, it might not be the best idea to give them theater tickets unless you’re planning to take them. For me personally, a spa/salon day would not be an enjoyable gift, because I do not enjoy those types of things. Make sure the experience you are gifting is one the recipient would actually enjoy, and not something that you think that they SHOULD enjoy.

I hope these ideas help you to find the perfect gift for the person who has everything! To find all of the consumable gifts that I recommend in one spot, you can follow the commissionable links HERE or click on the photo below.