My friends & fam know that I’ve ‘coined’ the term Brittmas many years ago to celebrate today – so if some of you out there aren’t celebrating Christmas, you can rest assured Brittmas is a wonderful holiday wherein you think about all the great gift ideas you’ve been inspired with over the past…well however long you’ve been reading…on the Canadian Gift Guide. I thought it might be fun to highlight ten of my very favourite gift ideas from the past year, before turning the mic over to you.
Books Are Beautiful – November
Words can’t express how psyched I was to be able to write about (and give away!) the Books Are Beautiful collection. These awesome modern classics repackaged into a pretty rainbow palette with handsprayed Pantone-matched edges are a work of art, inside and out. I also love that Indigo offered a pretty steep discount on picking up the whole set. Totally display-worthy, after you’ve read ’em all of course.
Mocubo Cutting Board – May
I really have a lot of love in my heart for Quirky, the world’s only (as far as I know) social product development site that propelled this little genius invention into the mass market. This elevated cutting board has storage drawers for your veggies – a life saver when you want to clear off your cutting board without eating up counter space during multi-part recipes. I use mine all the time!
Beer Soap – February
This ended up on the list sort of by default. I was actually going through the archives of the site for a yet-to-be-announced development surrounding the CGG, and I paused when I came across these, hopeful that this indie soap maker had created a Heineken variation for my guy. Sure enough they did, and I ordered a bar a few weeks ago in time for Christmas. It smells really cool, and seeing as how it’s Christmas morning and he’ll have opened his pressies, I can officially talk about it!
lululemon Daily Om Duffle Bag – December
Like I said in the post I featured these bags in, this is truly one of my favourite gift ideas of recent memory. Whether you’re a lulu devotee, a yoga enthusiast, or simply a jetsetter / daytripper, this gorgeous bag is totally multi-functional, smartly designed, and absolutely gorgeous. What’s not to love?
Home Jellyfish Tank – March
I spotted this crazy cool gift idea on Kick Starter and I couldn’t wait to share it with you all. Admittedly this is so not for everyone on your gift list, but it’s so unlike anything I’ve written about before or after – it’s a gift with serious staying power I actually frequently bring up to folks!
PLANT Organic Spice Kits – October
My favourite chefs have drilled into me: good spices make for good meals. These spice kits not only feature essential herbs and spices, they’re assembled by the mentally disabled, for a gift that truly gives back to the community, and your belly. The cool packaging doesn’t hurt much either…
Nursery Rhyme Blocks – December
I fell head over heels for these blocks the moment I saw them. I love old-fashioned gifts and wooden blocks are about as classic as you get. But then you get a surprise – nursery rhymes! Matching images! – and suddenly these aren’t just for the little ones to play with, but to learn from. Magic.
Royal Doulton 1815 Collection – July
I got engaged not too long after I wrote this post, and I was thrilled to see the 1815 collection is actually available at The Bay…I haven’t updated my registry lately, but when I do you better believe these gorgeous tapas dishes will make their way onto it.
Famous Canadians Scarf – December
Hmm quite a few of these gift ideas are from the very recent past…but I struck some serious gift-giving gold this holiday season, including this scarf featuring the first names of some of our most famous compatriots. Although I put this on my boy shopping list, I certainly wouldn’t mind unwrapping it for myself.
Indigo Heart Teacup Set – February
I am really truly kicking myself for not buying this surprisingly affordable, completely adorable set of colour-coordinated teacups and saucers from Indigo, with a sweet heart indentation to really up the sweet factor. C’est la vie – you better believe I will be keeping an eye out for an equivalent idea this holiday season from one of my favourite gift sources!
There you have it! 10 of my personal ‘greatest hits’ from the past year, although truthfully I could have written this post forever & ever. I hope you guys have enjoyed reading the CGG over the past year (or season) – I’ve received SO many glowing emails and comments from readers as of late about how many of you have bought items after reading about them here on the blog. If you’re interested in picking up not one, but TWO bonus entries into my ‘Good Tidings We Bring‘ contest (make sure you’ve entered that one!), answer me these two questions before you go back to unwrapping all those pressies:
1) Have you bought anything you saw on the Canadian Gift Guide this year? Or been inspired to visit a store after seeing an item here? If so, let me know in the comments below!
2) Whether you’re a regular daily reader or a relative newbie, tell me: can you remember any particular standout ideas? Let me know what your favourite picks have been!
