I know gift guides can be polarizing. Feel free to skip this post entirely if they’re not your thing. I happen to love looking at gift ideas—even if I never buy a single item from a guide, I find them fun and oddly satisfying to read.
That said, this post is less of a “guide” and more of a peek at what was under our tree this year. Maybe it’ll spark an idea or two for Christmas 2026, upcoming birthdays, or other gifting moments in the year ahead.
One thing that sometimes surprises people about our family is that we exchange quite a few gifts at Christmas. On the surface, that might seem at odds with our generally minimalist, frugal tendencies. But Christmas is our main gifting time of the year.
We don’t do gifts at Easter, Valentine’s Day, or for good grades. I don’t give my parents gifts for anniversaries, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day, and only occasionally for birthdays. John, the kids, and I don’t exchange gifts for those occasions either (aside from birthdays), and even then, birthday gifts tend to be limited and simple.
Christmas is where we put our gifting energy (and dollars).
That approach traces straight back to my childhood. My parents didn’t have much money, but Christmas was always a big, joyful celebration. Most of what we received was very practical—cakes of soap, new toothbrushes, toothpaste.
Actually.
Every single one of us would get a toothbrush, a bar of soap, and a tube of toothpaste, unwrap them with great ceremony, and then dutifully place our little piles under the bathroom sink (from whence they came).
Writing that out makes it sound a bit ridiculous, but the act of unwrapping many things—even very utilitarian items—brought me an enormous amount of joy.
All of that to say: there are a lot of gifts given and received in our household at Christmas, and I have zero regrets about that.
And now, the moment (a few of) you’ve been waiting for: our 2025 gift recap.
(If you’re keen for more ideas, here are the gift recaps from 2024 and 2023. Or if you’re just looking for more Christmas content, he’s the summary of our 2025 holiday, and more details about our annual Christmas Treasure Hunt: 2025, 2024, 2023.)
TEEN GIRL
Pictured:
- UGGS. I wasn’t able to find a pair of second-hand UGGs, so I did purchase these new. But, I have a money-saving hack: the kids’ versions of UGGs go up to a women’s size 8 and are quite a bit cheaper than the official adult sizing.
- Lindt. One of Belle’s specific requests for Christmas was “unusual Lindt flavours”. I went to a local convenience store and they had boxes of bulk Lindt in just about every flavour you could imagine. I got her a wide variety including: tiramisu, strawberry cheesecake, shortbread, pistachio, candy cane, and maple. (Indy thought this was an especially fun gift and has already asked to receive something similar next year.)
- Starbucks ornament. This has been the year for Starbucks. I had my first Starbucks drink (ever) this year and Belle decided she loved Starbucks. It was only natural that her ornament for the tree (gifted on Christmas Eve) was related to Starbucks. I managed to get the last one in stock at our local cafe back in November and Belle was delighted!
- Curling iron. I may return this. It’s an inexpensive Conair iron and doesn’t really work well with her very thick hair. She usually opts for heatless sock curls (which work very well!), but she wanted a curling iron. **If anyone has recommendations for a curling iron that won’t break the bank, please let me know!**
- Blue light glasses. She has been wanting blue light glasses, mostly because a lot of kids at school wear them. I suspect it can’t hurt, even if they don’t actually help with eye strain (but maybe they do)? She has taken to wearing them non-stop and they might just be her favourite gift after the UGGs.
- Phone holder. This was a stocking stuffer; she likes to have her phone playing music while she’s doing her morning ablutions.
- Makeup. Mascara (x2), brow gel, blush, various lip balm items.
- Initial necklace. I bought her a bubble letter initial necklace (here).
- Earrings (x2). Including this “X” set!
- Slick back brush.
Other:
- Holiday trivia toilet paper. Okay, this was a total gag gift, but it was less than $4 and Belle LOVES Christmas and is obsessed with trivia so I could not resist putting this in my cart when I saw it at a store.
- A new pencil case (with multiple compartments).
- A second-hand Starbucks water bottle from us + a Starbucks gift card
- A handwritten notebook with recipes from my mom.
- A gift card to Shoppers from my father-in-law.
- Some cash from a local friend.
- M&M’s, gum.
TWEEN BOY
- Pit vipers. Indy loves sunglasses and misplaces them at an alarming rate. I bought an inexpensive 3-pack for him. I let him keep/use one pair, and I’ve put the other two pairs away for safekeeping.
- Ornament. On Christmas Eve he opened up his new ornament and it was an Xbox controller! He really got into Minecraft this year, so this was the perfect representation of 2025.
- Bowl cozy. Both kids enjoy oatmeal for breakfast, but we are constantly burning the tips of our fingers while removing hot bowls from the microwave. No more! I bought them each a locally-made bowl cozy. You put the bowl inside the cozy before popping it in the microwave; voila, no burned fingers!
- Trick scooter. This was Indy’s main gift (I wrote a bit more about the gifting experience here). It’s not really the time of year to use a scooter in Canada, but he has been wanting one for years (he has had several second-hand scooters over the years but they’ve never worked overly well for various reasons; this was his first new scooter and he was very excited)!
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Indy really enjoys this book series and it’s relatively easy to find them second-hand. We picked up a few new-to-him books.
- Minecraft mods. My father-in-law gifted him some Xbox credits and he used them to buy modifications for his Minecraft game.
- Tech Deck. My parents gifted him a foam rider and ramp
- Fish scale + measuring tape. Self-explanatory. He has been wanting one of these.
- Minecraft torch key chain. Indy collects key chains and loves flashlights and cannot get enough of Minecraft so this was perfect in so many ways.
- LEGO Technic. He loves LEGO, loves fancy vehicles, and expressed interest in receiving a Technic.
Other:
- Treats. Beef jerky. A bottle of Body Armour electrolyte drink. Chocolate.
- Die-cast Formula 1 cars (that I got for $1/each).
- A gadget pen with a level, ruler, and screwdriver built into it.
- Dollar Store sketch pad + new mechanical pencils.
- Belle gifted him a pair of Nike Blazers purchased with babysitting money. There was one pair left at the store and they were on clearance!!!!!!
HUSBAND/SON/BROTHER
- Star Wars LEGO (x2). LEGO is the gift John most wants to see under the tree. I found two relatively obscure sets, sourcing one of them via eBay.
- Outdoor pickleball set. This was what Belle bought John. One of my goals for the year is to play pickleball outside and this helps us get one step closer to accomplishing that!
- Mike’s Hot Honey. John loves sweet and spicy combinations, and Mike’s Hot Honey is always a hit. He hasn’t had any in years, so was delighted to find it under the tree.
- Navigation screen. I don’t know what this is, but John bought it as an early Christmas present to set up Google CarPlay in our car. It works well and he’s happy. That’s all I can tell you.
- Tire pressure gauge.
- Travel adapter. I bought a slim, Anker-brand universal adapter as we’re going to need lots of plug converters in Europe!
- Haircutting cape. This is long overdue. We have an old, stiff, hole-filled cape we’ve been using for years and years. (I cut John’s hair at home each month.) It saves oodles of money, and $15 for a much nicer cape (and brush) felt like a great investment.
- Treats. Butterfinger is his favourite chocolate bar and difficult to find where we live, but I managed to source one locally. He likes Sanpellegrino, so I bought him a case in his favourite flavour.
- Darn Tough Socks. It wouldn’t be Christmas without a pair of socks under the tree. His favourite brand is Darn Tough (they have an incredible lifetime warranty and we’ve used it many times).
PARENTS/IN-LAWS
- The Atlantic. I gifted my dad a (heavily discounted!) subscription to The Atlantic.
- Shower cap. My mom needed a new shower cap, so I gifted her an oversized one with strong elastic!
- Pens/highlighters. My FIL does a lot of journaling and note-taking, so I gave him my favourite pen Pilot Juice Up 04 (though I find it does smudge some and he’s left-handed, so we’ll see what he thinks), along with some Sharpie highlighters.
- Coffee. Some locally roasted fair-trade coffee.
- CAA membership. We gifted my FIL a CAA membership for the year.
- Airplane ticket. Our main gift for my FIL is to purchase the ticket to bring him to Nova Scotia at Christmas (we’re able to use John’s flying status to get a very inexpensive flight)!
- Custom calendars. I do photo calendars for both my parents and my in-laws and they are always a hit at Christmas.
- Thrifted clothes. We gave my FIL an East Coast Lifestyle shirt and my mom a wintery fleece vest that I found second-hand.
- Treats. Candy for my dad, chocolate for my mom and father-in-law.
- Candle/wax melts. My mom likes to burn candles and wax melts, so I bought her some nice-smelling items.
WIFE/DAUGHTER
- Instant Pot. I now have an Instant Pot! After much deliberation (between the Instant Pot and an air fryer, I went with the Instant Pot). John managed to find one new and in-box, but second-hand! I’m excited to use it and welcome any and all recommendations for your go-to most-loved Instant Pot recipes!
- Candy/chocolate. Notably, Twizzlers and Brooksides. I was just eating some of those Twizzlers while writing this post.
- Metal straws. I never seem to have enough straws and so we picked up a set at the DollarStore for my stocking.
- Dough cutter. I got this from IKEA (less for cutting dough, and more for scraping things off the counter if I roll out cookies, or am kneading things like scones).
- Gift card. John got me a gift card to my favourite coffee shop. ALWAYS a slam dunk gift.
- Earrings. I’m in my hoop era and John bought me two lovely, unique pairs (both second-hand, per my request).
- Um…CROCK-POT, not a custom calendar. I am feeling far too lazy to go change this graphic. We received two crockpots for our wedding shower and both broke within a week of each other this fall. Instead of replacing them both, I now have the Instant Pot, but I also wanted a Crock-Pot so John bought me a new one for Christmas and it’s the prettiest shade of purple. I will NEVER struggle to find my Crock-Pot at potlucks moving forward.
- Continuous spray bottle. I wanted a continuous spray bottle and I got one!
- O’Keefe’s Working Hands Cream. From my parents; this went directly into my church purse!
- Travel toiletry bag. I wanted one for our time in Europe but haven’t owned one for years.
Other:
- Slippers. Belle bought me some cozy slippers but they’re a bit too small, so I need to go exchange those this week.
- Blanket. Belle also bought me a (second-hand) fleecy blanket! She knows I can never have too many blankets!
- Darn tough socks. John bought me a pair of Darn Tough socks (this had been on my wishlist).
- Storage containers. John bought me a cute set of storage containers.
- Family ornament from Rwanda. John brought back a Christmas ornament from Rwanda—a hand-woven basket that opens up! I was so happy to receive this on Christmas Eve and add it to our tree.
SECOND-HAND GIFTS
Some of the items mentioned above were purchased second-hand (clothing items, the Instant Pot, books for Indy, and earrings), but I thought I’d do a little roundup of the other things we gifted that were thrifted.
- Christmas pajamas. Each Christmas Eve the kids get a new pair of jammies… well, new to them. There are HUNDREDS of thrifted Christmas jammies in second-hand shops this time of year. And both kids pajamas always come from a thrift store.
- Gardening gloves. My mom gardens AND she sometimes uses gardening gloves when she needs to confidently grip something. They were new with tags still on.
- A folding stool. Again, for my mom. She can’t stand for long periods of time without support and this is a very light, easily-transportable stool.
- KUTON telescoping stools. Hilariously, I had just read Kendra Adachi’s newsletter where she mentions this sort of folding stool when John found a brand-new set of two stools for $8. These will be perfect for John and Indy on their fishing trips. They are so easy to use, lightweight, and accordion down to a very thin disc complete with a carrying strap!!! (Like these.)
- Stuff Happens. I bought this card game for Belle at a thrift store.
- Foam roller. We give gifts to a local family and one thing they wanted was a new foam roller. This was in like-new condition!
- Pencil holder. This colour matches Belle’s room scheme exactly and it rotates!
- Puffy slippers. These were also brand new and we bought them for my father-in-law for less than $4. He LOVES them!
- Flashlight. John found a new-in-case wide-beam flashlight for my father.
- Grippy slippers. My mom likes to wear sock slippers when she comes to our house, but the ones she currently uses don’t have any grip on the bottom. I found a cute set complete with very sticky grippies for $2.
- Frame. I was in need of a three-picture frame to fill with pictures from a summer adventure to gift family friends. I went to the frame aisle of the thrift store and found a new-with-tags three-picture frame. The timing was perfect!
That’s a wrap, pun intended!
It is a lot of gifts, but each one had a place and a purpose—and that’s the part that feels most important to me. Nothing felt excessive or random, and everything was chosen with intention. I feel content, grateful, and genuinely happy with what was given and received this year.
And now I’m curious…
- What’s one gift you gave this year that you’re especially pleased with?
- Do you tend to concentrate gift-giving around one holiday, or spread it out across the year?
- What’s a gift you received as a child that still sticks with you?
- Do you have a curling iron to recommend?
- And PLEASE, share links to your favourite Instant Pot recipes!!!
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Oh, the purple crock pot is adorable! Smart move to purchase a unique color so you’ll always find it at a potluck.
I had no stellar gift purchases this year. I tend to buy the kids what they need when they need it; I don’t wait for holidays. Birthdays get gifts, and sometimes little things at Easter and Valentines day. I like gift giving, but lately I haven’t had much luck in finding spectacular gifts.
One childhood gift that remember was the Barbie dream house – never expected such an elaborate gift! Shared with my sisters of course.
I tend to use the instapot for basics- stew and mashed potatoes- no recipe involved. I tried a steamed cake once- not worth the effort for such a small dessert. There are so many recipes out there, though; you’ll have a wealth of choices!
That colour was all John! I asked for a Crockpot and he found this one. All the gold stars.
A Barbie Dream house must have blown your mind. I can see why it was/is so memorable.
I’ve heard the Instant Pot makes great mashed potatoes. And hard-boiled (steamed) eggs!
Liam and Rachel love their Instapot. In our little 6 person Secret Santa, Don got Liam, and I got Shannon – perfect as in August I had bought two prints from Ryan Hupman, local musician and artist. It’s called The Home Stretch, of Blomidon near the Avonport Exit 10 sign. I’ve loved his scenic pieces for years, and we met in the Wolf PO parking lot for pickup. He’s so humble and talented. Both kids love the prints.
Awww. Those sound like wonderful gifts. A nod to their home, supporting a local artist. Yay!
You are so talented at choosing gifts, Elisabeth! It’s so heartwarming to see your kids’ smiles of delight as they open their gifts. I’d say Christmas is a great time to splurge on gifts and go all out! We used to do that, but now that we’re older and no kids are around, we stopped the gift exchange, which is also nice in a different, calmer way. I think the bowl warmer is a genius idea – I’m constantly burning my fingers on bowls that have been microwaved. The ornaments are so perfect for each kid. The purple crock pot is too fabulous! I have a continuous spray bottle just like that, and I love it. I’m with you about being pleased with practical items as gifts. A toothbrush and a bar of soap would make me quite happy!
I’m very excited for the bowl cozy. It’s a common problem in our house (and has been for years) and there was a very simple, inexpensive solution!
Love to see the presents and thanks for the LEGo tip Technic! Would love this for my son.
The Technics are definitely harder to build and a challenge, but Indy really enjoys them and they make a much “tighter” looking build! Highly recommend.
Many of my Instant Pot recipes are soups or stews adapted from NYT recipes, but not shareable without a NYT cooking account (which my husband gets free from work!) Here are a few meals we regularly make that work great in the IP and will be easy to find recipes around the web: soup stock, pinto/other dried beans, Mississippi Pot Roast, chicken soup with bone in skin on chicken (makes its own broth) and veggies, chicken chili verde. Have fun experimenting!
I’m excited to try out some recipes! I’ve printed off a few and hope to make at least one this week and another next. Slowly but surely I’ll build up my arsenal!
The gifts were all a treat to see. It really shows your kids’ personalities. I like unusual flavored anything, too! Middle Child gifted me a variety box of green teas in unusual flavors and I’m excited to try them. 90 tea bags should last me a while! I was most excited about a Mommy Book I made for one of my granddaughters. She’s 4 YO and is very attached to her mom (my oldest daughter). I found a bunch of pictures of my daughter from birth through age 18 and put them in an album. There’s one of her with her Pooh Bear (that granddaughter now carries everywhere), one of her in her ballet leotard (granddaughter loves dance class), etc. The last picture is of her and mommy. She was quite excited about it.
That’s a lot of tea bags!!!!
That album sounds SO sweet and will be a treasured keepsake for many years to come <3
Those earring you got for Belle are adorable! So adorable, that I just went to Amazon to add the silver version to my cart to give to my daughter-in-law next year (or maybe for her birthday, we’ll see).
I hope your DIL likes them; Belle has been wearing them daily since Christmas.
I love that you have a lot of practical presents in the mix so nobody forgets to be thankful for all these things we take for granted! 🙂
Those are some great gift ideas for everyone in the family – do you do most of the coordinating/planning or does John help?
I didn’t buy – or receive – a lot of gifts this year. Jon is a bit of a grinch, he doesn’t like to buy for “occasions”, but he sometimes surprises me “just because” with something. I however always like to have a little something for everyone. I wish we could have been with family – then it would have been a lot more fun but sending stuff in the mail was not really an option.
What was your favorite gift this year?
John definitely helps! I do most of the ordering (for new things) and wrapping, but we both scour thrift stores together in the lead up to Christmas.
It’s hard to be separated from family at Christmas and I know your family gathering is so special in Germany. I hope you’re able to make it there for Christmas next year???
Hmmm. My favourite gift this year. Probably the gift card to my favourite coffee shop! A bit lame, but true 🙂 I love the Crockpot and Instant Pot…but they do represent work 🙂 Oh, I also LOVE one particular set of (thrifted!) earrings John bought me. I’ve been wearing them non-stop.
Those are terrific gifts that reflect a lot of thought and creativity- well done!
We are at the age where we don’t really exchange gifts but we do write checks to the kids and accompany them with a couple consumable gifts, a scratch off lottery ticket and a gift card.
I give gifts throughout the year too – so Christmas is pretty low key.
Honestly, it can be hard to beat cold hard cash (or cheques!)
SO MUCH STUFF! No wonder you have been exhausted. And it had to take hours upon hours to compile such a thorough blog post with all the photos, graphics, and links. THANK YOU!
Teeheehee, we also used to always get a new toothbrush, along with toothpaste and dental floss. Guess it was needed after that brown paper sack of candy.
Brooksides sound fantastic.
I discovered those Lindt balls this year and didn’t know they come in all those flavors… probably shouldn’t have learned this.
Grippy socks scare me because I can easily fly over the handlebars (metaphorically speaking) if they grip too hard or too quickly.
That telescoping stool is ingenious and would be perfect for plein air painting! I sent the link to a friend who is always bugging me to paint outside with her.
I’ve never heard of a foam roller, a continuous spray bottle, or a slick-back brush—what do they do?
When did “gift” become more than a noun, replacing the verb “give”?
I have to admit I hate pulling together gift guide graphics, BUT they’re nice to have and this year I did it as I went, so things were more streamlined.
Brooksides are so yummy.
The telescoping stools are GREAT! We’ve already used them and I think they will come in handy for so many activities in the summer.
A foam roller is for after exercise (it helps work out muscle strain), a continuous spray bottle is a bit like an aerosol spray, but without aerosol, so I can fill it with water to wet my hair, for instance. And a slick-back brush is to smooth hair; this was something Belle REALLY wanted for Christmas.
The best thing to make in your IP is hard boiled eggs! I also love making a turkey breast. It’s so much faster than making it in the oven! We use our IP every week! It is not the fastest gadget but it’s nice that you can saute and then cook things in it – so you generate fewer dirty dishes. We will have to talk about IP recipes over on WA!
The boys were happy with their gifts! The Playground gaming system is probably the biggest hit. I love that the kids need to be up and moving to use it.
My fail was Phil’s gifts. I got him a 3 in one charging system for his iPhone. He doesn’t have an apple watch or air pods but I thought he would still like it. He finds is unnecessary so I kept it and brought it to work. I also got him a new computer mouse because the tracking ball on his current mouse no longer rolls. But he says it works perfectly fine and has yet to open the new mouse. Sigh.
This is on my goals list for today or tomorrow. I love HB eggs but they’re such a hassle.
Thanks for the IP suggestions and I will definitely be reporting back.
John has a 3-in-1 charging station and I actually asked for one for Christmas (didn’t get it because we’ll source it second hand). I have an Apple watch AND AirPods so it sounds so handy and John loves his.
Haha! I often make do with sub-par items because I’m too cheap to spend money on them. Maybe just take his broken mouse away so he can ENJOY A WORKING MOUSE! Gold stars for the gifts, even if they didn’t quite land the way you had hoped they would.
I love gifts! I also like lots of gifts at Christmas, and I love these gift roundup posts. It’s so fun to see what other people get! I don’t have an Instant Pot so I have no great ideas for you . I also have no curling iron info- if anything, Angie would like to straighten her hair.
Legos for the win!!! Paul still gets Legos for Christmas. I don’t have a lot of things i need, so I ask for a “book flood” every year, and I love it.
I used the Instant Pot for the first time this morning and it was AMAZING! I think I’m going to love, love, love it.
I love your book flood; a perfect gift for a reader <3
We used to get new toothbrushes and toothpaste in our stockings (not wrapped), and until a few years ago, I was doing the same for my girls and coach. Now we all use electric toothbrushes, so that’s done.
I love that you go all out at Christmas. The kid’s face’s say it all! I forgot to mention the scooter story in a comment the other day, but it has stuck with me and I smile thinking about Indy and his big gift!
The scooter was SO sweet. I was amazed at his maturity, being “okay” with not getting his top request.
Trust me, he has MANY moments that are not nearly so lovely, but I also feel like it sums up his general mood and approach to life: make the most out of things and be content with the current situation. Not convinced he got that from me…haha.