Category Archive

gifts

What to do with gifts you don’t want

By now the holidays have come, gone, and given way to a heap of crumpled wrapping paper, sugar withdrawal, and perhaps a trail of pine needles. Every year when Christmas is over I realize I am blessed with a lot of people in my life I love…and a lot of STUFF I do not. What do you do when this STUFF is gifts?

Contest-worthy apple cider caramel candies

I spotted a recipe for Apple Cider Caramels on Pinterest and just had to try them. They were delicious and well worth the work!

A Beastlie, shotgun shells used in decor, and Darth Vader snowflakes in this week’s reader photos

Start your week with our collection of interesting articles on the web and photos from our readers. In these Clicky Links you’ll find lots of sites to waste a little time on.

Click through, too, to find our links on submitting YOUR stuff to Offbeat Home!

White elephant gifts people will actually LIKE (updated for 2019!)

In the next two weeks, thousands of White Elephant gift exchanges will unfold. There will be variants. Many people will completely forget to get a gift until the morning of the exchange, and many more will go home with weird combinations of stuff they don’t really want — one year I got a scented candle and a pack of cinnamon out of the draw, and knew my boss must’ve swung by Walgreens over lunch.

If you’re going to do something, why not do it right? Here are 10 ideas for random gift exchanges — five items under $20, five items under $10, and five items you can make or find in your home.

How my family rocks our no-cash holiday season

The holidays are coming up and I’m fretting about them. So what are my methods for a no-cash holiday? Well, here goes…

A very gigantic age-appropriate gift guide for the adult and child geek(s) in your life

Here are three things I really, really love: holidays, geeky stuff, and gifts. I love giving gifts and receiving gifts and in general just having an awesome time with gifts — especially if they’re remotely geeky in general. Here are some of my favorite things I’ve found online — I felt like I couldn’t possibly pass up the chance to share them with ya! Some are kid-specific, and some are for adults, and some are just… for whoever loves them the most.

Infuse vodka for delicious, easy-to-handle homemade gifts

My best friend and I have reached a point in our relationship where we pretty much only exchange alcohol — but it’s just as appropriate for someone I barely know. Booze gifts aren’t right for everyone, but they’re appropriate for such a wide range of people as to be super useful in difficult gifting straights. You can make the gift of a good bottle more personal by making it yourself with one of these recipes for infused vodka.

Just in case you’re cruising for gifts today… check out this butterfly that’ll never die

I don’t know about you guys, but I plan to stay inside all day today. Luckily for me, ThinkGeek’s Black Friday Sale is handing out deals on all kinds of cool shit, including the ever-amazing Electronic Butterfly in a Jar.