As promised, here is the ladies edition of stocking stuffer ideas! To me, a great stocking is both practical and thoughtful, with room for a funny gag gift here and there. Here are my top picks for the ladies in your life!

1. A tablet stand to prop up her Ipad in the kitchen when she is reading recipes or watching TV on it.

2. A new bottle of perfume in a lovely light floral scent to remind her of the impending Spring.

3. Kitchen tools to feed her cooking and baking addiction.

4. Or these, for when she gets her Southern Belle on.

5. Reindeer Noses, because no stocking is complete without a sweet treat.

6. Beautiful measuring spoons.

7. A new razor.

8. A cute bottle stopper.

9. New socks

10. Fun new make up, just in time to help her get glam for New Years.

11. Cocktail Chit Chat Cards to spark great conversation at your next party.

12. A pretty bauble for the tip of her stocking, like these lovely Kate Spade pearl earrings.

This sums up The Gallivant's gift guides for this year! For inspiration on what to get your guy for don't miss this post and this post, and for more inspiration on gifts for gals be sure to check out this post!

A few quick thoughts on gift giving....Gifting is a really fun part of Christmas time, especially for someone like me whose love language is totally giving gifts to the people they love. That being said, it is so easy to get sucked into the materialism vortex and forget the what this season is all about, as well as the spirit behind gifting in the first place. While I obviously had fun putting together our gift guides, I don't at all think that we need to spend loads of money at this time of year on gifts. To me, a meaningful gift simply says, "I love you so I thought of you, and this is something I hope will bring you joy." A gift like that doesn't need to be expensive at all--it could be a letter to someone you love about how much they mean to you, a stocking full of reasons why someone makes you laugh and brings joy to your life, an album filled with sweet memories that you share with the person you love. Get creative and have fun with it! Last year John painted the two bedrooms in the apartment that we were about to move into as my Christmas present and now whenever I sit at our desk, or wake up in our lovely Palladian Blue bedroom I think of that sweet and simple act and it means the world. At the end of the day, Christmas isn't about the gifts and Santa--it is about the birth of Jesus--and He is always enough.

Merry merry,

Emily

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Stockings are one of my very very favorite parts of Christmas. My mom still puts together the most amazing stockings for our family, and opening them Christmas morning is always so special. Something I always appreciate is the thoughtfulness that she puts in, year after year, and the mix of whimsical and practical gifts in each of our stockings. It is really important to me to carry the stocking tradition into our marriage, so I have been giving stocking stuffers a lot of thought this year. Today I am sharing my top picks for the guys, and then later this week I will post the ladies edition!

Stocking Stuffers for Him:

1. A new travel mug.

2. A stack of pods for his expresso machine, to go with his new mug. (P.S. On the market for an expresso machine this Christmas? We love our Nespresso.)

3. A few mind games.

4. Some new flys for his kit.

5. Yellow snow.

6. Cashmere blend socks

7. A potato gun, just for kicks.

8. A new razor.

9. A way to double his money (What man wouldn't want that?!)

10. Leather bound National Park Atlases, including one specifically on the AT

11. A lump of coal. (hehe)

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

xoxo,

Emily