2024 Holiday Gift Issue!

Dear Traveler,

Have you ever seriously underestimated the amount of time it will take you to do something?

Well that was me this week. I knew the gift issue would take several hours, but in the end it took me over 12 to get this researched and assembled! There are lots of great ideas and I hope you find a few nuggets!

Have you finished your holiday shopping yet?

At this point in December I’m never done.?But I’m in love with looking at lists of gift ideas in the hopes that I will discover “the perfect one” for those people still on my list.

Today is all about gifts! I have collected a variety of “the best of” gift lists and shared them with you below. I have also made my own list by selecting a few items from those lists and combining them with:

• gifts I’ve previously given
• friends’ recommendations
• other gifts I’m giving this year
• things I personally covet

I am lucky to live in a community that has several female entrepreneurs.?A shout out to three amazing ones with items included in my list this year…

• Suzi Curtis, owner of Woody’s Mercantile in Woodstock, VT.?Her design sense is the best!
• Julie VonBargen, owner of our local jewelry boutique, Von Bargen’s, with shops throughout VT.?This is no ordinary jewelry store.?Her curated pieces include traditional styles and small artisans’ creations.
• Mia Vogt, owner of our stylish, designer women’s clothing boutique, Indigo.
• With a bit of direction on what I was looking for, Julie personally selected the jewelry below to go with a specific destination.?I love the combinations!

And another to mention – our daughter Allison, who is not currently an “official” entrepreneur, but as you’ll see below she creates incredible designs on winter mittens and she is now an expert fly tyer.?As the TA for a college biology class, she leads the students to collect bugs from the river.?She brings them home, puts them in a preservative and copies them into fishing flies.

One of the rainbow trout she caught with her flies…

I personally love getting people gifts that no one else they know has.?The beauty of the shops above is that you have the ability to order online.?For those of you who don’t live near me, that increases the odds of giving a unique gift.

There are inspiring ideas below for teens, college kids, friends, spouses and whoever else you want to get a gift for.

If you click on the photos, most have links to the website for purchase.

They range from tiny – perfect for stocking stuffers to experiential to one of a kind.?There is something for everyone!

Personally I think pairing a tangible gift with an experiential one (travel!) is an ideal combination so this year I shared an travel idea to some of my favorite places for almost all items below.

The possibilities are truly endless!

Caveat – I have purchased/tried/seen many of these, but not all. If you do buy any, would you send me a note and let me know which and how you or the recipient likes it? And if you have other great ideas that aren’t on here, please send them to me – the more the merrier!

NOTE: the destinations do not have embedded links.?If you are interested in any of them, send me a message.

I hope you find items that you want to buy for someone (or for yourself – that’s ok too) or I hope these inspire other ideas.

If you are having trouble making a decision, consider taking Gretchen Rubin’s Gift Giving Quiz. Answer 8 questions about the recipient and you’ll learn what types of gifts they appreciate.

The 12+ hours I spent curating and creating this list has been a bit of a labor of love. I love sharing inspiring ideas with you - whether they are travel related or not.

If you love these ideas – please take 3 seconds to share this newsletter with your friends! Simply push the forward button on your email. You will receive good karma and a thank you from me.

And remember – these aren’t just gifts for the holidays, so feel free to reference the list throughout the year on our website. I may be adding a few more ideas, especially books, in the next week or so.

What places are on your bucket list for 2025?! Don’t just dream about it, plan it!

Happy holidays!

Warmly,

Mimi

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