Happy Tuesday, friends!! Today, I’m linking up with Andrea for Show and Tell Tuesday!

Today’s topic is… Christmas gifts under the Want/Need/Wear/ Read categories!

I’ve seen a lot of women recently say they have decided to do this with their children this year in an effort to cut down on all the clutter and accumulation that comes with Christmas, and to cultivate more gratitude. I think that’s great, but this seemed harder than I thought it would be as an adult! Christmas is so different as an adult– I can never come up with anything that I’m really ever dying to have, more just things it would be nice to have, and even then, it can be hard! And the last few years, Steven and I have just bought things for ourselves or together and called it “Christmas” rather than shopping specifically for each other, just because we’re so busy, and this ensures we are each getting something that we want. Like last year, we spent hours together at the AT&T store to get me a new phone and then ordered him new boots online. We each picked up a few other things, and then called it a day! And Christmas day was pretty anti-climatic because we didn’t have anything to open since it was just us and we’d already been using what we got. But! I’m anticipating that some of the gift giving magic is going to return next year when Miss Ollie is here! (Not that it’s not magical now, just different 😉 ).

With that in mind, I had to think for a while about these. It was harder than I expected! So, some of these may be a little off-the-wall, but maybe they will inspire you to get creative!

WANT

To be honest, what I really wanted was for Tech to be bowl eligible this year after a little dry spell the last few years. And, in a crazy win last Saturday against UT in Austin, they did it! So, one Christmas want fulfilled! But, that’s not really a real tangible gift, so I would say a want would be tickets to go to whatever bowl game they are chosen for! Now, honestly, they will probably play in some random bowl before Christmas, which means we would not be able to go because Steven wouldn’t have the time off, but that’s a want! I think experiences make such great gifts because you can look back on the memories and great time you had, but not have to worry about the clutter in your house of junk you thought you wanted, but has now lost it’s shine. So, whether your team is headed to a bowl game, or you couldn’t care less about football, maybe consider tickets to an event or plan a trip this year!

NEED

Now, this category can really run the gamut based on your definition of the word “need”. My first go-to thought is always underwear if we’re being honest, but that’s such a bummer for Christmas. And I don’t want other people picking out my underwear, if we’re being really honest.

For months, we have talked about getting a new TV for our living room. Our current TV is about 32″ (I think? Somewhere in there…) and is fine. But there is something about the dimensions of our living room, or the fact that we’re getting old that has caused us to lament a lot about how we can’t see our TV very well anymore. So, for Black Friday/ Christmas, we bought ourselves a 50″ TV. Because we needed a bigger TV that we could actually see 😉

Of course, this meant we also needed a new stand to put it on because the one we have fits a smaller TV, so our need grew a little beyond just TV. But, everything is supposed to arrive today, and we are so excited. The current one will go into our bedroom, and the current TV in our bedroom (a 22″) will go… somewhere. Not super sure where, but it will find a new home somewhere!

This is the TV stand we chose… the blue should (hopefully) match the blue of our sofa, and give an extra pop of color in the living room. And I’m excited about having a little extra storage from our previous stand! 

WEAR

So, this one was especially hard for me, because I have such a weird relationship with clothes right now. I don’t love maternity clothes, and all my regular clothes that still fit are fitting differently, and thinking about shopping for clothes just doesn’t sound fun.

Back in the summer, I originally planned to get a few new charms for my charm bracelet for my birthday– either boy or girl booties, and either an “H” or an “O”, depending on if we are having a boy or a girl. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don’t wear my charm bracelet super often, and started wondering if that’s what I really wanted. I started looking at stackable birth stone rings instead, and thought I’d just add a ring for each child instead of waiting until we’re done having kids and getting one big ring. The problem with this plan is that based on our due date, we have the potential for Olivia to be born in January, February, or March (we have a two week window around the due date that falls in each of those months). So, I couldn’t do that until she is born, and we know her birth month!

Then, I was looking on Facebook one day and found these stacking hand stamped name rings from Lisa Leonard Designs.

I think they’re so simple and pretty, and decided that’s what I would go with. I ordered sterling silver– one that says “Steven” with a heart (I was ONE character short of being able to add our anniversary, boo!), and then another that says “Olivia” (I really debated between Olivia and Olivia Anne, but decided to keep it simple 🙂 ). So, when we have future children, I’ll just order the extra stacking ring and add them on top!

Long story short, I don’t think you can go wrong with something personalized for Christmas, especially when it comes to jewelry! Since I just ordered mine this weekend, I don’t have them yet to take pictures, but I’ll keep y’all updated!

READ

This next one is one that I’ve wanted for a while, but couldn’t really justify it until I found it on sale at Lifeway a couple months ago… A She Reads Truth Bible! They range in price depending on if you get the linen finish, faux leather, or genuine leather, and then whether or not it is indexed. Mine is gray linen, and I believe it is not indexed. The translation is slightly different that my New Living Translation (which is what I use the majority of the time and like the most)– it is the Christian Standard Bible translation, and seems to be a combo of word for word and thought for thought similar to NLT, but they do have differences. The Bible itself features almost 200 devotionals within the text (written by the same authors that write the SRT studies for the app/ study books), as well as gorgeous pull out illustrations of different verses, a one year reading study plan, and full color charts and maps (that are hand drawn by their staff!). It’s just so pretty, it makes me want to use it all the time, but be like so careful and dainty with it at the same time. The She Reads Truth motto is  “Women in the word of God every day”, which means any Bible would be a good gift this year for this category, but I think this would be a great gift because it’s so pretty and user friendly!

Alright, y’all! I hope that gave you a little creative inspiration, and got you into the gift giving spirit! If you have any other suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments for me! Have a great rest of your Tuesday!! 🙂

And just for fun, here’s a preview of our Christmas card picture!