Soul Snacks 🎁

3.5 minute read

Dear Snackers,

As promised, I am re-sharing my men’s and kid’s gift ideas that I pulled from an audience poll last year. There is only one single link that I am affiliated with, so this “gift guide” if you will, is not for my profit…and since you’ve all been such good shits this year, I have also included a playlist entitled “A Totally Inappropriate Christmas” at the bottom, which is not safe for work, kids, or people who generally may not appreciate songs about sex/twerking as it pertains to the birth of Christ - my feeling on that is, if it brings joy, it’s about Christmas. Without further ado, the lists are:

MEN’S GIFT IDEAS

1. This company, Brisket Supply, which I have stumbled upon myself in the past and have gifted to my husband, was by far the number one most suggested place to get a gift for men. They have really cool gloves and belts. They also kindly offered me an affiliated link.

2. Another favorite item that people like to give to men is….drumroll….sport’s shit. Here is a link to a company that allows you to choose merch from any professional sports team in the universe, and on that same note, my husband recently ordered a pair of NY Giant’s sunglasses from Knockaround. If you go to their “collab” tab, there are sunnies for almost every professional sport team under $40 – also, I have au audience code BIGTIMEADULTING for an extra 15% off!

3. This came as a highly suggested gift, and I do not think there is a man on planet earth that would not get his rocks off using this Bug-A-Salt gun, a non-toxic bug shooter.

4. This kitchen knife is pretty much a trick gift because your husband is going to see it and immediately feel like chopping some shit with it in the kitchen and then everyone wins because you didn’t have to chop anything. Voila (Wah-Lah)

5. If you have a foodie man in your life, Bobby Flay’s book, Chapter One, is more of a coffee table book, featuring not only recipes, but the story behind them. Love this for men who love to cook

6. So many people suggested slippers. Doesn’t everyone love slippers? If you don’t, I feel like you’re lying to yourself and everyone around you by toughing out winter mornings in socks. Grow the fuck up and get some slippers. This company makes a hell of a men’s slipper, a bit of a splurge, but great.  

7. Do most men like tools, I think so? But let’s face it, the modern day tool is the cell phone…also highly recommended was this portable cell phone charger for the guy who’s phone will never die again and who will always be able to let you know if he is running late.

8. A bag. A bag will make every gift idea list until the end of time. This bag doubles as both a gym bag or an awesome carry-on and has a few size options

9. This wallet made by Ridge is like an army tank for your credit cards, with a strap around it to hold cash (and an air tag accessory if you wanted). Very sleek, masculine, and musky (I made the musky part up, it just felt like it would fit well in that word sequence.)

10. Why on God’s green earth do men want other people to buy them underwear? It is the least exciting and simultaneously personal gift I can think of, and yet, they want nothing to do with choosing their own. People buy boxers for fathers and brothers and every man in between, and can I just say, if any male blood relative of mine were to buy me underwear, I would want to crawl under the Christmas tree and never come out again. This topic deserves more than I am willing to dedicate to it right now, but if a man in your life has replied “boxers” when asked what he wants for Christmas this year, check out Saxx Underwear which has fun patterns and plenty of options for packages of all sizes (couldn’t help myself there).

11. Many of you suggested the Oura ring, a wellness tracker for sleep, heart rate and activity - another super popular wearable device in the same category is the WHOOP band, which is better for weight-lifting than a ring.

12.  I am going to fall asleep if I keep going with this list and I have pretty much covered the most suggested items, but I do love the pizza oven suggestion and there is a range of prices available and they look like spaceships, which is a lot of fun.

13. OK, one last thing…my husband and I debated about whether or not these are actually “beer” glasses or the type of glasses that the chicks who like to show everyone what they eat in a day use for their fancy homemade lattes and shit…my husband thinks they are great beer glasses, however, and Crate and Barrel calls them “beer” glasses, yet displays them with a coffee beverage so I guess the jury is still out, but either way, they’re a great glass for sipping and I just figured out that the reason why is because they are shaped like a can! Mind is blown.

ONTO THE KIDS! 

(As a reminder this list was compiled by the audience and many of these gift ideas are for kids 10 and under)

1. The (BY FAR) number one most suggested gift was MAGNA-TILES. I’m including this because, yes, Magna-Tiles are great and adding to your collection can often reinvigorate interest, but it is something that you may already own and might not be as exciting of a suggestion. The website suggests they are for children ages 3+ but I have had a lot of success throwing a few Magna-Tiles at a one-year-old and keeping them entertained for several minutes – anyone who’s had a one-year-old knows that five minutes of distraction is a big deal. All of my kids, including my oldest every now and again, will still use Magna-Tiles, so they definitely stand the test of time. 

2. The next most suggested gift was LEGO’s. Of my three kids, only the little one has ever taken any major interest in LEGO’s, but when kids are into them, they are pretty psycho over it, which is a huge win, and dare I say worth the absolute fucking nightmare they are to clean up and/or step on. If you have a LEGO’s kid, I wish I’d bought a LEGO table for mine sooner. Here is a good one on Amazon that has storage, plus space for them to sit at a little chair to keep them tinkering longer than if they were standing.

3. Arts and Crafts! I found a reel that hilariously details some amazing, inexpensive gifts for your kids, which essentially is a shit ton of office supplies and crafts, and I thought she totally nailed it. This woman happens to also be a former teacher, mother, and survivor of a super aggressive form of breast cancer. Since she has already created an Amazon store front with all the ideas you guys had for this category, and because she fucking deserves it, let’s shop her links!

4. Tonies and Yoto boxes – these two sort of tied for third place, and since I actually had no idea what the fuck these things were, I did some homework for you (I stopped paying attention to new toys for toddlers when my oldest was probably six). Both of these boxes are primarily for playing songs or stories for kids. With the Yoto, you have different cards that contain content that you stick into the box. With the Tonie, you put this little figurine on top of the box and it plays the content – please do not ask me how this shit works from a technological standpoint, I have no fucking idea, what matters is that kids are bananas for them. Here’s the long and short of it – Tonies are better for toddlers and Yoto’s seem like the better gift up until about age 7 or 8. I might get the Yoto for Lukey. 

5. Books. I could leave it at that, but I won’t, ugh. Many of you mentioned the Literati Book Club, which is also new to me. It is for all ages, and you can take a little quiz to tell them stuff about your kid and choose from how many books you want monthly starting as low as $10 a month. You have to like subscriptions for this, which I sometimes find annoying because, again, I don’t like things piling up around the house, but if your kids are big readers, it seems worth it. Also highly recommended was the Questioneers book series for ages 6-9. My oldest loves a good nonfiction book – National Geographic type stuff or Sports Illustrated so I will probably pick up a few books for Christmas gifts this year, too. 

6. This next toy was insanely highly recommended. The name of it sounds like something you’d want nowhere near your house or your kids or your ears, but it’s actually awesome. Stomp Rockets are great starting at a super young age, too, and can be played inside or outside, which is pretty awesome.

7. Next on your list of suggestions…a new bike! Doesn’t this one just hit you with all the wholesome, old-school feels? What’s better than a new bike? Whenever I think of kids on bikes I think of the Goonies. Any who, the Woom bike, which also offers a strider version of a bike for first time riders, is a great company. I personally cannot recommend more highly the strider bikes over training wheels. Also a big hit on the list were Scooters by Micro.

8. Next up, Vtech Kids Digital Camera. This baby can take selfies and videos and even has a few games – love this for the 8/9 year old’s who think they should get a phone….heads up, it’s not rechargeable, it needs 4AA batteries, and please let this serve as your reminder to stock up on friggin batteries. Not being able to use a toy you just got because you don’t have the right batteries is like your parents coming home early when you’re throwing a party, major buzzkill.

9. Amazon Kindle, ipad or, for older kids who need note taking capabilities the Kobo Color Libra came highly recommended. I don’t have anything funny to say about this, it’s boring, but a good gift. 

10. For this next reco, I combined a few different suggestions to make a movement/lounge/play category of things that many of you loved including a sensory swing, the ”nugget” play couch, or this Costco knock off, an indoor trampoline or these bounce houses, which I can personally attest were a lifesaver for fun and movement when my son was sick and we couldn’t even go to a playground due to germ risk. Anything that keeps kids entertained and moving feels like winning the lottery. Wear ‘em down and keep ‘em outta your hair, IYKYK. 

11. OK, here’s where I am just going to rattle off some other random, but awesome, shit people mentioned because I can’t deal with creating a number for each of these items…DRUMROLL PLEASE: 

• Silent basketball

• Uno 

• Animal slippers (my idea) 

• Binoculars 

• Toy Box 3D Printer 

• Air Toobz 

• Foil Fun 

• A glow football 

• Wearable blankets 

• This awesome remote control car which goes on its side and back and flips and all the things. 

-Caitlin

P.S. As promised, the totally inappropriate playlist! Recommend for girl’s holiday soirée.