Gift Guide: Stay Warm, Stylishly Comfortable, And Environmentally Conscious
Checking your holiday list, but finding yourself stumped for a few names? If you're not sure enough of their size for sweaters, feel jewelry would be inappropriate and aren't sure what electronics they have, we suggest you buy something for their nest. At worst, they'll be able to regift it (we hope we're the recipients). At best, they'll think of you with a smile every time they use it at home. We found gifts at three different prices points- $25, $50 and (a splurge) $410.
We love curling up on the couch in a blanket. As winter sets in, the idea grows more and more appealing. When it's really cold, we wish that we could turn the space heater into a blanket and wrap that around us instead. With the heated blankets from Sunbeam, we were able to do precisely that. The microplush throw is uber soft and cozy. The dimensions- about 4′ x 5′- make it big enough for a couple people to share, and small enough to curl up in it alone without feeling like it's eating you. It's machine washable and dryer safe, so if, say, a cat has a furball on it, there's no need to despair. Available for about $50 on Amazon, we think this is a great gift for anyone prone to coldness in your life. We're not sure how we ended up trying out one in leopard, but we've heard that it's coming back. Right? If animal print isn't your thing, the blanket is available in many other colors.
For the environmentally aware person on your list, we recommend the Belkin energy conservation products that we discussed earlier this year. For under $25 you can get either the energy monitor or an energy-conserving serge protector/outlet splitter. Good for the environment and for your pocketbook. If you are a passive-agressive present buyer, first let us say we're glad we don't know you. Second, we would like to point out, you're in the perfect position to get these for everyone in your life who is less aware of their carbon footprint.
If you're in the mood to splurge on someone, much of the furniture from Design Within Reach usually occupies our wishlist. Recently we've been drooling over the Louis Ghost Armchair. Right away the idea of a ghost chair hits the hillside romantic is us. The injection-molded polycarbonate is available in either translucent or opaque black, and is super solid. It is touted as good for indoors or outdoors, but we know that if we had this lovely, it would stay indoors. If you and someone else both get the same gift, no need for embarrassment- they stack. At $410 we'll admit that it's a bit rich for our gift-giving blood, but that doesn't seem to stop the drool.
Upon consideration, please feel free to be add our staff to your holiday gift list. Each of these very different products would fit right into our homes. For $25, you can make an environmentalist quite proud. For $50, you can warm someone up right away with a cozy throw. If you really want to make a big impression, try the Louis Ghost Armchair- it will leave more than a ghost of an impact.
About the Author
Ruth The ampersand tattoo on her shoulder goes a long way towards explaining Ruth's outlook on life: there's always an "and." With TrulyNet, Ruth enjoys working on social media and writing... and editing... and... Ruth went to the University of Oregon, where she studied music, dance and cognitive psychology (and sleeping very little). While there, she designed classes and taught arts enrichment to talented and gifted grade-school students. After graduation, Ruth spent several years as a Market Analyst at a large law firm in New York. Feeling the pull back to the west coast, Ruth moved to San Francisco and worked for Stanford for a year before deciding to pursue dance. She now runs dance events (wejustdance.com) and travels around the world teaching Argentine Tango, Blues Dance, Street Jazz, and as many other dances as she can get her feet on (danceruth.com). Ruth is also the founder of Just Dance Project (justdanceproject.com), a collection of recordings of people dancing to music - a living anthropological study. Ruth spends more time on Facebook that she cares to admit. When not attached to the computer, working for TrulyNet, or dancing, Ruth rock climbs, knits, swims, obsessively plays Boggle, plays games, plays tennis, cooks, sips beer, wine and whiskey, and travels seeking adventure.
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