Stuff I Actually Loved This Year: A Gift Guide

TIS THE SEASON FOR ALL THE GIFT GUIDES!!

I love checking out everyone’s gift guides this time of year. Because I’m a blogger and I follow a lot of blogs, I’ve seen approximately 5,000 gift guides this year. And I figured it was time for me to throw my gift guide hat into the ring.

But! With one super important distinction: I’ve actually used and loved these things this year.

i.e. They’re things that, if I didn’t already have them, I’d be thrilled to receive this holiday season.

If you’re starting your holiday shopping soon (get them Cyber Monday deals, man), I hope this list helps you find some things that your loved ones will love. You’ll find:

1. Kitchen Loves
2. Book & Relaxation Needs
3. Ways to Give Back

And an important note before we start! A lot of the links you’ll see below are affiliate links. That means that Fooduzzi will earn some money if you click the link and order something. It comes as no additional cost to you, and the money I earn from affiliate links goes directly back into making delicious plant-based yum for ya here on the blog.

Good to go? Let’s gift guide!

Kitchen Loves

Obviously the longest list because I spend a ton of my time in the kitchen. The items you see below are things that I actually use. Often. They don’t just sit in the cabinet, yearning for the day I remember to pull them out and use them for a recipe.

Not like that ever happens, right?

Staub Matte Black Dutch Oven

A dutch oven for $100 that’s a beautiful matte black color? I so dig it, man. It’s great for soups, breads, and stews, and it’s oven-safe! I also love the 4-quart size. It’s perfect for a two-person home like ours.

Perfect for: Buffalo Chickpea Chili, Thai Peanut Butternut Squash Soup

KitchenAid Nespresso

Oh man. I got this as a gift, and I love it. It’s a heavy-duty Nespresso machine, and it can help you make a mean americano, cappuccino, or latte. You use the OriginalLine capsules with this machine.

The item I linked above comes with a milk frother to make perfectly frothed almond milk in about a minute. Super cool!

Pro tip: Buy your Nespresso pods off of Amazon – they’re cheaper!

KitchenAid Stand Mixer

Of course! A stand mixer. Not only do I love how it looks displayed on my kitchen counter, it just makes things so much easier. From cakes to breads to cookies to whipped cream, it’s such a versatile tool.

Perfect for: Perfect Vegan Chocolate Cake, Caramelized Onion Rosemary Focaccia

KitchenAid Spiralizer Attachment

While I love my stand mixer as-is, you can buy a ton of different attachments to give it extra capabilities! If you know someone who already has a stand mixer, an attachment might make an excellent gift idea.

I love my spiralizer attachment because it helps me make zucchini, sweet potato, or carrot noodles like a boss!

Perfect for: Cauliflower Curry with Sweet Potato Noodles, Thai Zucchini Noodle Bowls

Non-Stick Donut Pans

For the baker in your life! This was one of those purchases where I was like, “Really? Do I really need this?”

But the answer is yes. 100% yes. I love homemade donuts, and the baked version is a bit healthier than the deep-fried variety!

Perfect for: Baked Vegan Lemon Coconut Donuts, Vegan Baked Blueberry Donuts

Silicone Baking Sheets

Great for roasting or baking without getting your pans all dirty! I will say that they’re a bit of a pain to clean in a small kitchen, but they’re convenient, a bit more environmentally-friendly than parchment paper, and easy to store.

Perfect for: Super Soft Vegan Double Chocolate Cookies, Nana’s To Tos

Kitchen Scale

Gotta love a cheap-yet-practical gift! Pretty much everyone will tell you that baking by weight yields a more exact, and therefore better, end result.

I use my kitchen scale for baking and coffee-making, and this one is simple to use and small for storing.

Manual Stainless Steel Coffee Burr Grinder

Speaking of coffee! If you’re trying to get into coffee, I really like this grinder. It’s not super exact, but it’s cheap and it’s a great option for dipping your toes into the magical world of coffee.

I’d imagine you could use it for spice grinding, too!

Pro tip: Check out my How to Get into Coffee for Beginners post for additional info

Blue Bottle Coffee Subscription

Speaking of coffee again! A coffee subscription is an amazing gift idea. I love my subscription from Blue Bottle (their blends and their single origins are so fantastic), and I love that I can always have coffee in the house without really thinking about it.

Pro tip: Check out my How to Get into Coffee for Beginners post for additional info

Cat Mugs

Clearly you need something cute out of which you will drink your coffee. Doesn’t get much cuter than cat mugs.

Naturally Colored Sprinkles

Fun fact: I love sprinkles, but I don’t love artificial colors. Luckily we can have cute, sprinkled baked goods with nary an artificial color in sight! And they taste just like the original.

Perfect for: Perfect Vegan Chocolate Cake, Vegan Baked Blueberry Donuts

YETI Stainless Steel Colster

I hatehatehate when my beer / sparkling water / etc. gets warm as I’m drinking it. Now? Warm drinks are a thing of the past. I took this to the beach this year, and it was clutch.

Stainless Steel Straws

Straws are kind of taboo at the moment, so I love these stainless steel ones! I love drinking with a straw, and they’re sturdy enough to throw in a purse if you want a straw on-the-go.

AND it comes with the cutest little cleaner brush omg.

Perfect for: Apple Cider Tea, Ginger Banana Green Smoothie

Wonton Soup Spoons

Any ramen fans out there?! I got these for Mark last year, and we use them all the time. Ramen, curry…they’re great.

Perfect for: Cauliflower Curry with Sweet Potato Noodles, Easy Vegan Ramen

Flour Basket

Okay, no one ever got me a flour basket, but I looooove the idea for any bakers in my life! Your favorite flours packaged up in a nice basket with a few recipe cards included? Best gift ever.

My faves are obviously from Bob’s Red Mill: Organic All-Purpose, Organic Whole Wheat, Organic Ivory Wheat, and Almond Flour.

Perfect for: Blueberry Lemon Thyme Vegan Biscuits, Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls

Book & Relaxation Needs

All about that #selfcare life, right? I always loved reading as a kid, and I recently re-discovered my love of reading as a form of relaxation (rather than like…schoolwork).

These are some of my favorite reads, with a few extras to make your loved one’s reading experience extra cozy.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

GAH. I read this book in a day. It was disturbing, weird, and addictive. I totally devoured this book.

It was recently made into an HBO series, so you can check that out as well!

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

My beach book this year! It was a quick, easy read, and I found myself thinking about the story throughout my entire vacation. It’s fast-paced and suspenseful, and I, again, devoured this book.

Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish

Full disclosure: I have yet to actually make anything from this book, but it’s a must for bread lovers like me! I got this for my dad last year, and I quickly stole it and haven’t given it back.

It’s a beautiful book filled with sourdough, pizza dough, and artisan bread recipes, and I couldn’t adore it more.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

SUCH a great read, and one of my top 5 favorite books ever. Perfect for any dog lovers in your life. It’s a tear-jerker but such a great story.

Moleskine Large Planner

Not a book, but this is my favorite planner ever. It’s layout makes sense in my brain, and it keeps me on-top of my to-dos. I looove it.

Pumpkin Pecan Waffles Candle

Smells like the coziest fall brunch, and I am here for it. We burned through the whole thing in a week and a half.

Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea

SUCH a cozy tea! It was my favorite growing up (we sold it in the cafe I worked at through high school), and it has the most addictive cinnamon scent and taste.

Ways to Give Back

I don’t know about you, but I always feel like I have everything I could ever want (and more). So I love the idea of either giving back personally or gifting items that give back to others.

So if you’re looking for gift ideas that do good, here are some of my faves:

Amazon Smile

Chances are you’re doing a lot of your shopping on Amazon, right? If so, be sure you shop under Amazon Smile. It takes two seconds to set up, and it doesn’t cost you a penny extra. Amazon will donate a percentage of the money you spend to the charity of your choosing.

I donate to the shelter where we adopted Maya, and there are SO many other charities and organizations that can benefit from the holiday shopping you were already planning on doing!

Bob’s Shoes

I have these cat shoes, and not only are they adorable, they are some of the most comfortable shoes I own…and they give back to floofs!

Bob’s is an offshoot of Sketchers, and every time you purchase a Bob’s for Dogs or Bob’s for Cats shoe, they’ll make a donation to save an animal’s life.

Grounds & Hounds Coffee

One of my new favorite companies! This Pittsburgh-based company (!!!) sells coffee and donates a portion of each sale to an animal shelter in your area. How cool is that?!

So if I lived in California and purchased a bag of coffee, they’d donate to a shelter in California. I just love this business model so much.

Kiva

Our family has loaned money to Kiva for years. It’s a microlending company that allows you to lend money to business owners in need all around the world, and then you get paid back.

You can benefit people in so many different industries – women-owned, agriculture, education, food, etc. -, and they have a ~97% repayment rate. That means that you get the money you loan back; it just helps people in the short-term.

I love this business model as well because it helps fund businesses that help support the borrower’s family, community, and country.

Time

One of my favorite ways to give back this time of year is to volunteer. Between baking cookies for fundraisers or events, volunteering with local churches or non-profits, or spending the day playing with dogs and cats and an animal shelter, there are so many organizations in need this time of year.

I’ve been volunteering at a local animal shelter, and it’s the best. Not only am I able to spend the day walking dogs and petting cats, I’m helping an organization that really needs it.

Hold a bake sale for fire relief out in California, collect toys for kids in your community, gather clothing for the needy. Take some time from the holiday craziness to give to those in need.

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And that’s that! What’s the thing you’re most excited to gift this year?!