A Few of My Favorite Things: 2023 Gift Guide

It’s yet again the season for giving thanks and giving gifts. Winter is pretty much here; the pines are covered with a little shelf of white, and the road to our homestead will soon be passable with tracked vehicles only. It truly is a winter wonderland, and even though it’s cold, we still get out to have adventures like hiking above our property to a peak that overlooks Zion National Park!

Last year’s gift guide was quite a hit, so I decided to do it again this year! I still love and use everything I shared in last year’s guide. Instead of a wide variety of product types, I’d like to share some simple pleasures that have been useful and happiness-giving this year. With the exception of one item, everything on this list is well under $100.

LMNT electrolyte packets are a must in our household. They are a little expensive, however, so we started making our own brew for our everyday water consumption and using the packets only for travel. But the chocolate caramel salt flavor is very special, especially sipped hot. A packet of this makes an awesome salty hot cocoa with a splash of cream. So yummy and perfect for the holidays.

A version of this Buffalo hoody is sold at Costco every year, and it makes a great gift. I’ve bought it for a few of the women in my family during past holidays, and it’s always been a hit. This year, I got myself the purple one (my favorite color). It’s slouchy, super soft, warm, and perfect. And it’s less than $15!

I’ve seen a lot of comments in physician mom Facebook groups about the amazing Cozy Earth bamboo sheets. While I can’t say I’ve experienced them because I’m too frugal to spend that much on sheets, I broke down on Prime Day and bought this Amazon version. They are really awesome! So soft, and the softness only gets better the more you wash them. If you sleep hot, they apparently have a cooling effect. I’m always cold, and all I notice is insane softness.

I am really into skincare and makeup. I confessed to this in last year’s guide and provided links to some basic, inexpensive, yet high quality products I love. This year, I’d like to share my secret for glowing skin. I get frequent compliments on it, especially given my age. Truth be told, there are lots of things I do for glowing skin – vigilant use of sunscreen, vitamin C, retinoid, and serious moisturizer are key. But product-wise, the glowy base I slather on every day is a few pumps of Elta MD UV Elements tinted sunscreen mixed with one pump of GloRecipe Niacinamide Dew Drops (this link is for a cute, travel-sized bottle wrapped up in a Christmas ornament package). Both of these products are great separately as well; you can use the dew drops as an all-over primer, and the sunscreen works as makeup or under another foundation for more coverage.

Another great beauty gift is the Laneige lip sleeping mask. The little tub version is better than the tube; why, I’m not sure, but it just is. My favorite scent is the berry, but there are many to choose from. This product is hands down the best thing I’ve tried for dry, chapped, winter lips. I use it every single night.

Nonfiction books are always a great gift; they demonstrate that you know the recipient’s deep interests and values. Here are three I recommend:

1. For the personal development junkie who loves books like Deep Work and Atomic Habits, I recommend Scarcity Brain. This well-written book is by UNLV journalism professor Michael Easter. He weaves his premise of how our modern lifestyle of abundance is affecting our brain with interesting stories of human behavior from all walks of life and corners of the globe.
2. For the health nut, check out Outlive by Peter Attia MD. I’ve heard this book described as “a primary care book written by a surgeon” – a funny and somewhat true description (#IYKYK). I reviewed this book earlier this year and think it has excellent, no-nonsense information on how to optimize not only lifespan but healthspan.
3. For the woman professional, I of course recommend my book, Lean Out. Katie Dahle, chief product officer and mastermind behind conference events at the White Coat Investor, told me earlier this year that she had bought a copy for her college-aged daughter and all her roommates. She said it’s “packed with valuable pearls of knowledge that will change your life” and is a “must read for all women wanting to live authentic lives that bring them joy.” If anyone on your list sounds like they fit this description, then consider gifting them Lean Out 😊.

No matter what you think of belt bags (aka fanny packs), they are pretty darn useful. I bought this plain black Lululemon one years ago and have used it so much. It’s great for traveling, hiking, slipping in and out of your work bag, or any time you need to carry something and be hands-free. It makes a great gift for a man or a woman, IMO.

Lastly, the best gift you can give yourself or anyone you love is a gift of health. The definition of health has many arms, and one of them is physical fitness. I heard someone say once that “muscle is metabolic currency”. We gradually lose muscle mass as we age, which translates to loss of strength, balance, and metabolic flexibility. I’m turning 50 next year, and after a period of focusing on yoga and hiking, one thing I started doing halfway through 2023 is making a concerted effort to eat sufficient protein and do regular strength training workouts.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and some of us need professional guidance along the way. If your gift recipient has never set foot in a gym or done any type of strength exercise, I recommend hiring an in-person or virtual trainer to help. But if they’re a bit more experienced with strength training and they want to be able to execute an effective workout without the time and effort of driving to the gym, I highly recommend these Bowflex adjustable dumbbells. They range from 5 lbs to 52.5 lbs each, come with little trays to hold all the parts, and are very easy to adjust. I’ve been using them 3-4 times a week for the past few months, and I’m definitely seeing incremental strength gains.

I hope this list is helpful for your holiday gifting, and maybe it will inspire some self-gifting as well. Happy shopping!

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think of them? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

(Note: Some links are affiliate, some are not. All products recommended are things I have personally bought with my own money and loved.)