The “Warm and Fuzzy” Rule I’m Using for Everyone on My Gift List This Season
I pride myself on being a thoughtful gift giver. Almost nothing is more satisfying to me than seeing someone open up something I’ve bought or made for them and be super happy (or, better yet) that elusive combo of happy and surprised.
While I tend to follow lists that people send me, this year I’ve thought up a gift combo for every single member of my family: one that references one of the biggest family events of this year (my wedding!) and one of the best gifts someone gave me (a cozy, all-season must-have that does double-time in the colder months). Because I love making up little rules for gifting, cleaning, organizing, and cooking, I’ve taken to calling this the “warm and fuzzy” gift rule.
The first part of the gift is what I call the “warm” part — and that’s printing one of the professional photos we had taken at the wedding. (If you’re a member of my family, please stop reading this now!) I feel like it’s a treat because professional photos are so rarely done — plus, the photos we had taken were documentary-style, meaning they’re largely unposed and really fun photos of my loved ones enjoying the day, dressed to the nines.
For my mom, this part of the gift is particularly important because she has a gallery wall filled with images from all the big events we have together as a family — my brother’s wedding, multiple photos of our extended family gathering for my grandma’s birthday (we have all gotten together every year since her 90th; next year is her 99th!), and more. I plan on giving everyone a personalized photo pick that’s printed and framed.
After that, I plan on getting each of my family members (in-laws included, of course!) a gift that was one of the best gifts my mom bought me this year: a Dreamweave Waffle robe from Brooklinen. Their waffle weave robe is about $130 a pop at full price, and it comes in four different colorways: classic white, pebble, slate, and botanical green.
Since getting my Brooklinen robe in August, it’s been a mainstay in my at-home cuddly wardrobe. It’s perfect for lounging, but also functional as a post-shower towel alternative. The robe is made of 100% Turkish cotton and is pre-washed to minimize shrinking — it’s also perfectly lightweight, making it a great robe for any season.
Another part of what makes the warm and fuzzy rule so fun is that getting everyone the same type of gift acts as a matching pajama set of sorts. I love matching Christmas pajamas, but I never get them for my family because I often find them shockingly pricey or I get worried that people won’t want to wear them year-round.
The robe is neutral enough to be rewearable at all times and functional enough that my family members can use it as loungewear or to towel off after a shower. Plus, there’s still the opportunity for an adorable family photo in there somewhere. It’s a win-win-win — my favorite kind of gift!
Of course, if I decide to get a somewhat cheaper waffle robe — $130 a person plus a framed photo does not necessarily make the most affordable gift — Quince sells a remarkably similar Turkish Waffle Robe that’s only $49.90. It only comes in neutral colors (white, ivory, silver, and grey), but on the other hand it is a bit longer than the Brooklinen option.
If you don’t have photos you want to frame this year, or equally aren’t interested in gifting robes, the warm and fuzzy rule is a framework that you can adjust to your liking. The “warm” item could be a hand-written card, a commissioned painting, a Spotify playlist with all your favorite songs, a book that makes you think of them, a candle in their favorite scent, a Cameo with their favorite actor, or a hard copy of their favorite album or movie.
As for the “fuzzy” element, that could be could be anything, well, fuzzy: a blanket, wool socks, matching holiday pajamas, a sock hat, a homemade scarf, a Squishmallow, slippers, UGG dupes — the list of cozy gifts goes on and on.
The options are endless — plus, extending the fun by having your giftee open two separate gifts? Now that’s holiday magic.