anything goes with emma chamberlain - holiday shopping?

Episode Date: November 11, 2021

alright some people love holiday shopping and are really good at it, and some people hate it and think they’re terrible at it. no matter which side you’re on, i got you covered. all the best gifts you can get someone that are sure to go over well even for those people who are impossible to shop for. and all the things you need to avoid giving people. like live animals. why do people do that? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello. It's November, which is actually kind of exciting because that means that the holidays are coming and I kind of like the holidays because I really let myself go. You know, I kind of stop caring about what I'm wearing. I stop caring about what I look like as much. I don't know. There's something with the holidays where I just let myself go. I don't wash my face. I don't wash my hair,

I don't shave my legs, I dress like a mom, you know, I wear a boots and leggings to the grocery store, like I really let myself go. In the best way, and like I love that. I post on Instagram less, like I'm not really putting on cute outfits that I wanna take an Instagram photo in as much. It's all about living in the moment.

Like it's really a wholesome time where you kind of go back to who you really are. Like you strip away all of the, you know, maybe materialistic stuff and you just become your true self in the holidays. Maybe that's just me, but I feel like it's like all the family time and the cold weather just makes me want to be a simple person. It just makes me want to be simple. The only thing I hate about it is the fact that the holiday season comes with gift giving. And I have a very, very bad relationship with gift giving.

Like I fucking hate it. Also, my allergies are so bad that I sound like I have a frog living inside of my sinus. And I know that that's going to be unpleasant for some of you. It's unpleasant for me to hear in my own ear. So I can't imagine how awful it is for you. We're just going to have to get over it. I know, I know it sucks, but we're going to have to get over it.

Yeah, I have a really hard time with gift giving. I get a lot of anxiety around gift giving. For whatever reason, it gives me so much anxiety. And I can explain why. I mean, I know why it gives me anxiety. It's not like a mystery to me. There's a few elements. Number one, when I'm giving a gift, I worry that my gift won't live up to the person's expectations. And that will make them think that I don't love and care about them as much as I really do. Okay, that's point number one. Point number two, I am scared that the person isn't going to like the gift and that they're

going to have to fake like the gift to make me feel good about myself. And I hate the mere thought of that. Like, the whole point of giving a gift is it's supposed to bring somebody else joy. And if they have to force themselves to fake, be excited about a gift, let me tell you, that does not spark joy. And if they have to force themselves to fake be excited about a gift, let me tell you that does not spark joy. You know, that that sparks anxiety in the other person because now they're like, God damn it, I hate this present. I'm never going to use it. I don't want this. But now they have to pretend like it's, you know, the the best thing they've seen since sliced bread to make you feel good, that's bad for everybody involved.

Okay, so that's another reason why I get anxious about giving gifts. My third and final concern when gift giving is that if I'm exchanging gifts between me and someone else, that the gift that they give me is going to be more extravagant than the gift that I give them, they give me is going to be more extravagant than the gift that I give them, thus making me look like an asshole. Okay, those are just like my main concerns, but it's like a case by case thing, right? Every time I give somebody a gift, depending on that specific scenario and the specific person I'm giving a gift for, my anxiety is different.

You know what I mean? Like giving your mom a gift versus giving your best friend a gift. Both of those scenarios give you different anxiety. Giving your boss a gift versus giving your significant other a gift. Both of those have their different sets of anxiety. It's very uncomfortable for some reason, and I know some people don't struggle with this. If you're one of those people, I applaud you, I'm jealous of you, I wish I could be you,

but I heavily overthink gift giving and it's one of my least favorite things to do. Unless somebody, it's like obvious, like unless it's obvious. For example, one time somebody that I was close to really wanted this pair of earrings and they'd been talking about this pair of earrings for months. And when Christmas came around, I was like, duh, I'm getting them the fucking earrings. Like it's right there, it's right in front of me.

And like I'm pretty sure I'm like the only person that knows that this person wants this pair of earrings. So I am not worried about anybody else getting the same thing for them. I'm pretty certain that this is going to be a whole and one. We are going to win and everything's going to be fine. That's different. Giving gifts in that scenario is great.

You already know what you're supposed to get somebody. They probably expect that you're going to get it for them a little bit, which is also kind of good sometimes. And it's just like everyone wins. But when you're kind of shooting in the dark and you know, you're just pulling something out of your ass for a holiday, it can get really, really upsetting and stressful. And so today's episode is just basically going to be me giving you gift ideas. That I feel like our foolproof, I really truly believe that the things I'm about to mention, like you cannot lose.

Like these are all things that are really, really good. Everybody loves these things. And you can pretty much get them for anybody in your life. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see if this is good. Okay, the first type of gift that you can get for somebody, and honestly, I think, possibly the best kind of gift that you can get for somebody is getting someone a gift that supports their hobby. So, for example, let's say somebody in your life is obsessed with cooking. You could get them a new knife set.

You could get them in air fryer. You could get them some weird random cooking utensils that they would never buy for themselves otherwise. A good example would be like a garlic press, like one of those things that you squeeze and it like kind of chops the garlic for you. Or you could get a really nice pair of kitchen shears, or you could get them a new pizza slicer, or you could get them a new blender, or you could get them a new food processor,

or you could get them an automatic lemon juicer, or you could get them a cute new spatula set, or you could get them, I'm like thinking about what I want for Christmas because I just started getting into cooking like actually like actually not kidding this time and if somebody gave me anything cooking related for Christmas, even though I already have

cooking related stuff at home, like I would be thrilled because you could never have too much in too many different types of cooking equipment Cooking related stuff at home like I would be thrilled because you can never have too much in too many Different types of cooking equipment because all of it gets dirty and then you know you have to wash it before whatever You can never have too much you you probably could but It never hurts more cooking equipment for somebody who's into cooking will never be too much Another example would be you know, let's say somebody who's into cooking will never be too much.

Another example would be, let's say somebody's really into running. You could get them cute little headbands, cute little hair ties, a really nice pair of running socks. If you're feeling like you want to splurge a little bit, you could get them an Apple Watch, or a cute little Apple Watch band, you know, like Apple watch related accessories for tracking their runs, a nice pair of headphones.

I really think that the best gift that you can get for somebody is something that relates to their hobby, but that they may not necessarily get for themselves. Because, you know, everybody has like that one thing that they want and that, you know, they would buy for themselves, but they just don't really have a reason to, and they keep forgetting, you know, to buy it. A good example would be like getting somebody who's into running a pair of really nice running socks.

I know that sounds weird, but like for the past few months I've been running and I got a really nice pair of running socks and like you guys running socks change the game. But I just kept putting off buying a pair because I was like, eh, like, what the fuck? I don't need a special pair of socks for running. Like, get, I need to get over myself. But no, like, having a nice pair of running socks changes the experience.

And it's something that you might not necessarily buy for yourself immediately. That's what makes it a good gift. You know what I mean? My dad's really into surfing. Like, I could get him a wetsuit. I could get him a new surfboard. I could get him like a really nice, you know, surfboard wax or whatever. I don't even know what surfers he is.

Why am I so congested? Like, I'm not sick. Listen to that. Like it's not good in there. It is clogged up in there. It's probably because I'm literally allergic to living in Los Angeles. The second I get here, after going on vacation,

my eyes get itchy, my nose gets all clogged up. Honestly, I might just be allergic to my cats. That's probably the most likely reason for my congestion, but I mean, I love my cats. I'm just going to have to live with it, I guess. Anyway, not everybody has hobbies. Some people who have hobbies like already have literally everything they need to support that hobby so that's not going to work for everybody in your life which is why I made a list of other ideas.

Number one, a super easy and also full proof gift is just to get somebody something yummy, like a food. A good example would be a nice olive oil. That's really something that people wouldn't normally buy for themselves. It's like a nice bottle of olive oil, but yet, the receiver of that olive oil

is gonna be so stoked because if they have a fresh, you know, lova bread in their house. Now they have a fresh, nice, yummy bottle of olive oil that they can dip their bread into when they're at home and life is going to be good for them. They're going to love that. They can use it for cooking. It'll make their food taste better. That's great. Another thing you could do is you could go to like a local bakery,

like a local, you know, authentic bakery, and you could get a bunch of biscotti or something that'll like last a while. You know, you want to get something that'll last a while? You don't want to get something like donuts because those literally go bad in one day, you know? You want like a food, a really yummy food that's gonna last for like a month or so so that they have time to use it, right?

Because you don't know, like, what if they get donuts from two other people? Now like majority of the donuts are going to waste, not good. You know, you need to do something like biscotti, you need to do something like Biscotti, you need to do something like olive oil, balsamic vinegar, like a nice balsamic vinegar. Maybe like pre-packaged pastries that won't necessarily go bad in like 24 hours, something of that sort. The reason why this is so great is because there's not one person on the planet over the age of 20 that wouldn't be excited about getting a nice bottle of olive oil. I might be wrong about that, but I really think you can't go wrong. I also can't name somebody over the age of 20 that wouldn't be excited about getting

a nice box of biscotti to dip in their coffee in the mornings. You know, like these little nice quality food items will improve someone's quality of life substantially until they run out. Like a good example would be, if somebody gave me a box of Scotty for Christmas every morning up until I run out of the biscotti. I'd be whipping out a fresh biscotti every morning, dipping in my coffee, eating it, and it would make my daily life so much better until I run out, which will then be a sad day. But it's like giving a really nice, yummy, high quality food gift really does improve somebody's quality of life

up until they run out of it. I really don't think you can go wrong there. It's just, you know, it's just great. Okay, another thing that you just, it's just a great gift is a hydroflask water bottle. I know, it sounds stupid, it's just a great gift. Is a hydroflask water bottle. I know, it sounds stupid, it sounds obvious. I don't care.

I love hydroflask water bottles. I really love them and I've never met somebody in my life who was like, oh, hydroflask water bottles suck ass. I've never in my life met somebody who's ever said that. They have so many cute colors, you know? Like everybody drinks water, or at least they should be. So this is again, a foolproof gift. The other thing is, a lot of people don't want to buy themselves a hydroflask because it's a little bit expensive

to just like buy on a whim. You know, they're like 40 bucks or so, which is a little bit pricey. And so it doesn't necessarily make sense to just buy a hydroflask on a random Thursday one day. You might be like, I don't really need to spend 40 bucks on a water bottle right now. I'm not going to do that. And somebody who might very much enjoy a hydroflask might not own one for that reason, which is that they're a little bit pricey,

and it's not something that you're just gonna go and buy on a whim. Perfect for a gift. If there's anybody in your life that doesn't have a hydroflask, you can automatically assume that they would enjoy to receive one, and so that really could be a gift

for just about anybody. I am obsessed with them. Like I really, I have like seven of them, and I've been using them since high school. They're really the best. And they keep your water cold for hours. I mean, everybody fucking knows that. Don't make me say it again.

Okay, another thing you can get for somebody is acute, reusable, nice quality, really fun tote bag that relates to something that they like. Okay. So a good example would be, let's say your best friend is obsessed with Paris. You can go online and find a super cute, Paris-themed tote bag. Get that for your bestie. She's going to love it. The thing about tote bags is that they're really useful.

Everybody loves them. Everybody uses them, whether it's for grocery shopping, bringing things to work or school, like whatever it may be. Tote bags are very useful. But there's something really fun about having a tote bag that represents something that you really like. You know? Another thing is like, okay, let's say your mom is obsessed with her dog. Like my mom is obsessed with our dogs. I could get her like a funny and cute little tote bag that says dog mom. She would fucking lose it over that. You know what I'm saying? Getting something that is personal and relates to the person,

but that's on something that is foolproof like a tote bag, everybody uses tote bags. Right, where's like getting something like a t-shirt is a little bit more iffy because people are kind of picky about like the way that their t-shirts fit. The material that they're made out of, people are more picky about that. People are a lot less picky about what material their tote bag is made of. They don't care.

That's why tote bags are a safe bet because a tote bag is a tote bag, babe. You get what you get, you don't be upset. The next thing sounds obvious, but it really is honestly something that I would be stoked to receive, and it's nice skin care or nice body wash. I really love a body wash brand called Necessaire. They make the best fucking body wash and the best body exfoliants. On the more luxury side, right?

Not even luxury. I mean, it's like, you know, maybe 25 bucks, if I might be wrong about that. Pretty sure it's like 25 bucks, which is definitely pricey for a body wash. But if you're giving somebody body wash as a gift, you know, you could put a few extra bucks into it, why not, right? Getting something like a nice body wash that they wouldn't normally buy for themselves. Again, it's the same thing as like the olive oil, it's the same thing as like the biscotti gift idea, right?

It's like, it's gonna enhance somebody's quality of life for weeks to come until they run out of the product. Like if somebody gave me a really delicious body wash, you know, for the next month, every time I'm in the shower, I am going to be in heaven because I'm going to be using this nice body wash that I normally wouldn't use. My whole shower is going to smell delicious. It's going to be this experience. You're giving somebody an item, yes, but you're also giving them an experience because every time they're in the shower, they are going to be experiencing this delicious smelling,

hydrating body wash and it's going to be a gorgeous new addition to their daily ritual. Same thing with the food approach. How many times do I have to say it? You know what I'm saying? Every time somebody's cooking they're getting an experience because now they have you know a new ingredient to cook with or a new little pastry to eat with their coffee like it adds to someone's life in a way that's kind of romantic. And you know, you can do the same thing with skincare, right? Like there's so many different levels of great skincare, you know, some skincare is super affordable.

Some of it's a little bit more pricey or maybe a little bit less necessary for someone on a day-to-day basis. And someone might be in a routine with their skincare where they're just by the same stuff every few months. And it works and it's good. And it's not really exciting but it does a job right. You could get somebody a nice face mask that's maybe something

they wouldn't normally buy for themselves or some of those like bougie little under eye patches right that probably don't even work but it doesn't matter because it's about the experience and it's about giving The people you love the tools to romanticize their life, right? Giving somebody a nice body wash In some nice gold under eye patches that aren't actually probably even real gold and aren't actually expensive, but they're just fun to use You know getting somebody those things will make their life a little bit more spicy and fun, right? Okay, next gift is

Honestly, something I wish somebody would give me for Christmas, and that is a wallet. Okay. I Know two types. No, I know three types of people, okay? Number one, people who don't own a wallet, that's me. Number two, people who have owned the same wallet since they were in eighth grade and it's falling apart miserably. And number four, people who have a cool new fresh wallet. Oh wait, number three, wait, no, that's number three.

Wait, which one was number two? Okay, number two. Wait, holy fuck. Do I start over? Sure. Number one, people who don't have a wallet, me. Number two, people who have a wallet that they've had since eighth grade

that looks like it's been through a blender and sat in a landfill for six months. That's number two. And number three, somebody who, by some miracle, has a new wallet. Okay. Chances are the people in your life fall into category one or category two. I don't know very many people who have a like cool wallet. Why is it that everybody has like a 10 year old

busted fucking wallet? Like I can't be the only one that's noticed this, like, or you know, there's people like me that just simply do not have a wallet. Everything that would go into a wallet for me either goes straight into my purse, loose, or goes into the back of my phone case or goes into my pocket. Or if I'm feeling genuinely insane, I will shove it in my bra.

And that happens more frequently than I wish to admit. The point is, most people could probably use a really nice, really solid wallet and you don't need to spend a lot of money. I'm not saying, okay, it's time to go to the fucking, you know, Louis Vuitton store and pick out a spicy wallet. Although, I don't think there's anybody on the planet that wouldn't absolutely adore that. But that's not necessarily necessary. You know, you can get a really, really nice wallet

from just about anywhere. I mean, you can find them at a lot of different types of stores. I think that having a really nice, reliable, clean, fresh wallet is an underrated gift because you use your wallet every day. If you have a wallet, you're using it every day because you know, everything that you need for day to day life is in there. Your ID, your credit cards, lose change, whatever it may be. It's a very prominent product that people use in their day to day life. And so having a nice one is again, something else that will enrich somebody else's life

and make their life a little brighter, because they're using the shit every day. But it's also something that they might not necessarily buy for themselves, because they might be like, well, the wallet that I have, even though I've had it since eighth grade and it literally is dukey stains all over it, like, it still works technically, so it's fine.

Or the person who doesn't have a wallet at all is like well you know shoving my credit card into my butt crack instead of using a wallet it's working you know like it works so no need to buy a wallet like that's unnecessary a wallet is a great gift, underrated gift, 1000%. Next, please get somebody a speaker. Getting somebody a portable speaker is possibly, it's such a good gift. It's such a good gift because portable speakers

are so incredibly useful. And the other thing is, is that people lose them constantly. I lose my, okay, I've had probably four portable speakers in the past two years. I could only locate one right now. Like I can see it, because it's literally on my dresser in my room, which is the only reason why I know where it is. Like I don't even know why it's there on my dresser in my room, which is the only reason why I know where it is.

Like, I don't even know why it's there, to be honest. But I have like, you know, I just, I lose them constantly. But I wish I had more of them. Because, you know, they're great to bring to the beach. They're great to bring, you know, if you want to watch the sunset with your friends and the trunk of your car, you bring a speaker, or you could quite literally use your car speaker because that a speaker, or you could quite literally use your car speaker

because that has built in speakers. So maybe it's not necessary for that, but having a portable speaker is so useful. I don't know why, but it's just great. Also, if you wanna like play music in a room in your house that doesn't already have a speaker in it, done. I wish I had a portable speaker in my bathroom so that I could just listen to music anytime I'm getting ready like that would be incredible

You can never have too many portable speakers because Whether your portable speaker gift to somebody becomes their main portable speaker or it gets assigned to a dedicated room in someone's house like You can never have too many, it'll find a way to get used. You know what I'm saying? Whether it's someone's go-to or it becomes the dedicated bathroom portable speaker,

like it will get used and everybody loves listening to music or listening to a podcast. Like everybody loves listening to shit, right? We love it. We love it as humans. We love that. So good gift, foolproof.

Do not get a portable speaker, though, for somebody who's above the age of 50 because they won't know how to connect the Bluetooth and the gift will not get used. But for anybody under 50, you are good to go with that one. Okay, next. If someone in your life has pets, you can have a little bit of fun

with getting somebody pet-related gifts, but there is a condition. Do not get somebody pet-related gifts unless their entire personality revolves around them being obsessed with their pet. Like you know, there's like two types of people. Some people have pets and they love their pets, but it's like not their whole identity. Like unless you hung out with somebody for two weeks, you wouldn't necessarily know that

they have an animal versus somebody who talks about their animal or pet every 30 seconds in a conversation and everybody that knows them also knows about their pet, right? This gift only really works for somebody who falls into the second category and like is obsessed with their pet. You could get one of your dog loving friends. Somebody, oh, really hot, really cute, really stylish, really cool dog leash. And let me tell you, for someone who's obsessed with their animal, that will be a great gift

because again, they're probably walking their dog for like 20 hours a day because they're just so obsessed with their dog that they're just constantly, you know, taking their dogs on walks and spending time with their dog. So like a really cute dog leash would be a great gift because it's the similar vibe to the wallet situation. It's a small yet impactful product

that somebody uses on a day to day. You know, it doesn't seem like a big deal when you just think about it, but at the same time, like, you look at your wallet every day. You use your wallet every day. You look at your dog leash every day if you have a dog and you use that dog leash every day if you have a dog. And like, it's those little things, and it's upgrading those little things

that can really be a bang and gift because somebody else is just not gonna do that for themselves. That's what it's your job to do that for them as the gift giver. You know what I mean? Like, imagine, you know, getting like a cute patterned dog leash for somebody with like a matching dog collar.

Like that is so cute. You could go on Etsy and like get a custom made one. They've set cute ones on there. Great. Like so great. Or if somebody you love has cats and you wanna get them a really amazing gift, you could get them a litter robot, which is what I use.

They are extremely expensive, but they also are extremely technologically advanced. It's basically a self-cleaning litter box. That's an amazing gift for somebody who has cats because it makes owning a cat pretty much like having a roommate because the litter box cleans itself. So the only responsibility you're left with

is just to hang out with your cat. You know what I'm saying? It like takes the burden out of owning a pet literally. It makes owning cats so easy because you don't even have to worry about the litter box because the litter box is pretty brutal It's also not that bad. So like if you don't want to spend a fuck ton of money on a litter robot Do not feel like you are a bad gift giver, but if you for whatever reason

Really want to blow a cat mom or cat dad out of the water a Little robot would be killer or even getting somebody like cute that dad out of the water, a litter robot would be killer. Or even getting somebody like cute cat toys or cute dog toys or cute cat bowls or cute dog bowls. Like, but like, ones that are cute and like match the person's house. Like that sounds kind of psychotic, but you know,

it would be so cute to have really stylish pet food bowls, you know, that maybe are like a little nice, right? Not like super nice, I'm talking about like $15 rather than like a $1.99 at the pet store. You know what I'm saying? Something a little bit elevated. That would be so nice. And I think anybody would appreciate that.

OK, another gift that's so random, but I just thought of it. And so I have to say it because I will forget if I don't. License plate, what are they called? License plate like borders. Like, you know, those little like license plate. Frames, license plate frames. Okay, this sounds dumb, but think about people that you know.

Now, think about their car. Now, think about their license plate frame. It probably says the brand of the car and the city that the car was purchased in, like for example, it'll say like Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills or it'll say Volkswagen of San Francisco, you know what I'm saying so boring That is so incredibly boring But also Why is it that everybody in your life has the most boring license plate frames because nobody wants to Buy themselves new ones and nobody wants to pick out like new license plate frames

That's so unappealing. That's not a fun activity But also if somebody did have new license plate frames, they'd probably be very excited because their car just went from like A solid seven out of 10 to a solid nine point five out of 10 just because they replaced their license plate rims Frames I keep calling it rims. Frames. I keep calling it rims. That's a fully different part of the car. I don't know.

I would be really stoked if I got license plate frames as a gift because especially like funny ones or like really cool ones. I don't know. I just think that that's a fun gift. Also so cheap. You can order them on Amazon. You can order them on Etsy. I actually just ordered two of them for myself on Etsy

because I've been in like an extra mood recently and so I was like, you know what? I'm gonna spice up my life a little bit in like weird small areas. So I got myself license plate frames. I also bought myself like a new knife set from William Sonoma. You know, like sometimes you just have to give back to yourself by buying yourself borderline unnecessary gifts.

But yeah, license plate frames. Nobody's talking about how that's actually a really good gift. Next, a really good blanket, absolutely an incredible gift. Personally I buy all of my blankets from Urban Outfitters. I don't know why they just have the best blankets, like they're super fuzzy, Sherpa looking ones are actually my obsession. I just bought a new one a few weeks ago because my old ones literally were so disgusting. They had full ecosystems of bacteria hiding in the fibers of the blanket because I had been using them for so many years and I had eaten countless meals over top of the blanket.

I've drooled countless times in the blanket. My cats have dragged their litter into the blanket fibers time and time again. They were the blankets for nasty. I got a new one. It's so soft and it's so clean and amazing. Incredible gift. Like a blanket is a no brainer and speaking of that, you could also get somebody a heating pad, okay, especially for the women in your life.

A heating pad is a great gift. I lay on a heating pad pretty much 24-7 because I have, I mean obviously like being a woman, you know you get the occasional period cramp but also I have IBS which means I have severe abdominal cramping all the fucking time and I I have had a IBS for quite a while. And over the past year, I started using the heating pad almost constantly just for like that discomfort, daily discomfort that I have from IBS. And it really helps with my stomach pain.

It really does. Like you will never catch me in bed without a heating pad because it really helps with my stomach pain. It really does. You will never catch me in bed without a heating pad because it really helps with my stomach cramping. It loosens it up. Heating pads are just the best. And they're also like, you can find really cute ones on Amazon. All mine are really ugly.

I should give myself a cute one. Another great thing that you can get for somebody is a new plant, like a living plant. Okay, now also know your audience though and you're buying somebody a new plant because for some people this is like the best gift ever and for other people this is the worst gift ever. Don't get me a real plant as a gift, It will be dead like immediately. But for somebody who's like into plants and like into nature and shit like that, getting somebody a new nice plant will make their whole day. I think it's a great gift. The problem is I just, it's just

not for me. Don't get a plant for somebody who has cats though because their cats will ruin the plant. So this is for somebody who doesn't have pets and just likes to grow their little plants or if somebody's really into plants and they already have a lot of plants, and you don't feel like you want to get them another plant, you could get somebody a really nice vase

for their plants, another great gift. Okay, next idea, kind of in the same realm as the blanket, heating pad, plant, I don't know, it's all in the same realm. You could get somebody a robe. I love a good robe. The good thing about a robe is that it's like, again, something somebody wouldn't normally buy for themselves,

but that they will literally use every single day. I, okay, see, like I have a lot of robes because I kind of have a robe. I just farted and I really don't know if you could hear it. This happens to me every episode. I like farted and I really don't know if you could hear it. This happens to me every episode. I like fart and then I just keep talking over it and then I'm like, okay, I can't just not address what happened, right?

Like I have to bring it up. But then if nobody heard it, like did I bring it up for no reason type of thing? Anyway, that's just something I'm going through. But getting somebody a robe is something that like adds to their relaxation routine. You know what I mean? And a nice robe goes a long way, like a really soft, comfy, thick robe goes a long way.

I honestly get someone a robe for Christmas at least once a year. I try to figure out who my life doesn't have a robe yet and then I buy them a robe and then it changes their life. Hands down, completely changes their life. I love waking up in the morning, throwing on my robe and just walking around the house, like a fucking Beverly Hills housewife, okay? That is my morning energy.

I think everybody should experience that. If there's someone in your life who doesn't have a robe, change that. Another thing that you could get is a pair of slippers to go with the robe. Possibly a matching set if you're feeling crazy, but not necessarily necessary. Slippers are just like a great gift. Also, the other thing is the sizing is

not as important as, say, like a pair of tennis shoes, you know what I'm saying? So, like, as long as you know the basic size of somebody's foot, you'll probably be fine just getting them a slipper, you know, and like guessing the sizing, because the sizing on a slipper is less specific than the sizing on, you know, a more everyday pair of shoes, because slippers are kind of just something you slip on your foot anyway. So if they're a little bit big,

it's not the worst, you know, it's not the worst thing. And if they're a little bit small, that's actually probably not good. So I would say definitely try to go up rather than down. But regardless, you can kind of, there's a lot more breathing room with slipper sizing than with normal shoe sizing, which is why I feel like it's a safe bet for a gift. And it's the same thing with a robe. Like, if a robe is a little bit too big, it's not the end of the world.

Like, I literally have a robe that I bought on purpose that's four sizes too big for me just because I like the way it fits. Like, it doesn't matter if the robe is the perfect size, which is what makes it a foolproof gift. You know what I mean? Because you can almost guarantee that the sizing will be fine and that they won't have to return it or exchange it because that's always the worst. Slippers are incredible though, like you can always use a new pair of slippers.

Come on, come on. Next you could do jewelry and there's a few ways to approach jewelry as a gift. Number one, you can do something like a little bit more day-to-day wear, right? Like you could get somebody, maybe who has a lot of ear piercings, you could get them a pack of like a bunch of different fun stud earrings that they can plug into their little ear holes. And it might be, you know, a little expensive,

like maybe around 50 bucks to get a nice little pack, but that's a really fun gift because somebody has a lot of piercings is always looking for ways to fill those little holes. So that's a really fun gift. Or you get somebody like a pack of rings, like really fun, really playful rings. You can kind of go like the pack route where you get somebody like a bunch of different cute little jewelry pieces that they can mix and match. I think that's really fun. It's also cheaper because you're getting somebody like more jewelry

that they can kind of like wear more casually and you know in more of a fashion way And, you know, in more of a fashion way, less than like a day-to-day staple piece of jewelry, right? It's more of an accessory that you switch in and out constantly. That's a great gift because it gives somebody room to like play around with jewelry if that's something that they're into. Like, I love playing around with jewelry and it doesn't need to be expensive, right? Like, because when you're just wearing jewelry

for the day to match an outfit, it doesn't matter. If it's like real metal or like real blah blah blah, it doesn't matter because you're just wearing it for a few hours just to accentuate your outfit and then you take it off. So you don't just spend as much money, but if you're like, I wanna get somebody something that they can wear every day.

You might need to splurge a little bit because if you're gonna wear jewelry every day, it has to be real metal or else it'll cause some problems. Like it'll turn your fingers and neck green because the metal will start to like erode your onto your skin. But I think that it can be really fun to go to a cool website or something that makes like custom jewelry and make something custom that like says something maybe like that's like an inside joke between you two.

Or maybe you just custom Or maybe you just, like maybe you just pick out a special color that like reminds you of the person, just like something kind of personal, right? One time as a gift, somebody gave me a little ring that had like words on it that were really tiny.

You could barely see them, but they were engraved. And it was kind of like an inside joke between us. I almost cried. It was one of the cutest gifts I've ever gotten. You know what I mean? It's just a great gift. Like jewelry is one of those things that you can not go wrong with as long as the person you're giving the jewelry to actually wears jewelry.

You know, if you're thinking about getting jewelry for somebody close your eyes, imagine the last time you saw them, were they wearing any jewelry? No, okay, look back two times ago when you saw them, were they wearing any jewelry? No, let's go three times back, were they wearing any jewelry? No, okay, don't get jewelry for that person.

Think of somebody in your life who is a jewelry wearer, because I used to be like super anti-jewelry. I hated the way it felt. Now I'm like obsessed with jewelry. I wear it all the time. But before I was into jewelry, like a jewelry related gift for me would just stress me out because I was like, fuck, I know I'm not gonna wear this. But now that I'm into jewelry, it's like the best gift on the planet because jewelry is a little bit pricey and it's also something that is hard to justify buying more of, you know, because it's such like a small part of an outfit that it's kind of hard to like justify spending money

on it. Because like most people don't even notice when you're wearing jewelry, you know, but it's a great gift. And also if it's a personal piece of jewelry, that's really sweet and cute because every time somebody looks at that piece of jewelry they'll think of you and that's just precious. So next, coffee machine, coffee beans, matcha, matcha whisk, anything in that realm. I might be a little bit biased because I literally have a coffee company that sells all of those things. I know.

You're like, Emma stop trying to make us go to ChamelonCoffee.com. I get it. I'm not sure even trying to make you go there. Although you should, if you want, especially on Black Friday, because there will be some deals. But, no, I'm kidding. But honestly, incredible gift, like especially coffee beans, like whole coffee beans, incredible gift, because honestly, this could have gone into the category of like yummy food slash dessert, like the olive oil, biscotti, world of it all. I would say coffee beans or matcha kind of fit into

that category probably should have mentioned them earlier. Forgot, sorry. But it's a great gift because it's something that again somebody's going to use every day until they run out and it's going to enhance their day-to-day life. And you can also get some really cute accessories that are pretty affordable. For example, you can get one of those drip coffee things that just sit on top of the coffee cup. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just ignore me.

But you can get one of those, they're really cheap. I mean, not really cheap, but they're very affordable. It's a very affordable way to make coffee. They're probably like 20 bucks to buy. And then you can make infinite cups of coffee with them, you know, you could get somebody a French press. Again, a pretty affordable way to make coffee, right? There may be French presses are like, you know, 30 bucks. That's great.

You can get somebody like a cold brew maker, right? So that they can make cold brew. All of these are very affordable ways to make coffee in comparison to having an espresso machine. And so those are all great gifts for somebody who loves coffee and maybe wants a new way to brew their morning coffee. You could also get them cute coffee related accessories, little mason jars, basically anything on Chamelink Coffee.com. But that's not why I'm saying that. It, listen, if you, this is a good gift, whether you buy it from Shamelink Coffee.com or you buy it from your other favorite

coffee brand, like it's just a great gift, like you just can't go wrong. Reusable straws for someone's coffee in the morning, their eyes coffee, like you just, acute mug, come on, come on. Single serve, okay now I'm getting out of control. If I like just, now I'm getting out of control. Okay, next gift is something that I honestly, this might be the best gift yet.

It's a little bit pricey, but if somebody got this from me, I would actually lose my mind. A matching luggage set, like an entirely matching cohesive luggage set. I'm talking about two sizes of suitcases, maybe just one, two is a little bit much, but two would also be very useful. A big one and a small one. A bunch of little mini bags that work for toiletries and electronics and things like that, that match with the luggage that can go inside of the luggage. A full cohesive luggage set. I have wanted this for myself for so long, but I will not motivate myself to do it because I'm like, I have fully functioning luggage,

but I would love to have a all matching luggage set. It would just tickle me in the right, sorry, not in like a weird way. It would just tickle me in the right, sorry, not in like a weird way. Do you know what, maybe in a weird way? That would just absolutely put everything into alignment into my life. If I had a matching luggage set, like that is so good.

Like that is just so good. It would just be, and also talk about something that somebody can use for years. You can truly use a luggage set for years. You know what I mean? That's a gift that will last somebody, possibly even a lifetime. Seriously. Next, you could get somebody a gel nail polish set. Now I'm talking about, you know when you go to the nail salon and you say, get somebody a gel nail polish set. Now, I'm talking about, you know, when you go to the nail salon

and you say, I want a gel manicure and they put your hand in the little gel manicure machine and it cures the nail polish. You know what I'm talking about? Okay, that's a great gift for somebody. You can buy them on Amazon. Just look up gel Manacure Kit. And it's incredible because it's honestly

considering what it is, not that expensive. And it allows somebody to be able to do their own Gel Manacure at home, which is genuinely an incredible thing. I actually bought one of these in the very beginning of COVID. And oh my God, I used it non-stop. It was so great.

You can buy them cute little gel polishes. It's super easy to use. You know, anybody who knows how to paint their nails will easily be able to use this machine. It makes it so easy because nail polish that dries normally is so outdated. That is such an outdated concept. I have not gotten my nails painted in a normal way in probably six years. I only get gel manicures on my... Okay, Declan.

He literally just stepped on my computer. Love him though. Regular nail polish is just... It's not... it's very, it's very 2000 and late to me, okay? Because it doesn't dry in time, shit gets stuck in it, it's a fucking mess. Gel polish dries instantly and is so much better. It lasts so much longer, it looks prettier on your fingers. Like, there's no reason to not be doing gel. And you can buy your favorite beauty queen, a gel nail

polish set, and they will absolutely love it. Anybody who's into nail polish will love a gel polish set. Make sure it comes with the machine, though though that cures the nail polish. That's very crucial, but great gift. Okay, that's pretty much all I got. I did think that it would be useful though to discuss some bad gift ideas because I think it's really important for us to realize, oh my God, I keep farting. Help me. I hope you can't hear it. If you can hear it, then I'm in a bad place here. This is not good. If you can hear it, then I'm in a bad place here.

This is not good. If you can't hear it, I'm in a great spot. Everything's fine. And maybe I'll even have my editor cut out me discussing the fact that I'm farting. But if you can hear it, that sucks. And so, I won't know until I won't know for a while whether or not you guys can even hear it. Anyways, I think it's important to discuss bad gifts or gifts that come with potential problems because they think that it would be a disservice to this episode to not bring these things up. The only time that these gifts work and are a good idea is if somebody

specifically asked for them or if you are really, really close with somebody and you pretty much know them inside out and so you can make a really educated decision about this gift. Otherwise, it's pretty much always a bad gift. Number one, clothing. You cannot just buy clothing for anybody, okay? Because clothing is such a personal thing, like I am so picky about clothes personally. I like to try things on, feel the material.

You know, I'm a different size in literally every store on the planet. So, you know, I always need to make sure I'm reading. The measurements online and stuff to make sure I'm getting the right size. You know, sometimes I want something to fit loose, sometimes I want something to fit really tight. And everybody else is the same way.

We all have very specific preferences when it comes to clothes. And I just don't think that it's a foolproof gift because it can go really sour if the item doesn't fit the person properly. Now they have to go and return it, which is such an inconvenience. Maybe it's not someone's style. Now they either have to go return it or they have to re-gift it to another friend. It's just not good. Like clothes are just simply too personal

to buy for someone else, unless they specifically were like, hey, I want this pair of jeans in this size. Get it for me for Christmas, love you. Or if it's like a bantee, like somebody's a really big fan of like, the black eyed peas in Fergie, you know? And they're like, I really want a black eyed peas in Fergie t-shirt.

Or you just know that they're a fan of them. Then like that's a t-shirt is a little bit different because t-shirts are like, they pretty much all fit the same. So you can't really go wrong with that. But generally I would say close our bad idea. Like don't go and like, you know, buy your friend like, a new workout outfit, right? Because chances are they're gonna hate

the way that the leggings fit. The sports bra is gonna pinch their back in a way that they don't like, or like the leggings are gonna be baggy in the butt area. Like there's always something wrong, right? You just can't do it. You just can't. I think you steer away from clothes.

Another thing to steer away from is anything that's alive. Don't go buying your best friend a fish in a fish tank. Don't go buying somebody a parakeet bird. Don't go buying somebody a parakeet bird. Don't go buying somebody a hamster. Definitely don't go buy somebody a dog or a cat. Don't do it, just don't do it. You're literally giving somebody a responsibility and even if, even honestly, even if they ask for it,

I still wouldn't do it because the thing is, you don't wanna be responsible for that huge decision. Buying something that is alive is a huge responsibility, you know, it's just best not to just stay out of that whole thing. If somebody really wants a dog, they'll probably go get themselves a dog. And pets are very personal. It's a very personal thing.

You have to have a connection with that animal, especially if you're like rescuing an animal. It's all based on vibe. And like if you're going into a rescue place to pick out a kitten for somebody, and the kitten loves you, that's great, but it might not love the person that you're giving the cat to. Like animals are very perceptive, you know, they can like

feel things. And so they just like might not vibe with their new owner. And like now you're responsible for that burden. I just think it's better to stay out of that whole thing. The only exception being if somebody really, really wants an animal and you're really close with them and maybe you even live with them, and you go about it in a way that makes sense. You double check with them before, like, hey, like make a joke or something, like, hey, what if I, you know, you've been talking about getting this animal for a really long time, like, what if I kind of, what if, you know, like, you kind of have to, you need to really, really make sure that you're making the right decision.

And the only exception is if you're like extremely close with somebody, Maybe it's one of your closest, closest family members. Maybe it's a significant other. Maybe that's okay, maybe. But generally, I would say don't do it. I would generally say like do not do it. It's just not smart. You know, like even if it's just a fish, like whatever, you don't know if that person like has it

in them to take care of the fish and then what if the fish dies? And like, you know what I mean? It's just like don't be reckless with something to live. Don't just be throwing it around as a gift. Like really make sure that you think the next gift that's bad is gift cards. And listen, I love a good gift card.

I love receiving them. But at the same time though, like, you can do better. And every time I give somebody a gift card, I'm always like, I really could have done better. You know, I think gift cards work sometimes, but it depends on who you're giving the gift card to. Like, I think a gift card is great if like you're giving them to like your whole friend group, you know, at school. Cause that ensures that like everybody's getting an equal gift.

Like, let's say you have five friends at school and you give them all like a $30 gift card to your guys' favorite coffee shop. Like, that's a great gift because it makes sense, you know, in the context, like everybody's getting an equal gift, nobody's gonna be fighting, and it is kind of personal because you guys all go to that coffee shop every day.

It's sweet, that's a sweet gift. But don't get a gift card for like your significant other. Okay, it's just not right. You know, take your significant other out to dinner instead. Take your best friend out to dinner instead. Take your best friend out to dinner instead. Take one of your parents out to dinner instead. Take your grandma out to dinner instead. Take your cousin out to dinner instead.

Take your sister out to dinner instead. Instead of getting them a gift card, like give them an experience, take them out to dinner. You know, take them on a little weekend, trip somewhere. Like do something a little bit more intimate or just like get somebody something that I mentioned, you know, earlier instead, something that they wouldn't

normally buy for themselves, but that would actually be really incredible for them to have. I just think a gift card is just kind of like, it can come off wrong. And like you just, you wanna put extra love into a gift. The other thing is, is that I think that, you know, when it comes to giving gifts, like, if you give somebody a gift card,

it kind of screams like, to the receiver of the gift, that the gift was kind of screams like to the receiver of the gift that the gift was kind of last minute and that no thought went into it. Because a gift card is literally just money. Here's money to go buy whatever you want. That just, it's like an empty gift. Like where is if you get somebody a really sweet

nice, thoughtful, something. That shows that you care. You went out, you picked it out. There's something really sweet about that. And that's like the whole point of giving gifts is that it comes from the heart. And I think that when you get somebody gift card, it's not coming from the heart.

It's coming from the fact that you didn't think about Christmas until five days before and now you had to get gift cards. Now listen, personally, I would rather receive, let's say somebody forgot to go shopping for a Christmas gift. And so they're like, okay, I have two options. I can either bake Emma something homemade or I can give her a gift card to her favorite coffee shop for 25 bucks. I would so much rather receive the homemade baked good, then I would rather receive a gift card because that person actually put time and love and effort

into the baked good, you know what I mean? And even though it maybe causes them, you know, what, $3 to make, it doesn't matter, it's not about that. You know, it's like, it's about the effort and the love that went into it. I would say that that means a lot more to me than like money. You know what I mean? Like, I'd rather receive a really personal, really well thought out,

but relatively affordable gift, then receive something super expensive that just was like, someone was like, well, I'm just gonna get her like a $50 gift card to this store because whatever she shops there, it's fine. Like she'll like it, she'll use it. Like I'd much rather receive something that's like, it's not about the money, you know, it's about the thought.

I just think gift cards really are not it unless you're bulk gift giving to people who are all on the same level in your life. For example, all of your school friends or all of your co-workers, you know what I mean? Then a gift card makes sense because those aren't your close friends anyway. Another bad gift is basically anything that's just going to sit in the corner of somebody's room and collect dust. A good example would be like a really massive stuffed animal. Okay, don't give that somebody as a gift. That just takes up unnecessary space.

There's no reason to be gift giving somebody like a massive stuffed animal unless you really know that they love stuffed animals. It's just a bad, it's just don't do that because it's just going to waste space in somebody's house. Don't give somebody a popcorn machine unless you know that they have a spot for it and like you know that they're going to use it. Don't give somebody some big thing, like big meaning volume, big meaning, like a large item unless you know that they are going to use it and it's not going to collect dust in their room, it's not going to collect dust in their garage.

Like getting somebody something like big and extreme like that just for fuck's sake, is that even a saying, just for fuck's sake, I don't know if that makes sense. Okay, whatever, getting somebody like some big thing, you know, just cause it's like kind of extreme and it'll get like a laugh out of them is like not, it's not a good gift, you know, like a massive teddy bear just cause it's kind of funny in the moment is not gonna be funny when they have to bring it home

and it's collecting dust in the corner or getting somebody like a popcorn machine just because like, oh, that's like kind of fun. Everybody likes popcorn. Not everybody likes popcorn that much. Like, you know what I mean? Like way, way out like the pros and cons of this potential gift. If you're getting something that is going to take up a lot of space in somebody's home, really, really make sure it's something

that they're going to use almost every day, if not every day, because if not, it's just gonna collect dust, okay? We don't want that. The last bad gift I can think of is getting somebody a membership to something. Now, again, this could work if you're really close with somebody like really close meaning like

You it is one of your closest closest family members or it's like your significant other Otherwise, this doesn't really make sense right getting somebody like a membership to A gym or to like Spotify or To Hulu or the Netflix like getting them a membership to something like that It's not a good gift because the logistics of it get very complicated What happens when the year goes up and then now all of a sudden they're left with this burden and it's time for them to pay and They've created an emotional dependency on this membership on your dollar, and then when the year's over and the membership is up

and you're not paying for it anymore, things can get a little bit messy. What if somebody's like, I really love having this gym membership, but I don't know if I wanna pay for this for a full and other year, like this is such a bummer, I just got emotionally attached to this membership. It's become a part of my day-to-day life but now I don't really

maybe even have the funds or like I don't really want to pay for this for another year fuck like this sucks now I have to like now my gift that you gave me is being ripped away from me see and I'm saying a year-long membership to something is not a great gift because once it's up, it's almost like your gift kind of goes away. And that can be kind of negative when if somebody has to go to like renew their membership

and they're like, I don't know if I wanna pay for this, you know. You see what I mean? Like that kind of leaves somebody with this, like a year down the line with this decision that they have to make that they might not want to make. And that's just might not be good. There are so many other gift ideas.

Like, I mean, honestly, I don't think I really said anything groundbreaking here, but I think that it's just good to be reminded that even the simple gifts can be so impactful. Like literally getting someone a blender could change their life. Literally getting somebody a really nice bottle of body wash could improve their life for two months.

You see what I'm saying? These little things seem little, but they actually do make a huge, like they actually can be a really impactful and really great gift. And like I think it's good to be reminded of that because I think a lot of times we see the holidays coming up more like fuck like I feel like I need to get somebody something extravagant like I feel like I need to get everybody extravagant stuff, whatever. Now you don't, you know, it's about getting a little bit creative, you

know, and getting something that's either personal between you and the person, or something that is going to enhance their day to day life in some way. Even if it's something like minute and small, you know. And also at the end of the day, like the holidays shouldn't be about gifts, I'm sorry. Gifts are dumb, I hate gift giving. I don't like it. I don't know what fucking happened to me, but I just hate it.

But that's beside the point. Anyway, thank you guys so much for listening. That's all I got for today. I really enjoyed hanging out. I hope that you guys found this useful in some way. And didn't get too frustrated by the fact that my right sinus is clogged up with mucus. And I sound kind of stupid. But yeah, that's all I got. Thank you guys for listening.

I love and appreciate you very much and I appreciate you guys coming back and listening every week and If you want to follow anything goes you can do so on any platform that you stream podcasts You can leave a review on Apple podcasts. I read them all the time and they make me very emotional every single time and Last but not least you can follow anything goes on Twitter at AG Podcast to participate in episodes where participation is necessary. I'll talk to you guys next week. I love you guys.

I really just like fucking blacked out and talked about why you should get somebody olive oil and biscotti for Christmas. Like, I don't... What is my... Is this what it's come to?