Gift ideas for $25 or Less

The results are in. My Instagram followers said they wanted a post with a list of idea for gifts for $25 and under AND a list of small shops I love to support. So why not do both? I hope you got some good deals on Black Friday!

I absolutely love the Christmas season and gift giving. We have a lot of family, parties and events we go to where although I wish we could but we can't spend $50-$100 on every single person. These gifts are perfect for holiday gift exchanges, white elephants, secret Santa, stocking stuffers, hostess gifts and just a I thought of you gift.

These are a variety of gifts for mama friends, family and co workers both from Target, Amazon and small shops.

Glass Tumblr with Straw $16

This is such a great gift for moms who are nursing and need an extra cup, coffee drinker and really anyone who loves having a water bottle on them. There are TONS of adorable colors.

Christmas Ornaments $5-$20

I love Gia and her beautiful glass bulbs $20

Gold monogramed ornaments $8

Graphic Tee's

Goods & Better $25

Candles $5-20

Magnolia May Candle Co $10

Wax & Wane $20

Ninth Line $14

Coffee Mugs & Coffee $15

My favorite place to get mugs is Anthropolgie. I love supporting local coffee shops and roasters for coffee but your next best bet is Whole Foods.

Little Christmas Tree's $5

NEVER ENOUGH LITTLE TREES from Target

Clay Earrings $12-$15

Simply Clay & Co $15

Wicker Daisy Co $25

Goods & Better $17

Moccasins or Slippers $19

Trader Joe's Goodies $3-$6

I'm considering doing a separate blog post on all my TJ favs! I love getting snacks, cookies and event some beauty items there. Adding a seasonal coffee, tea, cookie or body scrub to a gift is such a fun and perfect touch.

Togo Mugs $15

I get complements on my togo ALL the time. They look really cute and expensive but they're NOT.

Socks $5

Cheese Board $5-10

You can go to Marshalls or TJ Max and get a super cute cheeseboard for $10 or under. And then have you have a $25 budget you can get a fig jam, little jar of honey, a few cheese or even cheese knives to make a full cute gift.

Cook Books $15-$25

Bath Salts or Bath Bombs $5-10

I love taking baths and I think people have seen my claw foot tub with a pillow and wooden bath tray. I love taking baths so anything to add to my collection of candles and salts is a major plus for me.

Essential Oils $8-$25

Lavender, peppermint, lemon and Christmas spirit are great oils that are affordable and big favorites

And my favorite gift to give might be plants!!! Small succulents are $2-$5. You can get small house plants for $5-$15. I love getting plants at Trader Joe's because they come in a cute pot too. Double Whammy!

Gifts for baby friends

Buying gifts for your nieces, nephews or new baby friends?

-Wooden brush set $18

-Stacking Cups $15

-Wooden Rainbow Stacking Toy $25

-Cute sippy cup lid, bowl & plates $8-15

I’ll be doing some DIY’s this year for Sophie’s presents so I’ll try to share that with you too!

Last minure gifts

Growing up my mom would have a gift box of things she needed for last minute hostess gifts or a little add on to a gift. Sometimes you just need to add like $5-10 more to your gift. I love having a list or a basket of things when I'm in a rush or I'm not sure who I'm buying for.

-Support a local coffee shop and get a pound of coffee or a mug

-Target has cute little gift bundles. Last year I got a mini cast iron that came with a brownie mix and an oven lit for $10. Major score.

-One of your favorite movies

-Candles

-Nail Polish

-Lotion

-Lip balm

-Soap

-Mini Thieves Hand Sanitizers

I absolutely love Christmas and my hope is to show you my DIYs, shopping hauls and recipes this year!

Black Friday Deals 2020

Love supporting small shops so I wanted to make a list of shops that are having Black Friday sales this year. These sales and codes listed below are good for FRIDAY. Some sales may extend through the weekend while others may have a different sale or code.

Luna - 2 for $20 Collapsible Snack Cups

The Knotted Crown - 20% off bows

Kinwell Diaper Bag - 50% + free shipping

Shop Love Sal - Use code THANKFUL25 for 25% off everything + free shipping

Little Campers Boutique - 40% off Fall line

Fephas - Use code THANKFUL for 25% off hair brushes

What Little Wonder - Use code HOLIDAY25 for 25% off

Gathre Use code THANKFUL for 20% off

Solly Baby - Use code FRIDAY20 on any order, FRIDAY25 for $100+ & FRIDAY30 for $150+

Rae Belem - Use code THANKFUL20 for 20% off any order

Beachwood Baby - 25% off site wide

Purely Little Use code givethanks for 25%

Tubby Tod - 15% off all orders, or 20% off orders of $100+ (Use my link no code needed)

All The Little Bows - 30% off Rylee + Cru, 20% off Quincy Mae, 30% off Jamie Kay and more

Wildbird - Use code BIRDSTASH Buy two slings get one FREE on 11/27 (more sales all weekend)

Snuggle Me Organic - 20% off

Magnolia May Candle Co - Use code COZYCHRISTMAS15 for 15% off your order

Knot Baby - Use code BLKFRIDAY for 20% off

Madeline's Box - Use code JOLLY30 for 30% off all orders, JOLLY50 for 50% off orders of $100+ & JOLLY60 for 60% off orders of $150+

Starry Knight Design - Use code GRATEFUL for 20%

Lily & River - Sign up for discount code ;)

Quincy Mae - Use code BF2020 for 25% off your order

Dear Darling Littles - 25% off

Goods + Better - Free shipping on every order, free sticker with every order, free print with orders of $50 or more

Comment any stores I need to add to my list and what you're getting!

Happy shopping mamas!

Making Baby Food

We starting giving Sophie food at 4 months old. We started with rice cereal with breast milk. Now we're doing a combination of baby led weening and purees. This week I tried making my own squeezy pouches. I've wanted to make me own baby food since before I got pregnant. I thought it was would cost efficient, fun to do and a lot better for my baby since a lot of baby foods and pouches have extra ingredients and preservatives.

I found Moss & Fawn's baby feeder which we loved taking with us to jiji's and granny's house. It was great when we thought she was teething (still no teeth here) as well as an easy way to introduce new foods without making a total mess... I loved using this feeder instead of fully baby led weaning because it was easy and like I said less messy. Three cheers for anything less messy! You can add fresh or frozen fruits and veggies. We still use this occasionally especially when we're not home or giving her something that may be a little harder for her to grip.

When I first started making my own food I used breast milk but then I wasn't sure how to get around freezing the baby food if the breast milk had already been frozen...? So I would only make a enough to keep in the fridge for a few days. Then I transitioned into using water instead of breast milk so I could make bigger batches and freeze them. When I can actually remember to meal prep I try to make food for Sophie & food for Jeff (since he's working from home)

There are so many ideas & recipes on Pinterest. But some of my favorite combinations to make are:

Sweet Potato & Applesauce

Sweet Potato, Banana & Avocado

Sweet Potato & Spinach

Banana, Yogurt and Strawberries

Banana, Raspberry & Spinach

I make baby food once every two or three weeks. Usually I use one large sweet potato, whatever berries I have, a handful of spinach and some organic unsweetened apple sauce (I'm going to try to make my own next) I tend to make 3 or 4 different types at once so my freezer is stocked with a variety.

I LOVE my Infanso baby food maker. It steams the food, purees it and disinfects itself. Its very affordable and a lot less hassle and mess than boiling food over the stove, draining it and throwing it into a blender or a food processor. A lot less dishes too! I store my baby food in 4oz mason jars. They're of course glass, easy to store, easy to heat up and easy to clean.

Making squeezy pouches is way more affordable than buying them in the story. The average pouch costs $1-3 per pouch... The Infantino Squeeze Station makes making your own food fun and really easy. You can buy 50 disposable pouches for $16 or buy a 10 pack or reusable pouches for $10. I personally love using the disposable so I can just throw them away when we are out and don't have to worry about remembering to wash to them or worry about them getting cleaned properly. You can also buy special toppers for your pouches like a spoon attachment or a topper so it controls how much comes out.

Sophie is loving food so far! She especially loves french fries like her mama. Making baby food has been so fun, really convenient and a huge money saver! I love knowing every ingredient she's eating and that is fresh and safe. Plus is so fun coming up with and creating new combinations. Any other mamas make their own food and have a favorite recipe or trick?