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For many of us, the holidays will look different this year. The predicted second wave of Covid-19 has begun and we’re seeing many of the places that recently opened announce closures once again. The places we normally would shop for gifts might only be offering delivery or pick up (or they might be closed altogether).
Christmas lists this year might contain more needs instead of wants. However, there’s nothing wrong with lists that include seemingly frivolous things that might bring a little joy and fun back to someone’s life…especially in these trying times. More people will be spending the holidays alone. Families and friendships have been torn apart by Covid restrictions, political differences, illnesses, lack of income, and opinions about masks. Perhaps it’s time to revisit the spirit of the season.
For me, it’s the perfect time to focus on my family and friends to make sure I send a card at the very least. No man is an island.
Now let’s have some fun!
1-Mutiny Ranch Coffee
Hand-selected and roasted order you’re coffee-loving friends and family members will love you even more when they take a sip of Mutiny Ranch coffee. We offer 3 different beans, Ethiopian, Mexican, and Guatemalan. They are roasted once you place an order to ensure peak freshness.
Make a donation of $18 and I’ll send a 12-ounce package to anyone in the US.
2-Mutiny Ranch Mugs
Complete your gift with a mug that sports our new logo! Choose your favorite color but order soon to ensure timely delivery as these are shipped directly from the printer. Select your color here!
3-Cold Brew Coffee Maker
For the cold brew coffee lovers on your list might I suggest this brewer from Cafe Du Chateau. It’s beautiful and easy to use. It also comes with a lifetime guarantee! You can get 20% off here and free shipping with the coupon code talesfromthemutiny.
4-French Press
Here’s where elegance meets utility. The Cafe Du Chateau offers an exceptional French Press that’s easy to use and offers a consistent cup of coffee without any hassle. You’ll never run out of coffee filters (because it doesn’t use any) and, as long as you can heat up water, you don’t need electricity either. This French Press also takes up less counter space and has a lifetime warranty! You can get 20% off here and free shipping with coupon code talesfromthemutiny.
5-Fun Reading For Coffee Lovers
What goes better with coffee than a cozy murder mystery? I can’t remember how I came across Cleo Coyle’s collection of Coffeehouse Mysteries but they helped get me through the first couple of months of the pandemic. These are fun, easy reads sprinkled with quirky characters, coffee trivia, and delectable recipes you’ll want to try for yourself. There are currently 19 books in the series! Be sure to include a link to the author’s website when you gift these books to your friends and family.
1-Yoga on Demand
Give the gift of yoga to everyone! I’ve been a member of YogaDownload for about 6 years and I still love it. This is not just an online streaming service…you can actually download classes and keep them forever. This feature was the main reason I joined. Back then we were full-time RVers and didn’t always have wifi to allow for streaming so I would go to a library or coffee shop and download a bunch of classes to have when we found ourselves without internet.
You can search for classes by yoga style (like Hatha, Iyengar, Vinyasa) or by level (like beginner, advanced beginner, intermediate). You can also search by length, teacher, body part, or intention. They have kids yoga, meditation, pranayama, barre, pilates, pre- and post-natal yoga…there’s really something for everyone! A 12-month membership runs $120 on the website (still EXTREMELY reasonable) but Groupon often has deals available. As of this writing, you can get a 12-month membership for just $29.99!! Click the link below!
https://www.groupon.com/deals/n-yogadownload-com-three-or-twelve-month-membership
2-Stretch Out Strap
Not everyone can touch their toes…even after years of practice. The good news is yoga doesn’t require you to do that! The other good news is there are props available to help even the stiffest bodies gain a little flexibility without causing injury. The Stretch Out Strap is an excellent tool for physical therapy, beginner yogis, and even advanced yogis to help them explore advanced poses.
3-Yoga Toes
Foot health is vital! These toe spreaders (aka yoga toes) come in a beautiful bamboo box perfect for gifting and as a stocking stuffer. There’s two pair in the box…one small and one larger…which works perfectly for my husband and me to have our own pair.
4-Foam Roller
The foam roller is the perfect gift for anyone who suffers from occasional to chronic aches and pains. Every few years I put a foam roller on my own Christmas list because I use them so much I sometimes wear them out! There are hundreds of videos on YouTube to teach you how to use these. I recommend a 36″ foam roller as well as a smaller one (like 18″).
5-A Book for Yogis
So many of us are feeling overwhelmed right now. So, my book recommendation is a daily reader called Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison. Readings for each day are less than 2 pages but provide so much insight.
1-Steamer/Water Bath Canner
You can definitely find cheaper canners out there but they aren’t necessarily built to last. The one below is the Queen of canners because it’s made of stainless steel. This baby won’t rust and it looks fantastic. Plus, it has a 5-year warranty.
2-Mandoline Slicer
I never thought I needed one of these until I got one. If you have a cook or food preserver on your holiday gift list consider buying them a mandoline. The amount of time saved and the benefits of equally thick (or thin slices) for home canning, fermenting, making fancy-looking (but easy) salads, or even just cooking make this a worthy investment (and a welcome gift).
3-Mortar & Pestle
Spice things up in the kitchen by gifting this mortar and pestle set. Whole spices will keep longer and taste even better when they are ground just before use. Plus, this granite set looks like a decoration in its own right.
4-Danish Dough Whisk
Here’s a gift that will bring a smile to the bread baker in your life. The mixing of dough can take a toll on the wrist but this tool can help!
5-Must Have Book for Bread Bakers
Here’s a beautiful book filled with 63 recipes for yeasted and naturally leavened bread. A step-by-step guide by the late Kathleen Weber this book offers the same recipes as those served at The French Laundry.
1-Altra Lone Peak Trail Shoes
The ultimate leave no trace hiking shoe is the Altra Lone Peak series (men’s and women’s). A nice wide toe box and zero-drop footbed will bring joy to your feet.
2-Xero Shoe Day Lite Hiker/Terraflex/Z-Trail
For more choices in hiking footwear be sure to check out Xero Shoes. Perfect for the minimalist and zero-drop shoe person in your life. Now that I received my Xero Shoe Day Hiker I can’t tell you which I prefer…the Altras or the Xero Drops. Maybe I should hit the trails today and do more testing!
3-Kavu Bag
Technically, these cross body bags aren’t hiking backpacks but they sure are great. I use one as my everyday “purse” because it is super comfortable and it sits out of the way (it sits on your back!) while grocery shopping (ladies, stop leaving your purse in the grocery basket!). But it’s also a perfect bag for short hikes when you don’t need a full-on daypack or backpack. They offer an array of colors, patterns, and fabric selections.
4-A Great Read for Hikers
There are so many great books on hiking including guides or memoirs. It’s very hard to pick just one since some are region-specific or gender-specific. Some offer a more minimalist or hardcore approach and others are for the person who might just want a casual stroll in nature. But this one has always been a favorite.
1-Good Footwear
As much as I prefer zero-drop shoes and wear them for everything (including most of my farm and garden activities) I have also learned to appreciate a nice pair of waterproof shoes. Right now I’m loving my Bogs Clogs since they are easy to slip on and off. Available for men and women.
2-Waterproof Winter Work Gloves
Like most of you, I still haven’t found the perfect pair of winter gloves and I don’t know if they exist. We all need gloves that first and foremost keep our hands and fingers warm. But as soon as we add in other needs…like being waterproof, offering dexterity, fitting the female hand, not too bulky, windproof, etc. then things fall apart. I like these in the winter because I often have to deal with water or snow (wet feed, removing ice from buckets, clearing snow). but I also need the gripping ability when raking the coop or using the pitchfork to clean the stall.
3-Three Season Gloves
These are my favorite (but not for winter) gloves so far. Believe it or not, finding women’s gloves that aren’t bulky is still a difficult prospect. These fit the bill for me and are suitable for anything I need to do from unloading hay to driving t-posts to gardening. A bonus is they can be used with touch screens for those of us who like to take photos or listen to podcasts while out doing work.
4-SEEDS!
Pretty soon all of your gardening friends are going to be posting photos of their seed catalogs as they start arriving. We will spend all of January making lists of all the things we want to plant. A welcome gift for your gardening friends and family would be Gift Certificates to one of these places…
https://www.siskiyouseeds.com/
https://www.rareseeds.com/
https://territorialseed.com/
https://www.row7seeds.com/
https://migardener.com/
5-Microgreen Growing and/or Sprouting Kit
Hands down the best microgreen supplies and seeds so far is True Leaf Market. Be sure to check out my YouTube videos to see how easy it is to grow your own greens in a small space! For A Limited Time Only Save 15% Off All Gift Guide Products Using Code “BFCM2020”. *Gift Cards Are Exempt From Discount* (Nov 26-Dec 2, 2020). Click the image below!!
6-A Great Read
This is an important book about the future of small, family farmers. I am forever endeared to the Podoll family and now use many of their seeds in my own garden. This book is so well written and is a must-read for anyone with a desire to know more about where their food comes from and the families impacted by agribusiness.
1-For the Dog, Cat, Reptile and Large Animal Parents
Hopefully, everyone has some health care items for their furbabies, just in case. We are in love with the products from Vetericyn. From now until November 30, 2020 you can get 20% off online orders or a $5 coupon to use at your local retailer. https://vetericyn.com/
If you’re looking for a basic pre-made first aid kit for either your small pets or equine friends check out Curicyn. We have both of these kits which happened to be a door buster special last year at our local IFA feed store. https://curicyn.com/product-category/first-aid/
2-Self-Care Products
If you didn’t know, I’m a certified yoga teacher and study Ayurveda (the sister science to yoga that goes deep into health, food, body care). The Ayurveda Experience makes divine products for the body…all bodies. Their attention to detail is to be commended and every product, no matter when you purchase it, comes packaged so nicely that they make great gifts year-round. So many people put themselves last when it comes to self-care. That’s why these products make the perfect gift for anyone (yourself included)! Click the image or this link and you’ll likely find some great deals going on!
Balaayah Black-Gram Body Booster
3-The Gift of Taste
Maybe your friends aren’t ready to grind their own spices (see above Mortar & Pestle suggestion). Gift them some Flavor God spices!! They’re non-GMO and preservative-free. You can click on each spice to learn if they are Kosher, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Keto, Vegan, low sodium, etc. And they taste amazing!! My favorite is the Gingerbread Cookie sprinkled on top of my Mutiny Ranch latte.
Use this link to get 5% and to help support Mutiny Ranch. If you’re not sure what to get, have no fear, they offer loads of pre-bundled spice combinations for every occasion and every taste.
4-Journals & Planners
As I’ve made a conscious effort to slow down and live in the now I am finding, once again, how much journaling can help. I owe a lot to Dragontree Apothocary. Every year I ask for their Rituals for Living Dreambook & Planner. I also recommend the Rituals for Transformation 108 Day Journey to Your Sacred Life for anyone looking for a tool to help them commit (or recommit) to a morning meditation practice.
If you’re not ready to dive into a deep spiritual experience and just need a functional planner then I recommend anything by Amy Knapp. Like this one below…
I realize I could go on…especially since I haven’t made a section for the book lover. That might have to be its own post, to be honest. Instead, I’ll just share a few links where I like to shop for books online…but I do love to support my local independent bookstore mostly.
My most used online bookseller is Thriftbooks. They have a huge selection of used books at great prices and low (or free) shipping. You can get 15% off your order by using my referral link here! They also sell gift cards if you’re unsure what to pick out for a gift.
And if you’re looking for homesteading, gardening, fermentation, farming, or anything “sustainable living” then Chelsea Green Publishing is for you. Right now they are offering 35% through Dec. 31, 2020. Click the image below!
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