Y'all Need Another Gift Guide

I recently asked Jay-Jay to join Thoughtful Pinch as a contributor because she has great taste and she has a passion for finding the perfect gifts for the people on her gift list. While Jay-Jay was coming on board as a thoughtfulness curator, Thoughtful Pinch as a company, was starting to grow and has been picking up momentum. I asked her to be a manager, mostly keeping me from going insane. So in addition to helping me with gift ideas to share, she has also agreed to wear another hat as a manager. More on that at a later date. For now, I am SO PROUD to share with you her gift guide. Jay-Jay is the last of the three cool/hot contributors for my special editions of Holiday Gift Guides. You may find the other two contributors for MN Gift Guide here and Witherspoon’s Gift Guide here.

I affectionately named this guide Jay-Jay’s Y’all Gift Guide because she lives in Georgia and her southern traditions run deep. Well now, I’m fixing to get right to the guide.

Tip #1. Photo books. Jay-Jay whips up these photo books for holidays, thank you gifts, birthdays etc. This gesture or gift is waaaaaayyyyy thoughtful because nobody develops their photos anymore. Does it take some time to put together? Yes. Do you have to plan ahead? Yes. However, this will melt everyone’s heart, especially that hard-to-please person in your life (we all have them). If you can’t pull a photo book together for this year’s holiday thoughtful pinch then file the idea away for next year. Or who says the photo book has to arrive on Christmas? Send it whenever you finish it. Shutterfly has so many great deals - they’re practically giving their products away. My added tip: you can even go onto another person’s Instagram account and make them a book using their own photos that they posted.

Tip #2. Kitchen towels. These are Jay-Jay’s other “go-to” holiday gifts. My collection of towels from her is large. I love pulling out my towels every holiday season. The fun part for Jay-Jay is finding towels that matches the recipient’s needs, personalities or themes. BTW - everyone uses kitchen towels.

Taking her advice, I bought a few kitchen towel sets as stocking stuffers this year. These are from Wal-Mart and I’m embarrassed to say that a set of two towels cost under $3. I love the artwork and I’m a sucker for plaid. The plaid towels aren’t showing because the top towels are covering them. Sorry! Another plus - these tea towels can take a lot of wear and tear.

Tip #3. Jay-Jay monograms or personalizes the heck out of anything. She bought this pullover from Wal-Mart and added this pretty little monogram on it. Instant cuteness. Personalizing makes ordinary items scream ownership and pride. Just scroll down further to see what I mean when I say that Jay-Jay personalizes her gifts.

Tip #4. Jay-Jay recommends giving ornaments. She finds ornaments that symbolizes a milestone, event, theme or passion for her co-workers. Giving ornaments as thoughtful pinches is a tradition that dates back many generations. The idea is not new but sometimes reminders of what works for gift-giving is helpful. This particular ornament is special because it commemorates a time that the Pellicers (our dads’ side of the family) spent together at another cousin’s beautiful wedding in Atlanta last year.

Tip #5. Collegiate apparel. Jay-Jay says particularly in the south, it’s a big deal to let people know who you cheer for. My tip: right now, Vineyard Vines has some very nice collegiate shirts.

Stance has some cool socks to show your collegiate pride.

Tip #6. Baked Goods. Simply put, Jay-Jay just wrote, “baked goods.” Not much to explain here because the gift speaks for itself. No matter how much you think people are more interested in material items, anything baked by you will be well-received. So go for it!

Tip #7. Work out gear. For the workout person on your guest list, Jay-Jay recommends: headbands, water bottles and/or a t-shirt with a fun saying on it. The market for water bottles is vast - don’t worry about it; just have fun choosing a bottle.

Tip #8. Movie tickets. Giving movie tickets is actually giving an experience to the recipient rather than a physical gift. Include theater size candy and popcorn seasoning. For our parent educator, I purchased a bucket that already contained microwave popcorn and a couple of candy bars (Target $7.99) and I added more candy, a gift card to a nice dinner, movie tickets (Costco) and some red paper filler. Then I wrapped it up and put a bow on it. I love Jay-Jay’s tip of adding the popcorn seasoning!

Tip #9. Restaurant gift cards. Jay-Jay’s last tip for Jay-Jay’s Y’all Gift Guide is to give any college student gift cards to any and all RESTAURANTS. Well, it’s helpful if the restaurants are located near the college campus. According to Jay-Jay, this is what college students want and need. I like how restaurant gift cards provide meal opportunities and eating experiences for the college student. It’s both a gift and an experience. For tips on how to present these gift cards click here or here.

Let me share just a small amount of thoughtful pinches that we have received from Jay-Jay throughout the years - they all make great holiday gifts.

Because she knows I like to save the earth with small steps - Jay-Jay wraps my pinches in re-usable gift bags made of thin cloth - almost paper in texture but stronger. They are festive and are time-savers.

Ho Ho Ho - The insulated lunch bag and the 31 Merry and Bright zip pouch. I use both every holiday season. The Merry & Bright bag carries all my coupons and Xmas lists. And because Nutcracker rehearsals are long, my daughter needs her snacks so she uses the lunch bag a lot. Click here for the blog I wrote about these items.

More 31 zip pouches. “gebabebe” is the combination of using the first two letters of each family member’s name creating a family nickname - which Jay-Jay made up for us. Her family nickname is Hajarama. Jay-Jay used the color purple to personalize both pouches. I take both pouches when I travel. I carry papers that need attention like school papers, bills and/or magazines in one pouch and then I pack a change of clothes in the other. See below.

Many, many years ago, the kids received these 31 zip pouches from Jay-Jay. I would pack each bag with stuff to occupy them on airplane rides or whenever they needed to stay busy. Nowadays they have their own ways to keep themselves busy so I use the bags to pack a change of clothes. My kids are ten and twelve years old so I’m not thinking about potty accidents. However, I even pack a set of clothes for myself because you just never know if you get stuck between flights and won’t have access to luggage or if you spill a latte all over yourself on the flight. We keep these pouches in our carry-on.

Another 31 item that Jay-Jay gave us fits a lot of stuff. I love it because the storage for the bag after the holidays is simple. It flattens and takes up minimal space. I get compliments on it every time I use the bag to deliver the teacher gifts . Naturally, it’s personalized.

Special thanks to Jay-Jay as I wrap up Jay-Jay’s Y’all Gift Guide. She has many more tips up her sleeves but we’ll have plenty of time to get to those. I’m looking forward to sharing her experience and knowledge. Maybe you picked up a new idea or two from this gift guide. Or maybe there is an older gift tip that you already used before and will go back to using. Either way, my hope is that you are well on your way to checking off the people on your gift list. I feel very honored that Jay-Jay shared her list with me. Y’all, it feels good to be collaborating with someone who knows her gifts!

Pinches,

Barb