As an unrepentant shopaholic, I love shopping for everything. Even a trip to the grocery store is fun. Still, I think the best is shopping for gifts for others. I’ll admit that buying things for other people can be a little stressful if you don’t know them that well (and I have been the recipient of many a well-intentioned but ultimately terrible gift), but I love looking for things that are special and fit the other person well.
However, I know isn’t always easy to find something interesting and unique, particularly when you’re working with a deadline. So, I was super pumped with UncommonGoods contacted me about writing a sponsored post. If you’re not familiar, UncommonGoods is a Brooklyn-based company that offers tons of awesome gifts — about half of which are made by hand, and about a third of which incorporate recycled or upcycled materials. Not only do they have cool products, but they also use packaging that isn’t excessive or wasteful, and that is environmentally friendly (so you don’t have to worry about 15 tons of styrofoam packaging peanuts that will never biodegrade, one of my personal pet peeves). And they donate $1 from every purchase to a non-profit like RAINN, the International Rescue Committee, or Reach Out & Read.
Even if you’re not a monogram-aholic (ahem), it’s still pretty special to have a piece of art or decor with your name, birthday, wedding date, or other information on it. UncommonGoods has your back here, with tons of items that can be customized in a variety of ways, from baby announcement pillows to personalized whiskey barrels. I particularly like the map-themed items, like the personalized “our travels” map (it comes with pushpins to track your trips), and jewelry with grid coordinates engraved on it.
Another great way to make your gift personal — without literally engraving the person’s name on it — is to choose something that represents one of their favorite things or places. So, if your friend or loved one is a die-hard Braves fan, they may enjoy a blueprint of Turner Field. A bookworm may like a scarf printed with passages from her favorite book. And I am totally obsessed with the state pillows. The only problem for us would be deciding which state to get!
Of course, if you’re worried the recipient might need to return or exchange their gift, you should probably steer clear of personalized or made-to-order items and just look for something that matches their interests. UncommonGoods has lists of gifts by recipient, which is helpful in narrowing things down: you can find gifts for women here and gifts for men here, but you can search in other ways, too. Since I am secretly 9 years old, I love nachos, pink and sparkly items, and unicorns — so I am into the grow-your-own salsa kit, nacho plate, rose quartz serving platter and rainbow-unicorn earrings. But the reversible purse that charges your smartphone is a stroke of genius.
While I know the holidays are still a few months away, I hope this post will be helpful the next time you’re in the market for a cool gift. And I’d love to know if y’all enjoy shopping for presents as much as I do. Let me know in the comments!
This post was sponsored by UncommonGoods, but all opinions expressed are my own.