Holiday Gift Guide: Your Best Girlfriend

Gift ideas for your best friend.

She's super easy to shop for,

because she likes what you like.

You share your closet,

shoes, you love all the same things-

that's why you're best friends!

In case you still need some ideas 

we have put together this gift guide! 

If you buy them for her, 

you know you'll get to use them too.

It's really a win-win.

1. the classic Elle Est Forte tee from SHE IS Clothing. Dress it up, work out in it, it is about as versatile as a tee shirt can get. Plus, you're stating a great message at the same time.

(Photo by Frances Eden Creative. Do not copy.)

2. A hands-on cooking class at the Dirty Apron cooking school in Vancouver. So much to learn, so much fun, so much delicious food! 

3. Earrings from Olive + Piper ,a Vancouver based company. Is she classy and elegant? Simple and understated? Trendy and fun? They have the perfect piece for every type of girl. 

4. Turn your Instagram selfies into magnets for her fridge. Then you'll always have a little #throwbackthursday! 

5. Everyone loves to get some fun, new make up! My bestie got me this Too Faced Melted lipstick. It goes on smoothly and really stays put.

6. Keep wawrm, keep cozy, represent our home and native land with these Canada mitts from Hudsons Bay Co. Check all of the items in their Canadian Olympic Team Collection! 

Holiday Gift Guide - For the Little Ones and Giveaway

We are now a week into December,

and I am sure that your Christmas shopping is well

on its way.

If not, there's a special gift guide 

coming up just for you in a couple weeks.

This weeks gift guide

is for all the little people in your life,

and my favourite to shop for! 

Whoever they are,

chances are they will love 

at least one or two items

on this list! 

Read on below,

and don't forget to enter the give away!

1. Bath toys are always a hit and a great gift. Because these toys sit in water all the time, the turn over rate is higher than other toys. To help solve that problem, I would recommend one of these for storage. We have one and we love it. I am a big fan of Boon, and these Boon pipes for the bath look like so much fun! They suction right onto the tile and will make for lots of fun. There's one under our tree this year! 

Amazon.ca also sells Boon, so if you're a Prime member, you can ship it right to the recipient complete with gift wrap and a note! 

(image via booninc.com) 

2. Next on the list is the book of names and faces, customized to your own family and friends. For bigger kids, they have fun memory games with familiar faces as well. 

(image from pinholepress.com)

3. I have featured them here before, so my love for them is no secret! How about a bib that grows along with them? Maybe a cute scarf to protect them from the cold? Acorn and Leaf has some adorable prints for both of those. Their products are lovely, quality and Canadian!

4. Always a hit - you can never go wrong with a book or two! My kids love reading books and will request their favourites over and over. Chapters made a list of their top sellers for 2015 divided into age categories, in case you're stumped on what to buy. I can also tell you that Jane, our 1 year old, loves the touch and feel books. Especially the That's Not My... series. Claire loves imaginative books and thinks Robert Munsch is hilarious. We got here some of these mini Munsch books for her stocking this year. 

Of course I always encourage my readers to shop local when they can, but again, for convenience sake Amazon does carry several (and by several I mean thousands) of kids books that can be gift wrapped and sent directly to your recipient. 

5. For the teething littles on your list, I highly recommend the 'chewelry' from Glitter & Spice! The founder and owner is a local mama who is absolutely sweet. She runs the business out of her home and was one of the first teething jewelry businesses on the block. Since then she has been featured in magazines (like Vogue and Glamour), was at the giving suite at the Emmy's and word is spreading widely about how awesome her product is. We have the teething necklaces for mama and baby, and also a teething bracelet for baby. I love that the pieces are safe for baby to chew on and play with, no yucky material used and it is also cute enough to wear without looking like you are wearing something baby-ish.

6. Another big hitter in the local business game is bébé de luxe! Based out of Coquitlam, BC, this mama decided she wanted something organic, natural and free of yuckies for her baby. This is how her company was created. Bébé de luxe, along with Glitter and Spice, were part of the celebrity gift bags at the Emmy's this past year. Bébé de luxe specializes in milk bath and baby bath bar. Perfect for gifting and come highly recommended by moi.  

As a gift to our readers,

Bébé de luxe would like 

to gift one of our lucky readers

a package of Coconut and Oat bath milk! 

To top it off, 

I'm going to add another one to 

one of your friends!

The contest is open 

on Blogger and Instagram,

but is in no way endorsed by either of them.

By entering you confirm you are

at least 18 years or older,

and live within Canada or the U.S.A. 

Contest rules below-

If you are entering on the blog,

all you have to do is leave a comment below

with your email address,

and the name of your friend that you would like to win too.

Please make sure you have your friends mailing address,

 so that we can send them their prize as well.

If you are entering on Instagram,

all you have to do is follow both

Just An Ordinary Family 

and 

Bébé de luxe,

tag your friends in the comments,

one tag per comment.

Good luck everyone!

Winner will be announced on Friday December 11th.

*The winner will have 73 hours to make contact,

after that a new winner will be chosen.*

Holiday Gift Guide: For Your Sister

Gift ideas for your darling sister

who is strong and empowering,

classy yet hilarious,

a home body and a dreamer.

She cares about the environment,

loves to give back

and wants to shop small and local this Christmas.

We can help with that! 

1. For a strong woman, how about helping to create more of them? Empower, inspire, encourage and give opportunity to girls across the globe through Plan Canada.There are several options from sponsoring a child monthly, funding for a baby delivery and paying for education. My personal favourite is called Girl Power for just $100.00.

Read the description below -

Girls have a unique ability to change the world and the lives of those around them. This gift is about unleashing that power in every girl. It’s about offering girls nourishment, education and protection. It’s about creating schools that are safe, and ensuring that girls are not forced into early and unsafe marriages. It’s about engaging boys and men to help achieve gender equality, and opening up economic opportunities to women so they can lead themselves and their families out of poverty. It’s about creating a world where every girl has the chance to harness her unique power to shape her own future and change the world.

This gift will not disappoint.

2.These were all the rage last Christmas. If she doesn't have one already, a selfie-stick will be a great way for the two of you to capture your adventures together. 

3. Print her favourite Instagram photos onto a canvas to hang in her home. A fun way to preserve some of your favourite memories together. 

4.  A few throw pillows for her couch or bed to encourage her! This one, this one and this one are my favourites.

(Dayna Lee Collection)

5. Since she's a dreamer and a planner, she needs a solid journal to record those dreams and plans. How about this one from SHPplanners out of Vancouver, BC?

6. Who doesn't love an amazing smelling candle? These are made with soy wax which makes them burn longer, more evenly and they aren't bad for the environment. That's a win-win-win to me. Add the fact that they smell divine and that's an easy sell. Two Tall Trees candles are made my a hard working mama of 2, right in her own kitchen. 

7. Finally, how about one of these toques (or beanie for my American friends) with a removable pom-pom by S H E  I S Clothing? 

photo cred: Frances Eden Creative

Holiday Gift Guide: For Your Brother

Gifts for your brother 

that has a great sense of humour

and amazing taste in women. 

(I have 3 of these!)

1. A hot shave from a near-to-him barber. Like a spa-day for men! This shop in Yaletown offers a Deluxe Hot Shave, or step it up and give him the Royal Treatment! 

2. A magnetic dart board, so he doesn't ruin his walls.

3. A hat with a beard, yup.Keep his face cozy and warm without the hassle and upkeep of a beard. 

4. Does he drink whiskey like the guys in my life do? How about a collection of glasses and some ice balls for at home whiskey drinking like a gentleman. 

5. A customized gift box, shipped anywhere! These are my two personal favourites, both local companies; Old Joy Gift Boxes and Barn Curated Gifts. 

6.If he is feeling rather fancy pants, you could get him these cashmere lined leather smart phone gloves. 

7. Is your brother goofy and childish? He'd love these emoji pillows to throw around his dorm room or apartment! 

Holiday Gift Guide:

You asked,

we got it!

Introducing to you

a Holiday Gift Guide

from Just An Ordinary Family!

Is your family funny, quirky,

sentimental and hard to shop for like mine?

Then this should help you out.

We will be helping you shop for

your parents,

your brother,

your sister,

your best girlfriend

and then a special list for all the last minute shoppers out there!

Parents can be tough to shop for.

They are at an age

where they can buy whatever they want,

and all they really want is to be with you during the 

holidays anyways.

Here are some ideas to gift to mom and dad this year:

1. How about a charitable donation in their name? Compassion has a fantastic catalogue of items from water and sanitation for $23 to a bigger ticket item like a playground for $116. There are many places to give, all you have to do is choose. What I like about Compassion, is that you can print or send a card that lets the person know what you have gifted in their honour.

2. A personalized crib board, for road trips and tea dates together at home. 

3. Are they grandparents? How about a personalized calendar filled with images of their grand kids?

4. A framed photo from the past. Their wedding photo, or one from when they were dating or a family photo from when you were all much younger. 

5. The gift of your time. Plan a day together to go do something together. You could do a cooking class together, go for dinner and a movie, find something fun going on in your city like a Christmas market. Have you been to Vancouver's Christmas Market, made to resemble the German Christmas markets? 

6. A basket of goodies. Their favourite magazines, books by their favourite author, coffee, tea, mugs and a cozy blanket. 

Try this blanket, these mugs for mom and dad,

 perhaps some of this small-batch local coffee and these chocolates to go with.