I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Mine was filled with family, food, and lots of time disconnected from my computer and phone – much needed, and glorious.
We’re kicking off the week with my holiday gift guides. Today’s guide is for the perpetually difficult people to buy for – parents. My parents are the types who have everything, want for nothing, and have been difficult to shop for my entire life. While quality time is all they really want from me, I’ve found the following gifts to be hits with them:
1. Custom recipe book (starts at $30) – In keeping with the “all we want is time with you” theme, gifting a custom recipe book can be a great combination gift of time and a beautiful book to pass down family recipes.  Assembling and photographing the dishes may be more fun than actually printing and presenting the gift to your parents.
2. Custom photo book (starts at $13) – My parents have taken me on some incredible trips over the years – my “thank you” gift to them has been a photo book chronicling the vacation, which they proudly display on the living room coffee table.  These are my default go-to gifts; these gorgeous books are easier to flip through than the heavy photo albums in the basement, and it’s a great way to preserve memories.
3. Amazon Kindle (starts at $149) – While I try and shy away from giving technology to my parents, the easy-to-use Kindle was a hit with my voracious reading mother and father.  It’s light, incredibly easy to use, has great battery life – and I pre-loaded the books onto their devices by adding them to my account.  I like to follow up on the gift with reading lists via e-mail – and updating the device as needed.
4. Nuddle blanket ($68) – I purchased one of these for myself when I was still living at home, and it was nowhere to be found when I moved out (ahem ahem Dad).  My perpetually cold father adores this blanket.  The foot pockets, kangaroo pouch, and arm holes make it unique – but its super-soft and incredibly warm fabric makes it worth the price tag.
5. Tempur-Pedic slippers (starts at $49) – Investing in a Tempur-Pedic mattress has made my parents slightly addicted with memory foam.  These cozy slippers are beyond comfortable, and so warm.  If slippers aren’t your mom or dad’s thing, I also recommend this sleep mask.
6. Flower votive (start at $23) – While flowers die, you can make sure your mother has her favorite bloom year-round with these gorgeous votives.  At $23 a pop, purchase a few as a “bouquet”, and wrap with candles and a fresh lighter.
7. canvas pop print (start at $30) – My apartment is covered with various canvases I’ve printed off this website.  I’m a huge believer that personal art is the best, and I love covering the walls with our memories (a trait I picked up from my parents).  Gifting them a certificate or having their favorite picture printed and presented to them makes for a thoughtful gift that they’ll enjoy for years to come.
8. Monogrammed cuff links for him (start at $275) – The men in my life always seem to be searching for a pair of cufflinks.  I love these sterling silver ones from Tiffany.  With a monogram and storing them in the iconic blue box on the dresser, they’ll never be searching for these cufflinks.
9. Monogrammed necklace for her (start at $70) – My husband bought me a necklace from this Etsy seller for my birthday, and it’s the one piece of jewelry that truly caught my mother’s eye (that wasn’t bought by her). Â Monogrammed necklaces are a great gift for all women in your family – especially recently-married ones, with their new initials. Â If necklaces aren’t your recipients’ favorite jewelry, the seller has a variety of gorgeous monogram pieces.
