I can literally hear the sleigh bells ringing, y’all! The holidays are right around the corner, and this year is going to be just as crazy and magical as ever with the added shipping delays and overall supply chain frustration felt around the world.
I didn’t want to put together many gift guides this year (besides the one I snuck in for the book lovers on your list), mainly because they are all I see across my Instagram feed. However, I was working on my annual Christmas list and realized that it might be fun to share what I’m asking for this year, and my friend Katie also suggested I share the home items or other fun things we’ve asked for in the past and love.
How to Curate Your Dream Wishlist
Let’s face it, the people in your life want to shower you with gifts every holiday season. The idea of creating a blog post about what I’m asking for felt silly and almost conceited for a minute, but when you know your friends and family want to get you things anyways, why not curate your dream list?
In my case, I have very specific taste, so it works best for everyone when I just pick out exactly what I want. I usually give my mom a plethora of options, and then I end up still being surprised by what she selects from my options, but without the two-sided worry of if I will like it or not! It really is a win-win for everyone involved.
Each year around this time or earlier, I send my mom an initial email with the subject “Christmas Links for Loren,” or something similar to that. I include information like size, color, if it’s on backorder already, when it might go on sale, if I want it to open during Christmas or shipped to us in California, etc. all with the link to the exact item. Then, whenever I think of something new, I just reply to the original email with the new item and its information.
On the surface this sounds like it would take all the magic out of Christmas gifts, but my mom and I both appreciate it at the end of the season. She’s not stressed trying to come up with things we would like, she doesn’t have to go hunting for anything and she knows her money is going toward getting me exactly what I’ve been wanting or needing. She even sends me things now so I can help my dad!
If this sounds like too much of a hassle for you, I actually went in search of a better wishlist curator this year, and I have found just the thing to make compiling our wishlists easier year-round.
A New-To-Me Gifting Wishlist Service
Throughout the process of chatting with you guys about this on Instagram, one of my friends mentioned that there just had to be a better service for listing all your desired gifts all in one place. I did some quick research, and I immediately recognized the usefulness of Giftster. I went ahead and created my entire 2021 list there just to test it out, and I’m happy to report that it’s a huge time saver and so easy to use.
Here’s a really good description straight from the Gifster site-
Giftster allows you to create both private and public wish lists that can be shared with friends and family. If your whole family registers for the service, you can create a group where lists can be shared directly, and you can even see if an item has already been purchased from someone’s list by another member of your family. To add gifts to your list, all you need is a link to the product and the system fetches information about the gift (including the price) to your wish list (but you can add more in-depth details like sizing). You can even rank your gifts based on how badly you want them.
I’ve been trying it out, and it seems extremely easy to use! I’m excited about this, and it’s perfect because it doesn’t limit you to only amazon, you can custom add things and even include small business websites or links to their social media for a specific product you want. 
I love Giftster because you can give each item a star ranking by how much you would like it, include a description and notes about the sizing information, product specifications and more. This is going to be a game changer, not only for Christmas but for gifting something special all year round. Unlike a traditional wedding or baby registry, you can keep your Giftster list open indefinitely or create a specific one for different occasions. I love that you can add anything from across the internet instead of just one store! Without further ado, here is my 2021 dream Christmas list. I also loaded this into Giftster, and it was extremely easy! 
2. Dyson Vacuum – Obviously this is a big ticket item, so I’m not really expecting to get it! How nice would it be thought to have a Dyson? We have carpet and dark hardwood floors in our apartment, so vacuuming often is a necessity.
3. Weezie Sand Piped Edge Starter Pack of Bath and Hand Towels – I ordered a set of two towels and two hand towels during Weezie’s annual sale, and I AM IN LOVE. These towels feel like the towels at a super nice hotel, and I think the piping looks really great as well. I would love to replace all our towels with these. 4. Barrington Gifts Belmont Cabin Bag – I have been eyeing a Barrington weekender bag for years. Now that we have a whole new world of weekend trip opportunities available to us, I would love to have a bag like this for road trips and shorter excursions.
5. Lake Pajamas + Another Lake Pajamas Set – My all time favorite pajamas ever. Trust me, they are worth every penny of their hefty price tag and more. These are not just regular pajamas, and I promise that is why the price tag is a little bit higher than your usual pajamas. The pima cotton is literally the softest thing you will ever put on your body, and somehow these keep you warm when you’re cold and cool when you’re hot. The best ever! I have the long top and shorts set, but I would love a few other variations.
6. Bombas socks – The best socks ever! I didn’t know socks could be improved upon until we got these.
7. Black Dudley Stephens Park Slope Popover in Vello Fleece – I’ve always wanted to try out a Dudley Stephens! I think the thickness would be perfect without a jacket for many months here in California!
8. Apple HomePods Mini – Okay, we actually already bought these to use as our sound system for our TV, but we get an Apple employee discount so I told my mom we could buy them if she just wanted to give us the money for them. We’ve been really impressed with them so far!
9. Airy Fryer Toaster Oven Combo – Again, I’m not really expecting to get this, but now that we have more counter space, I think I would finally like to try out a toaster oven. We also got rid of our really early model air fryer before we moved, so it’s time to get one of those again too. This would be the best of both worlds.
10. Pizza stone – Our pizza stone got broken in our move, and I love that this one has handles! We love making homemade pizzas in our oven. 11. Gift Card for our favorite coffee shop – my brother loves to get us coffee shop gift cards for Christmas since it’s really the gift that keeps on giving. We quickly found our favorite coffee shop here and let him know this would be a good gift card for us!
12. Airtight coffee canisters – I got this for my brother last year, and he loves it! I think we would really enjoy them for keeping our coffee grounds fresh.
13. Long sleeve Lululemon Top – Once we got here, I realized I do not own a single, regular long sleeve shirt! I just have a tight fitting, performance type top from Lululemon, but I think I need a casual, loose fitting one like this.
14. Cold brew coffee maker – We’ve really been getting into cold brew lately, so this would save us a lot of money!
15. Pottery Barn Sheets – My grandma always got all the parents in our family group a set of sheets for Christmas every year, so something about asking for sheets just reminds me of her. We also really need some too so that’s nice, haha!
Things We’ve Asked for in the Past and Love
Just in case none of those items spark an interest for you, here are a few things we’ve requested as gifts in the past and have absolutely loved.
Le Creuset Dutch Oven – The Le Creuset Dutch Ovens are truly a “buy it for life” item. I look for reasons to go ours out because I just love using it so much! I actually find them really easy to clean too, and the recipes you can make with it are just extra tasty.
Coffee pot – This coffee pot is another buy it for life item, but we’ve seriously become so attached to it after getting it for Christmas two years ago. It’s actually one of the best coffee makers on the market, and you can literally taste the difference in every sip of coffee from this brewer.
It’s definitely a splurge though, so it makes an excellent Christmas gift.
Coffee grinder – When we mentioned to our local favorite coffeeshop owners that we were grinding our coffee in a food processor, they almost died!!! That is not a good idea, and they quickly told us we needed a burr grinder to preserve the flavor of the bean I think? Something like that! Anyways, nothing feels quite like a treat as grinding your coffee beans each morning and smelling that delicious aroma. The one I linked is a really great one, and the price is actually on the lower end for some coffee grinders that do similarly great work.
A nice coat – A few years ago I asked for a chic dress coat from J. Crew, and I’ve been extremely happy with my decision and the gift ever since. It’s honestly out of my price range to get a nice coat like this, so that makes it the perfect Christmas gift. It’s something you will probably never grow out of, and asking for such a classic style means it will work for years and years to come.
Nice wooden spoons – I feel like certain kitchen tools just seem too basic to replace with the nice version, but I received these specific wooden spoons one year, and every time I just them I think about how much I love them! They are actually my favorites ones we own, and I always get sad when I have to use another kind haha.
Exercise dress / activewear – I have no idea why, but I think it’s fun to receive nice workout wear for Christmas. I don’t really like splurging on those pieces for myself, but I like having them at the same time?? Haha but that is where Christmas comes in. The exercise dress is honestly so good, and I think it would be something great to ask for. On the same note, I also asked for this sporty L.L. Bean pullover one year, and I have gotten so much use out of it!
Caraway Pans / Pan Set – I think Christmas is a great time to get that pan set you’ve been eyeing! Matching pans are such a good investment, but they are obviously pricey. I don’t personally have these Caraway pans, but I think i’m going to ask for them next year. I’ve heard great things. Cookbooks – Okay, these aren’t the priciest thing on the list, but sometimes I just don’t want to buy myself cookbooks even though I look at them all the time! If you’ve been eyeing one, it’s a great lower price range thing to round out your list.
That wraps up this 2021 Christmas wishlist and tips for creating your own wishlist! I hope this is helpful as we head into the busiest gifting season of the year. Don’t forget to check out Giftster to set your entire family up for gifting success! Diclaimer * I am working with Giftster through an Instagram sponsorship, but I am not being paid to talk about the service here. As always though, all opinions are my own.
