Mom & Dad Christmas Gift Guide

    I’ve got your Christmas gift ideas for moms and dads right here. What do you need–gifts under $10 from the kids? Got it. Something that will make mom swoon? Right here! Practical gifts as smart as your baby daddy? Keep reading… Because this is what we do all the time already. Let’s try harder. Make this the year that you give your mama something that will delight her. And that she didn’t buy herself. Golden Thread Monogram Necklace A friend of mine gave me a monogram necklace from Golden Thread and it’s been my favorite gift this year. The jewelry market is a little crowded with these name-engraved-type necklaces. But Golden Thread has carved (engraved?) a little niche of a different style. Their pieces have a heirloom-quality to them that look more classy than the typical HERE ARE MY KIDS’ NAMES (OR MY NAME) ON A NECKLACE. Their jewelry starts in the $40 range and gets as big and personalized and expensive as you want. Fleece Leggings If you need a stocking stuffer, or a gift the kids can buy with the money in their piggy banks, get these fleece leggings for $10 at Wal-Mart. They’re the warm fuzzy your mama’s legs need when it’s cold outside and she’s snuggled up for her third Hallmark Christmas movie of the day. I have these in black and they wash up just fine. I haven’t put them in the dryer yet, and I don’t think I will. To be honest, I don’t think you need the dryer, because fleece dries in an hour–even in humid Texas Passes to Water Parks, Momentum, Altitude, Glow Zone, or Your Local Zoo/Children’s Museum   Let me tell you, when we are deep in July, and it’s nine hundred degrees outside, there’s nothing I love more than a place to go that is not our own house. Because as the kids get older, time off = time on electronics. We can usually all agree on spending a few hours at one of our favorite places. In Katy, we have an embarrassing number of indoor expel-all-your-energy kind of places. For younger kids there’s Altitude and GlowZone. Our older kids love Momentum Climbing Gym and Typhoon Texas. In the past, we’ve also bought season passes to the Houston Zoo and Children’s Museum. While this seems like a gift for the kids, it’s really one for the moms. Because nothing says “family fun” like popping into a climbing gym for the kids to play, while mom zones out on the free WiFi for an hour or two. For Your Husband (Or Your Dad) In our family, it’s hardest to buy gifts for Mike. He’s frugal, practical, and insists he doesn’t need anything. If you’ve got a guy in your house like this, here are ideas to make his Christmas special. Crazy Socks Buy them to celebrate President HW Bush. Buy them because they’re 50% off right now at Nordstrom Rack. Buy them because your husband has to wear socks every day so you have a 365% chance that he will wear them. Buy them because these make a cute, #ironic stocking stuffer. Buy them because funny socks might cheer up even the most boring day of #DadLife. Amazon TV Because we’re moving some rooms around in our house, we actually just got Amazon TV. And because we’re not very patient–and it’s complicated to hide a new TV system from the kids–we gave them a Fire TV early. And it’s pretty incredible. With the Fire TV (or Apple TV with Siri) you can tell Alexa what you want to watch, and she will find your content for you. Plus, you can also play games with pretty good graphics and listen to all the music. Oh–and this also comes with the regular features of Alexa. Which, in our house, is to say THE MOST AWESOME FEATURES EVER. Because we love Alexa. Camping Chair If our generation of parenting will be remembered for anything, it’s for the portable camping chairs we carry all over God’s creation. It’s because all of our kids play a million sports and each of them needs us parents to BYOC. Bring your own chair to the baseball fields, the swim meets, the soccer field, and even to even the volleyball court. All this means you had better get a good camping chair–or at least one that’s easy to carry. (Also one that has pockets to hold your cell phone and Yeti) <–the other things our generation will be remembered for… I hope these give you ideas to make the spirits of your husband or wife brighter with gifts they will love all year long. Share this post and I’ll send you a GIFT-WRAPPED copy of my best-selling Bible study, Love Rules.