Easy Gift-Giving

I’m one of those “shop all year for gifts” kind of person. There have been too many Christmas seasons (more than I’d like to admit) where I bought a this will do kind of gift rather than a this they will love gift!

But, more than that, I like to give gifts with meaning and purpose. I’ve written quite a bit on our three gift tradition with our kids and why gorging on gifts always leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I think there are three ways to curb holiday gift-giving hangover:

1. Start early
2. Give with purpose
3. See if you can still remember one thing you got last year you loved

In that spirit, let’s do a little show and tell + an awesome Minted giveaway. {I am the daughter of a school teacher!} You’ll get to see a sneak peek of some of my Christmas gifts this year, and in a few weeks, I’ll share the art I finally chose. Minted has a ton of choices on their site, but I chose to narrow it down to my favorites in photo art, foil-pressed maps and destination art.

It’s no secret how much I love photographs. And, there’s something about giving the gift that showcases people you love that really speaks to people’s hearts. Exhibit A, the heart snapshot.

I’m pretty sure I could find 30 snapshots or grams to fill this print. Is this a perfect grandparent gift or what? Or, take that same look but put a holiday twist on it. You could fill it with Santa photos or pictures from Christmas past. Wouldn’t that be such a keepsake?

I love Texas. I know, complete shocker. We have a Texas-themed bathroom in our house, used primarily for guests and kids that can’t hold it. Basically, these next two foil-pressed prints are something for me and my fun bathroom that can be hung well out of peeing range. If you love your state, Minted has a ton of painted, foil-pressed and word art prints for you. The variety is pretty fantastic. Also, I’m verrrry impressed they have “College Station,” “Amarillo,” “West” and tiny little “Post” on here. Well done, Minted.

When you log on and head over to their destination art prints, be prepared to fall in love. These days, shopping in my pjs is preferable over lugging all six of my kids with me. On the site, you can choose your print, the size and the frame. Or, you can just go with the print if you already have a frame at home. Plus, they show you the scale of the piece and how it looks in a room. Basically, the Type A gal in me was doing the happy dance. I, of course, chose the Alamo, but if the Roman Coliseum, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame or the Chicago Bean are on your radar, they have those, too, plus soooo many more.

And, here’s one I’m considering for Mr. Whitaker. We celebrated the big 2-0 this summer and went to Europe to celebrate. These photos must live on my walls and not just on my computer screen! Isn’t that so fun? They had so many cool state designs. I feel like it’s kind of a two-fer deal, photos you love, paired with a dose of home.

Now, let’s chat giveaway! Minted is kind enough to give a lucky Team Whitaker reader a $250 credit to use on anything on the site. Luck-E! The giveaway is only open to U.S. residents and ends at 11:59 PDT on November 14. Click here to enter.

Which one should I choose? Gotta little poll running on Instagram, or you can post below. I promise to show off the reveal in a few weeks. Cannot wait.

Big thanks to Minted for sponsoring this post and allowing me to tell the kids I needed space because I was doing Christmas research!