I don’t know about you, but I have never lucked out in Secret Santa. I have gotten a bar of soap (yes, a bar of soap), a weird belt, and once we had to do a Y Secret Santa at work. You see in Brazil, Secret Santa’s are called Friend X (weird, I know, but it means “mystery friend”) and the owner of the school where I was teaching English had us pick a name out of a hat and say something negative about the person (or, in her eyes, what could be improved). Of course, I got the guy I had dated—UGHHhhh—and I said something silly. We were all sitting there, feeling so uncomfortable and awkward, and honestly, it sucked. Usually, gift exchanges are hard, and I so wish there had been gift guides, wish lists and elfster’s when I was younger… which perhaps could have helped those Secret Santa blues. I know this post was not out on the day I wanted it to be, so in case you got coal for Christmas, you can ask for one of these instead! Some links are affiliate links.
Here is my Holiday Gift Guide for bloggers and
creative entrepreneurs
Business Related gifts
Yeti Mic. This is the ultimate gift for bloggers who are teaching online. If you do online tutorials, videos or teach at webinars, then this gift is for you. This is even great if you do lots of live streaming either on Facebook or Periscope.
Selfie Light. I was gifted this by my business bestie Erica H. Vincent. This awesome selfie ring light, which is great for photos and live streams. You can purchase it here. It is on major sale too!
Trello for Business. Trello is an online software and app that anyone can sign up for. Trello is a basic, online to-do list type of application. But the lovely gals at Think C
reative Collective have created Trello for Business, which has custom boards, workflows and cute stock photos. It has revolutionized my schedule, and I am way more productive and less stressed now.
Arkon Mounts. I have been drooling over their mounts for a while, and they’re perfect if you need to live stream from two different places at same time.
Starbucks card. All the feels! Give me all the money. Which blogger does not drink coffee or tea? These can be sent electronically, and my email is info@getfoundwithfuse.com — kidding. #notkidding
Planoly subscription. I am loving Planoly for my IG planning, and they have affordable plans, so you can really step up your Instagram plan. Even their free plan rocks!
Tailwind App subscription. I can not do my Pinterest marketing and scheduling without Tailwind. It allows me to pin dozens of pins per day at optimal times, and it does it for me. I just have to add the pins to the queue, and it knows best times to post. It also reposts the same pins into group list boards, which allows me to pin my own work to many group boards in one batch. One other feature I love is the beta program inside of it that shows related pins that are “hot” (a.k.a. doing well in Pinterest smart feed) and suggests that I repin them, so my smartfeed kicks butt, too.
CoSchedule. I can not blog without CoSchedule because it allows me to schedule posts right inside of WordPress as I hit publish, so it’s done and forgotten. Check out this blog post I wrote about their features and why I love using them for automating my social media.
Canva for work. I love all the folders I can create and how my brand colors are saved. Of course, their free version rocks too.
If you want to step up your social-sharing game, I suggest you buy one of the following.
- Sumo Me. This has so many features with the free version, but the PRO version is pretty kick ass.
- Social Warfare Plugin. I love how this looks on mobile and that you can change colors to match your brand.
WordPress themes. If you are looking to rebrand or renew your blog, check out my favorite places for blog themes: Bluchic, Restored 316, or A Prettier Web.
Madmimi. This is a great email marketing management tool for beginners. I find it to be way easier than Mailchimp, AND you can do content upgrades with their embedded forms. It is $10 / month for up to 500 contacts which is fantastic for new bloggers wanting to grow their blog and email list.
Snapchat shirt if you are a big Snapchat user. I purchased mine on Etsy.
Epic One Year Editorial Blogger. If you are serious about stepping up your blogging game for 2017 and love writing things down, then this planner is for you. Regina is a brilliant blogger and teacher and has developed a fantastic product for bloggers and creatives.
Personal & Or Self Care related gifts:
World Market. I have a habit of visiting certain stores for therapy. No, seriously… if you follow me on IG Stories, you may have seen my TT episodes… you know, Target Therapy. So, another great store that just makes you feel good inside is World Market. They have great office decor, unique international food items, beautiful glassware and kitchen items, plus you can also build your own gift basket there. And they have one of my favorites, WINE—the good kind!
Home Goods. A great place to go for all of your office decor. Home Goods is paradise when you are remodeling. I go there for inspiration sometimes and love finding unique pieces. That is where I found my magnifying glass I use in my branding and also my awesome yellow funky chair.
Back massages and spa gifts are great. Treat yourself and unwind. Or, have your husband or partner treat you. You’ve worked hard on your blog and business all year ’round, so treat yo self. If in NJ, check out my mom’s salon Jaira’s Salon.
Books
Awesome planners . I have been hearing great things about the Passion Planner. I also love Lara Casey’s Powersheets and Goal Planner. I have taken her making things happens class and she is the real deal. It has been amazing to watch her grow and blossom and follow her calling.
Subscription to Belong Magazine. I met Brooke Saxon-Spencer, the awesome founder of Belong Magazine. I am thrilled to have a magazine for creatives that embraces community over competition and has so much great content.
Shirts, awesome shirts – “Her success is not my failure” is an awesome reminder not to compare ourselves, but to uplift others. I also love the following shirts too.
Cute Mugs with girl boss sayings. All day. Every day. Check Etsy for those.
Red Wine. All day every day. Just Kidding. Just every night 🙂 I love some red cabernet and currently I am crushing on Acroynm and Apothic Red blend.
Hobby Lobby gift cards. Okay, another therapeutic store that’s GREAT for photo props (they even sell the foam boards that you can use for lay-flat photos on Instagram). I love their decor for the home, and they have a 50% off sale every week on different items. I shared these boards on my Instagram Stories, so follow me on Instagram so you can see behind the scenes photo prop shooting and much more.
GoPro HERO Session Holiday Promo Kit. Fellow blogger and photographer Carrie Swalls showed me her new waterproof Go Pro Hero session, and we grabbed one during Black Friday.
Fuji Insta Polaroid. Polaroids have been on my wish list all year, and while I was at Blink, I had so much fun with their Polaroid wall. We spend so much time sharing our photos online and not enough time printing them. SO PRINT YOUR PHOTOS. These are great for guests who visit you, for events, and just daily life.
Lo & Sons Laptop Bag. I have not used this, but I was intrigued when I saw Erin Youngren do an Instagram Story about it. I know how much Erin travels for her photography business and was impressed how good her laptop bag looks.
Make up. Okay, I got this Tarte Pretty Paintbox Collector’s Makeup Case Palette 2016 and love it. I don’t think they have it in stores by my any more so check your local Sephora or check Amazon.
Amazon Echo – White. Amazon Echo. I got this gift for my husband, and I can not wait til it arrives. He needed a bluetooth speaker for all of his music playing. He loves to stream Brazillian music and videos via his phone, but now the new iPhone 7 doesn’t have the audio jack… so he can’t charge his phone and listen to music at same time. This is not only a great speaker, but it also has Alexa enabled, which is like having Siri at your house. You can aks Alexa to look things up via Google and order stuff from Amazon Prime and have her play music for you.
So what is your favorite thing on this list, or what did Santa bring you for Christmas this year that will level up your business in 2017?
