Coming out of the pandemic and facing rising prices and significant inflation, I think it is safe to say most of us are probably looking for gifts this holiday season that fit a reduced budget and are useful to boot.  It is with that in mind that I have created this list of ideas for the 2022 holiday season. 

Table of Contents

1. DIY Christmas Gift Ideas
2. Gifts for Men
3. Gifts for Book Lovers
4. Gifts for Wine Lovers
5. Gifts for OCD Organizers
6. Gifts for Teens
7. Gifts for Moms
8. Stocking Stuffers
9. Gift Guide

1. DIY Christmas Gift Ideas

There are so many reasons to make your own gifts for the holidays.  It can save you a lot of money and let’s face it, homemade gifts are simply more special.  And instead of running around to shops or looking online for hours, you can sit in your favorite cozy spot at home and get those creative juices flowing!

I remember when my girlfriends and I were in college, we decided to make gifts for everyone because we wanted to save money (we didn’t have any) and we thought it would be fun!  So we bought a case of Groelsch Beer (the ones with the pop-tops) and drank all the bottles of beer (part of the fun, right?) and then we washed them out, removed the labels and filled them with homemade Kalua.   We decorated each bottle with homemade labels and put ribbons on the bottle.  People loved them! 

Here is an idea that many of our customers have done.  After you make your own flavored olive oil, kalua or whatever you want to fill those glass bottles with, take one of the meori Padded Wine Carriers  and fill it up with your homemade specialty items.  The Totes and Carriers also work with Mason Jars so you could give canned goods such as homemade jam or stewed tomatoes. 

2. Gifts for Men

This can be a real challenge area for gift giving, can’t it?  I always like to think about how the men in my family like to spend their time and focus on things that will help them get out and do those fun things more often.  That can be everything from an offer to babysit for them (my brother has a toddler) to a Trunk Organizer to organize all their bike or surf gear. 

I am loving these gift ideas for this holiday season:

• For the cook – a pizza oven kit that turns the grill into a great pizza oven.
• For the wine enthusiast – a wine club membership to his favorite winery.  Pair it with a reusable wine tote so that it is easier for him to pick up his wine.
• For the gadget guy who thinks headphones are uncomfortable – now you can get Bluetooth sunglasses.  Listen to music and look damn cool doing it.
• For the adventure seeker – different makers on Etsy are offering a Bucket List Scratch-off poster that includes over 50 popular bucket list destinations.  Perfect for the guy who needs a suggestion or two on where to go next.
• For the sporty guy – get on the trend bandwagon and gear up for pickleball.  Seems like everyone I know is taking up this game and there are lots of good reasons.  Anyone can play, it’s super social and you can even set up your own court with a little tape and portable pickleball net.  The driveway maybe?  It’s also a great workout once you get the hang of it.

3. Gifts for Book Lovers

I love to get gifts of all kinds, but if I only received books for the rest of my life, that would be ok too.  The obvious answer to gifts for book lovers is books.  But sometimes this’s hard if you aren’t sure what they like to read or if you think they might already have read the book you want to give them. 

Something that is sure to delight any book lover is a scratch off 100 “must read” book list poster.  Even if they have read a lot of the books, it will confirm in their mind that they are on the right track. 

I love my soft pillow-like lap stand.  If I’m reading for an hour or more, my hand starts to hurt from the weight of the book and this cozy pillow stand is perfect for the bed or the couch. 

Look for t-shirts, totes, and yes, even wine totes (we have one coming out soon) with funny book sayings on them that they can take to book club.  One of my favorites is “My Book Club Reads Between the Wines.”

And finally, if your book lover travels a lot then she/he probably wants to take books with them but this gets heavy!  The Kindle can be a great way to solve this problem and it ensures they won’t run out of books on their travels. 

4. Gifts for Wine Lovers

Being a wine lover myself, this category is near and dear to my heart.  I don’t have one but I sure would love to have a marble wine chiller for the table.  It’s classy, doesn’t take up a lot of room and goes with every kind of dish and table décor. 

I enjoy hosting dinner parties and serving a good variety of wines from around the world.  Sometimes my friends will ask me questions about the wine they are drinking and it would be nice to have a handy chart around.  That’s where a poster of the wine grape varieties comes in handy.  It’s fun to hang in your bar area or family room and makes a great conversation piece as you sip your wine.

Fun wine glass identifiers are also a great gift idea.  Search for these on Etsy to find some really unique and hand-crafted examples. 

Finally, you can never go wrong with a high-quality wine tote filled up with some of his or her favorite wine.  Or make an outing of it and go together to a wine tasting and fill up that wine tote on the way out!

5. Gifts for OCD Organizers

Ok, if you are not someone who considers yourself super organized and you want to buy a gift for an “organizer” you might want to look at this list.  Some of the simplest things can be such great organizing helpers, even for people who like things to be, well, super organized.  Some of my favorites include:

• A magnetic “whiteboard” for the refrigerator that can be used for different household communications including chores on a calendar, a weekly meal plan or a grocery list.  I could not live without this one.
• The meori Large Foldable Box to organize the car trunk or pack for a road trip.  You can’t have too many of these and I like to have at least one in every car. 
• A spinning carousel that fits into the refrigerator and holds all the condiments.  A game-changer!
• A simple row of hooks that can be hung in a bedroom or hallway.  Every bedroom should have one of these, especially a guest room with little or no closet space. 
• Shelf risers for kitchen cabinets.  These little miracles of space efficiency create double the space in your cabinets by simply creating one more shelf to stack things on and still have space to store things under them.

6. Gifts for Teens

OK – an admittedly tough group to shop for.  Mostly, I recommend gift certificates and cash for teens so that you don’t waste money on things they don’t like or don’t find cool.  But here are some ideas that my teens are really into this year:

• Neon signs for their room or bathroom.  Either a sports theme or some fun social media acronym or emoji is what I recommend.
• Fun tapestry for the wall – animal themes and boho designs are popular right now.
• Moon lamp or LED lights or galaxy light for the ceiling – this is a much sought after item for both teens at home and college student dorm rooms.   
• Flag of their favorite sports team to hang on their wall – these are especially loved for covering up ugly dorm room brick walls.  Make a statement and create a cozy atmosphere.
• A personal charging station for their room that charges their phone and ear pods. They will love you!
• Crazy, furry, cozy slippers that they can wear all the time.  Don’t be surprised if they wear them to school.
• An aromatherapy diffuser and set of oils.  You will love it too because it will help cover up the dirty sweaty sock smell emanating from their room.
• My kids are all about the protein green smoothies as part of their new fitness craze.  Check out the new Portable Blenders that charge with a USB cable.  They last about 15 blends and can be taken to school in a backpack. 

7. Gifts for Moms

8. Stocking Stuffers

Always my favorite part of shopping for holiday gifts, this is where creativity and inspiration can make for a fun Christmas morning.  But watch out, because you can get carried away with buying lots of “little” things for the whole family and it really adds up if you don’t keep track. 

My go-to gift ideas include yummy condiments, spices, tea and coffee for all those foodies out there.  For wine lovers, look for the small half bottles of great wine – it fits in the stocking and costs about half the price for a great bottle. Favorite chocolates and ice cream toppings like caramel sauce are also great choices. 

meori Mini Storage Cubes make a great stocking stuffer for the whole family because virtually everyone can use one either at their desk, one the nightstand, in the bathroom vanity area or other areas around the house where little things tend to collect.  And these cute little boxes come in so many colors and patterns making it easy to find one for everyone’s décor aesthetic. 

For teens and older kids, you can’t go wrong with their favorite hair products, nail polish, deodorant and cologne.  I’m a big fan of Tervis Tumblers and my kids love them too.  You can choose from some of their favorite movie characters or sports teams. 

Check out our Holiday Gift Guide

Why not give the gift of organization. meori gifts are useful and made to last. For more holiday gift giving ideas, please check out our gift guide here.

Get your life organized with meori.com! We create classy storage bags and bins to make your house a happy home. Check out the full meori blog , “Organize Life” including specific ideas on how to clean and organize your house for the holidays.