Gearing up for Gift-Giving

I feel like there's really only about two weeks left this year to be totally self-involved about shopping. It's not that I don't buy things for myself during the holiday season, but I always do it surreptitiously, even though nobody's actually taking stock.

I mitigate some of the guilt by stock-piling gifts for other people in between splurges on myself. In fact, I'm really not that selfish at all: I have a cabinet devoted to small present-worthy things, which I'm constantly replenishing (particularly when I travel--best opportunity for snapping up cute, handmade baby gifts, for example). You never know when you're going to need something for a shower, or an impromptu dinner party--or for that person who you don't know very well who gives something to you.

One of my very favorite resources for one-off feeling things (which are thoughtful seeming, even if you bought them with no particular person in mind), is SupermarketHQ. Everything comes straight from the designers and is really well-priced. Plus, it's quasi-curated: There's tons to want. I love to scroll through everything, just so I can be sure I didn't miss anything.

Here's what I think I'm going to buy: Lattice-printed booklets (so sweet and 4 for $14), gold, stamped horse pendants (for good girlfriends who wear a lot of charms, $55), placemats for friends who entertain a lot (4 for $28), and colorful melamime plates, which everyone needs ($40 for 4)!