I’m trying to break up with big-box stores and their online equivalents, and this year’s Gift Ideas list reflects that. I also have too much stuff, a common problem among our contemporaries, so I’m drawn toward practical gifts, gifts of creation (cooking, art, and other making activities), and books that I can read and pass along to others.

(I also love Economikat’s 4-gift rule: Have you tried the 4 gift rule for holiday shopping? #savingmoney #underconsumption #christmas2025 – YouTube.)

1. Make a phone or eReader holder with this pattern and guide from Nikki at Pin, Cut Sew. This is the useful gadget that you didn’t know that you needed!
2. Books! Check out these recommendations from The Dog Eared Book. And then call them up and buy one/all of these! (Also on Bookshop.org, https://bookshop.org/shop/thedogearedbook.)
3. Every Day Vegan Comfort Cookbook by Nora from Nora Cooks. Nora is our go-to source for all kinds of dishes. Her recipes are family-friendly and not just for vegans.
4. Penzey’s spices are our go-to at Chez Haiku. We cook a lot and need the big bags!
5. I love Nishant Jain, A.K.A., The Sneaky Artist. He offers an online course and has a new book, Make (Sneaky) Art and Other Ideas to Build Your Sketchbook Habit. If you have ever wanted to draw what you see while you are out and about, his quick, accessible sketch techniques will get you started—even if you are convinced that you can’t draw.
6. Check out the beautiful cards from Tiny and Snail.
7. Give an amazing hand-knit hat from ChainOfPerls – Etsy.
8. I love the “Sewing: A Real Life Survival Skill” embroidered patch from Sew4Home. They offer free sewing tutorials on their website, like this cozy Button Up Neck Cowl.
9. Check out the writing courses and books from Beth Kempton. Her annual Calm Christmas podcast is airing now, with new episodes every Thursday until Christmas. Check it out! It’s a feast for the soul.
10. Keep the people you love warm with Apple Green Cottage’s free tutorial for a Diy Fleece Scarf – And Why This One Won’t Fall Off! This is a great project to upcycle fleece.
11. Give the gift of peace with Minimal Mom’s courses/community. Her 5 Days to an Organized Christmas Workshop + Planner was so helpful and is still available as replays.
12. I learned about Blackwing pencils from Barb Oakley, and I love them. Great for the writers, doodlers, artists, engineers, and mathematicians in your life. About Us – Blackwing
13. Give the gift of making with a makerspace membership. Check out this Makerspaces directory to find your local space. Ours is the Lacey MakerSpace.

Artists who use fabric will always have a special place in my heart. Faith Ringgold painted story quilts – art that combines painting, quilted fabric, and storytelling. She passed away this month at the age of 93.

We saw Faith Ringgold speak and share her art at ASU many years ago and I remember the larger-than-life nature of her work. I was awestruck by its power, beauty, and courage. As a woman, she was excluded from a male-dominated art world and as a Black woman, she was excluded from the largely male Black art world. Add quilts into the mix and some people question your artistry. She never stopped fighting for her place at the table.

I especially love these pieces:

• The Sunflowers Quilting Bee at Arles features Madam Walker, Sojourner Truth, Ida Wells, Fannie Lou Hammer, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Ella Baker – and Vincent Van Gogh standing by.
• The Tar Beach series (She has a children’s book by the same name and read an excerpt on NPR several years ago.)
• Self-portrait at the National Portrait Gallery. I especially love the panel depicting her with her husband Birdie flying above the city, https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2004.24.9.
• Her horrifying and mesmerizing painting, The American People Series #20: Die 1967 captures the the pervasive violence of the 1960s. We are all still caught in the struggle. (Read more on the MoMA site.)

In her children’s book, Tar Beach, Faith Ringgold wrote, “Anyone can fly. All you have to do is have somewhere to go that you can’t get to any other way.”

Thanks for showing us how it’s done.

Read more:

• Faith Ringgold, quilt and visual artist, dies at 93: NPR
• Faith Ringgold: American People – MCA Chicago
• 8 Must-See Documentaries on Black Art | Sotheby’s – Black Art: In the Absence of Light on HBO, Amazon Prime and YouTube Movies