My Grown-Up Christmas Gifts

I’m officially a grown up. For the first time in my 44 years on Earth, “practical” things dominated my Christmas wish list. I’ve always had a strict policy that Christmas and birthday gifts are for fun, silly, stylish or otherwise frivolous things. Same with “found” money, like unexpected refunds/rebates, gifts and cash I’ve hidden from myself but couldn’t remember where.

But this year, I got my fun/silly/stylish/frivolous fix on my birthday 11 days earlier (not to mention that I’m admittedly completely spoiled and already buy everything I want when I want it), so I let my sensible side take over. Here are the highlights of my mature-as-hell haul.

To be completely clear, I ASKED for ALL of these things. Any snark is making fun of me, not the gift-giver or the gift itself! Also, I’m completely self-aware of how first world my problems are.

Air Hawk Pro Handheld Air Pump

Anyone who’s ever ridden in my car knows that there’s perpetually some sort of warning light flashing on the dash — usually that my tires are low. To deal with Dallas’ awful roads, there’s an equal and inverse relationship between tire pressure and how battered you feel when you get out of the car…so we try to keep just enough air in our tires to keep the alerts at bay. That’s where this small handheld air pump will come in handy! No more hunting for a working air pump.

Rubbermaid Brilliance Food Storage Set

There is likely nothing more #adulting than being overjoyed as you open a big box of brand new food storage containers. These crystal-clear plastic boxes in three sizes are as beautiful as they are practical. Plus, they stack perfectly on top of each other. (God, I’m old.)

Yale Electric Keyless Door Lock with Amazon Key Security Camera

Yes, a door lock. The main reason I wanted this is that, between contractors, housekeepers, dog sitters and family, we have goodness knows how many keys to our kitchen door floating around Texas. Also, now that the kids have more freedom to roam the neighborhood, I don’t have to worry that they’re going to lose a key or leave the door unlocked when they walk out. I have the same system at my office and it’s so easy to set up, plus I get notifications about comings and goings, as well as on-demand video of the front door.

Aura Digital Photo Frame

This is the only thing I asked for that I’d file in the frivolous category. I’ve had multiple digital frames, but they’ve all sucked. Then Oprah recommended this Aura digital frame on her Favorite Things list a few years ago and it’s been on my list ever since. So far, it lives up to the hype. Super easy to program, super easy to update, great resolution. I like it a lot!

Cook Books

I adore big, hardcover, photo-filled cookbooks. I probably have close to 100 by now, and I can’t think of a Christmas in recent memory when I haven’t torn through good wrapping paper to find Ina Garten’s joyful face staring back at me. This year’s assortment was spot on — Ina, Instant Pot and F bombs.

Cuisinart Hand Mixer

I was wrong before: there is something more #adulting than Tupperware…and this hand mixer is it. Our old one has been giving me problems, plus I was always having to rummage through our kitchen drawers to find the attachments. Problem solved!

Cedar Shoe Trees

I like nice shoes and I want to take care of them. A few sets of these cedar shoe trees already reside in my closet, but decided that it was time to go all in. Plus, I hope these cedar beauties help repel the moths that seem to enjoy a nice cashmere sweater as much as I do.