little treat gift guide
i'm so glad you're here!!
it’s officially december which means its FINALLY christmas and time to unleash all the decorations, christmas music, and the gifts my lord the gifts. i am a firm believer that you should do your holiday shopping in october november so when the onslaught of december hits you don’t have that weight to carry. my gift timeline is to start making a list in october, hit the stores and wesbites in november, and then in december you’re at that point of holiday markets but you get to fully enjoy them because you’re just looking for smallies1 and not the main event. BUT should you not be quite as insane as i am and you still need help finding places to get cutie little gifts- these are some of my favorite small businesses that i have been gatekeeping (meaning i already got my orders in so all you lot can have at now) i know i just sent out a substack that said don’t spend all your money but here’s where to spend all your money
one of my friends from college, nemesis has recently started making pottery and finally by the grace of god has started to sell it. every piece is so simple and gorgeous- i have literally been in her dms every time she posts one of these bowls or plates “please let me give you money” and it doesn’t help that she’s literally the loveliest person so absolutely give her all your money and attention because i promise you will be seeing a lot of her she is just one of those people you know no matter what are going to go far in life. her shop has fantastic bowls and mugs right now and some adorable bud vases i had to control myself before i did real damage i really could have added one of each to my cart.
i found this little shop on tiktok when they were posting about these adorable moth sweaters and they have since evolved to make stunning cardigans, coats, hats, bags, and more. all their stuff has that really cuddly dark academia style. some of it is specifically themed to some of my favorite media like over the garden wall and the magnus archives but a lot of it is just like ‘what should i wear to frolic in the forest??’ which who doesn’t want to dress like that.
this one i have mentioned before because i adore their ‘you’re my sunshine’ perfume it’s the perfect warm vanilla honey scent. the owner is the most delightful person i have ever met, she runs her small business by going to local farmers markets and makers events as well as online lucky for y’all. obviously she has fantastic perfumes but she also has great candles so if you really like a scent you and your house can smell like it. my go-to’s that i keep in stock are the ‘you’re my sunshine’ and ‘get that money honey’ rollerballs but i am deeply obsessed with the ‘always rooting for you’ candle for the holidays it’s so perfectly pine-y and clean.
you know how everyone has those my favorite things parties where each person picks the item that was crucial to their year? well i don’t know what kind of friends y’all have but i would bring these gummies because they are life changing. i got put onto the deep sleep gummies reading wishbone kitchen’s substack and haven’t looked back. i’m so fussy when it comes to gummies- they have to taste good, they have to be easy to get, and the big one is they can’t give me weird dreams. rose la checked all the boxes because they have precious little flavors, the ability to be shipped once a month like clockwork and i haven’t had any dreams about weird shit so tens across the board. they have core “flavors” like the deep sleep and high energy but they also have seasonal ones like lychee martini and really great collab with Ha’s Đặc Biệt that’s a salty plum flavor?? i wish they had a tasting room or a pr list because i want in.
this one i found in the throes of my post election fainting couch when i was going back and forth between ‘we’re all gonna die’ and ‘i want to burn it all down’ and got one of their my chemical romance tees (as you do). this is like the place you shop when you have cool teens in your life and you want to seem cool too. so now you can get them hand printed tees with bad words and stickers with boygenius on them so they think you’re cool too (you’re super cool don’t worry). the artist is local in los angeles and also sells at some in person markets so definitely follow them on instagram if you want to support in person especially because they do all this by themselves so shipping can be a few weeks.
smallies
🎶 christmas music is such serious business to me i have a playlist for every vibe like its a science. i have a cottagecore one for that nostalgic vibe, movie scores for just subtle holiday, just classic christmas for the mariah carey of it all and sad christmas for when you need to cry.
🧋 i love dutch bro’s so much and they finally have their holiday drinks all is right with the world- my go to order is the candy cold brew with oat milk its just the perfect hint of holiday and comes with cutie little sprinkles for extra christmas magic.
✨ my treat yourself holiday time gift was the anthropologie beauty advent calendar. my aunt, sibling and i all got it last year and while it was mercilessly mocked for the sheer number of perfumes i loved all the scents and went back for round two i just love having tons of little good smelling things i have no regrets. unforch it is sold out but just to put it on your radar for christmas 2025.
a smallie is that little something you see for someone that just reminds you of them- its a little necklace or a candle or a weirdly niche kpop keychain. a smallie is one tier up from a stocking stuffer it can fit in your purse to go to an office party but still looks right under a tree.