Favourite Things Gift Guide

No one wants to get or give a gift that they won’t use.  Am I right?  In this “favourite things gift guide,” we’re dishing on our own personal favourites we actually own and use every day.  These are items that we’ve either purchased or received from loved ones as gifts and they are all things that make our lives easier and better.  If you’re looking for more specific ideas, check out our other gift guides.

Let’s not waste time talking about it.  Let’s just dive right into Dashboard Living’s favourite things.

Favourite THINGS GIFT GUIDE

1. Local Spirits

Unless the people on your list don’t drink (or entertain those who do), local spirits, wines and craft beers are always a great gift idea.  Not only does this kind of gift support local businesses but it also elevates any gathering to have local products on hand!

Some of our local favs include Coldstream Clear and Stillfired Distillery (for spirits).

2. Bose Sound Link

This  Bose Sound Link Mini was a gift that totally wasn’t on my wish list but that I received a couple of years ago.  Since then, I’m sure I’ve used it every single day!  The sound is spectacular, it’s small enough to travel with but robust enough to be durable and it holds a charge for a long time.  They also make a mini waterproof version which I think might be better – although I haven’t switched yet because the original soundlink has lasted forever!

3. No-Waste Bath & Body Products

In the name of sustainable consumption and carry-on-only travel, I’ve completely switched over to solid bath and body products like shampoo bars, natural deodorants, stick body butter and even solid perfume bars.  After trying MANY different companies, I’ve landed on two that I really like from LOCAL companies!

• Upfront Cosmetics makes the dreamiest lotion bars (I’m obsessed with the peppermint) along with shampoos, conditioners, hair masks and more.
• Bubbles & Balms is a superhero for folks (like me) with wickedly dry skin.  My current obsession is with their bath bombs but I’ve also been using their shampoo (and loving it) for over two years now.

4.  LifeStraw

For years, we were stuck on Yeti’s and S’well bottles as our favs and while we still like those (and use them all the time), I’m also OBSESSED with the Lifestraw personal filtration systems for travel.  How many times do we arrive at a hotel and ask “Can we drink the water?”.  This bottle solves that problem and gives you clean, fresh drinking water on the go, no matter what.

5.  Our Favourite Books

We read a lot.  All different genres.  But, one of the most impactful things we’ve done in our business and our lives has been to take personal development and self-mastery very seriously.  This past year, we committed to reaching at least 12 personal development books.  We did that, and more.  Here are some of our favourites.

Personal Development Books We Loved

Other Books We Loved This Year

6. Local Food Gifts

Another easy choice for those “hard to buy for” folks on your list is something consumable like a gift pack from your favourite local producer.  Here are a few favs of ours this year:

• Hot Under The Kilt Cajun Seasoning (from the Kilted Chef)
• Mary Had a Lot of Lamb (from Big Cove Foods)

7.  Restaurant Gift Cards

It’s no secret that we love exploring new restaurants in Halifax (and beyond).  You can’t go wrong with a gift card to a great local resto and it’s even better if you facilitate booking time to spend with the receiver of those cards and go together!  Here are a few of our current favs:

• Mercantile Social (get the portabello steak…trust me)
• Gahan (always a reliable pub) – note: Murphy Hospilatiaty is running their annual “buy $50, get $10” promo!
• Salt & Ash (get the pizza)
• Le Caveau at Grand Pre (award-winning, for good reason)

8.  JORD Watches

I don’t own many watches but this one is a STUNNER and I love it!  Watches are a classic gift but handcrafted timepieces as unique as these JORD watches take things to another level.  They even come in a humidor wooden watch box!

9.  Our Most Worn Shoes

As travellers, it’s always a battle between style and function.  These are our most worn shoes of 2023:

10.  SPA ANYTHING

Fella’s, listen to me!  Never again say these words in reference to any woman in your life: “She’s so hard to shop for”.  NO.  She. Is. Not.  Follow these simple steps and you’ll be the hero of the holidays:

1. Go to your local spa
2. Buy any service or package
3. Put it under the tree

You’re welcome.

11.  Unique Experiences

Our experience gift guide is the place to be for all things “experience gifts” but we do have a couple of favourites to highlight.  First, we ADORE the J Farwell Sunset Wine & Cheese tour.  We’ve been on their boats more than once and it’s always an amazing experience.  We are thrilled that they’re offering you, dearest reader, a special discount that they NEVER offer.

Where to book: Online using our EXCLUSIVE link

Here are a few other experiences we’ve had this past year that we loved:

• Food & Wine Tours with Grape Escapes
• Self-guided bike tours with iheartbikes (note: it doesn’t appear they offer gift cards but it would be worth calling)
• George’s Island Picnic with Ambassatours

12.  Charging Station

We get SO many comments on this.  My Dad (shout out to my pops) gave us this last year and we thought it was just brilliant.  I think I can speak for all of us when I say that having a zillion chords and plugs all over the house for all of your devices is just annoying.  This charging station is awesome and lets us keep everything organized (and charged) in one place.  We love it.

13.  Gratitude Journal

You may have noticed we’ve been talking more about personal mastery and growth on the blog as of late.  That’s because it’s a topic we both take very seriously and also one that has transformed our lives.  This gratitude journal is a great place to start.  It’s quick, easy to use and creates a scenario where you walk through your day EXPECTING good things to happen.  And guess what?  They do!  I think this would be a super thoughtful gift for anyone on your list this year.  I’m also loving the Doodle Lovely journals from a local maker!

 

We hope this gift guide of some of our personal favourite things helps you find meaningful gifts for the people in your life too!  Let us know in the comments below if this was helpful!

 

Disclosure:  Some of the links in this gift guide are affiliate links and we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.  This post is not sponsored and everything we talked about here are things we actually own and love!  The commissions we earn from these affiliate links help us maintain this site so we can keep creating awesome free content for you!