Christmas Gift Ideas Meant for Your Partner

We realized in all of this new house hubbub we never shared what we gifted each other for Christmas. Fishsticks! (No, we did not give each other fishsticks, I am simply practicing our resolution to not curse around the baby anymore).

Sherry wins the “best gift” award this year. In continuing her efforts to grow our art collection, she considered a couple of Richmond-themed pieces (including this one that we have consistently liked) and at last ended up getting me this excellent Richmond Type Map:

It is a colorful map of our fair city made up entirely of identifying text. See what I mean?

The black grid is made up of street names and the colored area behind them are the neighborhoods. So if you are equal parts Richmond enthusiast, map connoisseur, and typography lover (like me) it is in short the gift trifecta. Oh, and some of the proceeds of each map go to a local kids art charity called Art180. We have not picked out the ideal spot for it in the house yet, so for now it is joining the pile of frames in the family room that are sitting around waiting to be hung.

I was a close second (aka last place) for the “best gift” distinction this year. Given Sherry’s growing enjoy of tea-drinking I at last got her a proper tea kettle (no more microwaving) and two new mugs. The kettle is the Chantal Loop in cobalt blue (which seems to be our color of the moment given that it is in fact fairly similar to the backs of our built-ins). And the “Tunnel Vision” mugs are from an NYC-based dishware shop called Fishs Eddy. I figured it was a pleasant nod to the city where we met (NY) and the state where Sherry was born and raised (Jersey, baby).

Of course gift giving is not truly a competition. But if it were, there is one area in which we’d tie. When my sister drew Sherry’s name in our “Petersik Sibling Gift Exchange” (which keeps the adults in our family from going present-crazy because we each simply have one person to shop for) I suggested that she get Sherry a new Three Designing Women stamper with our new address on it (we both enjoyed saving our hand and using our old one to mail out things like thank yous and holiday cards). Sherry apparently had the same thought and ordered one for me too, which I opened about ten seconds after she opened hers.

Since they are customized gifts we cannot exactly return one, but at least we chose two distinct designs (my sister ordered the design on top, Sherry ordered the one on the bottom). So for now we have chose to simply enjoy being able to mix things up when it comes to stamping our return address on stuff. And Sherry in fact loves the one on top more than the one she chose, so she’s glad about the whole overlapping gift snafu.

So that is how we Santa’d each other this year (well, with a little assist from my sister). What about you folks? We’d enjoy to hear what you folks scored – especially if it is home related. Any ceramic animals?

Update: You can check out all of our go-to holiday decor finds here – many of which are under $15!