Rosy BVM’s 2023 Holiday Gift Guide

Each year, I find it gratifying to put together a suggested holiday gift guide list to consider using as a reference for your holiday gifting. I think, thematically, holiday shopping can be stressful, as there is a short duration for folks to compile gifts in their life for their loved ones if they celebrate in this way (as we often may not keep this in the back of our minds throughout the year), and thus, the holiday shopping that ensues may not be the most suitable items for your loved ones. Ideally, you are saving and buying things over the course of the year for your loved ones that you find special for them along the way; this can easily avoid the haphazard hastiness of holiday shopping. Nonetheless, the holiday gift guide is one that I have found fascinating to craft each year, as it thematically ties together trends that I saw over the course of the year and also heading into the new year.

This year in particular, there is a continued theme around wellness and how we should be emphasizing how important it is to value the wellness of yourself and your loved ones. Showing your loved ones that you care for their wellbeing can be in simple gestures, and certainly never requires a tangible gift – it can be in a passing statement that you’re proud of them or that you see they are working hard and should remember to be kind themselves, too. I have become a believer in “talismans,” little signs for you to remember that “magic” exists in the sense that you are part of a greater schematic in this life that is relatively unclear what the grander purpose is, but it is absolutely special and you are equally special being apart of it. For a talisman that I have honed in on this year, I became enamored with shells and the various meanings behind shells. I particularly honed in on the nautilus shell, and how its spiral shape represents patterns and life itself.

I think you can translate the concept of a talisman very smoothly to the interests of those in your life. For example, you can buy them a deck of cards like The Secret‘s Manifestation Cards, or you can buy essential oils for aromatherapy (it is a simple gesture that reminds someone of wellness). Often, it is in the little gestures, and the little moments, that we find the deepest meaning over the course of time. There are science backed studies which emphasize the importance of essential oils being pure and high quality for the impact it has when smelling the scent for most positive effects on your brain and your nervous system as a whole. Our sensory lives are entire entities – we can choose to ignore our sensory experiences or we can use our sensory experience in this life to fully embrace just how beautiful and special this life is for each and every one of us. The world has darkness, no doubt, but I also believe it is our own responsibility and duty for the others in our lives to do our best to embrace every moment as it comes in sincere and mindful ways.