My Favorite Gift Guides of 2015

Its that time of year again! The holidays are well on their way and its time to start crossing folks off my gift list. Every year it seems like I hit a wall after a few days of trying to gift shop. All of a sudden it seems like all the stores have the same gifts and none of them are really all that cool - or I realize I've spent about five hours browsing items on Amazon and I can no longer see straight. It doesn't really help me feel all holly jolly. THis year I'm working on a different strategy though. Not only have I found a few amazing gift guides but I've decided to get it done way before the last week before Christmas.

Feeling a little overwhelmed (or lost) about your gift list this year? Here are four of my favorite gift guides this year to help get you started.

1. A Mighty Girl: Girl Empowerment Gift Guide
Sort through more than 2,500 girl-empowering toys featured on A Mighty Girl. They even have a separate list for stocking stuffers! You can sort through gifts by age or category and when you use their Amazon link to purchase the perfect gift, you help support the nonprofit (without any extra cost to you).

Some of my favorite gifts include, the Critter Clinic (an adorable little veterinary clinic that helps with color-coding and coordination), the Box Creations Pirate Ship (easy to assemble and store corrugated cardboard pirate ship which your little ones can color/design themselves), and the LeapFrog Number Lovin' Oven (a super cute little oven that lets kids play cook while practicing numbers, sharing, and vocabulary).

2. The Serious Eats Gift Guide
From the cocktail lover to the cook who has everything, this site has a gift guide for everything food related! A few of my favorite selections include the Mastering Pasta cookbook, the High Output Torch, and the Adjustable Jar Opener. They even have Food and Cocktail Themed Lip Balm (perfect for stocking stuffers)!

3. Modern Parents Messy Kids Gift Guides
They have a guide for pretty much every situation. From the Best Toys for Getting Energy Out While Stuck Inside list to the Best Toys for Building STEM Skills list, I promise you will find what you're looking for. My personal favorites are the Code Master Programming Log Game for ages 8+ and the Yoga Pretzels for ages 4+.

4.Unusual and Unique Gifts for Men, Women and Kids (Drool'd)
OK this list is just super fun. The prices range from way out of my budget for gifts ($1700) to hello stocking stuffers ($1+). A few of my favorite items on this list include the Bar Bones Cocktail Strainer, the Scratch Off Travel Map (a map that lets you scratch off different places), the Sphero BB-8 App-Enabled Droid (an interactive Star Wars droid that you control with your smart phone), and the sassy but adorable Solar Powered Critter Lights. I mean really...how can you not love these guys?

Do you have a go-to holiday gift guide? Send it over my way! I am still trying to nail ideas down for about four or five people. If you're just starting your search now - happy hunting! Hopefully these lists help you get off to a good start.