This post may contain affiliate links. I only promote products I use and love.
Disclaimer: I am not under any obligation from any of these businesses to promote buying gifts from them. I promote them because I like their products/would like to purchase from them in the future. A lot of these companies are also Catholic and Christian based, of which I support whole-heartedly. A few of the products I have used and will be promoting with affiliate links, which I will disclose. Full disclosure here.
And by different, I mean not shop all the mega stores and all the mega sales. Those are nice, and I’m sure something will come from those. But I really want to focus on the small business spectrum.
Ever since I started working from home as a blogger and a virtual assistant, I feel the need to give back to all of these innovative men and women who have the guts to strike out on their own.
In that regards, here’s where I am going with this. I did this quite a bit for last years gifts, and I want to continue the trend and encourage you to do the same!
-Small business (brick and mortar or online)
-Online entrepreneurs (often selling really awesome products!)
-Etsy shop owners (I know a few with some great personalized options)
-Direct sales consultants (Everyone knows at least one; utilize them!)
I will try to put them into categories so you can get a better feel for what types of businesses are great places to buy gifts from. I’m trying to hit all the gift-giving trends here, so be patient with me!
You have to check out this amazing makeup and skincare company. I am now a consultant myself, since the products have proven to be very high-performing and safer than most other options out there.
Beautycounter’s mission is for everyone to be able to use clean beauty and not have to worry about harmful ingredients in beauty products. They have promised to never use over 1500 ingredients that could harm consumers.
In any regard, if you have a desire to gift anyone (or yourself) with safer, cleaner pampering products this Christmas, head on over and buy from this awesome consultant (yours truly) if you don’t already have one!
I guarantee these products will be awesome, and they refund you (within 60 days) even if you used all the product and wasn’t satisfied.
Need some recommedations on my favorite products?
My 5 Favorite Beautycounter Products
The Best Beautycounter Makeup Tutorials
Another skincare company, focusing on everything from essential oils to body butter to room sprays. This direct sales company has amazing natural scents, and they never use parabens or other fillers in their products. Pretty great stuff.
I have personally used their lotion bars, their salt scrub, lotions, and shower gel, all of which I loved.
Most of you are going to be familiar with Mary Kay, and you will be familiar with someone who probably sells Mary Kay. I don’t use all of their products but their mascara is to die for! (Mascara is a definite staple in my makeup bag!)
I also love their Chromafusion blush. I use the Rosy Nude color!
They just released an all natural skincare (Mary Kay Naturally) line that looks glamorous and refreshing!
Yes, you know what I’m going to say. Shop your consultant, but if you need a fantastic one, check out mine! (I might just know her)
I love getting hair-care items from Azure Standard* (referral link), and Just Ingredients.
Safer, better, and usually a really good deal.
While I have never had the pleasure of meeting this jewelry maker in person, these pieces of art are astounding. The jewelry pieces are very unique and can be custom-ordered for whatever kind of gift you are looking for.
She creates rosaries as well, of all kinds. Her primary influence is butterflies, nature, and often with a New Mexican flair.
She created a Rosary for my godson last spring for his First Communion. It was beautiful!
This small online business has some beautiful items in their store. Cups, jewelry, key chains, postcards, buttons, bookmarks, you name it.
This seller also has a variety of products to choose from, and they are all centered around Catholic values, saints, and prayers. So, so cool!
The prices are quite reasonable, as well. Plus, I love the name Pink Salt Riot.
This amazing artist features all kinds of printables, prints, coloring pages, and whatnot you can access (many for free) in her website and shop.
She even creates Christmas cards for the only time of the year when you send your family something in the mail, right? They are beautifully hand-crafted pieces of works, and anything she creates would make great gifts or a reason to spruce up your own home.
A super fun direct sales company inspiring the creativity in you! You can purchase transfers, chalk paint, and a squeegee to create masterpieces on nearly any surface you wish to.
The concept is cool, and the result is even more fabulous. You get to give the gift of creativity, or get creative yourself and gift your outcome. Win/win in the artist world!
Sorry, guys, I had to put a plug in here. I make pretty printables for the home that help keep your space inspired.
I’m also working on some new collections and helpful printables for the home, too!
Check them out in my digital shop!
A small selection of books appropriate for ages 1-4. Cute books, hard books for durability, and ones that will be good for your child.
They are dedicated to creating books with the right words, colors, and illustrations to help your child’s brain development. I didn’t even know such an amazing thing existed.
We purchased these last Christmas for our kids. I tell you, they want us to read them all the time! And each book has a tune you can sing them to! They definitely loved that part.
But here it is, they are running a sale right now, too! (limited time!)
While Chews Life offers jewelry and gemstone products, the main reason I looked at them was their teethers.
They have a whole line of soft products for mom to wear that are safe for baby, plus a variety of baby teethers.
My sister gifted us with an adorable bracelet Rosary, and I recently purchased a momma necklace that’s safe for the baby to chew on.
ThredUp is dedicated to providing you with an opportunity to shop secondhand high-quality, brand name women’s and kids’ clothing. They might be used, but a lot of them look and feel brand new. They even have some finds with the tags still on, usually at about 50% off or more. (up to 70% off on sales)
They believe in recycling and reusing, just like I do! And…if you are addicted to the hunt of finding the perfect pair of jeans at just the right price, this might be the place to check out! It is thrilling to search and search for the perfect piece, and ThredUp adds about 15 THOUSAND new finds to their website every day…Whoo!
ThredUp offers a Goody Box for only $10, where you can favorite 10 finds to put in and try on, or you can have a stylist pick out finds for your. On top of that, you can purchase bulk items for a super low price, or even bid on super high quality brand name items. They have everything.
For those of you who like organic kids’ clothing like Hanna Andersson, this is a great place to look as well. You can narrow down your search for as specific as you want. They have four warehouses, so the possibilities are endless.
Also, the best part, if you want to clean out your closet, they will send you a bag free of charge in the mail. If your brand-name, high-quality clothing gets accepted, you will earn credit to use in your future ThredUp purchases.
Do you like buying products direct from the makers instead of going through a third party and paying extra? Me, too!
Enter Azure Standard. You can buy all kinds of organic produce, dry goods, freezer, and fridge goods as well as cleaning, baby, household, and gardening items. Whoa, it’s a lot, I know, and it’s really hard to not get carried away.
There are some really cool specialty items and a lot to get excited about if you like gluten-free or non-GMO or organic or just plain better for you food!
This list is all of the brands that Azure sells!
They do deliveries to a town near you (hopefully!) or you can pay a bit extra to have it shipped to you directly.
You can shop through my link if you like.*
My share code is GessicaTastove1.
If you haven’t heard of Norwex, you need to! They offer fantastic cleaning products that clean with just water. That’s right, only water. And proven to get surfaces cleaner than with a bunch of fancy chemical-laced cleaning solutions.
It’s not just cleaning products, they offer bath-time and laundry solutions as well.
My favorite products so far are the dish detergent, the dishrags, the microfiber cleaning rag, and the dust mitt. I am hoping to purchase an ultimate mop system soon!
My fantastic consultant would love your business, or find someone in your area!
Online courses are more of self-gift, but I bet you could do this for your spouse or something if they wanted to continue their education or learn something new. They are hot right now for expanding knowledge and learning all kinds of things.
Usually just doing a search in Google for what kind of skill you want to learn will result in many options. Here are a few that I have taken that have done some awesome things for me as a blogger/Virtual Assistant.
The ultimate best course* for learning how to help others (or yourself) with Pinterest success. (*affiliate link). Taught by Gina Horkey and Kristin Larsen, it is a great online gift to give or get.
This is a great niche business to get yourself into as Pinterest is a hot thing right now, and people are actively looking for others to help them grow their business on it!
They only have open enrollment a couple times a year, but you’ll want to be on the waitlist! Once you are in, you have lifetime access.
In the process of waiting for the actual course, you can buy products from the PVA Shop to jumpstart your PVA business.*
This was the initial course I took when I first was interested in becoming a VA. Gina Horkey and her crew are incredible at giving you value in this online course.
This course is more for those who like to offer any type of administrative service to a business or blogger or whoever needs it. The field is a lot wider with this option but often harder to find the right fit for you as a VA.
Still, many people are outsourcing to people who work from home on their computers. Perhaps you have a New Years Resolution to complete? Go get ’em!
Here I introduce Suzi from Start a Mom Blog.
Courses from this amazing lady have been a godsend in my blogging ventures. She offers so many options, from niche to email list to course creation to themes.
I have been satisfied with all of her products and courses so far. If you ever feel like starting a mom blog for money, she is a person I would send you to right away.
While you don’t have to do everything she says, she offers a great guideline for being on the right track when it comes to monetizing your enticing blog.
If you or someone you know is a Catholic cantor, or wants to become one, my other website, Spiritual Cantor, has a Catholic Cantor Training Ebook and course!
It will help any aspiring cantor to know all the basics, as well as additional tips and tricks to becoming a more confident, well-rounded cantor.
Related articles:
How We Are Doing Christmas This Year
Why I Use Honest and why I switched from Honest
How I Downsized My Wardrobe from Teacher to SAHM
27 Things I Do…Now That I’m a Mom
My friend Sheila Cronin wrote a perfect Christmas book for you to check out and perhaps purchase for the book lover in your life.
A quick synopsis: The Gift Counselor, winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award, tells of a Catholic single mom who helps people choose good gifts, her ten-year-old son who wants a dog she won’t let him have, and the man who enters their lives one December. Set in Santa Monica in the 1990s, this mix of romance, family drama, spiritual and psychological insights is served with light humor. Book club recommended. Suitable for young adults. The book is available in paperback or kindle format at most online book stores.
Think of it this way. You are finding and giving great gifts on your end, but you are also giving the gift of support and help for these small businesses. There are so many ways in which buying small or from direct sales is changing the lives of people you know!
Giving to mega stores with all of their generic products? Necessary at times, but not always personable. Or sustaining, since many of those products are made overseas, and a lot of those companies are already multi-billion dollar industries.
Just think about Christmas with a different kind of gift this year. I know I am going to.
Happy shopping!
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