Electric Blankets and Shawls (great for winter!)

If you home is old and rather drafty like mine, then you may appreciate the comfort of an electric throw blanket or shawl. I use my Sunbeam Electric Shawl when I am working in my office to take the edge off a chilly morning. It’s great either thrown over my shoulders or across my lap. I use it all the time – and think it would make a great gift!

Few things bring more comfort than a warm blanket! And I have found the Sunbeam Electric Throw Blankets to be more affordable and just as effective at warming up a bed than larger and more expensive electric blankets. My theory is that once the bed is warmed up, you just don’t need the electric heat all night long! The throw blankets have shorter shut off times (3 hours) than the larger bed blankets (usually 10 hours), and this saves energy. I bought two throws in 2017 – The Loft Tech and the Arctic Plush version – and they are still working. Great for you or a wonderful gift for your young adult just heading off to college! I think the faux fur version would also be delightful.

Search for Electric Blankets

Kitchen Scale

When it comes to processing your own chicken at home, it is great to have an accurate weight of the resulting bird, both from a farm production point of view (how many pounds of meat did you produce from a given group of birds) and from a cooking point of view (how long does this roast need to cook based on its weight?). I have been using an Accuweight kitchen scale for this purpose now since 2018 and loving it. It is easy to adjust the settings. It has a large digital display that is easy to read. And most importantly, it is easy to keep clean which is extremely important in the kitchen and when handling raw meat.

Pour Spouts for Canning Jars

Turn any canning jar into a storage jar with a spout using these Mason flip top caps. I like these because they are really sturdy and stand up to repeated opening and closing without losing their sealing properties. Mine have stayed leak proof even with repeated use. I like the Blue and Red ones best, but there are 5 colors to choose from.

Milk Frother

I love this handy little milk frother by Bodum. It makes a great gift for a coffee lover!

Wine Bottle Lights

One of most charming things I have ever tried are solar wine bottle lights. I bought myself a set of three blue light strings and put them into my favorite wine bottles. The cork has the tiny solar panel on it. I have one in my kitchen window and two in my living room window (both east facing). That is sufficient light to charge the mini panel in the bottle cork and when the natural light fades, the string of blue lights turns on for several hours until the charge is used up.

My three strings have been going strong now for over two years and the best part is that there are no batteries to change. You can search for a wide array of strings, colors and options. The blue lights are my favorite. The ambiance they create in a dark room is soothing to me. Just be sure to buy the solar ones so you don’t have to bother with batteries!

Search for Solar Wine Bottle Lights

Baby Gates

I may not have any babies in my household anymore, but I have 4 dogs! And the best gift I ever gave myself was this walk-through baby gate made by Regalo Home Accents. No kidding! It has saved me a lot of headaches controlling my canine companions movements around the house.

I put the walk-through gate in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, and I can lock my dogs in or out of the kitchen as the situation demands. I purchased this gate 4 years ago, and it is still working perfectly. It’s a lot nicer to use than plastic pressure mounted baby gates and it has stood up to pawing and pushing by the dogs (3 shelties and 1 wire fox) so I am pretty sure it can take what a toddler would throw at it.