I rounded up 10 books that make great gifts for new moms (or even dads), whether you’re looking to make them laugh, feel all warm and fuzzy, or calm their nerves with some bestselling advice. 

When I gave birth to my first daughter, I was completely terrified. I had no idea what to expect. I mean, I knew I would give birth and that it would be somewhat painful and that there would be a tiny person that I had to take care of and teach how to be a good human at the end of it all. That stuff was scary enough on its own, but what about all of the unknowns?!

I grabbed all of the books I could get my hands on and, with a highlighter and notebook at my side (in true nerd fashion), dove right in.

In a lot of ways, it helped me. It let me get a better understanding of the things I could learn about (baby gear, changes to expect in my body, etc), which made things slightly less overwhelming. I just wish that instead of only reading practical books full of tips and facts, I also read from parents in the thick of it. Parents laughing at the absurdity of it all would have helped to take the edge off. Parents writing about their uncertainty would have made me feel less alone.

I try to keep all of this in mind when I talk to new or soon-to-be moms. There are so many things they might need reassurance about. Books come in handy for that and make great gifts for new moms.

That said, try to think a little bit about what they might need reassurance about. Has she been worrying about how she’ll get baby to sleep? Is she so nervous that she’s taking everything too seriously? Does she have that deer in the headlights look that seems to say what the hell did I get myself into?! These are all things to keep in mind before gifting a momma-to-be a book (which, by the way, you should totally pair with a gift to pamper her, like this homemade body butter).

To help you out, I found ten books that get rave reviews and broke them into categories.

Need a quick, easy gift idea for the holidays? I like to put together a few easily personalizable gifts to have on hand in a pinch when I inevitably forget to grab a gift for someone on my list. These hot cocoa mug kits are the perfect solution. Oriental Trading provided me with products for review, but all opinions are my own.

I’m one of those people who is either totally prepared and on the ball or so far from it that I didn’t even know the damn ball existed. It leaves me astonishingly prepared for some things (like having a full roll of paper towels in the car when my daughter got sick all over the back seat) and mind-bogglingly unprepared for others (toothpaste? Who needs toothpaste?!).

Talking to other moms, many of us seem to be in the same boat. Some days we feel superhuman. All the school forms are signed, appointments are kept, and we even manage to bake a batch of cookies. Other days (most days?) we’re just a hot mess and trying to keep the boat afloat. We forget to do the laundry, burn dinner, and totally space on picking one of the kids up from school. This is what balance really looks like.

Since I know myself and am completely aware of my strengths and my shortcomings, I generally try to take advantage of those rare moments when I’m hyper-organized and feeling productive. This little trick is sure to come in handy for you too.

A quick, easy gift idea to have on hand for holiday gift giving

During the holiday season, there are so many things to keep track of: what gifts need to be bought, who you need to buy them for, what party falls on what day. It’s a lot. And I always remember someone I wanted to give a gift to at the last possible moment. To save myself from completely melting down, I’ve started putting together a small batch of quick and simple gifts that can be adapted to just about any recipient.

This year I partnered with Oriental Trading to create simple hot cocoa mug kits.

Since we have friends and family who celebrate different holidays, I decided to go with a cute and cozy winter theme instead of tailoring our gifts to a particular holiday. Oriental Trading has an abundance of adorable snowflake options in different shades of blue that I thought would work for any age or gender.

The base of this gift is the winter snowflake mug (which comes in a set of six). Each of the gifts I’m creating will also include hot cocoa mix and marshmallows. From there, it can be customized depending on your recipient. For your boozy brunch friend, you might want to add a candy cane spoon and a tiny bottle of alcohol. For your kids’ bus driver you can throw in some homemade cookies. The possibilities for personalization are endless!

Every year my friends and I get all of our spouses and kids together for a big, fat (loud) holiday party. The kids run around like sugared-up wildebeests while the grownups participate in a hilarious (and sometimes inappropriate) white elephant gift exchange. We work really hard to find the most out there, ridiculous products imaginable and end up with sore cheeks from all of the laughter.

Sometimes called a Yankee Swap, white elephant gift exchanges are a lot of fun. In case you’re not familiar with them, here’s how we do it. We set a price limit (usually $20) and we each buy a gag gift. We wrap the gift and bring it to the party. When it’s time to exchange, we put everyone’s name into a hat. Each person chooses a gift and opens it, but the person who comes next can choose to unwrap a new present or steal one of the opened presents.

It’s a lot of fun.

To be honest though, the fun starts while shopping for your gift. Since I can spend hours poring through gag gifts to find the perfect gift, I thought I’d share a few of the funniest ones I found to make your white elephant gift hunt a little easier.

7 White Elephant Gift Ideas That Are Guaranteed to Make You Laugh

I don’t know about you, but my kids have reached the Holy Crap We Have Too Many Toys and I Have No Idea Where We Can Cram Any More stage. The struggle is real and it’s something I keep in mind when I buy things for other people’s kids. Before I shell out cash, I try to ask myself: does it stand out on its own or will it just get lost in a sea of stuff? Lately, I’ve turned to teaching toys because, more often than not, they do stand out on their own.

A really good teaching toy is one that is stealthy. Kids are learning without even realizing that they’re learning (otherwise cries of booooriiiiiiiing! will ruin things), but they still get that confidence-boosting rush when they realize they’ve figured something out on their own. That feeling is kind of addictive and will make kids continue to seek out things that give them that feeling—more learning.

To help you out when hunting for the perfect gift, I put together a list of nine of my favorite learning toys. These toys are for a variety of ages and price ranges and I’m pretty sure there’s something here for everyone!

9 fun, kid-approved teaching toys

This post contains affiliate links

I recently perfected the recipe for the best DIY body butter ever—the mother of all DIY body butters, if you will. Get your pinning finger ready, because you are definitely going to want to save this one for later!

I originally posted a recipe for a creamy, luxurious DIY body butter just in time for Mother’s Day back in 2013. It was pretty awesome, but it had one drawback: you had to refrigerate it in the warmer months to keep it from melting because it was coconut-oil based. Now, I love me some coconut oil so I was not about to eliminate it from the recipe. But I did find a way to make it hold on to its creaminess.

Today, I’m completely updating that post to give you an even better recipe that doesn’t require refrigeration and that makes the perfect budget-friendly gift for any lady in your life (yourself included) who might need a little pampering.

My daughters, who are experts in the art of papering, are obsessed with this stuff and have been slathering it all over themselves ever since I made it. Note to self: double the recipe next time and stash some where they can’t find it! 😉