What I Got For Christmas 2025 📖✨ cozy, bookish & winter keepsakes

Hello and Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Happy liminal time between Christmas and New Year's that just feels magical. Recently, I've been going out and I know this is probably just like a thing that we would do here in the US, but I've been going out in my pajamas and yesterday I took myself to a movie. It was the earliest showing of Hamnet. I got myself a donut, some chai and a breakfast burrito and I just took myself to a morning movie. It was so fun. I had the best time. So if you are looking for something to do besides eating all of your Christmas chocolate and watching Christmas films, I highly recommend taking yourself to the earliest movie possible with breakfast in your pajamas. Like I said, I don't know if this is just a US thing, but there were other people there in the morning also in like sweats, lounge wear, pajamas and it was the best time. But anyway, I didn't know if I was going to do what I got for Christmas video this year, but I started getting comments on Instagram and you guys were commenting on YouTube asking me to please do it again this year. I'm so glad you enjoy these videos because I love watching them. I think they're so cozy and I also love getting gift ideas for future Christmases, especially the niche, what I got for Christmas videos. Like if you're getting like a vintage sewing machine or an ant farm or like belts from the Edwardian period or the Titanic Lego set, I wanna see your interests and things that you really like. So I hope that's what my video can be for you. It's not as crazy as that, but these are things that my loved ones and family members have purchased or made or got for me to show that they know me and it means so much. I'm so grateful for every tiny little thing. I'm gonna start with my stocking, which has kind of stretched out over the years because Jared just shoved stuff in it. I don't know how it continues to expand. The first thing that was sitting outside next to my stocking is this tea storage box that looks like a book. You can open it up and on the inside, there are six compartments where you can store your teas. And he was like, you can put it on your bookshelf. So it looks like a book, but really your bookshelf can be infused with little whimsical bits of like teas and candles and trinket boxes that look like books that aren't. And I just thought that was so sweet. He knows that this year is Jane Austen's 250th birthday. He got me a few Jane Austen inspired items. This first one is Jane Austen trivia, 400 questions and answers for every Austenite. I thought this would be so fun to have like on a train ride because if I was with friends, this would be so fun. It's full of a bunch of cards. This one, for example, says name. Sorry, the cats are playing with these plastic bulbs that we got them so that they don't try to get the ornaments off the tree. They have plastic ones that won't break and they've been playing with them so much. Anyway, this card says name the 1995 adaptation of Emma that had the follow-up TV series from 1996 to 1999. That's a series? Clueless was a series? I just know that it's a movie. See, I need to study these. And then he also got me this know your own happiness enamel pin and this tiny book of Jane Austen that I thought was maybe just decoration, but turns out is in fact actually a book. It has pages and they're all full of different quotes from Jane Austen or her books. And there's even a little bookmark. Are you kidding? I didn't even realize that. Wait, it's an ornament. I thought it was a bookmark. Oh my gosh. That makes it even better. Oh my goodness. We're putting this on the tree right now. That's so cute. And then Jared, bless his heart. He got me this book paperweight and he said that I can use it to help hold my books open while I read. He thought it was one of those, those like, what are they called? You know, you can put it on your thumb and it will help you hold your book open while you read. But I was like, babe, this is to hold papers down on your desk. But then he said that he noticed that sometimes when I'm filming, I'll lay a book out to kind of not be a prop, but kind of set the scene in my videos occasionally. And he's like, I noticed that sometimes you struggle to have the book lay open so you can sit this on the book so it will lay flat. That's so thoughtful. He notices that I struggle sometimes with filming my books lay open. And then this is one of my favorite things in my stocking, if not my favorite. It's a tea wallet with a tiny little tea charm on it of a teapot. But you can keep this in your bag, your purse, and put your favorite teas. So if you're ever at a hotel or at a friend's house or somewhere and you need a little pick-me-up and you want one of your favorite teas, you can just pull it right out of your bag. Like, are you kidding me? And then he got me a match, match box. It has a fox and a rabbit, two of my favorite animals. And then he got me, you guys, if you watched my video last year, you saw this. It's my favorite chocolate ever, ever, ever. And I still don't know how to say the name. Compartis, compartis, chocolatier. This is the milk chocolate eggnog. Not only does it taste insane, but the packaging is the most beautiful packaging I've ever seen for a chocolate. It has swans, which I always associate with Christmas time or winter in general. I adore swans, so much so that I will read a book just knowing that it has swans in it or that it's like a swan princess retelling. So I love this, I don't even want to eat it. When we were at our local Christmas market in Salt Lake City, there was a German booth that had a lot of German candies and he got me these, which these are like giant Skittles mixed with like a mento kind of. So good, I like to snack on these when I'm editing. And then he got me two of my favorite Kinder chocolates. The country Kinder chocolates are superior to all the other Kinder chocolates. And then he got me some of the Bueno bars as well, which I also really do love. He also got me my dark chocolate marzipan log. This is my favorite thing to eat at Christmas. Any other chocolate I don't need, but I need dark chocolate marzipan, specifically this brand. I am like salivating just thinking about it. And then he got me this Laneige vanilla lip sleeping mask. It is super dry here in Utah. I usually use like the Aquaphor lip balm, but this is like a luxury lip balm and I love it. And then my dad, he got me some new measuring spoons that are magnetic because he was over the other day and I was telling him how somehow we've lost half of ours. Okay, now I'm moving on from my stocking. I'm gonna start with the gifts that Jared got me. One of the biggest ones being something I screamed at when I unwrapped it. I had no idea he got this. I did put it on my wishlist, but he got me the more fancy version of it, the Pride and Prejudice vinyl. But this is the version that has like all the add-ons. There's this beautiful like booklet at the beginning with behind the scenes from filming. There's quotes, lots of photos, and it's so much information about the film and specifically the music. And then when you go past that, you open up this flap and there's artwork. So there's this of Mr. Darcy walking, and this is not a still from the movie. This is artwork. So there's this one and then this one of Elizabeth by the water. And then there's even more. There is an invitation to the Netherfield Ball and then a Pride and Prejudice 20th anniversary edition bookmark. And then the letter that Jane sends to Lizzie, which I love the attention to the handwriting, the color of the ink. And then on the back, you can see there's like tea stains. I love all those little details. So then we have the actual vinyl in here. Look at this inside. Oh my gosh. I need to get myself to England ASAP. Here's the vinyl. I haven't opened it yet. Should I? I kind of want to see what it looks like. Okay, we're opening it together. Wow. There's more. Oh, there's more photos. Lizzie on top of the world. Wow. Oh, this is stunning. Oh my gosh. I don't know why. Oh, okay. Is it blue? Wait, or pink? Hold on. I'm gonna try to be gentle with how I take this out. It's like a cotton candy color. That's pretty. Not really what I was expecting, but that's really pretty. So this is side one and side two. This was probably one of my biggest gifts. I can't believe he got this for me because I know it sold out. I did have it on my wishlist, like I said, but it was like just this version. And then this was also on my wishlist, not the specific one, but I said that I wanted a Bluetooth landline. So what you do is you can hook this up to your phone via Bluetooth. And when I get a call, it will go directly to this phone and ring like a landline would. I can answer it. And then when I hang up, it will hang up on my iPhone. I'm really trying to go more analog in 2026, meaning less time on my phone, more physical media. It's making me think of Gilmore Girls, but maybe if it was painted like a teal or blue or red or something like that, the white is maybe a little bit too minimalist for Lorelei. And then he got me this beautiful dressing gown or robe, as you would say in the US. It's from Lange of Salzburg. Wait, I might be saying that wrong. I'll link it down below if I can find it. It's this red gingham with this strawberry print around the front. It has this really pretty eyelet detailing and it's not very long, which is nice because I don't have any robes that go to my knees. And then he got me another clothing item. I did ask for this and I might've known this was coming because it came back in stock. I went to Jared and I told him that I really wanna get it for myself, but it was like a week or two before Christmas. So I was like, do you just wanna get it for me for Christmas? I always feel strange buying something for myself like the week before Christmas. So I asked him if he would get it for me. And it is this mock neck Kansas City teddy bear sweatshirt. I told you guys on my last video that I'm a teddy bear girly. So when I saw that this was Kansas City, but on a teddy bear as a Swifty, I had to have it. I also really love this type of mock neck specifically. It makes me think of princess Diana. She always wore the best mock necks and made them look so good. So maybe I can wear this with some biker shorts and some tennis shoes, pull my hair up, go to the gym. And the coolest thing about this is that it's technically two sweatshirts in one with this side just saying Kansas City and it's white and the other side being heather gray with the teddy bear. He also got it for me in a large, which I love, it's extra cozy. And then every year we give each other Christmas money in a Christmas card. Not because we're like giving each other money. It's more about, it feels nostalgic because when we were kids, we'd get Christmas money in a card and then you can go spend it. And this year, none of our relatives gave us Christmas money. We just got gifts or experiences instead. It's just a fun little tradition. And so with my Christmas money, I got myself some puzzles. Like I said, I really want to spend more time off of my phone in 2026. So I'm hoping that puzzles can help me really slow down. I got myself these two puzzles. The first one is a Brambley Hedge picnic preparations puzzle. So I got this one and then I saw this one at Barnes & Noble and I had to get it because this is a rag doll. The puzzle is called Cat Library and there's a bunch of other cats in the library with a bunch of books. It's also 500 pieces and it comes, like it's quite fancy. It comes in a green velvet pouch. And then one more puzzle of a different form. I got these Sudoku puzzles for a sharp mind. I only just started the first one yesterday. Jared had to help me figure it out. I've never played Sudoku before, you guys. I don't know who I am. Like I should know how to play that, but I just want to take this with me in my bag. And if I'm ever waiting somewhere, instead of getting on my phone to scroll, I have this with me instead. And then Jared got me a few books. This one is the one I was most, most excited about. I don't think it's published quite yet in the US, but it is in England. I think he ordered it for me from Blackwell's. It's called Winter, The Story of a Season by Val McDermid. I saw this on Miranda. Oh my gosh, what's her channel's name? Miranda Mills, yes. She has the most cozy seasonal content and she does incredible book recommendation videos. And I saw this in one of her winter recommendation videos and it just sounded like the perfect book to cozy up with, especially during New Year's, going into winter. I've just started it. I'm only a few pages in, but I want to finish this before the new year. I will always read a book about winter and how to romanticize it and enjoy it. These types of books have really helped change my perspective the last like five years. And then he also got me this brand new edition of When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker. I love this art style because sometimes I think that so many romanticy books or fantasy books in general have such typical covers that seem like so similar to each other, but this felt so unique. I love the art style. The spine and even the back, there's just so much detail. Oh my goodness. I'm not a huge fan of these bright edges. Actually, I'm kind of tempted to make them gold to match the gold foiling. I don't know if the blue would come through. I'm waiting for the second book to come out in April so that I can read them back to back. And then this technically wasn't for Christmas. It was for winter solstice, but it was Christmas week. So I'm going to include it as a Christmas present. He got me For the Wolf by Hannah Witton. If you watched, I think it was my last video. I talk about how we do a book exchange on winter solstice. We get each other chocolate and a book. And then we read late into the night. I was so tired on winter solstice. I probably only read the first maybe five chapters. I think it was. I really loved it. It was slow, but beautiful. Felt very much like a fairy tale. It felt very like folkloric, atmospheric. It has forests and monsters. And I think it's going to be perfect to read in the dead of night. Ooh, winter is so cozy. I love it. During winter, it's just candlelight and books and tea and nightgowns and coziness. Goose, are you in the sink again? Cats and their own unique personalities and dynamic. It's crazy. Gatsby will encourage Goose to get in the sink and get any spare bits of food out and then share with him. And then this last thing from Jared is another one of my biggest presents. It is the one thing I've been asking for since probably last spring. I've been saying that I really want a vintage silver tea tray that I can do like Victorian breakfasts on. So this was on my wishlist, but he found this one with a D on it. And then it has the most beautiful floral detailing all around and on the handle. It is heavy. And we got it from Etsy and I think that it's quite old, but I don't think he told me exactly what time period or how old it is. This was just, this was so thoughtful. Such an insane present. I was shocked when I opened this. What could it possibly be? Or like a... It's much bigger than I thought. This is the ones that I put on my wishlist. No, no way. Oh my God. It has a D on it. It's actually like a really old, authentic silver. Look, it even has like scups on it. It's been used before. Who used it before? The handles are flowers. Dad, look, look all around. Look at all, it's all flowers. I've already been using it for my breakfasts most days. Oh, this is perfect. I love it so much. I still look at it every day and I just can't believe that I have it. Moving on from Jared's presents. My dad got me these beautiful, here, I'll just hold up one of them, embossed bowls. You probably can't see very well, but it's embossed up here with little strawberries. I was telling him that I've been wanting pretty bowls for porridge and yogurts. And these are the perfect size. They're not too deep. They're quite wide, which I prefer. And then this didn't come in time, but he got me this Frankenstein book. It's all about the new Guillermo del Toro Frankenstein film that came out this year. Behind the scenes photos and detailing about why they made the creative choices they made. He's so sweet because he said this was my main present, but it wasn't gonna arrive in time for Christmas. So he got me a placeholder, which were these bowls. I told him, dad, you didn't have to get me two. That's too much, but so thoughtful. And then my mom, she always gets us ornaments. And this year she got us these two, this one for me, because she said that I got a lot of lattes this year. This one's for me and this one's for Jared. I think this is a bagel, but she said that it was meant to be a donut because Jared went on a lot of donut runs for me, which is funny because it's true. He did go to the bakery a lot for me this year to get me donuts. And then my mom also made me a photo album with a bunch of photos from my childhood, which is so thoughtful. I didn't know it, but I've always been a cat girl. This kind of looks like our little Mary that we have right now. Tell me this is not the scariest clown costume you've ever seen. Oh my gosh. Anyway, this is so thoughtful and I love it so much. And then she also got me a thrifted sweater that was made in Italy, which she knows I love a good thrifted sweater. I'm not sure what the material is, but it feels really nice. And then my sister got me this beautiful trinket dish with flowers all around the outside. This is incredible. I love this. I always need a trinket dish for jewelry, or honestly, sometimes I put memory cards and little filming bits and bobs in here. I love this. And then she also drew me some snowdrop flowers, which are so cute. I could put this on my bookshelf. And then my sister-in-law got us this puzzle. It's called Flower Shop and it's set during fall. I think she knows that I love fall. So this was really thoughtful. Is this a thousand piece? This is a thousand pieces. So I might have to enlist Jared to help me with this one. So that is everything. Thank you guys so much for being here. I just want to thank you. You being here with me and taking your time to spend it here with me is the greatest gift I could ever ask for, truly. I don't know how I can express it in words to let you know how much your presence here, whether you're liking the video, just watching it, or even taking the time to leave a comment means the world to me. You guys really have been one of my best gifts. And as well as my health being a bit better this year, for those of you who don't know, I still struggle with long COVID or whatever it is that's going on in my body. I have like this internal vibrating that is happening every second of the day, which can feel quite debilitating sometimes. And it's something I've been working on for years with a functional medicine doctor, but we still haven't quite figured out what's causing it yet. But this year I've been okay. And that is a huge gift. I haven't gotten worse. I haven't gotten much better, but it hasn't gotten worse. And that feels like a huge blessing. And I'm so grateful for that. Also, we got the foster kitties this year. We found them in Hawaii while we were there celebrating Jared's birthday. And while it took us all summer to nurse them back to health, which is why there weren't many videos this past summer, it was so rewarding seeing them get healthier and healthier. And now Goose and Pippin are completely healthy. And Mary's still struggling a bit with chronic upper respiratory issues, but for the most part, she's healthy. And that has been an incredible gift. I've got to see and do and experience so many things this year. And those really are the true gifts that I'm going to take with me into the next year. Those are the things that I'm really going to remember and be so grateful that I got to do and experience. I got to go to New York City with Jared. We moved from Rhode Island back to Utah across the country with all of our animals. I just want you to know how grateful I am for you and for this life that we get to live and this planet that we get to experience it on and the beauty of it and the goodness of people's hearts. Those are the things that feel like gifts. When there's so much going on in the world that is heavy, I like to remind myself that the good does still exist and view it as a gift because it is. Anyway, I'm rambling again. I apologize. I wish you the most wonderful time between Christmas and New Year's. I encourage you to go to a morning movie, take your breakfast, sneak it into your bag, like just bring a bag and they won't know. I hope you are resting. I hope you are spending time with loved ones or family or any pets, anything that makes you feel, anyone or anything that makes you feel comfort and happiness and coziness. I hope that is what you're able to be doing right now. I will still be taking a bit of a Christmas holiday until about January 5th and then I will get back to filming and we'll see you with a video probably about mid January. I love you guys so much and I will see you very soon. Bye friends.