A First Look at Holiday Season 2022.

I hope the title of this post did not elicit too many groans. (We’re not even to Halloween! If you’re still firmly in early fall mode, though, I shared all my favorite Halloween finds here.)

However! I was startled by how many of you have been asking me where to buy stockings, tree toppers, and Advent wreaths! And our tree topper (which sells out every year) is already sold out. Pro tip: these tiny boxwood wreaths (similar to those seen above) can work across all four season — just swap out the ribbon. They’re beautiful hung in windows, over the backs of chairs, at place settings, etc!

Today, I thought I’d speak to my fellow “anticipators” by sharing a couple of fantastic buys worth purchasing ahead of time. I have found that stocking holders are particularly difficult to find the closer you get to December, and several items below are personalized!

01. FELT SUBWAY ORNAMENT. I bought Mr. Magpie one of these right before we left Manhattan and it’s now a complete treasure for us. The quality of the ornaments from this felt ornament shop is incredible — they make such great keepsake gifts. Good to order ahead as these take awhile to arrive. For those looking for a great starter set of ornaments, Mr. Magpie and I bought two big sets of shatterproof metallic ornaments from Martha Stewart’s brand when we were first married and have been adding to our more personalized collection of ornaments every year since. This is a really great “starter pack.”

02. FIG AND DOVE MONOGRAMMED WREATH SASH. I love the polish and personalization this affords a front door wreath. Gorgeous! Thinking this might be a good gift for my mother in law this year.

03. WEMO SMART PLUG. Makes turning off the Christmas tree lights so easy. No more crouching behind the tree with your cheek pressed to the wall, groping around for the plug. With this plug, you can configure with Siri and then just shout, “Hey Siri, turn off the Christmas tree!”

04. KRINNER TREE GENIE. I rave about this contraption every year and — well — over 7000 five-star reviews on Amazon do not lie. If you’ve ever tried to put a live tree into one of those flimsy plastic stands you buy at “the tree guy’s,” your life is about to get much better. This makes it SO easy. No messy screws. No tipping base. No more marital disputes as one crouches at the basin while the other holds the bushy tree upright — only to have the tree stand crooked all season long. Surprise your husband with this and wait for the applause.

05. FIG AND DOVE TREE TOPPER AND/OR ORNAMENTS. Just gorgeous. Would have gone with this if we didn’t have our (sold out now) Cody Foster.

06. REINDEER STOCKING HOLDERS. I have a very similar set with reindeer that I adore, though ours are bronzed like these rather than polished. I really like the shape/silhouette of the reindeer that come in the Company Store set though. You can get the look for a little less with these.

07. PERSONALIZED HOME PORTRAIT ORNAMENT. This is such a sweet gift for new homeowners — or a gift for yourself as a recent homeowner! These take over a month to paint, FYI!

08. WOVEN TREE COLLAR. This sold out quickly last year — only $40 at Target. Lots of higher end options, too, including this one from Crate and Barrel, in case you want to upgrade.

09. ADVENT WREATH. I love the simple style. This particular vendor charges a lot to ship this to the U.S., but hear me out — if you buy the exact same one elsewhere, it is nearly twice the price to begin with, pre-shipping. Don’t forget the purple and pink candles! For those curious about the tradition: we light the Advent wreath every single night after dinner during the four weeks leading up to Christmas, starting with just one candle, and adding an additional candle each week that passes. We light the pink one the third week of Advent, as a reminder that we are meant to be especially anticipatory as we are drawing close to the nativity. In our house, we light the candles and then sing “O Come O Come Emmanuel” every night of Advent. The children love blowing out the candles and singing the song.

10. TARTAN EASY CARE MAT. Great for kitchen, front door, backdoor, etc.

11. HAND-CARVED WOODEN NATIVITY SET. This is absolutely gorgeous and speaks to the Montessori aesthetic. This colorful peg doll set ($20 at Target!) and this PBK set would be a great options for little hands to play with, too. Every year, we leave a wooden set out on the coffee table and the children play with it all season long. A great way to invite them into the story of Christmas.

12. ADVENT CALENDAR. This one with the stockings is so cute! We have a tradition where we tie a small gift onto the advent calendar each day of Advent. Sometimes these are really small — a Hershey kiss, some new crayons — and sometimes they are a little more substantive. I also love this personalized Advent calendar from Etsy.

13. CHUNKY KNIT STOCKING. Hygge!

14. VELVET CHRISTMAS STOCKING. This is the most similar to the set we have from Pottery Barn, which is very similar to this current season design from PB. I didn’t link the PB one because I feel like their embroidery has gone way down in quality in the last few years. I’ve had to complain and ask for a replacement for a few things because the script/embroidery was so bad! Anyhow, the LL Bean is simple and timeless.

15. PERSONALIZED NEEDLEPOINT STOCKING. Comes in several different designs. At $29/pop, these are the most cost-effective way I’ve seen to getting that “grandma needlepointed this” look.

16. EMBROIDERED BIRD STOCKING.

17. SFERRA NEEDLEPOINT STOCKINGS. Love the designs on these higher end needlepointed beauties.

18. BAUBLE STOCKINGS TOPIARY AND WREATH STOCKINGS. Note that these are tiny — they are actually meant to be “bauble stockings,” meaning planted on the tree with a tiny jewelry box inside!

P.S. Fall home finds.

P.P.S. Favorite fall baking recipes.

P.P.P.S. My favorite baking gear.