13 Things to Gift Yourself and Therefore, Your Entire Family

If your well-loved double stroller seems to be on its last legs (or your older kids just refuse to be contained with harnesses anymore), it might be time for an upgrade. And while there are certainly higher-end wagons to consider, we’ve had great experiences with this less expensive one that still keeps kids comfortable with a shade cover, mosquito netting, cupholders, and more. ({{dynamicPrice}}, Amazon)

This is one of those things you may think about every few months, and decide not to spend the money on—but in the long term, it’s bound to make your family dinners easier and possibly even healthier overall. It’s especially good at making frozen foods quickly and keeping them crisp (so, a parent’s dream), and roasting proteins and vegetables with little or no oil. Believe us, you won’t regret it. ({{dynamicPrice}}, Amazon)

Take a few minutes to scan Thrive Market’s lineup, and if you see even a few products you already buy regularly or want to test out, a membership will likely pay for itself in just a few months. Stock up on well-priced favorites like non-dairy milk, spices, baking ingredients, and healthy snacks, all shipped straight to your door. ($12/month or $59.95/year, Thrive Market)

Every once in a while, it’s time to refresh your stained, flattened, or otherwise worn-out pillows — and these down alternative pillows with a cotton cover are crowd favorites. They can also be machine-washed and -dried. ({{dynamicPrice}}, Amazon)

Spills are inevitable. So you can either practice radical acceptance, pay to get all the fabric surfaces in your home professionally cleaned, or take matters into your own hands. The third option is a good happy medium between constant mess and spending lots of money, and this handheld steamer gets rave reviews for keeping couches, carpets, stair runners, and more clean. ({{dynamicPrice}}, Amazon)

This stick vacuum is a real beast — especially when you consider how small and light it is. It’s easy to tote all over the house, does a more effective vacuuming job than many bigger plug-in vacuums we’ve used, and has an hour of run time per charge, so you won’t feel like you’re constantly losing power. If your house, like ours, is covered with a fine dust of cracker crumbs by the end of every day, it’s a must. ($569.99, Target)

You may have sworn to yourself that you’d never waste time with an ironing board — but we all need to get the wrinkles out of clothing now and then. This clever handheld option takes up almost no space and is easy to use for quick clothing fixes before big events. For example, all those school holiday concerts you have coming up. ($120, Nori)

If you’ve already spent the money on a family photoshoot — or you just have some favorite shots you’ve been meaning to hang for a while — take this opportunity to finally invest in some nice frames. With 12 different frame sizes and six colors to choose from, these should fit in with whatever decor scheme you have going on. ($39.50+, Pottery Barn)

This one takes a little more time to put together, but if you can set aside a couple hours to sort through your favorite photos from the past year, you’ll never regret making an album you can keep on the coffee table until next year’s holidays. ($23.99+, Shutterfly)

Drowning in all the artwork and general stuff your kids bring home from school? Hard same. When you’re ready to do something about it, Artkive is a good option — just order a box (which is big enough to fit several hundred pieces of art), and the company will photograph and digitize each piece, charging based on how much you submit and what you want them to do with the final images (you can choose an art book, framed mosaic, or just digital files). A countertop free of half-finished preschool paintings? That’s the greatest gift of all. ($39+, Artkive)

We can’t promise that if you buy this calendar, everyone else in the house will actually pay attention to what you put on it, but you’ll certainly have given it your best shot. The Skylight calendar is a 15-inch tablet that can store your family’s schedule, chore chart, weekly meal plan, and more. You can either set it on a stand or mount it on the wall, and everyone can download the accompanying app to sync schedules and (hopefully) keep your family’s life on track. ({{dynamicPrice}}, Amazon)

The Nugget is one of the most-used kids’ products we’ve ever purchased. With a little imagination, this “play couch” can be anything from a storytime chair to a diner booth to an indoor trampoline park. Of course, like many parents, we’ve also spent our fair share of nights sleeping on the thing. Choose from 20 colors, and if you have the space, consider getting two (or adding a Nugget ottoman) for maximum fort-building capabilities. ($249, Nugget)

When not in use as an actual TV, the Frame looks more like real art, thanks to its matte display and your ability to use digital art (or your own photos) as a screensaver. This one’s perpetually on our list, and occasionally you can find it at a significant discount — so if you’re not looking to shell out full price, keep it in your cart for Black Friday or other seasonal sales. ({{dynamicPrice}}, Amazon)