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Best Gift Ideas for the Holidays: Unique Gift Ideas, www. kate the almost great .com
in Lifestyle &middot November 3, 2023

Best Gift Ideas for the Holidays: Unique Gift Ideas

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in Lifestyle &middot November 3, 2023

Best Gift Ideas for the Holidays: Unique Gift Ideas

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Kate the (Almost) Great®!

Yes, it’s gift guide time already! This year, Hanukkah starts on December 7, so if you’re shopping for Hanukkah, you need to start now. And even if you’re not shopping for Hanukkah, unique gift ideas take longer to make and ship!

This is why, as always, my first gift guide of the year is from Etsy. These gifts generally require customization of some kind, and that means they take longer. 

Check out this amazing personalized gift guide by the folks at Etsy for even more unique gift ideas.

2023 Gift Guides | All Gift Guides

Text reads: Best gift ideas for the holidays, unique gift ideas, www. kate the almost great .com (end text). Yes, it’s gift guide time already! This year, Hanukkah starts on December 7, so if you’re shopping for Hanukkah, you need to start now. And even if you’re not shopping for Hanukkah, unique gift ideas take longer to make and ship!

As I mentioned, I’ve made many gift guides for personalized or unique gift ideas before. Here are editions from past years: 

  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
Contents hide
Unique Gift Ideas for Parents
Unique Gift Ideas for Kids
Unique Gift Ideas for Young Adults
Unique Gift Ideas for Families
Miscellaneous Gift Ideas

Unique Gift Ideas for Parents

Parents are hard to shop for. And that’s true regardless of if yours are 40 or 60 or 80, unless they give you an explicit list. These gifts should help you shop for the parent who has everything! And if you’re shopping for adults who aren’t parents, skip on down to the miscellaneous section.

Wall Golf Pencil Holder 

Golf Bag Tag – This holds golf tees!

Custom Line Drawing Couple Portrait  

Workshop Sign 

King of the Grill Cutting Board – There are 9 different designs to choose from, so you don’t have to go with “King of the Grill.” You could do “The Grillfather,” “[Name]’s Grill,” or something else.

Heated neck wrap and eye pillow 

Custom Line Art Portrait from Photo 

Homemade Gifts 

Unique Gift Ideas for Kids

While it’s easier to shop for kids who you are close to, if you have niblings – a gender-neutral term for the children of your siblings, or a larger group of nieces and nephews – you might not know what their specific interests are or you might not know what they’ll be into a few months from now. These are all cute ideas that can be used for all sorts of kids!

Personalized Name and Number Puzzle  

Custom Initial Coin Bank With Name 

Custom Drawing Sketchbook with 12 Coloring Pencils 

Personalized small backpack  

Personalized Piggy Bank with Name  

Personalized Children’s Step Stool 

Custom initial Coin Bank, Personalized  

Kids personalized jean jacket 

Personalized Name Crayons  

Gift Ideas: Gifts That Give Back

Text reads: 30+ unique gifts to give this year, www. kate the almost great .com (end text). gift ideas, gifts ideas, best gift ideas, good gift ideas, unique gift ideas

Unique Gift Ideas for Young Adults

I’m using “young adults” to describe teens to college-aged folks. If you know what their interests are, these would be great gift ideas. 

Personalized Book Stamp  

Personalized Travel Makeup Brushes 

Custom Leather Drum Stick Case 

Personalized Video Game Controller Stand  

Personalized Your Name Custom Neon Sign – Great for teenagers, college dorm rooms, and aspiring streamers!

Custom Neon Sign – Same reasoning as above but another option.

Gift Ideas: Expensive Gifts

Unique Gift Ideas for Families 

Shopping for your sibling’s family? How about a friend who just got married and/or had a baby? These gift ideas are here to help!

Personalized Hot Chocolate Mug – Get 1 for each member of the family you’re shopping for, add some hot chocolate, and you’ve got a thoughtful gift for a family!

Loved One Portrait From Photo 

Engraved wood family tree sign 

Family Ornament with Baby and Dog 

Personalized Family With Pets Ornament 

Family Bucket List Scratch Off 

Matching Child Bow + Dog Bandana 

Home Sweet Home Personalized Sign 

Our First Home Christmas Ornament – This is different from the next one!

Our First Home Christmas Ornament – This is different from the previous one!

Custom Cutting Board 

Custom Engraved Marble Wood Coaster Set 

Gift Ideas: Chronic Illness Must-Haves

Miscellaneous Gift Ideas

Okay, these are gift ideas for pet lovers, book lovers, plant parents, travel-lovers, and everyone in between.

Custom Pet Pillow – I actually bought this (from this seller) last year as a gift and had a great experience! The first photo I sent wasn’t high quality enough, and they contacted me quickly to get a new one. My nan loved it so much she nearly cried when I gave it to her.

Personalized Pet Ornament Using Pet’s Photo + Name  

Custom Pet Portrait Ornament 

Custom pets portrait suncatcher decor – This is great because it’s not an ornament so the people you buy this for can use it year-round.

Personalized Embroidery Felt Bookmarks  

Personalized Planter Gift 

Personalized Custom Luggage Tags 

Personalised Vintage Map Picture With Hand Stitched Heart  

Holiday Gift Ideas: Holiday Gifts To Make

I hope these unique gift ideas help you conquer your holiday shopping!

Like this post? Share it! 

Best Gifts for Someone with Chronic Pain & Illness, Holiday Gifts for Dad, Gifts Supporting Good Causes, Small Business Gift Guide

Text reads: personalized gifts, www. kate the almost great .com (end text). gift ideas, gifts ideas, best gift ideas, good gift ideas, unique gift ideas
Kate Mitchell

Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.

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Comments

  1. Sue Jackson says

    November 11, 2023 at 4:52 pm

    Great list, Kate! So many cool and unique ideas!

    Sue
    Live with ME/CFS

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Dos and don'ts for when someone in your life is di Dos and don'ts for when someone in your life is diagnosed with autoimmune arthritis! What are some that you would add?⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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ID: "So someone you know was diagnosed with Autoimmune Arthritis". Under the Do column (indicated with a green checkmark) is:⁣
"As how they feel about it⁣
Offer specific ways to help⁣
Treat them normally⁣
Ask follow-up questions⁣
Wear a mask around them when sick."⁣
Under the don't don't column (indicated with an x in a red circle) is:⁣
"Say “At least it’s not xyz!”⁣
Say that and not follow through⁣
Assume nothing about their lives has changed⁣
Conflate autoimmune arthritis with osteoarthritis⁣
Pass your cold to an immunosuppressed person".⁣
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#AutoimmuneDisease #RheumatoidArthritis #PsoriaticArthritis #AnkylosingSpondylitis #JuvenileArthritis
Weekj 26 of 2026 Weekly Scenes of a summer week Weekj 26 of 2026 Weekly 

Scenes of a summer week in Maine! So glad I work from home, which means I can work from my real home (Maine, if that wasn’t clear)

1️⃣ Lots of Harley time
2️⃣ Working from home means saving my PTO for fun things!
3️⃣ Lots of duck families (📸 my dad)
4️⃣ What a lot of my days look like - Harley and my current project (needlepoint). And, yes, I’m still in a cast.
5️⃣ Learned how to play Mahjong, which my parents love
6️⃣ Lake views on the 4th

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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣⁣⁣⁣

⬛⁣⁣⁣

IDs:
1️⃣ Harley the golden retriever on a deck as seen through some plants
2️⃣ Kate takes a selfie
3️⃣ A duck with little ducklings following on a lake
4️⃣ Harley coming up to Kate. Her legs are out on an ottoman, 1 foot in a walking cast, and an in-progress needlepoint project
5️⃣ Looking down at a Mahjong table with the game set up
6️⃣ A kayak on the shore of a lake 

#MaineTheWay #MaineSummer #Needlepoint #MaineLife
Living with chronic pain is really hard. You’re wi Living with chronic pain is really hard. You’re winning every day you’re still here.⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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ID: The background image is a lake at sunset. Text reads what's above the first square and also "katethealmostgreat".⁣
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#ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #RheumatoidArthritis #Fibromyalgia #Endometriosis
I've been spending a fair amount of time at my foo I've been spending a fair amount of time at my foot surgeon's office this year, and boy has it been messing with my head. ⁣
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I spent a lot of time from 2001-2010 dealing with my left foot. Long story short, it took until this foot surgeon saw me in 2010 after fixing this foot for me to be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. But I spent those 9 years going from doctor to doctor, having surgery after surgery, trying to figure out what was causing my pain and to fix it. ⁣
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Was it the tarsal coalition? Did I have another chronic health issue? Etc. ⁣
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I spent from age 10 to 19 unsure what exactly was wrong with me and in huge amounts of pain. We thought we figured it out, and then something else happened. ⁣
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We know exactly what is wrong with this foot this time around: in 2024, I got 3 stress fractures, and no one put me in a boot. They almost fully healed before breaking in 2025, and then the same thing happened in 2026. ⁣
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This is a different part of the foot than I used to deal with, but any problems with my feet and especially my left foot messes with me. While this doctor eventually fixed the problems and even got me diagnosed with RA, every time I go back to his office, I have to fight not to become 17 again. ⁣
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PTSD is a bitch.⁣
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(PS - if you want to know why I'm going back to this guy when it messes with me, it's because I don't trust anyone else to fix my foot.)⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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ID: Kate takes a selfie in a doctor's office. ⁣
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#PTSDAwareness #ChronicallyIll #TarsalCoalition #RheumatoidArthritis #Osteoporosis
Week 25 of #2026Weekly Happy to be in Maine for Week 25 of #2026Weekly 

Happy to be in Maine for a few weeks! I didn’t get up to a lot, so another week of very few pictures

1️⃣ IVIG 
2️⃣ Lots of beautiful birds have been coming to my mom’s bird feeder!

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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣⁣⁣⁣

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IDs: 
1️⃣ Looking at Kate’s lap. Tubes are coming out from under her shirt and there’s a Kindle
2️⃣ Birds arriving at a bird feeder as seen through a window

#ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #ChronicPain #IVIG
What do you have to do every day for your chronic What do you have to do every day for your chronic illnesses? ⁣
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For context, I have rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, POTS, heart disease, osteoporosis, and more. ⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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ID: ⁣
Things I Do Every Day for My Chronic Illnesses⁣
Take pills at least 4 times a day⁣
Don’t eat gluten, dairy, corn, soy, or eggs⁣
Sleep 7+ hours a night⁣
Consume 80-100 grams of protein, 120 mg of calcium, 5-10 grams of sodium⁣
Wear a mask whenever I leave the house⁣
Do pilates 4+ days a week⁣
Work from home⁣
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#ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #RheumatoidArthritis #Fibromyalgia
Filmed this back in April (hence the sweater) but Filmed this back in April (hence the sweater) but it applies to whenever I have appointments! 

Video: Kate talks to the camera while holding a purse. She holds up individual items mentioned in the video before putting them in the bag. There are captions. 

#ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #Osteoporosis #ChronicPain
There are a lot of medical advancements that I'm g There are a lot of medical advancements that I'm grateful for, but one of them is the ability to do IVIG at home. ⁣
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I'm on IVIG - or, in my case, subcutaneous immunoglobulin replacement therapy - because I have to kill the better part of my immune system. There are, in fact, some parts of my immune system that don't attack me, which is why we add them back in. This helps reduce my chance of serious infection and also made my rheumatologist feel comfortable enough to increase my Rituxan dose. ⁣
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This is a weekly treatment that I do, but it's so much better that I can do it at home than going into the hospital. It takes around 2.5 hours from taking my pre-meds to tossing my needles into a Sharps container. While it's another thing that I have to do, because I do it at home, I don't have to risk exposure to infections at the hospital or deal with Boston traffic, which would add another hour to the process. ⁣
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I can finish my treatment and then go about my day, which I'm very grateful for.⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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ID: A Kindle on Kate's legs. There are tubes for an infusion coming out of her shirt.⁣
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#IVIG #ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease
Weeks 23 and 24 of 2026 Weekly! The last two wee Weeks 23 and 24 of 2026 Weekly! 

The last two weeks were prepping for my infusion, having/recovering from my infusion, and getting caught up after. This meant things were very busy but also I don’t have a lot to show for them. 

1️⃣ New glasses! I really like having multiple pairs so I can switch them as I want.
2️⃣ One of my current projects. I got this standing hoop for my birthday and I’m working on an alphabet (uppercase and lower, although I’m still working on the lower) with extra floss.
3️⃣ Infusion time! I got my higher dose so hopefully my symptoms improve a lot in the upcoming weeks🤞🏻

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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣⁣

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IDs: 
1️⃣ Kate takes a selfie. Her new glasses are thin silver circles
2️⃣ An in-progress cross-stitched alphabet in a special hoop stand that Kate is sitting on.
3️⃣ Kate takes a selfie in an infusion chair.

#ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #AutoimmuneDisease #CrossStitcher
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