misosouper, a shopping blog

Dear Readers,

I’ve received several e-mails recently asking if I was preparing a holiday gift guide (you can read last year’s here).  In a word:  no.

Not that I don’t want to showcase lots of jaw-dropping, why-didn’t-I-think-of-that objects.  It’s just that, well, Misosouper’s whole site is a gift guide.  (And, truth be told, we are all so, so exhausted in my house that the idea of assembling and organizing a gift guide right now seems overwhelming.  There.  Full admission, people.)

But.  I still plan on posting lots of things that I–and by extension, you–would love to unwrap in December.  They just won’t be, um, wrapped up as such.  (Please excuse.  Read last sentence of above paragraph.)

I also have some BIG NEWS–your present to me–that I can’t wait to announce.  More details to come.

Love,

Anna

Now to blogroll the second half of my fellow shoppers’ gift guides, from M-Z.  They’ve found good stuff too.

@ Not Martha

@ NOTCOT, so far here, here, here, here, here, and here, here, here (Total overachievers!  How I admire them.)

@ NY Mag

@ Oh Joy! (for the Metro Paper in NY, Boston, and Philly)

@ Oh How Lovely Shops

@ PoppyTalk

@ Purple Pink and Orange

@ SheFinds

@ StyleBakery

@ The Daily Obsession

If you’ve already made it through my picks and aren’t quite ready to put back on your robe, here are more gift guides from the first half of my blogroll.  They’ve found good stuff too.

@ Apartment Therapy (who is going one better, and actually giving away 101 fabulous things)

@ Bobbie Pen

@ Better Living Through Design

@ Cool Mom Picks

@ Creature Comforts, and another here

@ Domino Mag

@ Greedy Girl

@ I Heart Luxe

@ Indie Shopping

@ Lucky Mag

@ Mighty Goods, so far here, here, here, and here

@ Mixed Plate

Not in the mood for love?  These gifts will bring out your cheeky side.

These animals will keep that library in line.

Mix your Mexican beverage metaphors and serve her up with a tray full of Negra Modelos.

My favorite martian.

Way creepier than playing poker with mirrored glasses.  A true objet d’art.

Why should Radiohead get all the rainbows?

A satisfyingly dramatic way to pass the days.

Now that the election is over, you need someone else to root for.

Lover, you should have come over.

My teenage cousin is obsessed with phone charms.  Here’s one (a miniature terrarium!) that doesn’t involve pink beads.

Perhaps my favorite item in the whole gift guide.  Perhaps the cheapest, too.

Do these derby critters remind anyone else of the Hummer soapbox derby kids?

Portable iPod karaoke sets bring joy to the world.

A daschund bag needs no commentary.

I warned you that I like small things writ large.

Yo to the yo.

This koi pitcher makes a lovely gurgling sound when it pours.

I’m thinking this tape isn’t fireproof.

Parrots are the new Rabbits.

Cleaning toilets probably isn’t what Pinocchio signed up for.

Unwrap it.  You know you want to.

What this sleek white instant camera lacks in vintage charm, it makes up for in features, like autofocus.  Plus, it hasn’t been discontinued, which is always a plus.  RIP, Polaroid.

And to think you were going to get them a Jawbone.

The best gifts to please screeching, barking, tired households like mine, short of free babysitting and maid service.

Sweet felt frames for all the birds in your flock.

Because as long as you’re bribing the kids with hot chocolate, you might as well take that Carnation instant cocoa to the next level.

A trick from my beloved grandmother, who hails from the pre-germ era:  kids love counting and rolling coins.   These colorful metallic trays are also perfect for making change when they play store.

Put your foot down once and for all.

Be the goose that lays this golden egg in their backyard.

The only foreseeable issue with these Lego-handled utensils is that the kids will insist on eating with them stacked in an awkward fork-spoon-knife combination. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Made from densely packed magazines, this bulletin board (no push pins necessary!) is the sharpest I’ve ever seen.

The ultimate rainy day entertainment: a 500 piece “impossible” puzzle based on an abstract illustration by Alex Beard.

These cards make traveling sew much fun.

Why freeze ice when you can freeze the cup instead?

This gigantic digital photo frame (15″!) makes that newborn baby almost lifesized.

While they’re not quite Anarchy in the UK, these punky monkeys are so much cuter than letting them stick a safety pin through their ear.

Bedtime battles be gone:  turn on this constellation maker and snuggle under the Milky Way tonight.

Memorialize the whole family on a stick-figure pillow that Mom and Dad will keep on their bed forever.

Yes, these are bugs encased in Lucite.  Is that creepy?

Feed their Bob Ross addiction with a paint-by-numbers set.  Just make sure it doesn’t end up in the garage sale by “accident.”

Use these spy sunglasses to confirm your long-standing conviction that they are indeed following you.  Even if “they” just happen to be, um, your parents.

Because after all this fun, mom and dad are tired.  Guaranteed.