Last-Minute Holiday Gifts for Everyone in Your Life

Image From Pixabay

It happens to the best of us. You’ve made a list and checked it twice, but you left off your second cousin...and now you need a gift with very little time to get just the right thing! Whether you’ve been invited to a last-minute party or you have unexpected guests, sometimes you need a last-minute gift. And if you don’t have time to go shopping or order something online, it can be a big challenge!

Fortunately, there are plenty of places you can go for a nice last-minute gift. Why not try…

Fun, Colorful Kitchenware

You’d be hard pressed to find somebody who doesn’t find animal-shaped kitchenware to be a charming gift. If you’re stuck for a last-minute gift idea, why not head to Home Rule to snatch up something fun for your recipient? Even if the person you’re shopping for isn’t a big cook, you can grab fun clocks, goofy apparel, and bath products.

Give the Gift of Tunes

If the recipient of your last-minute gift loves music, there’s no better place to go than Som Records. This purveyor of used, new, and import vinyl records stocks a wide variety of genres, from rock to funk and beyond! They’re sure to have a great, unique gift for the music lover in your life.

Everyone Loves a Tasty Treat

There’s one foolproof gift that works for anybody, no matter who they are. Simply head to Smuckers Farms or Yes! Organic and find their favorite foods. You can create a themed gift basket by putting a variety of cheeses and crackers into a basket and tying it all up with a bow. Add some “holiday spirits” to the basket with a trip to Barrel House Liquor, if your gift recipient is an adult.

And If All Else Fails?

The best part about living in D.C. is the wide variety of delightful restaurants serving cuisine from all around the world. Take your lucky last-minute giftee for lunch or dinner at Le Diplomat or Doi Moi. After all - what better gift is there around the holidays than the gift of time? Spending an hour or two together over a lovely meal is a great way to cement your relationship this holiday season.

Centerpiece DIY

Image From Pixabay

Thanksgiving is almost here. If you are hosting Thanksgiving or helping out, there are plenty of things to do to be ready for Thursday. Food preparation, cleaning, dessert baking and of course setting the table. The table may seem like the least important task, but with a few creative touches you could have a gorgeous holiday table that all of your friends and family will remember. Keep reading to learn how to make the perfect centerpiece for your new Thanksgiving tradition.


Flowers

The staple of any centerpiece are the gorgeous flowers. For a Thanksgiving centerpiece, we recommend sticking with browns, golds, oranges and reds. Apartment Therapy recommends using mums, goldenrods, hypericum and mystery greens. Instead of getting these flowers at the big superstore, head to your Flowers on Fourteenth for fresh gorgeous flowers. Flowers on Fourteenth is located at 1712 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009, just 4 minutes from your home at The Louis.

Accessories

Whether you live in the city or in the country, you can always find creative ways to use what is available outside. Head to Meridian Hill Park and pick up some branches, pine cones or leaves from the trees. This is the perfect accent to your completed centerpiece. You may not use everything you find, but it is better to have extra than not enough.

Gather Your Supplies

You will need glue, rubber bands, scissors and more for your centerpiece. Head to Michaels to gather your supplies. You can even get creative with what you want to include in the centerpiece. If you want to add some glitter or a coat of paint to stick with a theme, you can pick that up at Michaels also. The final look of the centerpiece is all up to you.

Put It Together

Start by putting one stem and laying another across it. Make sure to continually attach your stems together. You keep doing this process in a clockwise motion. Once you have a few basic stems and flowers attached, start inserting leaves, branches or anything else you have gathered. Keep building this way until you have a bouquet that you are happy with. You can then insert the bouquet into a vase, or build a base out of the leftover supplies that you have.

We hope your new centerpiece comes out beautifully. If you want detailed instructions and images, please go to Apartment Therapy to learn more.

Living Without a Closet

"two-twenty-six/three-sixty-five" by Laura Bittner is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Apartment living does not always offer ideal storage space, especially if you’re a shopaholic. While most apartments include closet space, more often than not, the available closet isn’t big enough, leaving us to find other, more creative ways to store our clothing and accessories. What are some alternatives to a closet? Apartment Guide offers some solutions:

An Armoire or Dresser

One of the most obvious solutions is to buy a large armoire or dresser to store clothes in. What’s great about armoires over dressers is that they offer a place to hang any clothing that you’d rather not fold.

Dresses, blouses and easily wrinkled items won’t have to be shoved into a dresser drawer, which could potentially save you from having to pull out the iron every day before work.

Dressers, on the other hand, are great for people with a lot of foldable clothes. Either piece of furniture comes in various sizes, so those who live in a small space will be able to easily find something that fits their room.

A Clothing Rack

Stores like Target and Ikea sell clothing racks of all different shapes and sizes. You’ll easily be able to find smaller standing clothing racks that have a single bar on which to hang your clothes.

There are also full closet organizers that you can mount to a wall with multiple shelves and rods great for holding an entire wardrobe. Though not as affordable, these are a one-and-done solution to not having a closet, and they’re pretty easy to install on the wall.

Bookcases

The variety of bookshelves available in stores and online is truly amazing, so they’re a great organization option for bedrooms with nonexistent closets. The bookshelves with cube-shaped cubbies are particularly useful for organizing different types of clothing and accessories.

If you’re planning on using bookshelves in place of a closet, be sure to buy plenty of baskets and bins that will help you keep the shelves neat and uncluttered.

Floating Shelves

Floating shelves are another useful storage option, and they’re especially great because they can fit onto walls of any size. Hang floating shelves across the width of an entire wall, or stack them from floor to ceiling. You can even install dividers on your shelves to keep all of your clothing items separated.

Under the Bed

Installing drawers under the bed is both practical and unobtrusive, so it’s a perfect solution for people who live in a small space. You can also inexpensively lift your bed to create even more storage space under it, using store-bought bed risers.

Consider storing shoes, handbags and other less-often-used items under the bed so you don’t have to get down on the floor every time you change clothes.

A Trunk

For a storage solution that’s part decorative and part amazingly effective, find an antique or vintage trunk to keep at the foot of your bed.

Trunks are very spacious, so you’ll be able to store a lot of your wardrobe in just the one area. Use it for bulky items like sweaters, sweatshirts and sweatpants that don’t stack as easily on shelves.

Create Pretty Decor

Some of the prettiest and most colorful items in a person’s apartment can be found in their closet, like shoes, handbags, scarves and jewelry. Instead of tucking those items away into storage, find creative ways to display them around the room and apartment.

Buy a small coat rack just for your scarves and hang them by the front door. Line pretty high heels and handbags along the bookshelves in your living room or entryway. Hang your statement necklaces from pretty hooks on the wall above your toilet, rather than using that space for a piece of art.

Use a Curtain

Many of the storage solutions in this survival guide will leave your clothing out in the open or on display, but simply hanging a curtain can help you tuck your wardrobe out of sight. Attach a curtain to your bookshelves or simply hang one from the ceiling in front of your shelves to hide your clothing.

Mix and Match
If you have one wall in particular that would work well for a “closet,” mix and match the ideas to create exactly what you need for storing your own personal belongings. Hang floating shelves across the entire wall, then attach a closet rod to the wall beneath them. Or, find two small armoires and put them on either side of a short bookshelf.

Apartment Hacks

Photos courtesy peddhapati and Dominique Godbout

Whether you’re getting ready to move into your first apartment or you’re already settled in, we all could use handy little tricks to make our lives easier and more organized. Some of these things you may already have lying around your apartment and never imagined you would use! Here are some tips from Apartment Guide that will revolutionize your apartment lifestyle.

1. Velcro remotes to your coffee table.  Things tend to clutter on the coffee table, and chances are you may have more than one remote. Just stick adhesive velcro dots to the backs of your remotes and to the sides of your coffee table. Now you can keep remotes off your table and stowed away. You could also velcro remotes to your nightstand in your bedroom.

2. Hide a power strip in a drawer. Drill a small hole in the back of the drawer and string your power strip cord through the back. Now you can keep all your devices stowed away and charged up at the same time! You can place one in a table in your living room or put one in the drawer of your nightstand. Just remember not to overload your power strip or leave your devices charging too long, or your power strip could overheat. Make sure your power strip is turned off when it’s not in use, and leave the drawer cracked so air is able to circulate inside.

3. Use wine holder as a towel rack. This is such an easy way to organize your towels in your bathroom, especially if you don’t have room for shelves. It’s elegant and functional.

4. Put soda tabs on your hangers to save space in your closet. Do you have a cramped closet? Save all the tabs from your soda cans and place them on the top of your hangers. Now you can hang a second hanger from the other hole in the tab.

5. Label and organize cords with bread tabs. You know those tabs you use to close bread bags? Save them and attach them to the cords behind your computer or TV. Not only will your cords be more organized, but you won’t have to guess which cord is which.

6. Place your phone in a cup to boost the volume. Do you use your smartphone all the time to listen to music? Do you set your phone’s alarm to wake you up every morning? If you don’t have any speakers, just place your phone in a cup to amplify your alarm or music.

7. Use ice to remove furniture indentations in carpet. If you’re rearranging your furniture or cleaning up after moving out, this trick might come in handy. Get rid of indentations in your carpet by letting a piece of ice melt into the indentation. After the ice has melted, vacuum over it and work the indentation out by rubbing it with a towel.