Gifts

It’s nothing you can buy at See’s or Hallmark. You won’t see a commercial for it. Frankly, it’s a lot easier to buy a dozen roses on FTD.com than it is to do the things that women have been asking for since the dawn of time.

It’s going to be a very frugal holiday season in 2017. Let’s get crafting and make homemade holiday presents for everyone!

I’ve been waiting years to celebrate my undying love of all things Christmas with my child, but now that my toddler is old enough to understand the joys of the holiday season I’ve realized that there are some things about the holidays that only a parent can understand.

A weekly trip to Walmart would end in tears — first theirs, then mine. Them pining in the toy aisle. Me saying no. Over and over. It wasn’t so much that I wanted to buy my kids whatever they wanted, it was that I couldn’t.

If you are buying for someone really special, you want to choose something meaningful and useful. While everyone has their own interpretation of the word “feminist,” the criteria for this list was that the product had to be either designed by a woman, produced by a women-owned business, or benefit women's causes in some way. No matter what you choose, your feminist mother (or sister, aunt, grandma, wife) will not only be happy with her gift — it'll align with her personal politics.

You’d be hard pressed to find something more meaningful to mom than watching YOU scrub your own urine off the toilet seat/floor/wall. DO IT YOURSELF. And try this, do it EVERY DAY.

Advertisers don't encourage us to believe that our kids need to make memories more than another toy to wage war on capitalism; they do it because these experience gifts support incredibly successful industries. When we shift our dollars from toys to travel, for instance, we are still supporting big business.

Spotted at: Beer Revolution, Oakland