The Winter Edition

The official Feeling! Magazine guide to gifting joyfully this holiday season.

Welcome to the Winter edition of Feeling! Magazine! In preparing this editorial, my goal was to delight you. I wanted the delivery of this to feel reminiscent of the winter edition of the American Girl Magazine.

I don’t know about your house growing up, but we’d receive so many magazines in the mail around Christmas time from various toy stores, shops, etc. Before browsing for products on the internet was a reality, I would eagerly take a marker and circle my dream wish list from the thin paper pages. This was especially true for the American Girl Magazine, where, between product features, they’d share hot chocolate recipes, crafts, and stories about holiday cheer.

My goal for next year is to turn this Substack magazine into print. That was my whole aim in starting a Substack back in 2023 — a print magazine.

This year, the desire to write and create this editorial was so overwhelming that it felt like I had to pursue the childhood dream that I’d shelved. I have spent every spare minute I have working on Feeling! I have a full-time job, so Feeling! is made during late nights, weekends, on train rides, and early morning wake-ups because I absolutely cannot stop, and I love it.

What shocked me was when you all started to show up. Feeling! Magazine tripled in size this year, and my life has completely changed!! I am so grateful for your belief in my dream!

Consider this edition a tiny glimpse of what I will be working my hardest to make come to fruition next year — Feeling! in print.

I hope when you scroll, you can feel what it would feel like to receive it in the mail, eagerly highlighting your wishlist with glee. Enjoy!

I am in a puddle of gratitude that you are here, reading. Thank you for making my dream come true. Every kind & thoughtful comment you’ve shared has helped me believe I can really build this dream into reality — I really appreciate you!

*P.S. Check the comments for a giveaway. I’m in kahoots with Santa.

Special thanks to Hailey Howe for her amazing graphic work, bringing this edition to life!

*Everything on this list is something I personally have tried, tested, and actually enjoy — these recommendations are from me personally! (Exception: I have not tried the Marvis Earl Grey toothpaste yet, but I just had to include it)

*Also, I have been able to procure some special discounts from brands I reached out to, just for readers of Feeling! So I included discount codes wherever I could. Please use them!

Starting off strong with sweet treats, this section of the magazine showcases gifts for at-home cafés.

I discovered a small business based in New York called Transcendence Coffee that makes syrups for coffees and teas without crazy additives and weird ingredients. Their blends are made with cane sugar, water, and the actual ingredients that the flavor is named after (like real vanilla bean). If you are trying to make more coffee at home, a bottle of Transcendence will last you so long and elevate your homemade latte to favorite-café-status. My favorites:

✷ Persian Pistachio: A more nutty-than-sweet syrup that is perfect for winter latte-making

✷ French Lavender Madeleine: A lavender matcha is my favorite drink, and this syrup helps me make it taste as good at home as it does at my favorite café.

✷ Madagascan Vanilla Bean: I normally do not gravitate towards vanilla, but this vanilla bean twist has me reaching for it constantly.

In writing at-home-café recipes online, the number one question I get asked is what espresso machine we have. We have the Breville Touch Impress. Years ago, Connor and I didn’t get each other any Christmas gifts; we just got this espresso machine. The return on the investment has been tenfold. It has been two years, and the machine is still in top condition. We like it because it’s incredible coffee-snob-approved quality, without having to dial it all in yourself — it’s automatic.

For your brewing pleasure:

✷ Matcha: CAP Beauty’s matcha is the exact deliciously green color you have been looking for.

✷ Hojicha: If you have a friend who likes matcha, they will probably love hojicha. It’s like matcha’s sweeter, toasty, nutty cousin. It is a winter delicacy, to be honest.On repeat in my kitchen with a little bit of maple.

✷ Fellow Matcha Set: For the person in your life who makes a matcha every morning. This will delight them to no end to have a new, monochromatic setup that looks like decor!

✷ The Fru Sampler: NOAH Wellness is a unique tea small business based in Brooklyn. The Fru Sampler includes traditional Chinese tea with flavors like tangerine, persimmon, and lychee with medicinal properties. Each bag can be brewed multiple times for a flavor that remains potent, and a super beautiful tea experience.

For people who love tea so much it hurts:

✷ Chai Lip Butter: Thirsty Cowboy is a small business based in Brooklyn, and I believe these lip butters will be the only thing that gets me through another New York winter. The flavors are incredible, and they do not chap my lips, which is a Christmas miracle to find a lip balm that doesn’t chap your lips. I recommend these for sweet little gifts for everyone — teachers, roommates, siblings, coworkers. Flavors include: cereal milk, honey lavender, strawberry milk, chai, and more!

✷ Victorian London Fog Loose Leaf Tea: A vanilla-forward earl grey loose leaf tea. Could pair the gift with a ceramic mug and a little bit of honey.

✷ Chai Concentrate: This concentrate makes my homemade chai lattes taste exactly like a chai from a New York café, probably because Dona is what a lot of cafés use! You could gift the concentrate alongside some fancy cinnamon sticks and cardamom for a cozy little basket situation.

✷ Earl Grey Lip Butter: Of all the lip butters from Thirsty Cowboy, this flavor is pure magic and wonder. It actually tastes like I’m rubbing a foamy London fog on my lips. Again, for someone with really dry skin, this lip butter blend is the only product I’ve found that actually really hydrates.

✷ Blueberry Earl Grey Jam: Tea Jams is an amazing small business that makes jams flavored with real TEA! Pair one or two fresh jars of their tea with a loaf of sourdough, and you have an amazing gift for a host or hostess in your holiday plans.

✷ Earl Grey Toothpaste: This is the one thing I haven’t actually tried yet, but it is so compelling to me that I am including it on this list because I am so curious.

These are some whimsical tableware items for people who love to host. Or maybe they don’t actually like to have people over, but they like to take cool pictures of their dining table.

✷ Leather-bound Guest Book: How sweet is this? If someone comes over for dinner, or even stays with you for a while, they can sign this book. I can imagine it filling up over the course of years, and it would be rich in memories. It’s like a slow-filling scrapbook, especially if you tape some Polaroids in it as you go.

✷ Espresso Cup Set: I always get so many compliments on this little coffee set every time I pull it out. I imagine this would be a great gift for a newlywed couple or anyone who has recently moved. Buy two sets, and include a fresh bag of locally-roasted coffee.

✷ Spiral Coasters: More for whimsy than function, but nonetheless would delight your friend who is really into all things design.

✷ Snack Bowl Set: Okay, imagine pairing these stainless steel bowls with a bunch of snacks in a big gift bag. A genius gift for literally anyone — because we all like snacks! You could go for a Trader Joe’s run, or more of a boutique grocery situation if you want to elevate it more.

✷ Striped Placemats: A fun and colorful boost for a dining table, Dusen Dusen placemats are a beautiful gift for someone who loves putting together a dinner setting.

Goobs Ceramics is a small business that produces unique ceramics here in Brooklyn. While their preorders for 2025 have concluded, I still wanted to include them in this gift guide because the designs are just so exciting and unique. I am confident a snack plate or matcha bowl from Goobs is a perfect gift for a very specific person you know. You could print a photo of the product to put under the tree, but then ship a preorder directly to them.

A few really fun ideas for kitchen-lovers:

✷ Striped Oven Mitts: These colorful striped oven mitts are like a pop of joy for the kitchen drawer. You could pair it with a gift card to the local grocery store as a really thoughtful & practical gift.

✷ Disco Sponges: For people who play music while they do chores and kind of bop through the kitchen. I imagine you could use the disco sponges as a “bow” on top of a present filled with more kitchen utensils, luxury dish, or hand soap. This would have to be for someone who really loves doing dishes, by the way.

✷ Glass Measuring Cups: Available in green/yellow or blue/pink, you can turn an everyday measuring cup into a design object. I would gift this with a few boxes of cake, muffin, or bread mix for someone in your life who loves to bake.

Elevated pantry items make great gifts because they will get used. It’s a luxury we don’t necessarily purchase for ourselves, but it’s always a delight to receive.

✷ Ayoh Miso Mayo: Every one of my sandwiches has been blessed by this mayo.

✷ Ayoh Dill Pickle Mayo: My chicken thighs have been blessed by this mayo.

✷ Glass Graza Olive Oils: Graza released glass bottles of their delicious olive oil this year. The design still includes their signature drizzle nozzle, easy for cooking.

✷ Edible Glitter: Big Night makes crunchy, glittery food decoration that is exactly what you should get someone who is very extra whimsical.

Note: only buy these things for guys you really like. They are good gifts — don’t just give them to anyone.

✷ Twill Jacket: A luxury, timeless jacket for a man you want to be extra dapper. A classic barn jacket look in a sophisticated plaid.

✷ To-go Mug: Fellow travel mugs keep drinks HOT or ICE COLD for hours, without spilling. They can also take a beating — I’ve had mine for a while, and it does exactly what it promises to do. Not to mention the sleek design! This is a practical and useful gift for any man you know. You could pair the Fellow thermos with a bag of coffee beans or a gift card to a favorite local coffee shop.

✷ Dedcool’s Fragrance 04: Yummy and unique fragrance — it’s not a typical cologne scent, but smells like fresh-out-of-the-shower meets earthy twist. (discount: JENNA15)

✷ Devoción Coffee: Headquartered in Brooklyn, Devoción is a great option for whole bean/ground coffee for the at-home barista or black coffee connoisseur. (discount: JENNAISFEELING)

✷ Krewe Sunglasses: A luxury-priced eyeglass company based in New Orleans with timeless frame designs. The packaging experience adds to the luxury feel.

✷ Whaler Beanie: I am obsessed with this fisherman knit beanie! It’s a really fun wardrobe edition for someone who likes to have a little fun with their wardrobe.

Ideas for a dog in your life that you want to spoil a bit:

✷ Silk Dog Bandana: Fren is a small business operated in LA, and I am a huge fan. They make dog bandanas that feel more like an outfit! The silk bandana can be embroidered with your pup’s name, too! You can even buy a matching silk scarf for your dog-loving friend so they can twin with their dog.

✷ Striped Shirt: The way the quarter-length sleeves will fit your dog’s arms is magnificent.

✷ Pet Perfume: This is the perfume I use for Genevieve, and it makes her smell SO good. The “Taunt” fragrance is both clean & warm, and dare I say she even gets compliments when she wears it. (discount: JENNA15)

✷ The Wanda Collar: Another bandana from Fren that makes your pup look like they shop at Anthropologie.

For carrying things:

✷ Woven Shoulder Bag: Fits a smaller laptop and is the perfect companion for any working person who has to carry a bunch of stuff all day, but still wants to maintain professionalism.

✷ Momo Plaid Should Bag: Joyn is a small business with a social mission to employ and empower artisans in vulnerable communities. Every bag is hand-printed with block printing techniques that blow my mind.

✷ Momo Striped Tote: Also from Joyn, this striped tote, made of durable canvas, features a delightful ruffle along its border.

✷ Waverly Tote Bag: A wine-colored bag that cinches and snaps closed. A unique tote to have in rotation for the person who probably has a million bags, but really, really likes cool bags.

Now, a quick break for a gift-themed printable puzzle:

For small purchases or little luxuries, here are some ideas to fill stockings with something unique. Starting with fun for everyone on Christmas day, a little Le Puzz fruit puzzle is perfect. I am partial to the Blueberry Puzzle.

Some small items for highly delightful stockings:

✷ Xtra Milk Room Spray: The best home fragrance ever — this spray is a great gift for homebodies and design lovers. (discount: JENNA15)

✷ Xtra Milk Body Lotion: The same scent as the room spray, but you become the good-smelling thing, instead of your house. Pairs really well with the Xtra Milk perfume to solidify the scent, since it is lighter. (discount: JENNA15)

✷ Vanilla Fig Cream: From Thirsty Cowboy, it is like rubbing whipped cake frosting on your face before bed. The best part is that it truly moisturizes and holds up against the winter.

✷ Shimmer Cooling Eyeshadow: If you like glitter and want to apply it to your face without messy brushes or tapping on palettes, this eyeshadow stick is your friend. Not to mention the “cooling” effect that I am enamored by — it’s like rubbing an ice cube on my skin. Applies magically — makes anyone look like they know how to apply eyeshadow professionally.

✷ Ilia Multi-Stick: A friend of the make-up lover. The best blush stick I’ve ever tried, so I wanted to share my find. Pairs well with a cute little purse mirror.

✷ Vitamin C Serum: A joyful gift for hard workers. It applies like a light serum, brightening your complexion. And did I mention it smells like a fresh cup of orange juice?

✷ Tower28 Superdew Highlighter: For a friend who naturally glows wherever they go, this is a perfect, easy-to-transport makeup that makes you more vibrant and glowy with very low effort.

Gifts for someone you want to treat to something a little more luxurious (like mom, probably). Here are a few ideas:

✷ Xtra Milk Hand Cream and Perfume Set: My favorite scent is now available in an overnight hand cream in a blue, curvy little container. Dedcool collaborated with Soft Services to make their signature overnight hand cream into the Xtra Milk scent. The bundle includes a travel-sized version of Dedcool’s Xtra Milk perfume. I am really giddy about the design of the hand cream! It looks like a little blue wavy object or vase — the lid even has a slight divet, so you could leave a pair of earrings sitting on top! But take the lid off, and push down to pump out super-rich hand cream.

✷ Salted Caramel Candle: I am usually not a fan of sweet scents, but this one makes my entire apartment smell like a magical holiday movie — without being overbearingly vanilla. Plus, the checker pattern on the vessel glows beautifully.

✷ Mini Buffing Bar Book Set: This includes four different mini “buffing bars” in a box that looks like a hardcover book. The soap is made to be exfoliating, with grit built in, and it is wrapped in decadent paper. I imagine gifting this to someone who reads in the bath a lot, along with a new book!

✷ Striped towels: Luxury towels are such a gift win. They are nicer than we’d probably pick on our own, but necessary and will be used with delight. Treat someone who deserves an at-home spa.

✷ Aromatech Diffuser: A splurge for someone who wants their house to smell like a hotel. You can use the fragrance diffuser via app to set times and intensity for the scent. It’s pet-friendly, and no water is involved, so it’s much easier to maintain without mold growing. Personally, the “Hotel,” “Noir,” and “Santal” scents are winners in my book.

For everyone who wants a little extra color this Christmas:

✷ Pink Barn Jacket: Survive winter like Barbie on the ranch. A durable and beautifully dyed jacket for a fashion-forward person in your life.

✷ Red Ballet Flats: The most comfortable ballet flats I’ve ever had. They have also lasted me three years, which seems like a championship-level durability for ballet flats. Perfect for hopping around holiday parties.

✷ Star Flower Frogs: St. Bingo is a small business based in Utah that hand-makes ceramic flower frogs that look like happy starbursts! Adorable for the person who loves to get flowers from the grocery store and arrange them themselves.

✷ Beaded Cherry Necklace: This one is just a winner, because it is generally whimsical and delightful. Perfect for someone who loves color.

✷ Monochromatic Photo Frames: For someone sentimental yet design-forward, get a custom frame in a bold color for one of your favorite memories. Made by a small business selling on Etsy.

Now for a few of my *very* favorites:

✷ Precious metals set: This year, cooking became my hobby, and I leveled up my in-home restaurant with this set of pots and pans from Great Jones. Not only are they gorgeous to look at it, but they work like a charm.

✷ Sezane top: This delicate top has the most elegant sleeves. It has become my go-to look for every holiday party on my calendar.

✷ Noyz Solid Fragrance: This solid fragrance was a delightful surprise this year. It has stayed in my purse for quick application in between events and meetings. The scent is magnetic, warm, and feels like it adapts to my skin.

✷ Parachute sheet: I love a stripe, and so cuddling up in blue hues of stripes every night has been a dream come true. The sheets feel like hotel quality, and I paired them with a java duvet cover for a fun color contrast.

✷ St. Bingo fridge magnets: My fridge is so much happier after getting the variety pack of frame magnets from a new small business favorite, St. Bingo. The colors and patterns are an absolutely delightful way to make your fridge more cohesive, but still feel like home.

✷ Roli Side plates: I ordered these melamine plates with high hopes, and they exceeded my expectations. The color, the shape, the durability, and the price point — all incredible. Perfect companions for hosting, even for the kids’ table.

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I hope this Winter Edition of Feeling! felt like a delight to read and browse!

Feeling! Magazine exists because of reader support. If you’d like to treat yourself or someone who is rather whimsical to a subscription this year, it would be a gift for you AND this small business!

If you subscribe to the $89 “founding membership,” you receive access to every magazine article AND you get a printed treat in the mail every single month for the year.

I have a few tricks up my sleeve for 2026, so you definitely want to get on that mailing list if you like tangible, printed joy.

Here is more info about the mail club!

Thank you sincerely for reading! I hope it sparked a sense of magazine + highlighter nostalgia.

Don’t forget to check the comments for a giveaway!

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