Another year, another holiday season, but does anyone really need another gadget from Sharper Image? I mean, there are things we might like to have, even fancy stuff that we generally don't buy for ourselves, but in this vast wasteland of consumerism, it's time to practice mindfulness even when it comes to gift-giving. Remember, it's the thought that counts.

I combed the internet and compiled a list of thoughtful, practical, unique, and experience-focused ideas rather than adding to the accumulation of more superfluous stuff. So here is my Best 2019 Holiday Gift Guide to spark some plans for the special folks in your life.

1) For the Kitchen Maven
Savoring memories to keep them in hand is just a click away. Turn any handwritten or typewritten family recipe into a kitchen towel. Canvastry will print it on a 100% cotton flour-sack tea or kitchen towel in a 28"x 28" size for solid towels and 18"x 28" for striped towels. Because these are hand-sewn, there may be a slight variation. Safe to machine wash, dry, and iron, these are useful and a real conversation starter, especially when family and guests congregate in the kitchen like they usually do.

 2) For a Year-Round Gardener
Plants add more life to your surroundings, so why not share a little green love with those you love? Bloomscape agrees and thinks everyone should live with a bit more green. Plants make life better, and Bloomscape makes buying easy by delivering healthy, ready-to-go plants to your door and setting you up with tips and tricks needed to help your plants thrive. This ponytail palm is fun, distinct, and hardy. Search the website for the right criteria to find a suitable fit, whether you are looking for low-maintenance, adaptability, or a pet-friendly sprout.

3) For the Perpetual Student
It is an excellent thing to always learn something new, for it keeps the mind active and encourages youth. Want to watch legendary chef Gordon Ramsay prepare thirteen restaurant-inspired recipes redesigned to cook at home? Gift someone special on your list with a  MasterClass given by some of the best in the business. Whether it's about cooking, music, painting, drama, any of the arts, or on any other occasion, big-name celebrities teach the skills to be developed. Learn about documentary filmmaking with Ken Burns, see how Margaret Atwood teaches creative writing, or watch Usher teach about the art of performance.

4) For Your Favorite Artist
At Mii Creative, you create your own personalized art and have the time of your life painting whatever you want or recreating your favorite moments on canvas. They can convert any of your photographs or memories into the perfect paint-by-number art, all you have to do is upload your own photo. With custom paint by numbers, you can get portraits, wedding photos, pets’ pictures, or any other photo you want to be converted into a canvas for a painting. 

5) For the Savy Subscriber
There is an Amazing Club for just about any gourmet favorite you have! With the most extensive selection, recipients will love their award-winning Coffee, Beer, and Wine of the Month Clubs. But that's just the beginning. How about chocolate? Or some ice cream? Or maybe jam and jellies, lobster, or flowers? Whatever their passion, they've got the club they'll love month after month. Plus, they offer free shipping.

6) For a Homebody at Heart
This is an excellent gift for any friends and family who have just moved into a new home, or who are celebrating a special occasion uniquely related to their homes. From WallTonicArts on Etsy, choose from a different variety of art styles for a new home portrait. Printed on ultra-premium luster photo paper that is fingerprint-resistant, choose from Watercolor, Pasty, Modernum (a watercolor variation), Ink, Archie, or Da Vinci. Select from over twenty-five different fonts and even add a unique message that is entirely personalized.

7) For Your Favorite Foodie
Isn't everything better with a little drizzle? This is our absolute favorite olive oil and vinegar. We keep it stocked in our pantry, but it goes so fast I am ordering every other month. Tubby Olive offers a wide selection of the freshest, healthiest extra virgin olive oils, most flavorful infused specialty olive oils, and a large selection of barrel-aged and naturally flavored balsamic vinegar. Enhance your daily cooking from breakfast to dinner. Fruit and herb-infused olive oils like Tuscan Herb and artisanal Black and White Truffle Olive Oil are authentically produced and certified in Modena Italy. The exceptional flavor is a marvelous gift for that hard-to-buy-for foodie.

8) For the World Traveler
Just grab a coin and start scratching off all the places you have been lucky enough to visit, creating your own personalized and continually changing world map! Scratch the World map print from Maps International is an excellent gift for the voyager. Destinations visited to reveal a beautifully styled, up-to-date map underneath is the perfect gift for travel enthusiasts. They can completely personalize the map to tell their unique travel story. With high-quality cartography, this is the most detailed scratch-off concept map print you will find. In addition to countries, the map also features cities on the top layer and the world map underneath, allowing for more detailed scratching.

9) For the Adventurer
Give the gift of experience. Partnered with over 600 "Best in Class" experience providers to create an unparalleled portfolio consisting of more than 2,100 experiences in 55 regions, Cloud 9 Living is an experience gift company that offers unique and memorable moments. Founded in 2005, they believe that giving a gift should be more meaningful than just fulfilling an obligation; it should be about showing your recipient that you took time to find something they will truly love and remember for years. As a small company filled with passionate people, they take it upon themselves to make sure you and your recipient have the best gifting experience possible. With trips ranging from thrilling and adventurous to relaxing and cultural, they genuinely have something for every taste and every budget.

10) For the Memory Keeper
And last but not least, only the best way to preserve a past is by presenting a Legacybox. Keep memories alive and timeless by digitizing those old home movies and pictures. Building on the mail-in model first seen by Kodak, a recipient is sent a Legacybox kit to be filled with tapes, film, photos, and audio recordings. They partnered with UPS to handle the shipping. Upon delivery, they do the rest, digitizing your moments onto a thumb drive, the cloud, or DVD. They provide state-of-the-art tracking, barcoding, and real-time updates throughout digitizing. They combined the experience of the past with the technology of today to make it easy and safe.

My wish is that this list opens your creative mind to new possibilities for the holiday season. Happy shopping! xoxo-Sonya