“Merry Christmas mom. It’s the 88,000th candle I’ve given you since 2010. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Happy holidays dad. I got you more golf balls this year, since I know you hit so many into the lake when you play.”

This is basically what happens each year when I’m holiday shopping for my parents. I try to brainstorm some genuine gift ideas for them starting in November. Then, all of a sudden it’s a week before Christmas and I still don’t have any good, heartfelt gift ideas for either of them. So I panic, get my mom another candle and my dad something related to golf, and call it good for that holiday season. Then wash, rinse, and repeat when the holidays come around next year.

I know for sure I am not the only one who struggles with this. Many teenagers around this school can probably own up to the same procrastinating habits as me. And it’s not because I don’t love my parents as much as other kids. I love my parents, but I just have a busy lifestyle that pushes buying gifts off to the side.

Rather than going through the same struggles as I do each year, I am going to be creating a Holiday Gift Giving Guide that will be full of sentimental gift ideas that you and I can both use to help give our parents the heartfelt gifts they deserve.

For Mom:

• A scrapbook filled with pictures, art, and other sentimental papers from your childhood.
  • You can print any digital pictures you have at a local supplies store for cheap, and then just buy a little blank book to put the papers into.
• A Build-A-Bear with a custom message built in to the furry friend.
  • Create an adorable bear with a sentimental recorded message from you to her in the voice box. Who cares if they’re an adult? Almost any girl would love a fluffy stuffed animal.
• A bracelet with some heartfelt phrase or message to her.
  • Whether it be a special saying you two have, a simple “I love you,” or maybe even just your initials, a customized bracelet would warm her heart.
• Make a CD or Playlist of songs that you and your mom have both loved throughout the years.
  • Think of special songs that you and your mom both jammed to, dating all the way back to the early 2000s, and make a collection just for her.

For Dad:

• Tickets to a sporting event with him
  • Almost any dad would love getting to go watch some basketball or football, but getting to go with their kid would make it 1000x better.
• A customized book filled with memories you and your dad have made
  • While I used an idea like this for your mom, your dad would also love something like this where he can flip through the pages and see these great memories
• A custom mug with a special phrase or word to your dad
  • You can go to a pottery painting place, or just do it yourself, but a custom mug designed with one of your dad’s popular dad jokes would really warm his heart.
• Really comfy, fuzzy slippers
  • While this one might not seem as heartfelt, I know that my dad personally loves to wear his slippers around the house on the weekend, so nothing would be better than some comfy, new kicks

While there are so many more heartfelt ideas out there than just the four I gave for each, I hope this little gift-giving cheat sheet helps you in your efforts to give the most sentimental gifts of the holiday season.