Early Holiday Finds - Something For Everyone On Your List #Holiday2025

I don't think it is ever too early to start shopping for the holidays! In fact, I shop and collect things all year long! Because, yes, I am that person! Hee hee. Here are a few great early finds for the holiday season - something for everyone on your list!

ActivatedYou has a goal to help as many people as possible live healthy, balanced lives. They start by focusing on a whole-person approach to wellness, combining cutting-edge compounds with tried-and-true favorites. Their unique approach to health and wellness will help you support and nourish your body and reach your health goals.

The True Gifts of Christmas is designed like an advent calendar in book form, with 25 “gifts” that count down to Christmas. Each day reveals the story and meaning behind a beloved holiday tradition like candy canes, mistletoe, and stockings alongside festive recipes, hands-on crafts, and family activities. With its beautiful photography and heartfelt storytelling, The True Gifts of Christmas transforms the countdown to December 25th into a meaningful journey of reflection, connection, and celebration. It’s a substitute for the traditional Advent calendar that won’t disappear when the season ends; it’s a keepsake families can return to year after year.

Bubblegum Kids makes candy fun again! They believe that candy is more than just a sweet treat - it’s an experience. From unique flavors and vibrant packaging to your favorite characters and pop culture icons, they create candy that inspires joy and transports you to a world of playful imagination! We love their bubblegum and were so excited to try the Freeze Dried! So much fun! Nice Stocking Stuffers!

Chickfly pants have a patented fly that works for everyone who has to go, on the go! It is easy to use, stretchy, zipperless, and discreet. The beauty of this fly technology is its simplicity - all you have to do is pull it apart. The first iteration of Chickfly pants is like yoga pants. They are comfortable, durable, and responsibly crafted. The patented design has two overlapping stretch fabric panels that pull apart. The fly goes from front to back, allowing one to open it however much is desired. The fly snaps back into shape when released and stays put - all with the safety and ease of a zipper-less fly.

~Hayley

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. I have used direct text from the website of the company/product I am promoting to facilitate in my review.

Gift Books #BookTober

Master American History in 1 Minute a Day

About The Book:

Join acclaimed historian Dan Roberts - known to millions as the voice of the A Moment in Time radio series - on a bite-sized romp through 500 years of American history. With just one minute a day, you can master all the essential facts of America’s founding, Civil War, world conflicts, homefront transformations, and more! With the same insightful, engaging 1 Minute essays and a wide-ranging look into the major events in the United States of America, Master American History in 1 Minute a Day, Expanded Edition is here! This revised edition has been updated to include the momentous events in the last five years, including the murder of George Floyd and subsequent national demand for racial equity and police reform; the COVID-19 pandemic; the Trump presidency; SpaceX; and the January 6 Insurrection. Additional chapters have been added to more deeply explore the Jim Crow South, Juneteenth, FDR’s deportation of American citizens of Mexican descent, and more.

About The Author:

Dan Roberts is the consummate teacher-scholar with an uncanny ability to bring history to life for his students through his work in the classroom, for his millions of listeners on the radio with "A Moment in Time," and for the many readers of his written work.

Daily Mindfulness

About The Book:

Life can be exquisite, but too often its savor is lost in the rut of routine living. The path to leaving the mundane and finding joy and purpose is mindfulness. Pause, breathe, reconnect with the present, and discover all over again the thrill of being alive. With 365 daily quotes, stunning full-color photography, and a handy ribbon to mark your place, Daily Mindfulness invites you to calm your mind, live now, and experience a richer, fuller life.

Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts

About The Book: 

Over 90 percent of new mothers will have scary, intrusive thoughts about their baby and themselves. What if I drop him? What if I snap and hurt my baby? Mothering is so hard. I don't know if I really want to do this anymore. Gosh, I'm so terrible for thinking that! Yet for too many mothers, those thoughts remain secret, hidden away in shame that makes you feel even worse. But here's the good news: you can feel better! Author Karen Kleiman, coauthor of the pioneering book This Isn't What I Expected and founder of the acclaimed Postpartum Stress Center, comes to the aid of new mothers everywhere with a groundbreaking new source of hope, compassion, and expert help. Good Mothers Have Scary Thoughts is packed with world-class guidance, simple exercises, and nearly 50 stigma-busting cartoons from the viral #speakthesecret campaign that help new moms validate their feelings, share their fears, and start feeling better. Lighthearted yet serious, warm yet not sugary, and perfectly portioned for busy moms with full plates, Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts is the go-to resource for moms, partners, and families everywhere who need help with this difficult period.

About The Authors:

Karen Kleiman is a well-known international maternal mental-health expert with over thirty-five years of experience as a psychotherapist, teacher, and writer. As an advocate and author of several groundbreaking books on postpartum depression and anxiety, her pioneering work has influenced personal and professional populations within the perinatal mental health community for decades. In 1988, Karen founded The Postpartum Stress Center, a treatment and training facility for prenatal and postpartum depression/anxiety disorders, where she treats individuals and couples.

Molly McIntyre is an artist, illustrator, and animator living in Brooklyn, New York, with her family. Her work has been featured in the upcoming Netflix series Worn Stories, Bitch magazine, Everyday Feminism, Scary Mommy, and Psychology Today, and shown in exhibitions throughout the US and in Japan.

Big Book of Family Games

About The Book:

Bring family and friends together for hours of entertainment and real social interaction. The Big Book of Family Games: 101 Original Group Games That Don’t Need Charging brings people together for hours of hilarious, interactive, technology-free fun that requires virtually nothing more than pens and paper. This travel-friendly book guarantees hours of engaging entertainment with 101 original, rigorously tested games that challenge each player’s ability to strategize, bluff, read minds, memorize, think quickly, solve puzzles, and more. No texting, tweeting, or web surfing allowed!

About The Author:

Brad Berger grew up in Great Neck, New York. He attended the University of Colorado, where he earned a degree in French, Italian, and German, and he spent several years living and working in Europe. He currently resides on Long Island, where he works as president and publisher of a 130-year-old, family-owned publishing company. Inspired to bring people back together without technological interruption, Brad crafted the ultimate playbook of original games to give people a reason to come together and "unplug" for a while.

You Got This, Mama!

About The Book:

Being a mom is hard - don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. The first few months (or let’s be real, 18 years) after bringing a new baby home can be tiring and messy. Mothers need encouragement, inspiration, and a good laugh. You Got This, Mama!: From Boobs to Blowouts, a Survival Guide for New Mothers is a visual guide to new motherhood with illustrated quotes, hilarious infographics, and encouraging thoughts to power new moms through another day. Real, honest, and beautifully designed, this is the guide for moms that we didn’t know we needed.

About The Author:

Liz Swenson lives in the sunny beach town of San Clemente, California, with her handsome hubs, three crazy kids, and big dog, Harper. She relishes momming, teaching math to high schoolers, making art, and living life to the fullest.

Get these and more amazing books on the Familius Website!

~Hayley

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. I have used direct text from the website of the company/product I am promoting to facilitate in my review.

Easy & Interesting Reads For #BookTober

To Have And Not To Hold

About The Book:

When Lorri Antosz Benson, a 24-year-old successful producer for a groundbreaking national television show, finds herself in an impossible situation, she digs deep and faces the heartbreaking reality that the best choice for her beloved new baby is to be raised by someone else. To Have and Not to Hold is the poignant account of Lorri’s momentous decision to give her daughter up for adoption, the resulting heartache, and later, the unexpected joy of reconnecting with her daughter and her daughter’s adoptive mother. With agonizing yet heartwarming honesty, Lorri offers a profound look at a deep connection between two mothers that is born with the cry of a newborn daughter. What begins as a fragile, tenuous link develops into something dreams and miracles are made of - relationships that go to the soul, are meant to be, and are devoid of fear and possessiveness. To Have and Not to Hold holds much inspiration for any adoptive parent, adoptee, or first/birthparent, but it’s a story that anyone will find impossible to put down.

About The Author:

Lorri Antosz Benson is an award-winning television producer, writer, author, and former internationally syndicated columnist. Most notably, she worked for Donahue, the acclaimed show hosted by the legendary Phil Donahue, for fifteen years, eight of which were spent as Senior Producer. Lorri received two Emmy Awards and ten Emmy nominations for her work with Donahue, and was awarded the American Women in Radio and Television Commendation several times. Lorri also maintains a blog for empty nesters, Feathering My Empty Nest. She and her husband, Steve, reside in Santa Monica, CA. They have four children and five grandchildren.

Finding Family

About The Book:

Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA is the highly suspenseful account of an adoptee trying to reclaim the biological family denied him by sealed birth records. This fascinating quest, including the author’s landmark use of DNA testing, takes readers on an exhilarating roller-coaster ride and concludes with a twist that rivals anything Hollywood has to offer. In the vein of a classic mystery, Hill gathers the seemingly scant evidence surrounding the circumstances of his birth. As his resolve shores up, the author also avails himself of new friends, genealogists, the Internet, and the latest DNA tests in the new field of genetic genealogy. As he closes in on the truth of his ancestry, he is able to construct a living, breathing portrait of the young woman who was faced with the decision to forsake her rights to her child, and ultimately the man whose identity had remained hidden for decades. Finding Family offers guidance, insight, and motivation for anyone engaged in a similar mission, from ways to obtain information to the many networks that can facilitate adoption searches. The book includes a detailed guide to DNA and genetic genealogy and how they can produce irrefutable results in determining genetic connections and help adoptees bypass sealed records and similar stumbling blocks.

About The Author:

Richard Hill's groundbreaking use of genetic genealogy tests in adoption search was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. In order to share his success secrets and tips with other adoptees and genealogists, Hill created an educational website, DNA-Testing-Adviser.com, which makes genetic genealogy understandable to all. Richard gives talks and interviews on DNA testing. As the unifying expert who bridges the fields of genetic genealogy and adoption search, he has become the go-to person for adoptees and others seeking to find lost relatives or confirm suspected relationships. The author has a BS in physics, an MBA, and more than thirty years of experience in marketing.

Changing Gears

About The Book:

What happens when a mother and her 16-year-old son drop everything to bike across the country? On the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, they struggle up hills in the pouring rain, they feel soreness in muscles they didn’t know they had, and they learn more about each other than they ever knew before. When licensed clinical therapist and self-proclaimed “reluctant adventurer” Leah Day felt herself drifting from her son, Oakley, she decided to make a drastic play to reconnect. In this memoir chronicling the journey of a lifetime, Leah and Oakley find that if they can push themselves to accomplish physically exhausting and emotionally taxing milestones on a bike, they are capable of anything!

About The Author:

Leah Day lives on Peaks Island in Maine with her husband, four children, and dog, Cricket. A licensed clinical therapist and former Outward Bound instructor, she now owns and operates Lighthouse Bikes in South Portland, Maine, and documents her outdoor adventures on her blog bikemum.com.

Going On Nine

About The Book:

A child swipes her mother’s ring, snatches her sister’s nightgown, and runs outside to play “bride.” She soon loses the ring, rips the gown, correctly assumes it’s about to rain daggers, and runs away from home to find a better family. What happens next is a summer-long journey in which Grace Townsend rides shotgun in a Plymouth Belvedere, hunkers in the back of a rattletrap vegetable truck, crawls into a crumbling tunnel, dresses up as a prom queen, and keeps vigil in the bedroom of a molestation victim. There are reasons why Grace remembers the summer of 1956 for the rest of her life. Those are just a few. Through the eyes of a child and the mature woman she becomes, we make the journey with Grace and discover important truths about life, equality, family, and the soul-searching quest for belonging.

About The Author:

Catherine Underhill Fitzpatrick grew up in the 1950s and 1960s in suburban St. Louis. She is the second of six children. She, like many children her age, enjoyed summer vacations unscheduled and unfettered. After graduating from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, she worked as a metro daily newspaper feature writer in Hannibal, St. Louis, and Milwaukee. In September of 2001, Catherine was in Manhattan to cover New York Fashion Week. At the first word of the terrorist attacks, she rushed to Ground Zero and filed award-winning eyewitness reports. An account of her reportage that day appears in Running Toward Danger. A front page of the newspaper edition containing one of her 9-11 dispatches is among those memorialized in Washington DC's Newseum. Her book-length account of her harrowing experiences that week has been accessioned into the State Historical Society of Missouri archives. Catherine is a board member of the Chicago-area TallGrass Writers Guild. She and her husband, Dennis, have two daughters. Their first grandchild, Lillian Leslie Gould, was born in June 2013. Catherine and Dennis divide their time between Chicago and Bonita Springs, Florida.

Find these, and many other great reads, on the Familius Website.

~Hayley

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. I have used direct text from the website of the company/product I am promoting to facilitate in my review.

Happy 16th Birthday - Golden Birthday In Heaven

Moments In Motion With Love #BookTober

Moments In Motion With Love

About The Book:

Moments in Motion with Love illustrates the beauty of every moment and celebrates our children by bringing forth their significant connection to our planet. Written by a speech pathologist after seeing the impact the pandemic has had on her students, this is a book designed for parents, caretakers, and educators to start a conversation, and help heal the stress that our children are feeling during this very confusing time in their lives. Every page will remind children how precious and loved they are!

About The Author:

Denise Cesare is a published author, keynote speaker, and social-emotional learning specialist, focusing her efforts to serve the needs of schools, organizations, and communities. Denise has worked as a Speech Language Pathologist and Special Education/Social Emotional Specialist for over 25 years, earning two master's degrees. In 2006, she lost her voice due to a condition called Spasmodic Dysphonia from a major car accident. Through treatment and a whole lot of faith, she has been able to regain her voice. Since that time, much has come to surface for her about the meaning of life, the importance of being present, the gift every moment offers, and the power love has to heal. Combining her vast education, continued learning, and personal experience, currently as a keynote speaker, Denise delivers research-backed talks on regulating emotions, mindfulness education, and kindness initiatives.

Get your copy of Moments In Motion With Love on Denise's Website today!

~Hayley

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. I have used direct text from the website of the company/product I am promoting to facilitate in my review.

Let's Be Friends #BookTober

Let's Be Friends

About The Book:

Written by a mother and daughter for mothers and daughters, this uplifting devotional offers girls aged eight to twelve helpful advice on how to find and maintain mutually beneficial friendships that affirm their faith and build their self-esteem. Making and keeping good friends are lifelong skills that will help tween girls grow up to be emotionally and spiritually healthy and enable them to use their God-given gifts to bless the lives of others. Girls will learn how to recognize the differences between a good and a bad friend, what to do when others hurt them, stay true to themselves, and many other important aspects of friendship. Each devotion includes engaging insights on friendship from Blythe Daniel and her twelve-year-old daughter, Calyn, written directly to tweens, thoughtfully selected Scripture verses, words of encouragement, and questions for further reflection. Fun and engaging, this book will help girls confidently say, “Let’s be friends.”

About The Authors:

Blythe Daniel is a literary agent and marketer with over 20 years of publishing experience. She speaks at writers’ conferences and appears on podcasts and other interviews. She writes for Crosswalk.com, Today's Christian Living, and Proverbs 31 Ministries. She links hundreds of bloggers with millions of readers through BlogAbout. Her passion is helping authors share their stories. Blythe lives in Colorado with her husband and three teenagers.

Calyn Daniel is a middle schooler and loves spending time with her friends and family, including her older sister, Maris, and twin brother, William, who is also an author. She is a competitive gymnast and enjoys cooking. Calyn believes girls need to know who they are in Christ, how to navigate friend groups -especially when they change - and how to not lose sight of who God has made them to be.

Get your copy of Let's Be Friends on Amazon today!

~Hayley

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. I have used direct text from the website of the company/product I am promoting to facilitate in my review.

Mended #BookTober

Mended: Restoring The Hearts Of Mothers And Daughters

About The Book:

You can be restored even when your relationship is frayed. Ever wonder why mothers and daughters can be so different and even seem to speak different languages? Mended gives you conversation starters to speak life into your relationship with your mother or daughter. Discover powerful words that usher in healing for wounded hearts and rebuild, restore, and reconcile your connection. Set new patterns going forward as you…find common ground and put your relationship ahead of your differences, learn what to say when you don’t know what to say, and grow closer when you do hard things together. If you have a difficult history with your mother or daughter, you don’t have to continue patterns of brokenness. No matter how worn you feel, you don’t have to become unthreaded. God wants to mend your heart to His and to hers.

About The Authors:

Blythe Daniel is a literary agent and marketer with over 20 years of publishing experience. She speaks at writers’ conferences and appears on podcasts and other interviews. She writes for Crosswalk.com, Today's Christian Living, and Proverbs 31 Ministries. She links hundreds of bloggers with millions of readers through BlogAbout. Her passion is helping authors share their stories. Blythe lives in Colorado with her husband and three teenagers.

Dr. Helen McIntosh, EdD, Counseling Psychology, is a counselor, speaker, educator, and author. Her work has appeared in Guideposts, ParentLife, and HomeLife magazines. She resides in Georgia with her husband Jim. They have two children, son Bryan and daughter Blythe, and five grandchildren.

Get your copy of Mended: Restoring the Hearts of Mothers and Daughters on Amazon today!

~Hayley

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. I have used direct text from the website of the company/product I am promoting to facilitate in my review.