What's On Tap This Month - CHRISTMAS

All opinions stated on monthly What's on Tap posts are my honest opinion. While sponsored reviews can be submitted for review, DTWB only promotes products that are genuinely liked. This Tap does not include any sponsored reviews.

After posting my mother load of Christmas gift ideas for November's Tap, I found more incredible gift ideas (and a few other things I thought you should know about). And since we are all busy this time of year, I won't take up any more of it. Here they are.

Look, love, order!

Abracadabra...Songza!

(I'll start by mentioning that this is FREE. So there's that.) 

I love listening to music but what I listen to might depend on my mood or what I'm doing. Music is essential to any gathering but who feels like getting up to change the song from a snappy, happy Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when your hosting an elegant, adult Holiday Dinner?  Or who wants to be mid-heaving, sobbing cry over a heart-wrenching break up when some upbeat, pop song plays? I know I have certain songs I listen to when I'm writing, something more introspective. Enter songza. Visit www.songza.com and it will tell you that it is Sunday morning or Wednesday evening or Monday afternoon (you get it, right?) and give you a few suggestions of what you might like to listen to OR hit the Browse All Tab and select music by genre, activities, mood, decades, culture, or Record-store Clerk. Personally, I love the "Activities Tab" that includes tons of activities from Cooking with Friends to Breaking Up to Drinking at a Dive Bar. Or the "Mood Tab" which includes moods like campy, motivational, and sprightly to name, seriously, only a few. Play a few playlists for your next holiday gathering and fall in love with Songza. The gift (of music) that keeps on giving.

Be the hottest housewife on the block for sure with...

Anthropologie Aprons

Oh. My. God. Can you say ADOREable? This throwback to Mad Men apron is it. I have been saying to Husband that I want an apron for my delicious weekend family breakfasts and now I've found one. Ehem... hint, hint. My favorite part is the price. Anthropology to me usually spells e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e but these are $32 (less for the kid aprons)! Hello delicious...literally! (Click individual pictures for link to site)

  

Bonus: Buy an apron that will match with your Little Chick-a-dee for added adoreableness!

Inspire your child to learn about the world and get them excited about it with...

Little Passports

I am a big fan of gifts that keep giving. My father, literally the man who has everything, gets a 6 month subscription for Netflix every Christmas. That holds him over until Father's Day where he gets another subsription that holds him over til Christmas. And so it goes. 

This deliciously cute idea works the same way. It's like a wine club but for kids. And replace the wine with a hunger for learning about the world or the U.S. This subscription begins with an Explorer Kit that includes a letter from your child's traveling pals, a passport, a map, stickers, activities, and access to online activities. And did I mention that they arrive in this totes cute suitcase? There after, both World Edition (ages 5-10) and USA Edition (ages 7-10) packages arrive with location specific photos, souvenirs, activity sheets and more. Check them out!

Your OWN Subscription

Why not get your own adult subscription while you're at it? It's no secret that I love Oprah and everything O. Everything she stands for is inspiring and uplifting and smart and classy, so there aren't too many things that can excite me like the idea of cozying up on a couch with a warm cup of coffee and my O Magazine. I get one every month and it always delivers. I savor each page and take my time reading each and every word printed on these pages. Subscribe for a year and save more than half off. Subscribe for two years and save even more! Or even better, gift it.

Wear What You Mean

Like art, or music, or a pair of shoes, jewelry can really tell something about you. Most of the jewelry I buy is inexpensive (although, I would totally be ok with expensive jewelry) and usually quirky. I also love jewelry that says something. No, literally. I love pieces with words on them which makes sense sine words are such an important part of my life. Check out these adorable (and inexpensive) pieces I am loving right now! (Click links in caption to find these deals.)

shop it at etsy.com at GingerSquared

With soooo many to choose from, this lovethislife line is totally cute, totally affordable, and totally for every woman on your list....

lovethislife at Kohl's

And to go with your words on jewelry, how about some words on clothes. I don't normally like too much wordage on my clothing but these sweaters from Old Navy are light enough that I could wear in the Dominican Republic and cute enough to wear to a casual, low key Christmas gathering. Plus, who doesn't love a little push of optimism this time of year? Click sweater for link

YesVideo, Please

(sponsored post) When I received a perk from Klout to try YesVideo I was curious to see what I would think about this service. YesVideo takes your old VHS tapes and converts them for online screening. From here, you could choose to copy these videos to DVD at an additional cost. Coming from a home where my father carried around a 22 pound video camers in the 80's to film every moment, I hold family videos close to my heart. Today, I received an email that our videos were available for online viewing and instead of writing for the full few hours I had available, I watched home movies. In the middle of Starbucks, I laughed out loud and held in tears of joy and tears of nostalgia as I watched my father swinging me around by my arms, my grandmother at a younger age, my sister with a missing tooth. I watched moments that I remember in my mind that are even better on camera. So I'd have to say that although the video quality (which might be our videos and not YesVideo) wasn't spectacular (clear enough), having home family movies that I could watch at my fingertips was a gift to my soul right now. I'll let you know how the DVD turns out.
(Use this link to get you a FREE transfer & DVD, shipping not included)

Volkswagen Bus
There's no other way to describe this. It's awesome. It an old school VW Bus and a tent and awesome. VW Bus Tent = Awesome. And it's on sale right now. RIGHT NOW! Get it. (Comes is blue, red, or pink.)