Put Yourself On the Nice List

If your household is like mine, you do all the holiday gift shopping. My husband came home yesterday evening and asked where all the wrapped, tagged and stacked gifts had “come from”—like Santa had popped by with a delivery while he was out. And while I am not complaining (I like being in charge of this family task), it’s a lot of work. Which is why, to say “thank you...me” this time of year, I sometimes sneak in one small gift to myself.

 The new Nest Hearth Candle has sold out in most stores this year, but you can still find it online here

Now, this isn’t a big splurge (the holidays can feel like a money-hemorrhaging time) but something that I wouldn’t ordinarily just go out and buy for myself: a piece of sparkly, cocktail-party-appropriate (costume) jewelry like this from the French store (and my current obsession) Sezane, a new red lipcolor like this one from Bobbi Brown—or a couple of cozy-smelling candles from Nest or Diptyque.

This year, I opted for three of the latter:

Nest’s Holiday Candle, a mix of pine, cinnamon, vanilla and pomegranate–and my all-time favorite scent for the winter. In the votive size, it’s also my go-to holiday hostess gift.

Nest’s Hearth Candle, a new scent that smells like aprés ski to me: roaring fire + a Maraschino-cherry-stuffed Manhattan.

Diptyque Pomander is a warm, welcoming smell I will burn all winter.

Diptyque’s Pomander, an orange and clove blend that's how I imagine a chic French kitchen smells on Christmas morning.

The candles have been especially spirit-lifting this year, as we are having some construction done on our house and have been relegated to our bedrooms behind a dust curtain, like the boy in the bubble. We’ve no place for a Christmas tree or holiday decorations, but burning the candles (plus holiday music piped out through our Amazon Echo) have helped conjure the holiday spirit.

What lifts your holiday spirits? I'd love to hear from you—at mediumblondeblog@gmail.com or in the Comments below!