This is the season of giving special and meaningful gifts to the people we love the best! I have pulled together a list of my favorite things! Included are thoughtful and fun ideas to nourish the mind, body and soul!

1. The Pocket Cathedral

The Pocket Cathedral is a beautiful gift for the ones you love the best this holiday! There are over 100 heart-searching prayers, scriptures and meaningful quotes to nourish the soul. Following is a review from Amazon: It’s as if you have stepped into a beautiful sanctuary. Turning the pages brings the scent of votives and the brush of angels’ wings. The Pocket Cathedral is a gift of prayers, scriptures, and quotes that shine serenity and light into the corners of your heart to bring hope, inspiration, and consolation. Pages to be read with your family, friends, or in times of sacred solitude. A truly blessed benediction! 

Proceeds from each book sold go to help kid’s fighting cancer this Christmas. Happy to sign, wrap and mail with free shipping!

You can purchase The Pocket Cathedral at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, select local bookstores like Parnassus Books in Nashville and signed copies on my website, www.breadandhoneyblog.net.

2. The Hope Box

Inside The Hope Box one discovers a treasure chest of small gestures when accomplished in love promise to fill the soul with hope. You will find a book of prayers and meaningful quotes, calming tea and honey, a prayer cloth, a beautifully-scented and calming aromatherapy oil, and a candle. It’s amazing what happens when we believe we have hope. I see life as a relay race we are all on, where we are on the track could be a place of darkness or light, struggle or gratitude. We each have this gift to pass the baton of hope to one another knowing that somewhere along the track we will need someone to do the same for us. The Hope Box is a gift with great purpose, meaning and love. Place your order by December 20th and Santa will wrap and ship a Hope Box for you or someone you know could use a little extra love and hope this Christmas! Or visit White’s Mercantile in Nashville, Franklin or Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee and take home a box. All proceeds from The Hope Box go to Memorial Sloan Kettering in honor of my son Charlie.

Find out more: https://www.breadandhoneyblog.net/hope-box/

3. The Hope Choker

I love this sweet 14 gold cross pendant necklace that can be worn long or as a choker. But I especially love the lifestyle company, ABLE, that created it! ABLE is a local Nashville company committed to ending generational poverty by working with women who have had to overcome extraordinary circumstances. ABLE’s mission is to transform women all over the world into entrepreneurs. Visit White’s Mercantile or www.livefashionable.com

4. Music City Cryo

Whole Body cryotherapy is the use of cold temperatures to reduce inflammation, relieve muscle soreness, increase energy, aid sleep, boost the immune system, and help with anxiety and depression. You step into a full body capsule for 3 minutes of teeth-chattering cold! Visit Music City Cryo and you are bound to bump into the front line of the Titans football team, Vandy’s basketball team and many of the Preds. I was introduced to Cryo after an injury from running! It significantly cut down my healing down. Fill your stockings with these gift certificates at www.musiccitycryo.com. Give it a try. I think you’ll love it!

5. MEEL Family Bundles

My friend Marti Emch, the founder of Nashville’s  local, gourmet food delivery company has done it again! Her “Family Bundles” are my secret weapon to juggling family, writing and working while also still desiring to eat clean, healthy and delicious meals. In her online marketplace, you can choose a multitude of dinner options from delicious Winter soups and stews, Fajitas, Burgers, Green curry, homemade pastas, sauces, meatballs and breads. Delivered to your front door on Monday or Thursday, you will receive a beautifully packaged box of fresh ingredients and a simple recipe card. Most of the dinners can be cooked in 30 minutes! I will be gifting friends and colleagues the delectable homemade Chicken Pot Pies and French onion soups this Christmas!  As an aside, each week I order 2 dozen fresh eggs, local salad greens and homemade bread! You can visit www.localmeel.com/marketplace/ for gift certificates and ideas for personalized gifts.

6. Bread and Honey Apron & Recipe Cards

The Bread and Honey Apron and packet of recipe cards was such a hit last year, I have made more! I love this apron for the pockets! When I am cooking it is so nice to tuck the recipe in the pocket to keep pulling out and to keep my wooden spoon close by! These recipe cards are the perfect size and you get 6 of my favorite meals for my family: Vegetable soup, Chicken, lemon and olive tagine, and an easy recipe for a tomato tart! Also included are a set of blank recipe cards! I’m hoping there is a cookbook in my future!

7. Under Armor TB12 Sleepwear by Tom Brady

Tom Brady, the multi-Superbowl quarterback, has recently written a bestseller unveiling his master plan for his peak performance. He and his wife appear to have discovered the fountain of youth. The book details many of his secrets from nutrition, recovery, and sleep. Tom Brady partnered with sportswear company, Under Armour, to create an advanced sleep system apparel using infrared technology to help the body recover during rest. This is a fun gift for the athlete in the house! David and I both love ours.

8. Nutella

My family is officially addicted to Nutella. We put it on everything from simple toast to Belgian waffles. Many Saturdays, I make almond butter and nutella sandwiches for lunch. I will not divulge names but there are members of the Mason family who have been caught eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon. Recently, it was brought to my attention that the brand Nutella is made from palm oil which has carcinogens that may lead to various cancers. I have been on the hunt for a healthy, but still tasty version of Nutella that my family can enjoy. This summer, I visited the Persephone Bakery in Jackson Hole Wyoming and fell in love with their “hand-made” batches of nutella! Their version is hazelnuts, hazelnut oil, Tahitian vanilla, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Let’s just say my cupboard is stock-piled for the holidays. Visit www.persephonebakery.com for more goodies.

9. 23andMe

10. Shine Your Light Cuff Bracelet

The theme for Christmas this year for me is “Light your lamps.” The world feels pretty dark right now and more than ever, we need to “Shine our Light.” You can purchase this bracelet online at Ex Voto Vintage or at their Nashville or Birmingham store locations. ExVoto will give all Bread and Honey followers a 10 % discount this week. If you purchase online, type in the code breadandhoney10 for the discount. They will also include gift wrapping and free shipping! A portion of the proceeds goes to fighting pediatric brain cancers. This would make a sweet gift for a daughter, mother, grandmother and friend! I am hoping Santa tucks one in my stocking this year!

Merry Christmas!!

Farrell