At the end of a year capped with shopping and gifts, I saw some patterns among orders I filled for clients and presents exchanged between my family and friends. In 2015, electronic accessories were less popular while subscription gifts, adventure opportunities and travel experiences met increasing demand. Gifts that keep on giving aren’t new - from wine and jelly of the month to magazine subscriptions, a present that lasts throughout the year offers more than a one-time package. But who needs jam on their doorstep 12 times a year? 2015 offered a new kind of subscription service. Products like Birchbox [...]

Each December we celebrate the holidays the same way we celebrated the year before. Halloween passes and the stores begin to fill with wrapping paper and twinkling lights, and by the time Thanksgiving is over, Michael Buble is full force on every radio station. We go through the motions shopping sale racks and baking cookies, and before we know it, the stockings are emptied and the season is over. Between the preparations and the dismantling, we fill December with traditions that we’ve practiced for as long as we can remember. But how often do you think about those traditions and [...]

Last week a simple printed note on the door of Nordstrom went viral on social media. It wasn’t announcing a flash sale or recruiting employees. It was a notification that said this: Some people were frustrated by this, but more were impressed. I was pretty neutral. If anything, it made me a little sad as I contemplated: Since when is enjoying the holidays one at a time newsworthy? When did retailers begin jumping from Halloween to Christmas with no regard for the one holiday that isn’t about gifts or consumption? Thanksgiving is about appreciation, and we’ve forgotten to appreciate the [...]