6 Perfect Gifts for Practical People

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Do you have someone on your gift list who is so practical it's almost impossible to buy anything for them?

I feel your pain, because I'm that person. I know how hard it is for my friends and family. I don't ask for much and I hate it when anybody "wastes" money, even if it's on a nice gesture like buying me flowers (hello, they just die!)

But there are certain gifts that are just so darn useful that I have absolutely loved them. If you know someone who's as practical to a fault as I am, you should definitely give them one of these 6 perfectly practical gifts. And then maybe get them some professional help.

I own and love each of these products personally, and I've linked to each one with my affiliate link. When you buy through these links, I get a small commission but it doesn't affect the cost for you.

Silicone Baking Cups

I asked for silicone muffin cups for my birthday for years, and no one thought I was serious. I was. Finally someone took the hint and these things are my all-time favorite gift, ever.

Practical people hate waste, and buying silly paper liners to throw away always killed me. Now the muffins pop right out of the silicone cups once they've cooled (my kids love doing that part.) As a perfectionist it always bothered me when my recipe didn't make a perfect dozen and left empty cups in the muffin pan, but now I can put the exact number of cups I need on a baking sheet.

There couldn't be anything more efficient or perfect, really. Silicone cups are also easier to wash and take up less space in the cupboard than the big metal pan.

Fels Naptha Laundry Bars

I can hear you rolling your eyes right now. Soap? I am not giving anybody soap for Christmas, you say. But this isn't just any soap. This soap is magical in its stain-fighting properties. Your friend will think you're a wizard.

You know how some people swear by coconut oil and use it in place of toothpaste, deodorant, and gasoline? That's me with Fels Naptha, almost. I grate it up and use it to make my own laundry detergent, but I also keep a bar by the washing machine to pre-treat stains.

It can take out almost any stain, even set-in ones. If my family has to listen to me regale them with the story of how I used Fels Naptha to remove a pitcher of red Crystal Light from our beige rug one more time, they're probably going to scream.

Oreck XL Vacuum Cleaner

My Oreck, how I love thee. Let me count the ways: one, you weigh 9 lbs and that's less than some newborns. That means my kids can even haul you upstairs and vacuum their own rooms. Theoretically, anyway.

Two, you are simple and therefore easy to fix. I don't need every type of feature, attachment, and indicator light known to man; I just want to be able to suck up dirt and the occasional Lego. My friends' huge, clunky deluxe machines need replacing every few years, but if you stop working I know that the bag is full or a belt is broken, and that's about all that can go wrong.

As a result, the Oreck vacuum we bought 12 years ago (I'll let that sink in a little) is still going strong.

Heated Mattress Pad

We've had electric blankets before, but the trouble is (aside from them dying on us quickly) that heat rises. If we wanted a warm bed we had to first make the bed (sorry, I don't do it in the morning) and turn the blanket on for 15 minutes to heat up the mattress. And who has that kind of foresight? Not me.

Getting a mattress pad warmer is skipping the middle man. Now instead of lying on a cold mattress with a warm blanket on top of us, we get a warm mattress AND a warm blanket. How could I not love this model of efficiency?

Also, you control the temperature separately for each side, which is great because I like to blast it up to inferno and then turn it to low once I get in bed and Phillip likes to keep it at medium all night.

USB Heated Fingerless Gloves

I can hardly think of a more practical gift than this, since my hands tend to get cold when I type and I'm almost always working at my computer doing practical things. (Watching funny videos on YouTube qualifies as research for a humor blogger, so technically speaking, it's practical.)

I've tried a lot of different solutions. Space heaters don't directly warm my hands, but these plug right into my computer and warm up a heated pad inside each glove itself. The fingerless-ness is awesome because it doesn't interfere with my typing, and I don't know what the material is (Amazon just says "soft plush") but it feels like the downy fuzz of the softest baby chinchilla in all the world.

Kitchen Aid Standing Mixer

We've had our Kitchen Aid for 10 years and I use it at least 3 or 4 times a week. Practical people are always making food because we can do it better, cheaper, and healthier at home.

This thing is as sturdy as a tank but so pretty you can just leave it out on your counter 24/7. It mixes flawlessly and enables my incorrigible multitasking in the kitchen since I can let it do its thing while I prep another part of the meal.

Kitchen Aid makes this thing in a bazillion colors, and even get me started on the number of attachments you can buy.

Every time I use one of these practical gifts, even after years and years, I can't help but think to myself, "I love this thing." And that, for a practical person, really does make the best holiday gift of all.

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