Sarah & Beth’s Favorite Things from 2022

This year in homage to Sarah’s love of all things Oprah, we thought we would share our favorite things! These are the items that saved our lives, items we just plain loved, items we found insanely useful. We mentioned these things throughout the year on the podcast, our premium channels, and social media and have collected them here. There are a wide range of price points and a characteristically diverse array of items. We hope you find it useful and we hope you share it if you do!

You can also check out last year’s Gift Guide Here.

This post contains affiliate links!

Sections

The Gift of Pantsuit Politics

If you’re looking for a gift for a Pantsuit Politics fan in your life, here’s where you should start!

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The Gift of Advent

At our most recent Ask Us Anything live event for our Premium Members, Sarah mentioned that she’s usually ALL IN on Advent Calendars, but she felt she needed some fresh inspiration.

We got so many wonderful recommendations that we wanted to share them with you.

Activities (would be fun for kids or adults)

Snacks and Treats

Beauty and Personal Care

Fun for Kids

Other ideas for the Holiday Countdowns

  • The Alternative Advent Calendar (this is actually a book by Gillian Monks with 25 daily activities to connect you to the season regardless of your geography or background)

  • Advent Give Away Calendar- add 25 items to charity bag, or your Buy Nothing Group.

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The Gift of Reading

Whenever we mention a book on the podcast, we add it to our page on Bookshop.org. Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores and we receive a commission if you get books there, but it’s also a great place to see what we’re reading.

Pantsuit Politics on Bookshop.org

Some of our favorite authors on the podcast this year were:

  • Dr. Becky Kennedy, Good Inside

  • Rick Steves, Travel as a Political Act

  • Lisa Sharon Harper, Fortune

  • Jason Kander, Invisible Storm

  • Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne

  • Colin Woodward, American Nations

Sarah’s Favorite Books of the Year:

Beth’s Favorite Books of the Year:


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The Gift of Style

Able

This year we joined in a partnership with Able and have fallen pretty hard for their products. If you choose to shop at Able this holiday season you can get 30% off the entire site using the code PANTSUIT30

These are some of our favorite things from Able:

  • Sarah’s travel backpack: Isabel Heritage Backpack

  • A shirt so perfect that both Sarah AND Beth sing it’s praises. Meghan Drapey V-Neck Tee

  • I love this bag — Rachel Utility Crossbody just the right amount of compartments, holds so much more than you might imagine, it's lightweight for such a large bag, choices on straps for how you'd like to carry it, beautiful leather. -Beth

  • I also love the Debre wallet, as you know, because VERTICAL credit card holders. I also really like how it's distressing as it gets tossed around in my bag.

  • These Ann Twill Straight Leg Pants are ridiculously comfortable, complete utility players, and always look polished. I'm wearing them with everything — blazers, denim jacket, sweaters, tees.

  • Merly Jacket. It's a best-seller for a reason

Other Things We Love

Personal Care

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The Gift of Paper and Pen

The Gift of Yum

When a virtual casserole just won’t do…

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The Gift of Family Fun

We might not be traditionally “fun” but we love having fun with our families.

  • Beth gifted the Holland family What’s a Meme: Family Edition during her summer visit and they have loved playing it!

  • Beth is newly obsessed with this Horse Racing Game, which is an absolute blast for tailgating.

  • On a recent episode of Dear Beth, a listener asked Beth for recommendations for a family event for a wide range of age groups. These were Beth’s recommendations for kids: Outer Space Sensory Bin and Stack Your Chickens

  • This Safari Bowling Playset is FANTASTIC. Beth gave it to her niece and she had such a blast. There are so many ways to play with it. It's a fabulous gift for the under 4 set.

  • Sometimes when talking about global events, Sarah or Beth will invite their kids onto the podcast or premium channels to talk about the news. Earlier this year, Beth’s daughter Ellen joined her on the Good Morning news brief, and this World Globe Black & White got almost as much attention as the headlines.

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The Gift of Mail

You know we love a subscription box here at Pantsuit Politics.

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The Gift of Experience

For those of you looking to gift experiences this year…

Travel

If you visit her Instagram @bluegrassred, Sarah has highlights from Memphis, New York, South Florida, Indiana, Austin and more that are full of parks, restaurants and other recommendations

If you are going places, Beth recommends these packing cubes. They WILL in fact make your travel life better.

Experiences of all kinds that we loved

  • Beth talked about going to New York to see Into the Woods with her sister on this episode of the podcast., and dropped a little bit of wisdom, “when you feel ‘I want to experience this thing with this person,’ whoever it is, however a little sense it makes, that is the message of Into the Woods that you keep going back. And I think that just continuing to go is a really beautiful and truly political act also.”

  • Sarah’s personal ministry is recommending that people see Brandi Carlile Live in Concert

  • We are eagerly awaiting the 4th season of Succession and Sarah and Beth are looking forward to watching this season in real time and talking about it outside of politics next when it comes out (there’s still time to catch up!)

  • You KNOW Sarah loves her Peloton - if you Peloton, one of her favorite rides is Florence and the Machine.

Our biggest recommendation: whatever you love, whether it’s a musical, piano lessons, or something else take your people and do it.

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Gifts for New Parents

Alise added to her family this year and we wanted to share some of her recommendations for those of you with new parents or new babies in your lives.

  • Nurtured 9 gift boxes - Beth bought me a subscription to receive these boxes the first few months after Oliver arrived. It was so meaningful to get something that was meant for me, but also practical for this season of life. They have a lot of gift options and you can buy their products individually. My favorite products and the ones we still use the most consistently are these super comfortable pajamas, this cute swaddle blanket, and this super basic but quality teething ring. 

  • Hair clips - Once Oliver learned to grab, wearing my hair down became a constant, painful battle. I bought myself a very basic new set of hair clips, but finding a pretty set that matches New Mom’s style and makes her feel a little fancier than she feels would be a great stocking stuffer.

  • A fresh home-cooked meal - A DoorDash gift card is an incredible gift; we used every penny of every one we received. However, in the post-partum haze of frozen meals and takeout, one of the best moments was when my husband’s coworker showed up with a grilled pork loin and grilled fresh vegetables. So simple, but we were so hungry for fresh food. If you live close enough to do this, it is a wonderful gesture. 

  • Water Bottle - This phase of life demands an absurd amount of hydration. We already had a lot of water bottles, but my sister bought me one of these when I became pregnant and we liked it so much I bought my husband one a few months later.

  • Storage Bins - We bought these storage bins for our den just before Oliver was born and they have been an unexpected delight. We use one for baby laundry so there’s a nearby place to toss dirty burp clothes or onesies, one for toys, and one for books. We’ve also used them on car trips for easy access to a few necessities while on the road and trying to keep Oliver entertained. They are good quality for the price and easy to clean.

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Gifts for New Babies

  • Captain Calamari - SO many of our listeners insisted we needed this toy. Maggie agreed and graciously bought it for us. Everyone was right. The Captain was Oliver’s first friend.

  • Tommee Tippee pacifiers - There are much cuter pacifiers out there, but Oliver accepts nothing else and I’ve heard the same from other parents as well.

  • Little Tikes 2-in-1 Snug 'n Secure Swing - Save this for supported sitters, but we just bought Oliver this swing and he loves it. My mom has the same one and my 2.5 year old nephew still adores it.

  • Halo Sleepsack Swaddle - This swaddle was a lifesaver for us. We still use it every night as a sleep sack even now that we’ve stopped swaddling.

  • Matthew Paul Turner books - If you, like me, have deconstructed your childhood faith and aren’t quite sure how to introduce ideas of spirituality to your own child, Matthew Paul Turner’s books are perfection. 

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Maggie Penton6 Comments