Welcome back fearless readers- and happy holidays! hopefully you all are getting all settled in to eat drink and be merry with your family.
It’s been a crazy year and I can’t believe it went from “oh it’s December 1st already” to HOLY FUCK CHRISTMAS IS NOW!
No? – just me? Okay then.
Now that it’s the day before the holidays, maybe you are like me and behind still on your shopping, but the good news is: belly dancers generally aren’t particularly difficult to shop for! We like make up- costumes- glitter- sparkly things and workshops! Easy right!
But maybe you forgot? or maybe you aren’t sure what to get a new friend? I’ve assembled some of my top “last minute gifts” into list of a few things that you can still pick up the day before Christmas!
Classes or Workshops: Do you know where your dancer trains? you can always give them the gift of classes at their regular training studio or a studio they visit occasionally. Level up- if you know what events they are going to- or plan to go to- you can *always* get them a gift certificate to a local event or workshop. I know my *favorite* thing is getting money toward big intensives/plane tickets/vouchers for travel. It helps out SO MUCH with intensive/long term training.
East Coast Classic is a mere month away and Art of The Belly right on it’s heels in March for us East coasters!
Downloadables: Dancers are almost *always* on the hunt for new music and research materials, and these days a lot of books and CDs are downloadable- WOOHOO – go technology!
iTunes/Amazon/Spotify are ALL gift-able.
Check out the Salimpour Store for a ton of downloadable content- books, music, and cymbal jams! https://www.salimpourstore.com/, I can tell you the Compendium, the article book and the music book are totally worth their weight in gold, on line subscriptions? Salimpour Online, or check out one of their favorite dancers and see if you can buy a private lesson for your favorite dancer. Datura on line, Michelle Joyce of Cheeky Dancer and Aziza all have online materials as well.
Mao From Sparkly Belly has a lot of cool tutorials you can download if your dancer is crafty!
And if your dancer friend is crafty- a gift certificate to their local fabric store is NEVER going to go to waste.
MAKE UP: Make is REALLY tricky- I’m very selective about buying make up for other people as many of my friends have allergies/sensitivities to certain make ups. Add in some of the ethical/moral issues from certain brands- unless you know for a cold hard fact which brands a dancer loves (very likely since bellydancers are like crossfitters- don’t know what their favorite make up is- wait five minutes- they’ll tell you).
A good gift card inside a fun make up clutch from your local sephora or ulta is always well received. Just a note here, as many of you know, make up is expensive and gift cards are *always* appreciated just keep in mind 25$ to make up stores is a bit like an entrance fee.
Planners/calendars: it’s the new year- events are getting scheduled- workshops booked and trips planned- a great year planner or even a year calendar is a win for your dancer friend. Bonus/Level up- peep their current planner and see what it looks like- if it’s well loved- getting another one like that might be a win! If you aren’t sure about planners? Diaries and pens are equally nice too- most of my dance friends always have a notebook and pens for classes combos or thoughts.
Tripod: a lot of dancers/performers are doing a lot of self filming (wheres’ that “video is a tool” blog post I need to tag here)- you can get one from Wal-Mart, Target or Best buy and look for one with a phone attachment- or I believe the selfie stick pops out to become a fun tripod at this point as well! Most people get a LOT of use out of these as performers/artists.
Gift Certificates: to their favorite boutique or a favorite small business owner artist! Do you know where they love to shop? Dance wear is an on going collection process and if you know some of your dancers favorite brands- getting them a gift certificate to that store is a win- it feels nice to support local artists and businesses and your dancer friend gets cool things. who doesn’t love that?
On line stores like The Bellydance Store and Dahlal International also do gift certificates.
Belladonna who makes all those beautiful Soul Armor pieces also does gift certificates- which is a great way to help your dancer friend get their own piece of Soul Armor that speaks to them personally.
Charming Charlies: CC is HUGE up here in the tri-state area, there are ones all over- and while jewelry is inherently unique to each person- but charming charlies has so much stuff- it’s almost impossible not to get something great- and remember what I said- dancers LURV shiny things- and it’s a store full of color coordinated shiny things- you’re bound to get something wearable!
SELF CARE!
Dancers general suck at self care, kidding- that’s just me. Dancers are athletes and we train hard- self care is absolutely vital. Here are a few last minute gifts specifically for self care- for you (yeah you need self care too!) or for your dancer friends!
Massages: I’d say this is a GREAT gift you can usually pick up last minute for your dancer friend. Almost all dancers I know don’t perform enough self care for themselves- so a good professional deep tissue massage is an amazing gift.
Layers: Socks/leg warms/layering clothes are super helpful also- winter is here and we keep dancing- so things we can layer and dance in and shed as needed are always thoughtful and appreciated.
Tools: Rolling sticks/tennis balls/lacrosse balls/yoga stretch straps- Walmart/Target/Dicks/Under Armor- all stores that carry all manner of self care tools that your dancer might find helpful- swing through and see if there are any interesting torture devices you haven’t seen your dancer friend use (or one you might like!)
Hopefully that’s enough to get you all started if you’re behind or give you some inspiration if you’re running behind!
I hope you have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends, and that you have peace and joy this week.
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