In case you weren’t aware, most Christmas gift guide blog posts are useless lists of products that paid for their spot. I’ve done smaller, unpaid guides in the past, where I list products I actually like and recommend, but last year I tried to go big and participate in a group guide.

After that experience, I’ll never look at gift guides the same again.

Christmas Gift Guides Done Wrong

Every year I usually do a Christmas gift guide blog post, where I recommend things I found that year and actually like. Most of the things are from places for which I have an affiliate link, where I do make a commission from the sales, but I only promote it because I actually like it.

My experience with a big group blog gift guide was eye-opening, with some companies paying hundreds of dollars for top spots. The whole thing is quite a business, and the result left me feeling pretty inauthentic, recommending gifts like gutter accessories and bath towels.

I went into the whole thing with dollar signs dancing in my eyes, envisioning lots of blog traffic and sales from the post, and ending with me feeling like I put in a lot of extra work over the holidays for very little payoff.

I was also excited about connecting with other professional bloggers, and did enjoy chatting about blog things with people who had been doing this as long (or longer) than me.

Unfortunately, after the whole thing was over, I managed to piss off many of the bloggers I had connected with for having the audacity to recommend a recipe app that just saves the recipe and not all the ads and clutter most recipe posts come with.

Apparently, I was attacking their livelihood for helping people not suffer through the life-story intro into how to bake cookies. My bad.

Gift Guides from the Heart

So, this year, if you see me do a gift guide, know it’s things I would personally recommend and not a paid spot. I’m not going to hustle and try to sell my list. I’m not even sure I’ll do a list, as most of the time gift guides are more work than they’re worth.

And I’m not saying the guide from last year was all fluff, as there was some pretty good stuff on there I would actually recommend.

You can find last year’s guide here: Gift Guide for Suave Santas

But overall, it just seemed like too much business, and not enough heart.

*If your Elf on the Shelf is returning, we also have a fun free letter you can print out: Elf on the Shelf Return Letter