There is always a least one person in a family or friend group who is an absolute nerd for all things cocktails, booze, or alcohol-related. This is a person who fancies themselves a mixologist, the first person in the group to jump at the chance to craft drinks for the people around them. We all need that person in our life, they provide so much, so now is your chance to give back a little by buying them a truly next-level spirits gift.

If you want to get them something they truly like, you need to know a little bit about alcohol culture, which is where we come in. We cover the finest in whiskey, tequila, and beer just about every week here at Uproxx, so we know our stuff. With our 2024 Spirits Gift Guide, we’re going to point you in the direction of the gifts that’ll inspire joy in your giftee.

We’ve broken up this guide in two sections, Part 1 will cover all the best drink-making accessories, while Part 2 will point you in the direction of some of the best bottles in the various spirits category we have expertise. Let’s dive in!

Part 1: The Accesories

Barillio Travel Bartender Kit

Price: $97.99

If the cocktail enthusiast in your life likes to flex their skills at any parties they’re invited to, this travel-friendly bartender kit is an ideal gift for them. It has pretty much everything a person would need to craft most cocktails including a shaker, muddler, pourers, a jigger, three different strainers, a zester, a citrus squeezer, a peeler, corkscrew, tongs, and tweezers. There isn’t a bar task this kit can’t satisfy save for smoking!

All the giftee has to do is load it up in their car and they are ready to mix anywhere.

Buy it here.

Middleton Mixology Smoketop

Price: $39.99

Smoked cocktails are more of a gimmick than an actual way to impart flavor to a cocktail. Having said that, it’s a pretty cool gimmick, one that really goes that extra step to impress people, so if the bartender in your life likes to put on a bit of a show when they are mixing, the Middleton Mixology Smoketop is one of the best, simplest, and most affordable cocktail smokers on the market.

Rather than a huge glass dome or apparatus, the Smoketop features a clever chimney design that you load atop a glass, fill up with food-grade wood chips, and blast with a torch, infusing the glass with some scented smoke.

Buy it here.

Imbibe! Cocktail Recipe Book By David Wondrich

Price: $22.82

What makes Imbibe! such a special book is not just the 100+ recipes of essential and fascinating cocktails but the history that cocktail writer David Wondrich stuffs into the book, giving you the context and history of where each drink came from and how it has evolved. It’s fascinating for any fan of mixology, but don’t just take our word for it.

The first edition of the book is so beloved that it won a James Beard Award. A book winning a famous culinary award? That’s some good reading!

Buy it here.

Riedel Drink Specific Glassware

Price: Varies

Great glassware is an essential building block of any home bar and this drink-specific series by Riedel is made in collaboration with spirits specialists for spirits specialists. To really explore the world of craft cocktails, you’re going to need the seven classic cocktail glasses, and Riedel has them all, from highballs to rocks glasses, to Nick & Nora.

Buy a single glass, or go all out and buy the eight-piece rocks and highball set and have your favorite mixologist well-equipped to make any drink in their recipe book.

Buy it here.

W&P Peak Silicone Everyday Ice Tray

Price: $16

Yes, buying an ice tray as a gift seems as bad as getting a pair of socks from your aunt, but if someone in your life always plays the role of bartender at every party (and loves doing it) then they’re going to be serious about their ice game. As someone who often plays that role myself let me tell you, nothing beats a good silicon ice tray.

This is the one I have in my fridge personally, and what I love about it is the internal steel frame which helps to keep the tray’s shape as you’re filling it with water. That means no spills or frustration filling it up again for a new batch of ice — you’d be surprised how many cheap silicone ice trays are structurally unsound. See, this is the real expert nerd sh*t you trust us with!

The silicon is thin, allowing the water to melt to ice as quickly as possible, but durable enough to handle the abuse of unloading the tray over and over again.

Buy it here.

James F. Acacia Wooden Cutting Board

Price: $19.96

The bartender in your life needs a dedicated cutting board for cocktails. Specifically one that is too small for general cooking tasks, this way it stays dedicated. This Acacia Wood cutting board from James F is 9.8 x 8 inches, giving you just the right amount of space to cut up garnishes and aromatics. It’s small enough to fit in a draw, burnished to prevent splinters, and has an attractive finish that doesn’t just look great, but will also keep your knives from dulling.

Buy it here.

Geiserailie Wood Margarita Salt Rimmer

Price: $12.99

Nobody needs a salt rimmer, you can just spread some salt on a plate anytime you need to rim a cocktail, but doing so always results in wasting a lot of salt. A dedicated salt rimmer will cut down on waste because the circular shape keeps the salt where it’s needed most, and this one by Geiserailie has a removable lid — which doubles as a small cutting board — allowing anyone to store the salt for later use.

It also just looks great, which goes a long way with amateur bartenders who are all about aesthetics.

Buy it here.

Part 2: The Bottles

Tequila — Fortaleza Reposado

Price: $66.99

It doesn’t come in a fancy bottle like Clase Azul, doesn’t have that wide-spread name-brand recognition like Don Julio or Patrón, but tequila drinkers know and love this bottle. It’s considered the holy grail of tequila, the very brand and expression that everything is inevitably compared to.

Fortaleza’s Reposado is simply tequila at its finest, so if you want the drinks enthusiast in your life to weep tears of joy, this is the bottle that’s going to do it.

Buy it here.

Vodka — Chopin Potato Vodka

Price: $20.99

Potato vodka is smoother, tastier, and cleaner than typical grain-based vodkas, so if the drinker in your life is all about vodka, they’ll appreciate this affordable bottle by Chopin.

The flavors here are toasty, floral, fruity, and silky smooth. I’ve yet to meet a person who hasn’t been blown away by this brand.

Buy it here.

Gin — Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin

Price: $55.99

It’s easy to find a good, high-quality gin for cheap, but nothing quite compares to this German dry gin. It has complex herbal and botanical tones, a sweet and fruity flavor, and a nice peppery bite that serves as a great base for complex cocktails.

It’s truly next-level dry gin. But be warned, once you get your giftee on this brand, they’re going to expect a bottle every year.

Buy it here.

Rum — Appleton Estate Rum 21 Yr

Price: $142.99

For years I wasn’t the biggest fan of rum, and that’s because most of what I had was the cheap stuff, which is so sweet and sugared that you can’t taste any nuance or complexity. Appleton Estate’s 21 year rum is the opposite of that.

It’s wonderfully complex with a mix of rich cocoa, coffee, chocolate, and vanilla flavors with a long and lingering finish. This is one of the finest and most luxurious sipping rums on the market.

Buy it here.

Whiskey — Whistle Pig The Boss Hog XXI The Juggernaut

Price: $649.99

This is the sort of gift you reserve for a best friend, grandparent, or in-law. It’s the type of whiskey that isn’t designed just to impress, it’s a statement. It says “I know you have refined tastes, well I’m here to elevate them even further.”

I’d very much like to tell you that expensive whiskey isn’t worth it, but I’ve tried Whistle Pig and I can’t deny that this is truly next-level stuff. This rye whiskey hails from the state of Vermont and is aged for 11 years in new American oak barrels and finished in Thandai barrels. It is single barrel-aged and bottled at Proof, coming in at 52.47% ABV.

The flavors here are a deep bouquet of honeycomb, ginger, flowers, black pepper, cardamom, allspice, clove, and saffron, with a baking spice-heavy finish and just a touch of grilled pineapple.

Buy it here.

As far as musical year wind downs go, Spotify has Wrapped and Apple Music has Replay. At Uproxx’s we have our Best Albums and Best Songs list. Still, annually the most discussed curated collection tends to come from former president Barack Obama. Yesterday (December 21), Obama shared his Favorite Music of 2024 playlist and in typical fashion users online are divided.

Last year’s list featured a plethora of rap and R&B goodies. This year’s collection spreads the love among country, reggaeton, pop, Afrobeats, and indie rock. Atop the list is Kendrick Lamar’s most recent No. 1 hit “Squabble Up.” Bangers from Billie Eilish, Beyoncé, Fontaines D.C., Shaboozey, and Karol G also made the cut.

See the full list below.

Kendrick Lamar – “Squabble Up”
Billie Eilish – “Lunch”
Rema – “Yayo”
Tyla, Gunna & Skillibeng – “Jump”
Central Cee & Lil Baby – “Band4band”
Ezra Collective & Yazmin Lacey – “God Gave Me Feet for Dancing”
The Red Clay Strays – “Ramblin’”
Fontaines D.C. – “Favourite”
Asake & Travis Scott – “Active”
Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Bonny Light Horseman – “Old Dutch”
Rae Khalil – “Is It Worth It”
Beyoncé – “Texas Hold ‘Em”
Jordan Adetunji – “Kehlani”
Artemas – “I Like the Way You Kiss Me”
Johnny Blue Skies – “Scooter Blues”
Hozier – “Too Sweet”
Leon Bridges – “Peaceful Place”
Tommy Richman – “Million Dollar Baby”
Waxahatchee & MJ Lenderman – “Right Back to It”
Myles Smith – “Stargazing”
Jack White – “That’s How I’m Feeling”
Moses Sumney – “Gold Coast”
Karol G – “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido”
FloyyMenor & Cris MJ – “Gata Only”

The Best New Hip-Hop This Week includes albums, videos, and songs from Gunna, Kalan.FrFr, and Mozzy.

It’s a nice slow week after the mad scramble of the past few, as artists and their teams finally settle in for the holiday lull. With SZA’s SOS Deluxe: Lana taking up all the air this week, it’s probably a nice time to sit the weekend out and plot on your 2025. Still, there are a few tidbits this week:

Gunna dropped “Got Damn,” an exasperated single reflecting on his past two years of success.

And IDK showed off his “Flow” with an introspective song by that title.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending December 20, 2024.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Mozzy & Kalan.FrFr — Lucky Her

Sacramento native Mozzy continues his strong tradition of collaborative projects with rappers from Compton, but this time, he opts for a smoother approach. Kalan.FrFr might not seem like as natural a fit with the gritty sensibilities of the Oak Park native, but instead of matching his energy, the Compton crooner offers a cool complementary counterpoint to Mozzy’s hothead bark, like peanut butter and jelly.

Sahbabii — Saaheem (A Lu Bit More)

The Atlanta rapper (by way of Chicago) has been building a fairly solid buzz over the past few years since his breakout with 2017’s “Pull Up Wit Ah Stick.” While he has yet to return to the heights he reached with that song, he’s quietly been one of the most consistent Fulton County constituents in terms of quality, if not quantity. Saaheem originally dropped in November, but his deluxe edition gives listeners a chance to spin the block and give him another look.

Singles/Videos

Boldy James — “Hidden In Plain Sight” Feat. Whothehelliscarlo, Conway The Machine & Styles P

The Detroit punchline juggler dropped seven new songs today in the form of the Hidden In Plain Sight EP with producer Whothehelliscarlo. On its title track, he teams up with fellow Griseldan Conway The Machine and stylistic forebear Styles P for a face-twisting showcase of the finest drug rap fresh off the boat.

Larry June — “Treasure Island”

A bright, vaguely tropical sample backs another laid-back Larry June flex session. Few rappers make luxury sound so attainable, yet aspirational.

P-Lo — “Lights Out” Feat. Symba, John Mackk & Lil Bean

P-Lo is a versatile producer and artist but he’s undoubtedly at his best when he taps into his Bay Area roots and gets hyphy. Equally impressive is how he brings it out of usually more serious-minded rappers like Symba.

Ric Wilson — “America Runs On Disco”

Funky/disco/house-rap adherent Ric Wilson returns with a bouncy single that slides along the borderline between Chic and DJ Quik, encouraging listeners to shake those limbs loose.

Rob49 — “On Sight”

A slight but fun year capper from the Louisiana native, “On Sight” won’t expand his fan base very much, but it will energize existing supporters, giving them something to look forward to in the future.

Tee Grizzley — “Diana” Feat. Flo Milli

An unexpected pairing that works, “Diana” sees Grizzley step out of his comfort zone over a skittering beat that finds the two rappers flexing with singsong flows.

Young Nudy — “Gotta Salute”

A standout from Sli’merre 2, “Gotta Salute” pairs a typically slippery Nudy verse with a muted Pi’erre Bourne production perfect for setting the vibe for a chill kickback.

I don’t know how much of an overlap there is between fans of TDE sensation Doechii and Broadway musical cast albums, but since that particular Venn diagram is extremely my sh*t, specifically, I am going to consider this newsworthy. During the whole inevitable “Doechii got too popular too fast, and now we must hate her/call her an industry plant” backlash, one of the insults used against her was that her ’90s referencing mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal sounded like something from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s alt-history battle rap musical Hamilton.

In response to that misguided sentiment, Philadelphia-based mashup producer BlancoBLK actually went ahead an imagined just what that would sound like, posting the results — a mashup of the instrumental from Hamilton showstopper “My Shot” with Doechii’s lyrics from “Catfish.” Unsurprisingly for those who actually listen to music instead of just reacting to internet memes about it, it undeniably knocks. And just in case anyone thought Doechii herself would be anything less than utterly enthusiastic about it — she is a theater kid, as she recently confessed to Brittany Howard in Rolling Stone — Doechii gave the mashup her seal of approval with an exuberant dance video posted on her own TikTok.

You can watch Doechii’s TikTok dance below or here and listen to the full mashup of “Catfish” and “My Shot” above.

The NBA’s trade season unofficially began on Dec. 15, when players who signed free agent deals over the summer became trade eligible. So far, we’ve seen a little bit of movement with two deals that were agreed to prior to that date, as the Golden State Warriors acquired Dennis Schröder and the Indiana Pacers traded for Thomas Bryant.

An unfortunate new reality of the first few years of the most recent CBA is that it’s more difficult than ever to swing big, blockbuster trades while teams are navigating the first and second aprons that can be destructive, especially during the season. Because the teams that spend the most money tend to be the best teams, that also kind of limits how much maneuvering some contenders can do as they try to position themselves in the championship race.

Having said that, in a year when there are no perfect teams, there are moves that contenders can make that either solidify things on the margins or act as the kinds of all-in moves that are statements of intent. Today, we wanted to identify the best teams in the league and try to figure out moves they can make as we move towards the most chaotic point of the NBA’s regular season.

Cleveland Cavaliers: A future second-round pick to the Sacramento Kings for Alex Len

Cleveland doesn’t urgently need anything as long as their main guys continue to stay healthy — as an added bonus, Max Strus should be making his debut sometime soon, providing another shooting threat to the league’s most effecting team from deep. We’re identifying a trade for Len from the Sacramento Kings just so they can add another bench big who can do a job and make them rely on Tristan Thompson a little less, but for the most part, the Cavs are in a great spot.

Boston Celtics: Jaden Springer and a 2025 second-round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for Javonte Green

Like Cleveland, there’s not a ton that the Celtics badly need — probably the most important thing for them is to get Kristaps Porzingis 100 percent back to the level he was at last season. Having said that, Springer doesn’t really play, while Green is an ex-Celtic who can guard multiple positions. He hasn’t hit threes at a great clip this year, but perhaps getting a bunch of wide open looks that Boston’s system generates would help. If not, oh well.

New York Knicks: Robert Williams to the Knicks; Precious Achiuwa, Malaki Branham, two future second-round picks to the Blazers; Deuce McBride, Tyler Kolek to the Spurs

This would hurt the Knicks’ depth — McBride has been fun this year, Achiuwa is a reliable deputy for their frontcourt, and Kolek is a promising youngster. But they haven’t been afraid to give up a ton if it means getting a deal done to correct a need, and for all that Karl-Anthony Towns does well, he is just not a center who can protect the rim. The mix of getting Williams and the return of Mitchell Robinson means that they’d have a pair of options who could do that while sliding Towns to power forward, and while keeping Williams and Robinson healthy would be … let’s call it an adventure, Tom Thibodeau likes bigs who can protect the rim, and Williams can certainly do that. The Blazers should hold out for a first for Williams, but here, they get an effective rotation big in Achiuwa, take a flyer on Branham, and get a few future picks of their choosing, while the Spurs get a pair of fun young guards as they build around Victor Wembanyama.

Orlando Magic: Cole Anthony and a future lottery-protected first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith

This would be a very un-Orlando Magic move, as the team tends to hold onto its guys and doesn’t like to make short-term trades. Having said that, there’s a real path for the Magic to compete to win the Eastern Conference this year once Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner get back from their respective oblique injuries. They have to get better from deep no matter what, as they’re 12th in the NBA in three-point attempts per game and 30th in three-point field goal percentage. Finney-Smith would fit on the defensive end as another long, tenacious wing, only he also connects on 45 percent of his 5.6 attempts per game from deep. And while the first wound be the bigger get for Brooklyn here, perhaps a change of scenery would be good for Anthony, who has seen his role dwindle this season in Orlando.

Milwaukee Bucks: Delon Wright to the Philadelphia 76ers for Eric Gordon

The Bucks run into the problem of being a second apron team that can’t trade much, so figuring something out for them is hard, plus they’re in the spot Cleveland and Boston are in where the real answer is getting an important piece completely up to speed (Khris Middleton). Having said that, they could always use a little more shooting, and while Wright is a good pro, he hasn’t exactly made a huge impact this season. As such, let’s have them call up the Sixers and see if they’re interested in what I’ll call a rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic trade where Wright gets turned into Eric Gordon, who hasn’t played a ton and has struggled to find his shot in a bench role this year. Again, they can’t do much — it’s hard to, say, convince a team to take Pat Connaughton’s deal unless they offer their 2031 first-round pick, which they probably shouldn’t do — so if the do something, it’ll be on the margins where they do something small like turning a guy on an expiring into a guy who has a player option for next year.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Aaron Wiggins and Utah’s 2025 first-round pick to the Utah Jazz for Jordan Clarkson

The Thunder are a brilliant team, but as the NBA Cup final against the Bucks showed, they could really use one guy other than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who can consistently get his own shot — while he’s getting better at this, it’s not really Jalen Williams’ game right now. As such, let’s get them Clarkson, who absolutely does not have that problem under any circumstance. I completely understand the team’s desire to build something sustainable with a long-term view, which is why guys like Wiggins sign 5-year deals and they hold onto a ton of picks, but: 1. They have already built something really impressive, 2. Kicking the can down the road is a lot easier when you aren’t a title favorite like they are now. They have a bunch of guys like Wiggins, and sending Utah their top-6 protected 2025 pick doesn’t make an especially big dent into their war chest of assets.

Memphis Grizzlies: Marcus Smart and a future unprotected first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Cameron Johnson

Someone should trade for Cameron Johnson, who has been playing some phenomenal basketball for the Nets this year and should be coveted by every single team with aspirations of winning a title. I really like the Grizzlies as a landing spot, as I think he fits into their tough, hard-nosed culture, would bring some much-needed shooting, and would be a menace on the defensive end — they’ve seemingly been in the market for a wing stopper forever. He’s not a guy who would ever take the ball out of Ja Morant’s hands, either. And while Smart hasn’t been great in what has mostly been a bench role this year, Brooklyn would get a future-facing asset in that pick and could probably flip Smart either before the deadline or in the summer.

Houston Rockets: Dillon Brooks, Steven Adams, and Jabari Smith Jr. to the Miami Heat for Jimmy Butler

I would completely get why Houston, despite being a preferred destination in Butler’s eyes, would not want to take the plunge for him, as teams usually don’t try to package guys for a star this early into being good. Having said that, the Rockets have been star hunting since James Harden got traded, Butler isn’t from too terribly far away, and this would be a statement of intent that Houston is ready to compete right now. Brooks has been a good culture settle the last year or two, Adams is a useful big, and Smith continues to show flashes of being an interesting two-way player, but putting Butler with guys like Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, and Jalen Green sure does have the potential to be awfully fun.

Dallas Mavericks: Maxi Kleber, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and a 2025 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith

The Mavs can never have enough switchy wings who can shoot around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, so why not go out and try to acquire an old friend who helped them land Irving in the first place? They’d have to give up Kleber, who is Jason Kidd’s safety blanket when the going gets tough, and they’d have to hope that Prosper and a second can beat a deal from another team that might offer them a first. But man, adding Finney-Smith to their arsenal of wing options alongside guys like PJ Washington and Naji Marshall would give opposing teams headaches once the postseason rolls around.

Denver Nuggets: Michael Porter Jr. and Zeke Nnaji to the Chicago Bulls for Zach LaVine

Denver’s interest in LaVine got floated by Sam Amick of The Athletic recently, and frankly, I love the idea — getting him would mean the Nuggets would have to try and win games 150-149, and that would kick ass. Porter is the kind of younger who is still under contract for a few more years that I assume would appeal to the Bulls (reporting has indicated that’s the case), and while Nnaji has never really taken off in Denver, perhaps a change in scenery would be good for him. But the big thing is LaVine has gotten to be a little underrated as a player recently due to his injury history and gigantic contract, and would give Denver a much-needed perimeter scoring option who is not Jamal Murray. In fact, he could probably help take some of the load off of Murray so he can take more time to heal up whenever injuries pop up.

Phoenix Suns: Bradley Beal and a 2031 lottery-protected first-round pick to the Miami Heat for Jimmy Butler and Alec Burks

I want to stress that I cannot fathom a world where this happens, because Beal would have to waive his no-trade clause and that is just such a difficult variable to predict. Having said that, Phoenix keeps getting floated as a landing spot for Butler, so I’ll take it seriously and imagine what this would look like in the event Beal can be convinced to waive it — I suppose there are worse things in life than getting to live in Miami. Anyway, the best asset in this trade is that first-round pick, especially if the Heat could get it without any protections. It’d be a bit weird if the Heat took on Beal’s contract, but that 2031 pick could be awfully juicy as they try to figure out what their team looks like in the post-Butler era.

At midnight today (or 9 PM Thursday on the West Coast), SZA fans were disappointed when her long-awaited album, Lana, did not hit DSPs as expected. While she offered up the video for “Drive” as a consolation, she also declared the project wouldn’t be available ’til later in the day due to some last-second tweaks. TDE President Punch Henderson chimed in this morning to promise that it’d be up by noon Pacific. And hey, what do you know: They kept their promise. SOS Deluxe: Lana is finally available to stream on Apple, Spotify, Tidal, or whatever other streamer you choose.

The new version of the album features 15 new tracks, including “Drive” and one feature: SZA’s long-awaited reunion with former TDE Golden Boy, Kendrick Lamar, who has been in the midst of one helluva hot streak of his own in 2024. They were unofficially reunited earlier this month when they both took the stage at TDE’s annual holiday concert in Nickerson Gardens in Watts, where Top Dawg Tiffith, the label’s founder, grew up. They’ll also be on a joint tour together next year to promote their new albums. The fans who were disappointed last night are definitely feeling much differently now.

SOS Deluxe: Lana is out now via Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records. You can listen to it here.

Burna Boy is enters a new musical era. As the world awaits No Sign of Weakness, the new album from the self-proclaimed African Giant, his latest Telz-produced single “Bundle By Bundle” aims to assure fans one thing comfortably remains the same — his net worth.

Today (December 20), Burna Boy expanded on that vow in the track’s flashy official video. In the visual, Burna Boy brought his rumored boo, Uproxx cover star Chlöe along for a ride as he blew through a small fraction of his money mountain. Chlöe was romantically linked to Burna recently as they were seen partying in Lagos, but it seems that could have just been another case of fans reading way too much into behind-the-scenes photos — something that’s happening more and more frequently lately.

Throughout the video, snippets of Chlöe and Burna Boy partying it up in Lagos, Nigeria add more fuel to coupledom speculations. However, Burna Boy is sure to drive home another important message. The national pride does not just waste his wealth on frivolous things such as nightlife.

Burna opens the fictitious companies, Bundle Pizza, Bundle Bundle Construction and Bundle Wash-N-Fold to give his funds back to the people. While his delivery uniform reads “Dough is my weakness,” the motto he operates in states “To live for yourself is vanity; to live for others is purpose.”

Watch Burna Boy’s official video for “Bundle By Bundle” above.

The common cold may be “common,” but that doesn’t mean you can’t be completely miserable when you have it. Your symptoms may include a stuffy nose, a scratchy throat, endless sneezes, coughing, and muscle aches. If you’re looking to avoid over-the-counter medication or you’re between doses, there are a few home remedies you can tap into.

Create a Steam Shower

One of the best ways to clear up your sinuses is with a steam shower. Turn your shower on with the hottest water possible. Place a towel under the door, too. Your bathroom will get plenty steamy, and that’s when you’ll want to take some deep, cleansing breaths. It will help loosen up the phlegm in your throat and the mucus in your nose.

Use a Humidifier or Cool Mist Vaporizer

The Mayo Clinic recommends using a cool mist vaporizer or humidifier. It will add extra moisture in the air so that your nose and throat don’t dry out. Just be sure you change the water daily – you don’t want any dust agitating your already stuffed nose!

Try Drinking a Few Things

There are a few things you can drink – and that includes plenty of water to stay hydrated. You should strive for about 8 ounces of water (at least) every two hours. You can also try drinking ginger tea as well as a teaspoon of honey to any kind of tea or hot water.

Make a Rice Pack

A rice pack will make it easy to apply heat to your sinuses, and that can relieve a lot of pressure. Grab a tube sock and some rice. Fill the clean sock about 2/3 of the way up with dry rice. Sew or tie the end closed. Heat the rice pack in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until it’s at just the right temp. Let it sit across your nose and on your cheeks for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Take a Scented Bath

A warm bath can help to ease the common cold symptoms. Add a bit of Epsom salt and baking soda so that you can give your muscles some relief. Citrus or lavender will also help with being able to relax.

When you take advantage of some or all of these tips, you’ll start to feel better in no time!

 

Technology is one of those things that we all HAVE to have these days. How in the world did any of us survive without a smartphone? Kids having smartphones is widely debated, but when you decide to give your kid one for safety purposes or anything else, are you allowed to snoop?

There are parental controls. However, you’ll always hear the moms on social media that say “I bought their phones, I pay the bills, I can go through their phones whenever I want.”

So, is this okay?

Let’s take a look at what one mother has advocated for…

Meet Laura

Laura Muse is a mom and a mental health clinician from North Carolina. She has two teenagers, a boy and a girl. Since the kids were around 11 years old, she began a weekly check where she would go through their phones to see who they were communicating with and what kind of activity they were engaging in.

She confiscates their phones at the end of each night so they get plenty of rest without being tempted to reach for their electronic devices, too.

She has said she trusts her kids but also wants to keep them safe. On the job, she’s seen how people have experienced trauma because of abuse, sexual assault, and more. If she sees an issue on one of her kids’ phones, it allows her to talk to them and turn it into a teachable moment.

What Some Parents Do

Many parents talk about limiting screen time. Others set up parental controls on the phone or establish strict rules about when the phones can be used.

With so many apps and social platforms out there, parents are doing the best that they can.

Mental health experts on Psychology Today often advise parents to keep an open line of communication with their kids. It’s also a good idea to set up boundaries.

When you do everything you can to keep your kids safe, it reduces the potential for mental health problems down the road.

 

 

If you’re anything like me, you’re not a fan of bugs. I do LOVE the outdoors, though, which is why I needed to find plants that would naturally repel bugs. I wanted to create an amazing outdoor space where I could enjoy the fresh air without having to worry about being eaten alive or having bugs swarm whatever I just took off the grill.

The cool thing is that there are quite a few plants that you can either plant in your garden or set up in planters around your deck or patio.

Basil: This herb plant can keep away houseflies and mosquitoes.

Rosemary: These plants can repel fleas and ticks.

Peppermint: These plants can keep ants, spiders, and mosquitoes away.

Lavender: Not only does it smell amazing, but it will keep flies, fleas, moths, and mosquitoes away.

Catnip: Not ideal if you have an outdoor cat, but these plants are great at deterring mosquitoes.

Marigolds: These flowers will keep aphids and mosquitoes at bay.

The best advice that I can give you is to find out what bugs are bothering your outdoor space. Then, you can choose the best plants to incorporate into the area.

It’s always a good idea to have the plants as close to your seating area as possible so that they can truly do their job and keep the bugs away from you.