[twitter]Christmas is for the kids. It’s easy to buy them gifts and wake up Christmas morning and see that magical wonder in their eyes. The ripping paper, the cheerful screams, the hugs and smiles make it all worth while. Move an Elf around the house, leave a couple of presents from Santa under your tree and the world is perfect.

Christmas is easy – for kids. But what about adults? That’s where it gets a little fuzzier. My sisters and brothers and I have agreed not to trade gifts this year. It’s not about us, it’s about the kids. My wife and I? Well, we’re getting near that point too. We have what we need, it’s about the kids, so do we really need to go out and spoil each other too?

Don’t buy each other another pair of socks, scarf, or tie. Buy something for the family! Check out these Christmas gift ideas for your home this year!

Trees

A new tree. For the front yard, for the backyard, it doesn’t matter. We have 3 fruit trees in our backyard and eagerly awaiting our apples and pears is something we look forward to each fall, not to mention the beautiful blossoms in spring.

While it might be hard to put a tree under your tree at Christmas, agreeing to buying a tree and planting it once the snow melts is a wonderful thing you can do for your home and family.

Nest Smart Thermostat

We’ve had the Nest Smart Home Thermostat since last February, and I can’t rave about it enough. We know that setting a temperature schedule for our home heating is an easy way to save energy and money. With old analog thermostats, it was tough to remember to slide that temperature gauge 5 times a day. While programmable thermostats were a step up, the buttons were not user friendly.

The Nest Smart Home Thermostat is designed for how we live now. In the basement and you’re cold, use your app to raise the heat. The Nest learns your habits, and adjusts temperature to how you move things around. if you want to set a rigid schedule, it’s easy to do that too either on the app, or on the Nest Thermostat. The gamification of home energy has me chasing little green leaves on my Nest, saving money, and energy. This is my top pick as a “gift for your home” this Christmas.

Weiser Kevo

My keys are always in the wrong pocket. My hands are always full. Talk about #FirstWorldProblems, but the Weiser Kevo is a simple front door lock system that solves it. It turns your front door lock into a Bluetooth friendly device. Your phone talks to the lock, and if you’re within range, you can just touch the edge of the lock and it will open.

It’s a great way for kids to help out as you pile into the home with groceries, and you never have to fumble for keys again. I’ve had mine since the summer, and it’s worked great.

Paint, Stain

Why spend money on silly things for each other when you know the back deck needs new stain, or the trim needs to be touched up, or the back fence needs to be repainted. Our home needs all 3. Now, if only Santa could drop a load of Elves down the chimney to actually do the work on this “honey-do” list, I’d be even more thrilled.

BBQ

While “dad” is the stereotypical master of the grill, all can benefit from the bounty those porcelain grates will produce. You think a new puzzle, or model car is fun to build on Christmas morning? Try building a BBQ! And just because there’s snow outside, it doesn’t mean you can’t ‘cue. The UPS Elves dropped this Dyna-Glo BBQ on our doorstep this week, and our home couldn’t be happier.

Nest Protect

This might just end up under our tree this year. The Nest Thermostat experience has been so perfect, swapping out the smoke detectors for something smarter, like Nest Protect, makes sense.

Nest Protect also works with your phone, sending you an alert when it goes off. It is also a CO2 monitor and knows the difference between burnt oven biscuits and a fire. Oh, and it checks it’s own batteries too!

Lighting

There is no easier way to freshen up a home than by changing a few lighting fixtures. We had a leak in our upstairs bathroom in the summer and took the opportunity to add pot lights and some pendant lights to our kitchen. What a world of difference it made. You don’t have to go expensive, you just have to move away from the cheap stock stuff your builder chose to change it up and give your home a new look.

Just flip through Houzz for new lighting ideas in stairwells, the kitchen, or .. ahem ..the bedroom. Lighting is a great Christmas gift for your home.