Spending Christmas as a golfer is a deeply personal experience. For many of us, it recalls the family tradition where, as kids, our dads would drag us out for a nine-hole round. Maybe to test the new club, somehow hoping our atrocious putting would finally be fixed. Christmas meant a day of golf. Or half of it, at least.

But as most of our colleagues aged and got busier, the frozen tundra outside made those abstract gifts of playing golf on Christmas futile. If you’re anything like them, you’ve hung up the clubs for good.

But what if this golf hiatus rusts your swing? You shank your first drive, and your buddies take turns making it a nightmare for you? We don’t want that. We’re sure you don’t want that either.

And that’s why we think you should treat yourself with this putting mat.

Now, we know you can’t hit the course daily for the next few months. But we’re epic tinkerers with golf. That’s why this putting mat keeps things fresh and fun as you hone your putting this winter. Sure, practicing on carpet or hardwood works fine, but those floor indents make lousy putting surfaces. So, it’s better to invest in a good putting mat.

Not the only investment worth it. A few of our colleagues blew bucks on the Club Caddy golf bag. Or grabbed the Titan Rangefinder, Gum & Nature alignment sticks, or a snazzier club shaft for that edge.

Yes, playing outside most of the time? Impossible. But golf in late December. Anywhere? Now, that’s a true Christmas miracle.

It’s that time of the year when you wade through a million sites and sales to find the perfect gift for family and friends. Fret not. We’ve rounded up useful picks that will make it easier.

Candle: Wax candles don’t have the reputation they should. After all, they scent a person’s entire living space. But our soy wax candle is the perfect place to start. It slows the pace and lets the season linger long.

Wine: Coeur de Vigne offers elegant, savory notes, mineral undertones, and distinct complexity in Old-World style. If you wanna do something more and spend Christmas a bit differently, we’ve got just the perfect course with a vineyard.

Reversible Jacket: Peter Millar has the perfect fix for your loved ones battling the cold. It blends cushy Merino wool knit on one side with water-resistant, windproof stretch fabric on the other. The versatile, tailor-fit silhouette suits transitional weather.

Foot Massager: If your friend spends the whole day on the move, a portable analog wooden foot massager – small enough to tote around the house – fits perfectly. Eco-friendly, this particular massager boosts circulation and relieves stress.

Coffee subscription: If your folks are anything like us, brewing a warm cup of coffee is likely their first move upon waking. That's why a coffee subscription nixes restocking woes.

It’s Christmas time. And Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ is your typical earworm. But honestly, our favorite is ‘O Holy Night.’ It’s the same with Michael Bublé’s ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.’ Yet, in our company survey, the majority of our colleagues picked Kate Bush’s ‘December Will Be Magic Again.’ And the next favorite was Tony Bennett’s ‘Winter Wonderland.’

It doesn’t matter if your family’s tight-knit; if you’re like us, you’d crave some personal music picks in your downtime. That’s why we prefer AirPods. Plug them in and be done with it. On that occasion, allow us to present Essentially Golf’s AirPods case here.

In case you prefer something else for your audiophile friend, we’ve got a solution for that as well.

Obsessing over golf swings is a blessing and a burden. Mainly a burden, alas. It never shuts off, even during cozy couch movie time… or so some complainers moan. We beg to differ, and these five movies will make you think the same.

In Home Alone, Young Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) wants his bothersome family to vanish. His dream comes to life, but not how he imagined. Oh, don’t forget this chaotic pizza delivery scene.

Die Hard tracks New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis), tangled in a terrorist siege of an LA skyscraper while crashing his estranged wife's Christmas Eve party. Yes, dramatic. And those stunts? They'll have you yelling, "Welcome to the party, Pal." Watch the iconic scene here.

Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius tracks the life of, well, Bobby Jones. This biographical drama charts how he snagged the Grand Slam in 1930 by conquering four majors in one year. Similarly, Babe (1975) follows Babe Didrikson, who grabbed two 1932 Olympic golds in track, then switched to golf, becoming a world champ and winning 10 majors.

The only animated film here is That Christmas. Adapted from three Richard Curtis tales, the British animation follows a Santa (Brian Cox) battling a snowstorm to deliver gifts to cut-off Wellington-on-Sea. Yes, it’s adorable.

You can always watch these on services of your choice, but we’d recommend giving YouTube (and even Netflix) a chance.