Holiday Gift Ideas

Hello Merry followers,

Anyone else struggling for some gift ideas!? Me too! But I looked around and found a few ideas and thought it would be great to share some. Here I’ll share some Hostess Gifts (also work as coworker gifts), Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for Kids & Gifts for pets. Hope it helps with some last minute shopping! 🙂

Hostess / Coworker Gifts:

Please, please! Do not go to someones house empty handed. If someone has gone through the hard work of feeding you, entertaining you or just simply opening their doors for a cocktail – It’s nice to take something – small or big – to show your appreciation.

Williams Sonoma – Soaps & Lotion Sets

You can’t go wrong with a beautiful soap and lotion set. These look great, they are affordable and come in different price-point sets if you want to really do it up or keep it simple and just give them something for the powder room.

Bath & Body Works Candles

You can’t go wrong with candles! Ever entered a mall with a Bath & Body Works in it? You know it when you smell it. They have plenty of candles & all affordable. There’s a Winter one I got last year as a gift and I loved it so much during those depressing dull winter months that I rationed it – still have half for this winter 🙂  . It smells like all things winter – snow, wood, pine, maybe even peppermint? (how they do it!? i don’t know?) But it smells divine and at $12.95 you can’t go wrong. There are so many holiday scents to chose from and make great gifts for coworkers or hosts!

Indigo Holiday Gnome Mug Set

I received this as a hostess gift and absolutely love them! I’ve used them almost everyday since I got them. They hold 13.8 oz – so they look small but hold a nice big coffee or tea! 😀

I’ve posted these mugs a few times in Instagram pics and they get a lot of comments, hehe. I hear they are popular this season – they make excellent hostess gifts that can be used year over year. And they are on sale right now @ Indigo. (along with dozens of other Gnome items that are super cute!)

Cheese Knives or Cheese Markers from Indigo:

While we’re talking Indigo, their new stores are amazing! And I honestly think of it as the Hostess Gift Go-To spot now. There are dozens of items you can buy there for great hostess gifts.

I also love these gold cheese knives and cheese markers! who doesn’t describe cheese this way? LOL! Well I do! I love cheese but I definitely don’t know them by name. These labels are super cute!

Holiday Plant/Flowers:

You also can’t go wrong with plants or flowers. Especially if you don’t know your hostess well – what they like to drink or eat or how much space they have – everyone can squeeze a little plant for flower arrangement in for a week or two.

If you’re looking to spend a bit more money on an arrangement or centerpiece for that real wow factor! Forest of Flowers has great arrangements!

Or if you’re looking for more affordable any grocery store has cute little Poinsettias or Frosted Ferns  – affordable, great size and a festive hostess gift. I got a Frosted Fern as a hostess gift this year and I adore it – it’s super cute and lasts and lasts:

Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t love these little delectable treats! They scream holiday and make for a great hostess gift. A full tray is about $13.

Wine!

For the most part – you also can’t go wrong with bringing a bottle of wine. Even if your host doesn’t drink it – they can serve it to others. Obviously, I’d recommend Villa Sandi Prosecco as a great hostess gift 🙂 . But also Wayne Gretzky Whisky Oak Aged Red 2017 is great! And it’s only out for a limited time and selling out fast! Red wine matured in whisky barrels is all the rage right now. Makes for a great affordable, unique wine for gifts.

Ok, good enough for Hostess Gifts. Let’s move onto other gift ideas…

Gifts for Her:

Alright, let’s start big! Diamonds are a girls best friend, right!?  Every woman loves jewellery and most men hate shopping for it. Order online! Diamond Stud earrings that can be worn on special occasions and these are also small enough for everyday wear. Gorgeous little things! 1/5 ct Round Cut 14K White Gold Diamond Stud Earrings from amazon.ca ; $140.00

Makeup!

MAC Eye Shadow Palettes are always a great idea. Most ladies love makeup and could use a natural palette of quality eye-shadows. This Solar Glow Times Nine eye palette has beautiful natural colours that complement most skin tones and eye colours; $42. Can’t go wrong. And these last and last – great investment!

While we’re talking MAC Cosmetics – they also have great packaged gift sets. The Bay usually has a MAC booth in it or some major malls have MAC stores, or you can order online. This All Star Lip Kit is also great gift idea for any special lady. That holiday lip colour in Ruby Woo <3

LUSH Fresh Homemade Cosmetics

Most ladies love a good bath time. It’s their chance for some relaxing downtime where the world just f–ks off and leaves them alone! 😀 Lush has beautiful gift sets ranging in prices AND they are already wrapped beautifully! (hello, time saver!). (A tip: Usually one full bath bomb is too much. If you cut them in half or quarters it’s more than enough gorgeous fragrance and product for a full bath – and the pieces last a lot longer.) If you’ve ever walked past a LUSH store you know the smell is heavenly! Any lady would love her bathroom to smell like paradise!

Slippers

Let’s be honest – women are always cold. LOL! These slippers from Restoration Hardware Faux Fur Booties  are very comfy and easy to get around in (I find some slippers can be hard to walk in). I’ve had mine for 2 years and they are still super soft and cozy!

AVÈNE Skincare Products

Winter is a skin ass-kicker! Every lady would love and appreciate the AVÈNE Hydrance Rich Christmas set. $37! These products are wonderful! The moment you put them on your skin you feel like you’re feeding and quenching the desperate thirst your epidermis is suffering through in these long winter months.

Perfumes!

If your special lady loves perfumes – Fragrance Mini Coffret & Certificate For Her – what a great idea! Several mini bottles of different scents, $105. Most people won’t use up a full bottle of perfume or cologne before it goes bad. Such a great idea for scent variety!

Ok, enough about the ladies. Let’s move onto the Gents…

Gifts for Him:

Hello Fresh

If your man enjoys cooking but struggles for recipes – Hello Fresh is the answer! My husband is loving this! We’ve been getting it for about a year now. Great variety, healthy locally sourced ingredients delivered to your door each week. He loves making them – we both love eating them. I do all the cleaning – it’s a nice setup we’ve got going 😀 .

They have different plans: Pronto – 30 min recipes (we find it’s usually longer though, just FYI) and the Family Plan if you’ve got kiddies and the Vegetarian Plan. You can select vegetarian dishes in any plan. I’m a carnivore through and through and even I really like these Vegetarian dishes – they are excellent! And it’s always good to cut back on protein in all meals- we eat too much of it apparently. Vegetarian dishes don’t have to suck!

Saxx Underwear

I have yet to meet a man who has tried these undies and haven’t referred to them as “life changing”. I’m not kidding! I’ve heard it 3x now. You can get them at SportChek. They are pricey, $25-$35 each! but worth it — I hear. So spoil your man with some comfy, cute patterned underwear this holiday and change his life 🙂 lol!

For the Gamers:

Red Dead Redemption 2 ; $80 is all the rage this year! If your man loves to game and especially on online with friends – this is a great gift idea! I can even watch these while the Hubby plays – they are entertaining and the graphics are amazing!

Super Smash Bros Ultimate (Switch) or you can get it for the Wii. This one just came out and is very popular!

Wireless Sound Proof Headphones:

These babies aren’t cheap, $489 😐 but your guy will love them! Wireless Bose QuietComfort^®  Headphones . If your guy loves to game or watch movies and zone out — or you don’t want to hear it 😉 these babies are a splurge but worth it. Also great for planes with the soundproof switch.

Reading:

21 Lessons For The 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari is a great read and everywhere right now. Here’s a snippet of the About notes: The topics Harari examines in this way include major challenges such as international terrorism, fake news, and migration, as well as turning to more personal, individual concerns, such as our time for leisure or how much pressure and stress we can take. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century answers the overarching question: What is happening in the world today, what is the deeper meaning of these events, and how can we individually steer our way through them?

Ok, bye, Guys! onto Kids….

Gifts for Kids:

I am not good with kids gifts – when I go to toy stores to get gifts for my nephews I have mini panic attacks! Kids, for me, are hardest to shop for. So I thought I’d look into a few ideas that may help you as well.

LEGO® Harry Potter™ Quidditch™ Match

This is one I’m planning on getting for my nephews. Lego is good ole family fun! And we all know Harry Potter rocks!

I love the idea of this board game too. Monopoly Game: Cheaters Edition sounds like so much fun to play with kids. I’d love this for the cottage!

Hatchimals:

These toys seem to be all the rage this year for kids. Hatchimals – you put the egg in water and it expands into a little creature that becomes the kids pet (no poop pick-up required! awesome!)

Jolly Santa’s Message Plate:

How friggin’ cute is this! Jolly Santa’s Message Plate from Indigo – great baby & kid gift idea!

Baby Hat:

This is also super cute for new babies: Lizette Handmade® Winter Knit Baby Hat Jamie Ivory

Kid’s Phone:

I love this idea because too many kids are on actual grown up phones with too much risky access to the internet. KidiBuzz , $90, is a phone for kids! they can download apps and games, text each other! 😮 They can feel all grown up without risk of exposure to mature content.

Ok, later kiddies! Onto Pets… i.e. “The Fur Babies”…

Gifts for Pets:

Don’t forget Santa needs to visit the beasties this year!

Furry Christmas, Jingle Peanut Butter Cups – 4 Pc my dogs would devour anything peanut butter! I think I’ll have to pick these up for Christmas morning.

Squeaky Toys:

If you want your dog to go crazy Christmas morning – buy something squeaky! My dogs would “kill” these in under an hour and they’d love every second of it.

Holiday Cat Nip:

Weed is now legal – so why not give your kitty the equivalent of cat-crack? These Merry & Bright™ Holiday Catnip Ball Cat Toys – 4 Pack are super cute!

Ok, that’s all for now! Hope some of this may have been helpful in giving some gift ideas for the ones you love this holiday season!

Happy Shopping!!! Happy Wrapping!!! Happy Holidays!!!

Tori