Holiday Gift Guide

Even though holiday decorations have been up in Chicago since before Halloween, we refused to fall into the holiday chaos until after Thanksgiving. Don’t get us wrong, we love the holiday season- holiday sweaters, tree decorating, cookie baking, and of course, the presents.

Gift buying can be a daunting task. Who do you buy for? How much do you spend? How do you pick out a thoughtful gift that the recipient will want, and not something they politely thank you for and put in the box to donate to the good will? (Best case scenario here is they use it in a white elephant exchange.)

Our gift guide won’t help you if your fiancée suddenly announces that he thinks you should cap your gifts for each other at $20 because “you have a wedding to pay for” a la Katie 2. (Seriously. WTF am I supposed to do with that?) But keep reading for some ideas to take some of the stress out of your shopping list.

Significant Other 

Buying for your significant other sucks for a million reasons. It sucks more when you’re newly engaged and want to get something memorable, while realizing that you both have a ton of stuff and half of the total combined stuff will have to go at some point in the future (don’t mind Katie 2’s use of the blog as therapy). Interestingly enough though, both Katie 1 and Katie 2 have mentioned in recent weeks that they wish their significant other had a nicer carry on. Katie 1 may have more success than Katie 2 (Katie 2 lost miserably. He bought a backpack), but we hope you have more success than both of us. So here are some suggestions for some great weekend bags. This one comes in a bunch of different colors, so if navy and black don’t match your luggage, choose one that does, because let’s be honest, your stuff is going to end up in there, too.

Other gift’s we’ve gotten our significant others that have been well received? Thing’s they need but won’t ask for/buy themselves. For example, a couple of years ago, Katie 1 noticed that her husband’s wallet looked like shit. So she bought him a new one for Christmas. He’s not a designer kind of guy, but likes nice things (let’s call him a low key diva; he’s horrified by Katie 1 most of the time). He was particularly thrilled with this classic Tumi wallet.

Need more ideas? Katie 1’s husband has always admired her North Face 3 in 1 ski jacket for its versatility.  Thus, for Christmas last year she got him his very own. He loves it so much that he now wears every day in the winter regardless of the occasion. It’s becoming a thing.

Is your significant other a lover of a particular kind of booze? *Insert booze* of the month clubs can be awesome gifts. Do your research and find one that’s highly rated and provides a good variety of the specific beverage. Katie 1 was particularly pleased with the value of the Taster’s Club Whiskey of the Month Club she purchased for her husband. Last year Katie 2 went with Mouth and he’s still talking about it.

Siblings

As an avid reader, Katie 2 highly recommends the Kindle. Nothing can compare to the weight of a book in your hand or the smell a book has, but a Kindle is an amazing alternative for the person on the go, be it on a plane or the morning train. Your sibling may already have one, but how old is it? Is it time for an upgrade? (Bonus- for their birthday, get an Amazon gift card to buy some books or pick up some e-reader accessories.) There are a ton of choices in varying price points, so the right choice is out there for you. 

Katie 2 has been known to be a bit... mean when it comes to gifts for her sister. For Stephanie's 30th birthday, Katie 2 got her anti-aging night cream. Then there was there year she went with Fuzz Off Hair Removal Cream. Anything that brings the laugh is a good idea.

We would give a few more ideas, except Katie 2's sister reads the blog (Hi Steph!), so we don't want to give anything away.

Family You Don’t Know Very Well

So Katie 2 wanted to title this section “Your Significant Other’s Family”, but that might be too specific. The problem was last year was the first time she spent a major holiday with her significant other’s family. Thanks to Katie 1, she came up with some fail-proof gifts that were a big hit.

A blanket is a great gift because it is something you can use. If you’re not entirely sure on the décor of someone’s house or their personal style, a safe bet is to go with a holiday color or theme. That way it doesn’t have to go with the recipient’s every day décor and it’s something they can pull out in the winter months and wrap themselves in. A monogram is a great way to make it special. (Don’t forget to wait for a coupon from Lands’ End!)

A magazine subscription is another simple gift. For men, it seems like Poplar Mechanics is a safe bet. Just buy the latest edition and wrap it with a note that says they have a subscription for the following year. Just be sure to pay attention to those renewal notices in the mail and cancel it the next year, or you will auto subscribe and be on the hook for another year (which is bad if you wanted to get them something more personal, and REALLY bad if you’re not longer dating the person who brought you to the party).  

The fastest way to someone’s heart is to buy a gift for their pet. A pet sweater or a new toy goes a long way.

Friends

When we asked Elizabeth for suggestions for this section, she was not at all helpful. Her response: “For friends, I try to think of something specific to their likes.” We told her that was shitty advice, so she came back with a good idea: if you have a group of friends you’re buying for, pick up a special holiday gift set and divide it up among friends.  Elizabeth recommends this set for a spa gift. If you made it to the fall trend show, you could pick up something like this boxed set. And you probably would have gotten a free gift for yourself in the process. Or if you think your friend's look needs a pick-me-up, go with something like this. The great things about dividing up a gift set are 1) each friend gets something similar, while still being different; 2) you may get something for yourself, too!

  

Colleagues

Days drag at the office, even when you work with some fantastic people like we do. (Don’t worry, we also work with some total duds, too.) A nice way to help pass the time is to pick up a calendar for a colleague. We particular like those available at Paper Source (we spend a lot of lunch hours there), but they can be expensive. Where is your favorite place to buy calendars?

Elizabeth is a fan of handmade gifts for her colleagues. In years past, she has made coasters and spice mix for those on her team. The trick is to set a reasonable sized group so the resources aren’t too expensive and the time commitment isn’t too great.

You could also do a group gift, such as breakfast one morning in December. Breakfast is way less expensive than lunch, and it really sets the tone for a more positive day.

For those colleagues that are more like friends, it can get difficult and expensive. Especially when the group gets large and you want to recognize everyone. In these instances, we find it helpful to do a gift exchange. To make it more interesting, set a theme. Last year’s: White Elephant Regifting, where each item had to be regifted or under $25 in value. This turned out to be a ton of fun to not only come up with the idea, but to fight it out for the best (or least worst) gift on the table. [Note: the event is way more fun if you go out for cocktails on the night of the swap and order a few rounds before the gift picking starts.]

Grab Bag

We’ve all been there. Someone hands you a gift and you have nothing to give them in return because 1) you’re just not that close and 2) you’re trying to not go bankrupt this holiday season. So what can you give that doesn’t look like a panic “oh, no, I totally picked out this Starbucks card especially for you” and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg?

In Katie 2’s family, they started a tradition a number of years ago. (Hang with me a minute here.) We take turns. Every holiday, someone brings a holiday tradition that they do somewhere in the world. The first one we did was The Pickle. The tradition goes that the last ornament hung on the tree is one in the shape of a pickle. The first person to fine the pickle ornament gets an extra present (in my family, my parents award cash). It has become one of the highlights of the holiday season, where cousins race to get to my house so they have extra pickle-lookin’ time. Another cute idea: some cultures hang a little goat from the bottom of the tree. The goat’s job is to watch over the presents. So if you need an extra gift idea, have a few unique traditions all boxed up and ready to go. Just be sure there is a card in the box explaining the tradition, so the person doesn’t think they are just getting an ornament in the shape of a pickle. Not everyone is Katie 1 and just loves pickles so much she wants an ornament of one for her tree.

Too quirky for you? Check out the bargain bin DVD section at your local store and stock up on holiday favorites. Don’t spend more than $5. Wrap the DVD with some snacks, flavored hot chocolates, or topical gifts (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation can be gifted with some moose mugs, for example).

A fun idea if you’re into do-it-yourselfing: indoor snowballs. A number of years ago, some family members were moving from the Midwest to California. The kids were disappointed that they wouldn’t have snow for Christmas. Enter Katie 2’s amazing sister, who found a way to make “snowballs” out of yarn. (Kind of like this.) Katie 2’s sister made about 30 snowballs, and the adults had more fun with the fake snowball fight than the kids. Bonuses: They are easy to pack in case the recipient lives far away; they never melt, so snowball fights are a lot warmer; and they are a really cute decoration to have around the house. Katie 2 and her sister ended up giving multiple sets out over the holidays one year. (It’s a bit labor intensive, but you can usually find white, cream, or grey yarn on sale.) They were a total hit (see what we did there??).

Yourself 

The holidays are stressful, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed there is nothing wrong with throwing a special gift for yourself (or two) into your digital shopping cart. It takes a lot of restraint for us not to pick up these:

It’s a green velvet tuxedo blazer. What’s not to love?

Yes, it’s ridiculous.  Whatever.  Katie 1 wants one (personalized, because duh).  

Burberry scarves are really the best gift.  They’re a luxurious splurge that’s warm, soft, and classic.  We’re particularly fond of this fuchsia pink one. 

Bubbly of the month club, because why not? 

Affordable luxury? Treat yourself to this cashmere knit beanie with fox fur pompom.