Feeling a bit overwhelmed with all these Christmas trees and Holiday promotions popping up all over the city? Don’t worry, help is here. Follow my advice below and you should be able to check everyone off your list. 😉
First off, I am a huge fan of Giftagram. My friends have a tendency to move all around the country and when I send them a gift using the app, I don’t have to have their most current address. Instead, this thing sends them a text letting them know they got a present (without disclosing what it is) and they then plug in where they want it to go. Plus the gifts are ones you’ll actually want:
Plus if you don’t have a million dollars, they have an under $50 section. 😉 I promise I don’t work for them. I just love them.
There’s is also greetabl, which is a super cute way of sending a little card and trinket (perfect for acquaintances too).
I also used a few times, but you have to know the exact address for this one to work. Which I’m horrible about because I’m that forgetful person that has to ask for your address 5 times for it to stick.
Still, the patterned boxes are so gorgeous and the inside has little spaces for you to fill with cute pictures from Instagram. There is also ample enough space to type a heartfelt note. Plus their boxes are usually cheaper than what I spend on Giftagram so you can save some monies here too.
With those apps, you should be able to hit up mostly everybody with a cute gift. Still, there are always those people you have to shop for in person.
Some pointers for that:
I always refrain from clothes with the exception of select accessories because it’s so hard to pin down someone’s personal style without that person there picking out the thing and I just feel that gift cards are just meh.
Instead, a box of fancy chocolates usually does the trick. I would NOT recommend picking up the Duane Reade ones, because not only does that comes across as not-so-thoughtful, it also is a bit el cheapo as well. Instead, go to the fancy chocolate store. I absolutely love Maison Du Chocolat. I am obsessed with dark chocolate and they have melt in your mouth silky goodness ones that you have to check out. Just be aware of allergies and don’t try to kill your allergic friends :D.
Though it may get a bad rap for being a cliche gift, I think a fancy candle is an excellent present. Keyword being fancy. My current obsession is keaps candles, which I have a subscription too, and I’m sure your friends can surely never have too many candles. I also have my eye on this one from Nest:
Another gift that has a bad rap but can actually be a good gift is an artisanal coffee mug. Key word, artisanal. Not a mug with some weird slogan on it or some novelty souvenir shop thing. You are better than that! Instead be the classy one and get your friend a beautiful Etsy wonder. Not only will you be supporting the shop small movement, your friend will have a much more unique gift.
Now if the mug idea has you thinking of comfort and pampering, another great pampering idea would be gifting a bunch of Korean face masks! Seriously, the packaging for these things are so pretty and you are practically purchasing a spa day for whoever is lucky enough to receive them. Also, to make the gift not look last minute, you can prepare a cute presentation by grabbing some cash and going to one of those basket-selling vendors popping up all over the city. One nice one is outside Barnes&Noble around 80th and Broadway. That and some tissue paper plus maybe a ribbon and you’re golden.
Now what if you have a whole family to gift for? Never fear – Wolferman’s will likely do the trick. They have these insane English muffin gift baskets and also do some pretty phenomenal cookie and other pastry baskets. Just look how pretty they are:
Just make sure there are no health concerns or dieters before giving this! That said, I got one of these for my friend out in San Fran when he broke his arm and he loved it. He practically lived off of an English Muffin Basket for 3 weeks.
Another excellent gift for the creative in your life is a notebook. Yes, a good old fashioned fancy notebook. In our digital age, it’s just nice to put a pen to paper and be able to brainstorm freely without Apple autocorrecting everything you type. And so, there are many many options here. Just make it fancy and not el cheapo stationary store. A few shops like Shinola in Soho do custom engraving for you, which looks phenomenal on a leather background.
So there you have it – gifts for practically everyone on your list. Just let me know if you guys want me to do themed present posts and I can go on but for now I’ll leave you with this advice. Happy shopping!
Short Skirt Long Jacket 