To wrap up all these Holiday gift ideas, I thought I would just mention some of my favorite websites for gifts. Hopefully you’ll learn about somewhere new and maybe find the perfect present without leaving the comfort of home!
A site I love for clothing, accessories, shoes, unusual household items and just plain fun stuff is ModCloth. The product names alone make it worth a look – always very cute, kind of like OPI nail polish names! ModCloth has a great return policy and shipping costs are quite low (free on purchases over $50). They have a wide range of price points and most of their shoes are vegan-friendly!
I’m sure everyone knows Urban Outfitters. They are much like ModCloth in that they have a somewhat unusual array of items. I’m not going to go into a whole lot of detail because I think I’d be repeating myself and telling you things you already know! But Urban Outfitters is always a great place to look for gifts.
Another place that is hard to escape in the United States, but is great for gift ideas is Bath & Body Works. Again, I feel no need to elaborate on the store, but it really is a great go-to for anyone on your list.
An interesting idea for anyone with a Keurig coffee maker is 1 Quick Cup. They have variety packs of K-cups for the coffee maker that I have not seen elsewhere. It’s a great way to find what kind of beverages you love, or to expand your horizons and find a new favorite. It’s also great for people you just don’t quite know what to get.
Another site I really like for unusual gifts that kind of work for anyone is The Scottish Grocer. I found this site a few years ago when looking for a Scotch flavored fudge that my dad loves. They have almost entirely food items and I believe they are all Scottish products. They always have some sampler-type gift baskets and a few Scottish-themed gifts as well. I love their Mackies of Scotland Potato Crisps in “Scotch Bonnet Chili Pepper”. If you’re a Haggis lover, I’d be curious to know what the “Haggis & Cracked BlackPepper” tastes like! I always love looking at The Scottish Grocer at Christmas time because there are so many unfamiliar products and they all sound so good! Well, almost – I’m not gonna try the Haggis! :) A great site for a custom made gift, or a pre-made one is Zazzle. It gives everyone the chance to be a graphic designer. You can make your own personalized Phone and Tablet cases, clothing, various bags, pet dishes, planners, ornaments, greeting cards, and the list goes on! I made an iPhone case last year and it’s a great quality case that I love. My little precious is still safe and sound without a scratch! The iPhone Cases are made by Speck or CaseMate and are available for the iPhones 3 through 5. If you don’t want to design your own item, they have 100s of pre-made designs to choose from in each category. It’s so hard to pick just one! They also have great sales (I got my iPhone case for 50% off) that change pretty much daily so it can be worth either joining their mailing list or checking back often.
Something a bit unusual that would not be for everyone, but I like the idea is donating to an organization like the World Wildlife Federation. Their site is really great because you can either just donate a certain amount on someone’s behalf, or you can receive a gift with your donation.
You can “adopt” a specific species like the red panda. With the single species symbolic adoption, for a $50.00
donation, you will receive a 12” Plush Red Panda, an Adoption Certificate,
Species Info Card, Photo and a Gift Bag. There are $100 and $25 options as
well, and there is also the ability to tell a friend via email that you are
interested in a gift like this if it is something you would like to do this
Holiday season.
There are other options as well, like the Bucket adoptions where you can donate
for a variety of species for the same cost and, with the “Tub of Cubs”, you
receive a tub filled with one each of a 7” plush Cheetah, Snow Leopard and
Tiger, Adoption Certificate, Species Info Card and Photo. There is also the
option of building your own bucket and choosing which
animals you would like to support! There are 33 species to choose from and, for
an extra $25, you can add a 4th species.
If you are feeling truly generous, for $500, you can join
the Adoption of the Month Club. Each month a different plush animal will be sent to the
recipient’s door and your donation will greatly help out the WWF! The stuffed
toys ship out starting the 1st of December and run through November.
I really like the idea of helping out
an organization the recipient might support, and if you need a physical gift as well, you can
receive both! A portion of the proceeds of anything else purchased on the site
also supports the organization and there are a ton of wonderful gift ideas
available. This is a really nice way to give back this time of year, but still
receiving a physical gift if you need it. It’s a great idea for kids because
they get a toy and can learn a bit about philanthropy in the process.
A great site for basically anything handmade from skilled artisans, is Etsy. This site is fun to browse and if you’re looking for something special that’s not mass marketed, this is a great site. Everything I have bought through Etsy has been amazing and all of the sellers are very helpful and responsive. If you want something they are selling slightly modified, or you loved something that has sold out, I have found the sellers almost always are willing to custom-make an item to meet your needs! Some of my favorite sellers include:
Silly Buddy - They sell custom-made dog collars, leashes and bow tie
collars. Very cute for the discerning pooch! If you are unsure which size to
order, just email them and give them the dog’s neck size and they can figure
out what will work best. They are very helpful and friendly and the bow tie collars
are really, really adorable!
Shay Aaron Miniatures - He makes clay jewelry and collectibles that are so adorable and so detailed! I have had a few items customized from this site and I have been so happy with everything. He is based in Israel, but shipping is very reasonable. Great for kids, teens, even adults!
Waffle ring and Falafel Necklace from ShayAaron
Jayy2009 – This site sells beautiful handmade jewelry, mainly rings. They can be made to whatever size you need and most designs are available in a variety of metals. I have never purchased from this seller, but I am very tempted to because I love so many of the ring designs! And they have plenty of reasonably priced items!
Brooklyn Love Designs – This is another site I have not purchased from, but they made wallets, card cases, coin purses and more in the cutest prints! I cannot speak to their quality, but they look very well make, well designed and wonderfully functional…and, of course, adorable!
Happy Kathy – Also makes really adorable clutch wallets. Again, I haven’t purchased anything from this store, but they are wonderfully whimsical, look incredibly practical and are well priced!
Ninu – I LOVE ninu! I ordered my current handbag from this store and I love it! I found a style I liked and a material I liked and she custom made it for me! There was a fair amount of discussion about sizing because I was unsure of the size and strap length. She was very helpful with all of that. I got to pick my own vintage fabric from her collection for the lining and I changed the orientation to one I thought would suit the pattern better. The strap is made to be either short or cross-body which is a really nice addition too! It was a great experience and now I have a well loved and well used bag that was made just for me! All of her designs are vegan as well which is also a plus in my book! She is based out of Italy, so you may need to allow a little extra time for it to arrive, but I recall it being pretty quick. Very, very happy with this store!
Not the greatest picture, but it's my well used and well loved ninu bag!
Inner Earth Soaps – This is another store I have never purchased from, but her soaps are stunning! Based out of Sydney, Australia, Inner Earth Soaps make beautiful bath and body products scented with blends of essential oils and high quality fragrance oils. Her bar soaps are true show stoppers if you ask me! If you are interested in these hand crafted goodies and live outside of Australia, her shipping deadline is December 3; for inside Australia, the deadline is December 10.
A great little store in Soho is the Pearl River Mart. It used to be on the second and third floors of a non-descript building, but now resides in a huge, fancy two-story dwelling filled with everything Chinese! It is essentially a Chinese grocery and department store complete with teas, tableware, dresses, toys, plants, art work, food, etc. It is a great experience if you ever have the chance to visit, but for the rest of us, their website is almost as impressive! Virtually everything seems reasonably priced and I always love it for stocking stuffers. It may take a little while to find things of interest on their website and the store is certainly an easier shopping experience, but take a look around because you may just find some great gifts at decent prices! Check out the Journals, Chopsticks, Teas, Candies, Tea Sets, Clothing and Makeup Accessories.
My favorite statue from the Pearl River Mart
A great site for the DIY beauty fanatic is Bramble Berry. They sell all kinds of supplies for making mainly soap, but they have a wide variety of kits to get you started in making a variety of different handmade beauty products! They are an excellent company with fantastic customer service and I highly recommend them. With options like the Bath Bomb Cupcake Kit for the avid bather, the Chocolate Lip Balm Kit for the chocolate lover, the Gingerbread Man Soap Kit, the Glittery and Bright Nail Polish Kit, the Lipstick Making Kit, the Stocking Stuffer Kit which will make 4 candles, 4 lotions and 4 salt scrubs, and for the fragrance lover, there's the Sweet Confection Perfume Kit. There’s a kit for any DIY desire! I would caution you with soap kits to ensure that the soap being made is NOT cold process, or CP soap – the exception being their Cold Process Beginner’s kit. Cold process soap making can be dangerous if one does not know what they are doing so you want to look for Melt & Pour soap kits for the uninitiated!
Another site for the DIYer is TKB Trading. They have a section of kits to make lipsticks, nail polishes, mineral makeup, and even for pressing your own eye shadows! Some of these kits may require additional items like colorants of your choosing, so be sure to carefully read the descriptions.
With all this online shopping available, I feel like I should mention Ebates again. You can sign up for free on their website and search for your your favorite sites like Sephora, J Crew, Bath & Body Works, Nordstrom, Amazon, and on and on and on. Click on a link in Ebates and it will take you to the store's site and begin a "ticket" through which you will earn a percentage of your total purchase price back as either a check, or a deposit into your PayPal account. Refer friends for even more cash back! A perfect site this time of year because you actually do receive cash back for spending money!!! So a gift for someone else really does translate into a gift for you too!
So there you have my Holiday Gift Ideas for 2012! I feel almost sad that it's over :) I hope this gave you some ideas and I hope you have a wonderful Holiday season! I want to thank everyone so so much for all of your support over this past year when I started this blog! I look forward to many more years ahead :) So thank you to everyone who is reading this, and happy shopping!!!! :)
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned in this post, nor have I been compensated in any way. This post does contain some referral links.
