‘Tis the season for online shopping!
Not that you haven’t been all year long, but now your retail habit has more of a productive purpose — checking things off the holiday list for everyone who has helped you survive 2022.
Giving gifts is a competitive sport for some, and searching for something unique can be a marathon of scrolling through gift guides and advertisements. Exhaustion sets in and your mom ends up with another pair of fuzzy socks and the kids get gift cards. If this sounds familiar, we’ve got you covered.
Below is a curated list for every member of your inner circle, from the grandparents, your significant other, and even your boss and co-workers — we have something for them, too!
But the included gifts aren’t your typical finds. Instead, they are made up of unique Christmas gift ideas for both men and women.
Read on for our list and be sure to check back for updates as the holiday draws near.
For the plant lover
For the plant-obsessed person in your life who enjoys gardening all-year-round and or has limited living space — the Gardyn Home Kit 3.0 is a unique and luxurious gift they’ll never forget.
This AI-powered indoor garden (one of it’s kind) is built to grow 30 plants year-round — from fruit, vegetables to flowers.
For Mom
This is not an excuse to not call your mom!
However, this gift is a great way to immortalize an old letter or cherished card. Plus, it’s way more unique than running to the corner store for a greeting card.
Customize this cozy throw with any message of your choosing, either from your attic archives or create a new message straight from the heart. The blanket is 100% cotton and measures 52 inches by 37 inches.
For Dad
Pour one out for Dad . . . or pour 25, we won’t stop you.
Better than your average liquor store bottle buy, this advent calendar is perfect for your pops, and even better if you never know what kind he likes the best. The box from the Really Good Whisky Company delivers on its name, providing 30 ml of premium whisky in each of the 25 drams.
For your wife
The Gleaming Primrose mirror is a coveted gem at Anthropologie and it only fitting that you get this smaller one for your wife.
Every time she looks as the shiny golden mirror, she is bound to think of you. The thoughtful gift is made with resin, engineered hardwood and mirrored glass with the finest of details around the edges.
For your husband
This is one of the most unique decanters we’ve seen, and makes for a perfect gift for the husband that likes to drink or hike, combining the two in a creative way. The glass decanter is sold at Huckberry and can hold 44 ounces of his favorite whiskey or other spirit.
For a couple
MeUndies Match Me, prices vary
A match made in heaven. And you two look cute together, too.
Take #CoupleGoals to a whole new level with a subscription to Match Me from MeUndies. The adorable patterned underpants company has made it easy for you to match your significant other, no matter your underwear preferences (except commando).
First, choose a pair for yourself. Select a cut like boxers, briefs, hip huggers, thongs and more. Once you pick a size for yourself, it instructs you to choose a gender, style and size for your matching pair. The site mulls over your answers for a moment and then comes back with all of the available patterns.
Customers can check out as a one-time purchase or can sign up for a subscription at a discounted per-pair rate, saving $4 to $8 per item. Who said getting socks and undies as a present was lame?
For the sister
Urban Outfitters Roller Skates, $104, original price: $139
Forget taking a quarantine walk, take a quarantine roll.
Roller skates made a huge comeback when the pandemic hit, and we don’t see them going anywhere anytime soon. Urban Outfitters knows this all too well, bringing back this retro style in all sorts of colors and sizes.
“Premium design features a faux leather lace-up boot with a padded build, propped on lightweight aluminum trucks with carbon bearings, classic wheels and toe stopper,” said the product page.
For the brother
If your brother is always dumping Franks all over his food, give him this gift set to satisfy the need for heat. The Uncommon Goods Hot Sauce Kit comes with everything he needs to make six bottles of the spicy stuff with fun flavors, names and cute mini bottles should he want to take them on the go.
For the younger kids
Transport your kiddos around the world and back again without ever leaving home.
That’s the magic of virtual reality and this kit from VR Atlas. Sold on Amazon, this activity kit for ages eight and up teaches kids about the wonders of the world, science, culture and language, spanning a 138 page activity book and over 200 VR and AR experiences.
The kit comes with the VR goggles as well as other fun physical toys like clay, puzzles, a dinosaur fossil dig out, a passport, a scratch map and more, and only requires an adult’s smartphone with the app downloaded to get started.
For the baby
Go ahead, ball out for your baby.
This 400-piece ball pit from Balu Organics is straight out of Chuck E. Cheese but without all the other kids’ germs. Keep it nice and sanitary with your very own ball pit that comes in a gender-neutral gray, pink or blue. The balls also come in many different colors by the 100-pack, so for the large pit, parents can mix and match with gray, pink, blue, white or clear.
“Made from super cushy fabric designed to prevent bumps and bruises, this polyurethane-free, non-toxic foam pit is safe for your baby to play with, jump in and explore. The included crush-proof balls are light and durable, and are just the right size for your little one’s hands to grasp, toss, and explore!” read the product page on the Tot’s website.
The recommended age is seven months and older. We won’t put an age cap on this, parents.
For the grandparents
Give Granny and Grandpa something to look forward to each month while keeping them sharp with a gifted subscription to the Book of the Month Club.
You can choose the length of the gift, starting at just three months, six months or a full year with various prices. Each month they will get a brand new book to start their own little book club for home and keep in their collection.
For the family home
If a picture is worth 1,000 words, how much is a painting of a picture worth?
Find out with the Paint Your Life team, where real artists transform a photo into a hand-painted masterpiece. Customers first choose the subject of their painting, including parent and child, grandparent or even baby or pet. Then you choose your medium, like oil, charcoal, acrylic paint and more. The most fun part is choosing your artist by browsing through their past work. Upload your photo and choose a size, and 14 to 21 days later (give or take, especially during the holiday season), your masterpiece will arrive in the mail.
Bet you can’t find these paintings at any ordinary gallery.
For a long-distance bestie
While we are all at home during the pandemic, it’s nice to feel like someone out there is thinking about you.
These long-distance friendship lamps take that thought and turn it into a tangible reality. No matter the distance, when one friend taps their lamp, the other one will light up, letting them know they are loved. Perfect for long-distance relationships, best friends working in different states and grandparents and children who just want to say a quick, “I love you.”
“Each person sets up their lamp via Wi-Fi, then reaches out and touches the lamp whenever they want to let their loved one know they’re thinking of them. With every touch, the lamp cycles through a rainbow of colors, one at a time,” read the description on the Uncommon Goods website.
For the friend group
Seasons come and go, but best friends are forever.
Celebrate each month with a new photo of you and your friend group with a personalized calendar from Artifact Uprising. A few key things make this stand out from other calendars and customization companies. First, each month is customizable with your own photos, a choice of starting month and beautiful foil or printed script for the month name and dates. Second, the base of your calendar doubles as a clipboard, made of reclaimed pine wood. No more ripping or folding pages, so you can keep the photos intact as a keepsake when the month is over.
“Handcrafted in Colorado using reclaimed walnut once considered wastewood. Due to the unique nature of the wood, each woodblock will vary slightly and may include knots and unique markings,” read the site.
For your co-workers
Do you miss both your lovely co-workers and the office snacks they used to bring in?
Send them this sweet reminder to have a happy holiday with a box of personalized cookies from Uncommon Goods. The shortbread biscuits come individually wrapped in a box of 24, plenty for working and snacking from home. At checkout, enter one to three lines of text to be imprinted on the cookies and sent to your team.
For your boss
Rocketbook Multi-Subject Smart Notebook, $37, original price: $44
Sometimes an iPad or tablet doesn’t feel the same as traditional paper for taking notes.
Treat your boss to the best of both worlds and the best for the world with this reusable notebook from Rocketbook.
This notebook comes with five available sections. However, when you have written your fill, simply take the included microfiber cloth, add some water and watch your pages revert back to blank slates for more brilliant business ideas — or doodles, that works too.
An added bonus, you can upload your notes to Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, and more, so don’t worry when it’s time to wipe the page and start over.
For the dog
Right now, our pets are our favorite co-workers, but once it’s time for us to return to the office, Fido needs a friend at home
Meet Furbo, the electronic dog-sitter that doubles as a treat dispenser and syncs to your smartphone. The HD camera has night vision capabilities and a 160-degree view, so you can livestream your pup day or night. Once paired with the smartphone app, fill the machine with your dog’s favorite treats before you leave the house and Furbo will toss a treat to your dogs at the tap of your screen.
One more heartwarming thing: Furbo has a dog-face sensor and will snap a selfie when it detects your dog is facing the camera. Say treat!
For all pet owners
Pawp Online Pet Clinic Membership, $99 for six months
Healthy pets make for happy owners, especially during the holidays when Fido may sneak too many bites of turkey or Milo gets caught up with the winter sniffles.
While pet care may not be the typical present, it is surely unique and much appreciated by all the pet parents who look after their animals. Pawp makes that easy, at $99 for 6 months for their special holiday pricing, giving you access to their network of tele-health experts and vets, coverage for up to six pets and a $3,000 safety net for emergencies. Plus, you can easily gift the membership with your choice of adorable e-cards on the site, with holiday images like the pup above.
For the gamers
Oculus Quest 2 VR Headset, starting at $400
Be the main character in your video games with the insanely immersive Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality device and the included Beat Saber game.
The second edition of the groundbreaking virtual reality headset, the Quest 2 has 3-D cinematic sound, 6 GB of RAM power and comes with two Oculus Touch controllers with precise hand-tracking capabilities.
For the gardeners
Click and Grow The Smart Garden 3, $70, original price: $100
Give your gardening friends a way to grow fresh veggies, fruits, herbs and flowers even when the ground outside is frozen solid.
The Click and Grown Smart Garden 3 is an indoor planter that uses its own grow lights to grow your plants, coming in pods in a variety of fruits, veggies and more to suit their tastes including tomatoes, lettuce, basil and even a pineapple plant.
If you’re still on the fence, let us help show you how it works and why it’s worth it, as we were able to review the Smart Garden 3 and the larger Smart Garden 9.
For the chef
Bamboo Cheese Board Charcuterie Board Set, $24, original price: $36
Say cheese, foodies.
This cheese board is no ordinary one, as it comes complete with a utensil drawer that pulls out and is stocked with matching cheese knives. It comes with four knives for every kind of cheese, as well as grooves for crackers on the sides and a flat surface in the middle for the perfect gourmet charcuterie layout they could ever dream of making.
For more options, check out our guide to the best gifts for wine lovers.
For yourself
MasterClass Monthly Subscription, starting at $15/month
New year, new you.
Buying presents for yourself can be hard to justify sometimes. So instead of new clothes that end up in the back of the closet or a new piece of tech that will be outdated in a year, why not invest in yourself and learn a new skill?
MasterClass brings A-list celebrities at the top of their game right to you, teaching their unique skill to you via videos on the MasterClass platform. From cooking with Gordon Ramsay to scientific thinking with Neil deGrasse Tyson, there are over 90 different classes with more being added all the time.
The video learning platform is on a subscription model, with a $15 billed monthly, totaling $180 for a full year of sharpening your skills with the pros.
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