Holiday season is here and that means it’s time for spreading Christmas cheer, brisket-induced food comas on Hannukah, and stressing over what the appropriate gift is for the person you’ve only been dating for 3 weeks. Sure, Oprah puts out her list every year but let’s be real, she’s the only one who can afford to give her friends Golden Beats by Dre for $700 or a $265 Ginger Beauty and Wellness Collection.
I do have to give a shout out to my girl Oprah though, she took shameless self promotion to the extreme and put her own book, What I Know For Sure, on her list of favorite things.Google Chromecast: There’s really nothing more you could want out of a gift. It’s unisex, so you can plan on giving it to your significant other and then when you break up on the 23rd of December you can give it to your Mom and assume your extra gift will secure your place as Favorite Child for the year. It’s also budget conscious of just about any and every Secret Santa budget you could think of, unless you’re doing Secret Santa with Winona Ryder, then you’re over budget. It allows you all the good things in life, putting your cable bill money towards drinks at happy hour and streaming Netflix from your computer without anyone else in the room seeing you look at “funny picture of cats” for 2 hours.
Magic Bullet Blender: I’m sure you forgot all about this as-seen-on-TV miracle by now but that doesn’t mean it’s not still a fan favorite. You not only give someone the gift of a perfectly blended smoothie and healthy lifestyle but you also give them the gift of fewer dishes because you make your smoothie in the cup you drink out of. It’s the Mother Teresa of infomercials, it just keeps on giving.
Matching Pajamas: I know what you’re thinking, all my friends wear old t-shirts and basketball shorts to sleep, they don’t need matching pajamas. Well your friends also probably wear an apron and a paper hat to work. BUT you can help them. The gift of matching pajamas is so much more than comfortable sleepwear, it’s the gift of starting each day off on the right foot. And after they start wearing their matching pajamas, secure a six figure job and become the next Warren Buffet they’ll owe you one for getting them started. You won’t even think about the cost of a pair of $30 pajamas when you’re jetting off to Paris in a private plane.
A Puppy: I really don’t think this requires an explanation but in case you didn’t know, waking up on Christmas morning (or waking up after a brisket coma on Hanukkah) to a puppy that is so cute you could cry is the ultimate gift. Use caution though, the only gift to top this one would be a marriage proposal…or the new Jaguar with the massage seats. Also, if you think this is a “suggestion” and that giving your children some random other obscure rodent instead of a pup will suffice, it won’t. A GUINEA PIG IS NOT A DOG.
Michael Buble CD: This one really goes out to the men out there making under 2 million a year. If you have a girlfriend who makes you go to the bar with her and her single friends, your wallet is probably feeling pretty thin and this is the gift for you. For $10 you can give your girlfriend the single best CD out there and buy yourself some football guy time because nothing says a sensitive, romantic gift like Michael Buble’s soothing voice.
Glory Day Memorabilia: This can come in the form of a scrapbook, picture frame, t-shirt quilt, really get creative with it. Whether it’s the touchdown pass at high school states, winning the spelling bee in the 5th grade or that goal you scored during pee wee soccer, it doesn’t matter what it is just as long as it leaves them singing a passionate rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s, Glory Days.
Capital Eyewear Sunglasses: I know what you’re thinking, I only buy cheap sunglasses because they always break. This is true…FOR OTHER BRANDS. All Capital Eyewear glasses are made in the USA and by hand, so their going to last. Plus, if you’re reading this list you’re most likely over the age of 5 and are old enough to be able to put your sunglasses in their case when you aren’t wearing them. But seriously, they’re super cool, you can wear your sunglasses knowing you’re supporting a true American brand and since not everyone has them you’ll get tons of compliments and let’s face it, we’re the generation of narcissism so that’s all we really want out of life.
Fabletics: Let’s get real here, prices for workout clothes ARE OUT OF CONTROL. No wonder actresses are so skinny, they’re the only people who can even afford to workout. That’s where Fabletics comes in, for $50 you can get an entire workout outfit complete with pants, shirt and sports bra or if it’s your first purchase you can get it for as low as $14. There hasn’t been a deal this good since United Airlines sold flights for $5 and that wasn’t even on purpose. Now you can get your best workout buddy…or for the men out there, that girl who works at the gym that you’ve been crushing on, an entire outfit for less than your gym membership for the month.
Xentan: It might be the Jersey in me or the fact that I’m a big believer in eating the extra slice of pizza and skipping the gym because “if you can’t tone it, tan it” but this stuff is a must. We’ve all been scarred by that one time in 7th grade when we tried a $4 self tanner from CVS and woke up looking like a human Cheeto but not to fear, tanning lotion has come light years since 2003.
Holly Golightly’s Townhome: This has been a christmas must-have since you found out Blair Waldorf’s favorite movie was Breakfast At Tiffany’s so naturally it was yours too. For a measly $5.5 this iconic townhome in the Upper East Side can be yours and we all know you can’t put a price on memories so it’s actually a steal.
