2019 Holiday Gift Guide

Top 10 Holiday Gifts

My 2019 holiday gift guide page is live as of today! I love putting this together every year and am feeling really excited about this year’s guide. I either have (and love) or want to give every single one of the many gifts on there and I hope that it helps you out for all of your gift-buying this year.

On my gift guide page, I plan to add jetsetter gifts, beauty gifts, gifts that give back, and in-law gifts over the next few weeks but let me know if there is anything else you want to see there. For the next few weeks, I’ll be posting more detailed gift guide blog posts (like this one) twice a week with more details about each gift just like I did here.

For the first gift gude post, today I’m sharing my top 10 gifts fo the entire holiday season. Most of these are bigger gifts and they’re all vetted by yours truly.

1. ASHA earrings, $195: Anel bought me these last Christmas and I wear them for dinners out, important meetings, and special occasions. They’re really beautiful and made by a friend of ours!

2. Dudley Stephens fleece, $158: How could I possibly have a gift guide without a DS in my top picks? Anyone who follows Lemon Stripes knows that I live in these (at least 3x/week) from November-March and the new camel color makes a great gift. My super quick quick run-down is that the Park Slope (shorter) style is more versitile but I’ve noticed that moms and mothers-in-law prefer the Cobble Hill (longer) style. The terry fleece is thinner (and I think wears better over time) but still warm and all of their products are made from recycled plastic bottles!

3. SLIP silk pillowcase, $85: I was converted to a silk pillowcase by my hair dresser earlier this year (read my full review here) and it has made a big difference in both my hair and skin. My hair has way less breakage and I wake up with it softer and smoother in the mornings. I also wake up without any sleep lines and am hoping that it helps prevent wrinkles long-term. This would make a great gift for any woman in your life.

4. Cuyana zippered tote, $195: Oh man, my love for this tote knows no bounds. I used to use it every day when I worked in an office and I still use it whenever I have to carry my laptop around. It’s Cuyana so you know it’s well-made and the size is perfect. Not too big, not too small. I love the tiny monogram you can add for a special touch too.

5. Mini beauty fridge, $60: This is the only item on my top-10 list that I don’t own… but I want it. I always thought someone should create a tiny fridge for ice rollers, jade rollers, face masks, etc, so you don’t have to go downstairs to the kitchen every time you want to use one. This would save many flights up and down the stairs! Perfect for the beauty junkie in your life.

6. House of Noa kitchen mat, $69+: There are no words to describe my love for this kitchen mat. It looks like a vintage rug but is thick and squishy and wipeable. If you’re like me and spend 4000 hours/day at your kitchen sink, it is a lifesaver for your feet. They also just launched their Black Friday deal early (starts today at 10am) and it’s the first time these mats have ever been discounted so jump on that!

Note: I was gifted my House of Noa kitchen mat but have bought them as gifts for other people.

7. ChappyWrap blanket, $135: My family friends started this blanket company years ago and in my house growing up (and to this day!) we always say “hand me a Chappy” instead of “hand me a blanket” for movies and snuggles. They’ve recently rebranded and have some super cute designs. I’m a fan of blue scallops and these camel diamonds and Amalia has this heart mini blanket ($55) in her room which is a great baby/toddler gift too.

8. Instant Pot, $99 $79 (on sale): I realize this was the gift of 2018 but now it’s on sale quite often and still one of my favorite kitchen gadgets of all time. If someone on your list doesn’t have one yet, it will change their life I promise. I bought it for two people last year and they both still send me photos of the recipes they make with it.

9. Everlane Tread sneakers, $98: For the cool girl on your list. I didn’t think I was cool enough to wear these sneakers made with less waste, less energy and 50% less virgin plastics. But my friend helped me style them here and I can’t get enough. They’re super comfortable and super cool. I would love to get these as a gift!

10. Nixplay frame, $159: My sister and I bought one of these frames for our grandmother last year and all of my cousins and I upload pictures of us and our kids to it weekly through an app on our phones. She loves seeing new photos of her great-grandkids and it is so easy on our end too. This is a great gift for older family members who might have a harder time with photo streams and social media for photos.

inLieu

I was recently introduced to the inLieu app (also a website) and will be including a reminder about it in every gift guide post because I think it’s such a smart idea. Instead of a gift, the app allows you to donate any amount in someone else’s name. I love this as a hostess gift because when you have a holiday party you get so many candles and tea towels but I’m guessing this would be the only gift you will remember a year later!

Another cool thing you can do is create an event that directs your friends to donate to a charity of your choice. So if you have a birthday party and want donations instead of a gift, you can ask for that. I love this idea so so so much!

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Comments

  1. Stephanie said:

    Would love to see toddler stocking stuffers! Love the gift guides. Thanks for taking the time to make them!

    11.18.19 · Reply
    • Julia said:

      That is a great idea! Adding toddler stocking stuffers to my list. Stay tuned!

      11.18.19 · Reply
      • hillary said:

        PLEASE! This is my biggest challenge this year!

        11.19.19 · Reply
  2. Danielle said:

    Thank you for putting together this adorable gift guide! I’ve decided this is finally the year I gift Dudley Stephens to my bff and myself! I’ve noticed a lot of bloggers talking about the fleeces as gifts for the holidays but many of their colors and sizes are sold out online (and have been for a while!). Do you have any insider info on when there will be a restock for the holiday season? Thank you!

    11.18.19 · Reply
    • Julia said:

      Yay! You will love them. They are doing a restock on 12/2 🙂

      11.18.19 · Reply
  3. Julia P said:

    Thank you so much for including InLeiu! Had never heard of it and am so excited to use it this holiday season! Am thinking it would be perfect for boss/coworker gifts too because there are only so many mini chocolates that you need in one year 🙂

    11.18.19 · Reply
    • Julia said:

      Great idea for a coworker gift. Such a thoughtful way to give!

      11.18.19 · Reply
  4. Lillie said:

    This one is on my list… https://www.cuyana.com/top-zip-satchel.html#sand. What do you think?

    11.18.19 · Reply
    • Julia said:

      Love it! I have that in the smaller size (they don’t make it anymore) and use it almost every single day.

      11.18.19 · Reply
  5. Jennifer M Record said:

    WOW! This is the most impressive gift guide I have seen! I esp love the categories and have marked 4 items in the Yankee Swap and Hostess sections to purchase- thank you!

    11.18.19 · Reply
    • Julia said:

      Ahh thank you so much! Best compliment after weeks of work on it. 🙂

      11.18.19 · Reply
  6. Jackie said:

    Your gift guide page is SO good! Thank you for spending the time to put this together, I actually found it useful and found a few ideas for gifts for clients, friends and family!

    11.18.19 · Reply
    • Julia said:

      Thanks Jackie! I’m so happy you were able to find good gift ideas from it.

      11.18.19 · Reply
  7. Olga said:

    Such great ideas here! I asked for a silk pillow case this year!

    Olga
    http://www.littlethingsolga.com

    11.18.19 · Reply
    • Julia said:

      You will love it. I hope you get it!

      11.18.19 · Reply
  8. Kristin said:

    And this, folks, is the list I’ve been waiting for! I look forward to your gift guides every year and always shop from them!

    11.18.19 · Reply
    • Julia said:

      This makes me so happy, you have no idea!

      11.18.19 · Reply
  9. Chantel Dunn said:

    What color do you have in the Cuyana tote? Thanks!

    11.18.19 · Reply
    • Julia said:

      I have it in the camel color.

      11.20.19 · Reply
  10. Kristin said:

    Awesome guide, so many thoughtful, quality items. Would love to see some good, low price point items (like maybe 10.00 -20.00 and under range) for what I can only categorize as under the tree “filler”. In our family everyone makes a wish list where the main item(s) are usually a bit more pricey. Everyone usually gets a few items from their wishlist, but also these surprise “filler” type of gifts too.

    I’m always at a bit of a loss and usually need to come up with quite a few of these for everyone. Would love to not shop the checkout aisle for these type of items, like I usually do….

    11.18.19 · Reply
    • Julia said:

      Gotcha! I’ll work on that.

      11.20.19 · Reply
  11. Dana said:

    I love your picks! I wish I could get them all for myself…I think we all feel that when looking for gifts…haha. It’s a pity that most of them are either unaivalable or too expensive to ship to Europe, but they surely provide tons of inspiration. So thank you for taking the time to put this guide together! It’s been 3 years I think since I started following you and I’ve found we have a lot of things in common. #millennials

    11.19.19 · Reply
  12. Aysha said:

    My husband ordered me a Dudley Stephens fleece for Christmas, but he didn’t order through your list. I didn’t have a chance to tell him! Any way to give you the credit?

    11.19.19 · Reply
    • Julia said:

      No but thank you so much for thinking to ask that. So nice of you! Enjoy the fleece 🙂

      11.20.19 · Reply