My 2025 Gift Guide
What's on my Christmas list, what I'm giving to friends & a easy/delicious snack you can serve at every gathering this season :)
Here we are: Thanksgiving week! I feel like we started the holiday celebrating this past weekend—on Friday night we went to a really fun birthday for one of our oldest friends and then had a cozy Saturday night dinner party…pigs in a blanket with spicy honey mustard, lentils and sausages with goat cheese, Danish Kringle and a delicious amaro.
(PS: the Trader Joe’s Pastry Pups are a must-buy for all holiday gatherings. It’s a long story, but at our house we call them babydogs, and I believe one of our teenagers ate more than a dozen in one sitting this weekend…)
I’m working on my Best Books of 2025 list, but as this is such a big shopping week, here are my favorite gifts to give and the things on my own Christmas list—and also a pair of pants and some new makeup that I love & heartily recommend for the holiday season…
Bonne Maman Advent Calendar There’s still time to get my favorite Advent calendar! The little jars are so darling & it makes sleepy December mornings before school a little more fun and special.
Hubs Choco Covered Peanuts Okay, these are INSANE. A friend gave me a tin of these recently and I’m not sure what sort of magic is involved, but they’re sooooo much better than your average chocolate covered peanuts. Bring these to Thanksgiving—or any holiday gathering—and prepare to be a star.
Jones Road What the Foundation, Miracle Balm, Lippie Stick I’ve been needing a makeup refresh for a while, so on a whim I popped into the Jones Road store in our neighborhood. Here’s all you need to know: the first week I used these three products, three different people commented on how great my skin looked—one actually said, “You look so great I just assumed you did like laser resurfacing or something”—omg I’m a fan! (20% off $100 or more, no code needed)
Fancy Track Pant Well, okay, not a gift exactly, but I’m wearing these pants about five days a week at this point—they’re as comfortable as pajama pants but they’re shiny/a little fancy/slightly cropped…absolutely perfect for the holidays.
Manicurist Active Plump in All in One For the cookbook photo shoot earlier in the fall, I got a gel manicure and it looked great for the shoot…and then afterward my nails were completely destroyed. This is the only thing I’ve found that helps—it would be a great stocking stuffer for anyone in your life who’s trying to get off gels…it’s hard!
Ralph hat A visit to Ralph’s is at the top of my Quintessentially NYC Holiday Itinerary, and I’m not saying it’s only because I want a hat…but I want a hat! ;)
Hanna Andersson sleepers A friend has a new baby, and so lucky me, I got to do some baby clothes shopping for the first time in a looooooong time, and of course I went straight back to my favorite, Hanna Andersson. We bought the new baby girl in our lives two little Christmas sleepers, and before I dropped them off, they were on the sideboard for a couple days and our whole family couldn’t get over the cuteness.
Carter’s Reissued Hickory Stripe Overalls After the Hanna order, Instagram really overwhelmed me with baby clothes ads, and one of them was for these extremely nostalgic Osh-Kosh B’gosh overalls and I’m basically dying over them. I might have to rig the Christmas gift exchange process with our extended family so that I can buy these for my littlest nephew.
Bialetti Moka Express This is on my Christmas list this year—Aaron is the coffee captain in our house, and he loves really fancy single-origin medium or light roast coffee. I feel bad drinking his fancy coffee when all I really want is cheap/super-dark/French roast/nearly mud…I think this might solve everything!
Crow Canyon Triple Stacking Bowls with Covers I just absolutely cannot get enough enamelware, and the fact that these are nesting and stacking, and they have lids? SOLD! (20% off, no code necessary)
Free People bandana scarf I’m seeing everyone wearing scarves like this in our neighborhood right now, and I love them!
Ghia I’m a huge Ghia fan—I try to keep a bottle in our fridge for when non-drinker friends come over, but I confess that I like it so much mixed with seltzer that I sometimes drink it all myself… (code SHAUNA25 for 25% off)
GREATEST HITS:
Yes, I’ve recommended these four before, but they’re just really the best and I can’t do a gift guide of any kind without mentioning them—all four are things I have in my home AND regularly buy for the people I love. Classics, all of them, go-to’s for a reason.
Geometry towels My friend Emily bought me one of these a couple summers ago, and now I’m at the point where I’ll dig through all the other dish towels to get to these, because they’re just better than the rest—way more absorbent and very quick drying. Also, they do great seasonal and holiday patterns, which is a fun way to add a little holiday in a small space. (code SHAUNA for 15% off)
Earlywood flat spatula Like the Geometry towels, I’ll push all my other spatulas and wooden spoons out of the way to find this one every single time.
Flamingo Estate Heirloom Tomato Candle I really feel this is the greatest candle of all time. It smells incredible, it looks incredible. If you want to give someone you love an over-the-top luxurious gift, this is it. (20% off right now)
Chappy Wrap Blanket THE perfect blanket. I bought 2 of them for the cottage, then for a friend, then another friend, and then my mom—because she clocked my obsession with them—gave me two for our apartment for my birthday and we use them every single day. (20% off using code MERRY starting 11/26)
One last idea—and I’m so excited about this one:
Project Paulie Beanie A cute beanie with a tomato on it? I mean, count me in, of course, but also: every beanie supports a different non-profit that helps feed people—you know I’m ordering a stack!
I’ve been meaning to try this appetizer from Pinch of Yum for ages, and on Friday night, I finally did try it—YUM! It’s super easy, and it’s the perfect sweet/salty/spicy/rich flavor combination. As a bonus, it’s not hard to transport—I love, for example, a hot creamy crab dip, but try bringing that on the subway on a busy Friday night! :)
Start by spreading one package of Boursin cheese on a platter, then crush about a quarter cup of roasted, salted pistachios and scatter them over the cheese, then drizzle it all with hot honey—yum! I’m definitely going to keep the ingredients in the fridge & pantry throughout the holiday season for last-minute guests or when I need to bring something to a party.
We’re so looking forward to a Thanksgiving weekend full of friends and city adventures, and then lots of family coming to visit throughout December. Henry comes home tomorrow, and this weekend is also our seven year New York-iversary—wow!
We have so much to be thankful for, and as you know, gratitude is one of my core spiritual practices. My prayer is that at least for a few minutes this week, we’re all able to slow down and really feel the goodness and beauty and sweetness of what it is to be alive and human, walking in this beautiful broken world. What a gift!
