Take a deep breath. Crack those knuckles. Grab that pen and gift list. Because ’tis the season for holiday shopping. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed, don’t fret. Because shopping for presents can be A Lot, we put together an all-encompassing lineup featuring our most popular holiday gift guides and star ideas from each — all culled from our wealth of up-to-the-minute shopping data.
Since holiday shopping madness will only escalate from here, keep checking back throughout December as we refresh this gift roster with the freshest favorites worth putting a bow on. We now present you, dear reader, with our list of the best gift ideas for the 2022 holiday season. Scroll on to shop.
Best Fashion Gifts
Free People Moxy Trapese Vegan Jacket, $248
In our roundup about what fashion lovers really want this holiday, our chic shoppers made it clear that it’s this vegan leather jacket. Lined in faux shearling and featuring a perfectly oversized fit, it’s a true winner in our books.
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Under-$100 Gifts From Nordstrom Rack
New Balance 996v2 Sneaker, $99.99 $66.97
Thank goodness for Nordstrom Rack, which is brimming with affordable gift-worthy finds. These fun but practical New Balance sneakers are a top choice for shoppers. (Whether it’s for them or someone else, we can’t say.) The bright soles bring a much-needed pop of color to the ultimate dadcore kicks.
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The Best Gifts From Sephora
Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Eye Essential Duo, $28
Sephora is a winter wonderland replete with limited-time-only gift sets that often happen to be a bargain. Our guide to the most splurge-worthy sets includes everything from mega palettes of dazzling eyeshadows to luxury skin care, but the best seller (perhaps not surprisingly) was a practical but pretty set from Rare Beauty. Selena Gomez’s buzzy brand has a number of popular products, but we love the idea of gifting something every makeup-loving recipient will be happy to see. It’s a great introduction to the brand and a gift you’ll know they’ll use.
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Best Fitness Gifts
Stanley 40 oz. Adventure Quencher Tumbler $40
Shopping for fitness gifts can be tricky: You want a gift the yogi or Crossfitter in your life will actually use, but you don’t want to give them something totally boring since it’s a gift, after all. Our fitness gift guide is for anyone facing that problem, and you don’t even have to be shopping for a gym rat to appreciate the most popular item on the guide: Stanley’s now-iconic massive drink, for any and everyone who likes to hydrate on the go.
Best Amazon Home Decor Gifts
Jonathan Adler Metallic Zebra Dish, $40 32
Ah, Amazon. A procrastinator’s paradise. But Prime delivery doesn’t have to mean everyone gets Command strip hooks or Alexa-enabled devices. In addition to an endless sea of purely functional products, you can find design-forward pieces that look way more expensive than they actually are. Our guide to the best Amazon home buys is perfect for host gifts, stocking stuffers, and white-elephant exchanges, and many are available with that oh-so-convenient two-day shipping.
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Unique Holiday Gift Ideas
Tushy Classic 3.0 Bidet, $129 $99
Despite the over-$100 price tag, our shoppers know a unique gift when they see one. Enter: The Tushy Classic 3.0 bidet attachment, which is an easy-to-install contraption that squirts sink water (not toilet bowl water) to clean your “soiled” areas after you’re done with any bathroom business. Our senior writer found it to be stylish and user-friendly — but if you don’t want to take our word for it, check out the bidet’s currently perfect rating of 5 out of 5 stars across 7,539 reviewers. Writes one customer with a squeaky bum, “It’s so easy to set up, there’s just no reason to not have a pooper as clean as mine.”
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Best Luxury Gifts
SSense Exclusive Holiday Beauty Bag $190
Sometimes, a splurgy gift is the order of the day. Whether you’re treating your sweetie or showing major gratitude to a best friend or family member, there is no shortage of high-ticket items out there. But you want to make sure your extravagant outlay actually pays off. That’s where our guide to luxury gifts comes in. Take, for example, this bag from SSense stocked with some of the most coveted luxury beauty and skin-care brands on the market. No wimpy, annoying sample packets, either. Ten of the 26 included products are full-size, and the remaining 16 are premium-size minis that are perfect for travel.
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Cool Gifts For Difficult People
Béis The Carry-On Roller, $198
Travel is back, baby! With trips booked and places to be, any discerning giftee will be thrilled to receive a brand-new piece of luggage to accompany them on their 2023 adventures. Best of all, it strikes that balance between practical and stylish, which is what we all aim for when nailing the airport ‘fit check.
Bormioli Rocco Stackable Wine Glasses Set, $34+
It appears that some of our most difficult friends to shop for still love to toast a great dinner party! These stackable wine glasses from Food52, which come in sets of six and 18 and in varying sizes and prices, have become an unexpected best seller as of late. They have a perfect rating of 5 out of 5 stars and 40 reviews on food52.com, with one reviewer raving, “Durable, practical, attractive, reasonably priced. Intend to buy more, perhaps in another size! If you like to entertain and aren’t crazy about plastic, these glasses are a good investment.” We’ll cheers to that.
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Best Chanukah Gifts
Oy Vey Socks, $28
While most gifts in our guide will work for any winter holiday celebration, we still have to give a special shout-out to the Festival of Lights with a roundup of gifts for grown-ups that are cool, not corny. And the top-bought gift is none other than these cheeky socks from Kule that make the Yiddish phrase into a high-fashion moment.
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The Crowd-Pleasing Gifts Already On Sale
Everlane The Cotton-Merino Front-Tie Top, $78 $59
Our readers sure love Everlane, the responsibly made brand behind everyone’s favorite basics. That’s no shocker since this cardigan meets all the criteria of a solid gift — it comes in three colors, has favorable reviews, and is gently priced at just under $60. “This is so soft, so comfy, so flattering, and I can wash it in the washing machine,” writes one reviewer. “[I] could not love this more. I bought it in blue and black and also bought the matching cotton-merino tank top pictured underneath — and it is so perfectly paired.”
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Best Loungeware Gifts
Skims Cozy Knit Pant, $88 $44
PJs and the holidays go hand in hand, but rather than opting for a festive set that won’t get worn after January 1, get them something they’ll wear year-round. Our roundup of giftable loungewear features plenty of cozy, chic pairings, but the crème de la crème is Skim’s stretchy, sexy knit set. Made from plush boucle yarn, it’s the perfect thing to hibernate in this winter.
Best Affordable Christmas Gift Ideas
Harry Styles Coffee Mug, $17.98+
It’s not quite the same as enjoying a cuppa with the man himself, but it’s close(ish). This Etsy gem is sure to make any Harry Styles fan smile every time they use it to enjoy their warm beverage of choice. (Pair with a vinyl of Harry’s House for extra points.)
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The Best Under-$100 Gifts
Baby Alpaca-Wool Cropped Cardigan $59.90
A gift in the $50 to $100 range doesn’t quite hit the “luxury” price tag but should (in our book) still feel plenty luxurious. It’s why Quince’s affordable alpaca sweater had to earn a spot — and is unsurprisingly a hit with readers. Available in six muted hues, it’s like giving the gift of a very fashionable hug.
Best Gifts Under $50
Skims Teddy Sherpa Slipper, $48
Clocking in at just under $50, these Skims slippers are the perfect gift for cold-weather chillaxing. (They also come in hot pink, if classic black isn’t your speed.)
Grapgic Dynamics Custom Pet Pillow, $15.92+
One of Etsy’s best-selling items is designed to help you immortalize or commemorate your (or a loved one’s) favorite animal child — for under $20. With over 7,400 sales, Grapgic Dynamics’ cheeky cute pillow includes plenty of reviews praising the cuteness (and softness) factor: “This item exceeded expectations. It looks fantastic and is super soft. I ordered this as a present for my dad as we lost his cat in June to cancer,” wrote one satisfied gift-giver.
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Best Sex Toy Gifts
Tracy’s Dog Rosie Portable Rose Clit Sucker, $49.99
A sex toy under the tree isn’t for everyone, but if your group chat spends as much time discussing viral vibrators as they do the latest Netflix binge, they’ll love it. And, of course, a vibrator makes the perfect couple’s gift — at the holidays or any time of year. Every vibrator on our list is a sure-fire toe-curling self-care sesh waiting to happen. But we wanted to specifically call out Tracy’s Dog’s Rosie, a clit-sucking toy that our sex writer says is guaranteed to leave you feeling like you just visited a Bachelor fantasy suite. We do accept this rose.
Cool Gifts For Guys
Lululemon ABC Jogger, $128
Tapered, elevated joggers: good. College-era sweatpants with elastic that’s given up on life: not so good. Lululemon’s beloved ABC Joggers strike a perfect balance between comfort and style, making them an ideal gift for dads, bros, husbands, and more.
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Best Candle Gifts
Baby Won’t You Light My Legs? Candles, $75
A good candle gift can be an enticing scent that they can enjoy time and time again, but don’t pass over candles that favor form over smell. Our collection of unique candles involves a variety of sculptural options, both scented and unscented, that all have that “where did you even find this?” appeal. This leggy set, for example, will leave them wondering if they can even bring themselves to light it.
Best Affordable White Elephant Gifts
Cereal Bowl Candle With Metal Spoon, $27.99
Sometimes, we’re pleasantly shocked (and delighted) by what turns out to be the best sellers from our shopping stories. Case in point: this enticing bowl of cereal that’s actually a candle. What you see is what you get — it doesn’t make noise, and it’s not an ornament. It basically serves no other purpose than making your giftee smile. Is that enough? Our shoppers think so! Writes one reviewer: “My order came within a week of being purchased and was even cuter than we expected! 10/10 would recommend.”
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Best Advent Calendar Gifts
24 Nights of Wine, $150 $124.99
If you plan ahead, you can give your recipient a gift they can open again and again in December. (And if you didn’t plan ahead, the 12-day Advent calendars on our list are actually perfect for after December 25: The 12 days of Christmas are the days between the holiday and the Epiphany, which falls on January 6). Our list of creative Advent calendars is an R29 reader favorite every year, and this wine calendar is 2022’s top-carted. You’ll get a mix of reds, whites, and rosés, each coming in at 187ml, or enough for a “stout pour.”
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Best Self-Care Gift Ideas
Theragun Mini, $199 $149
Small enough for travel but powerful enough to soothe the sorest muscles, the Theragun Mini is the gift to give whoever on your list most deserves some serious self-care as we round out 2022. Don’t have a spare $150 to spend? Plenty of the picks on our self-care guide come in at under $50 and will still provide plenty of relief.
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Best Gifts For Gamers
Hyrule Field Candle, $125
Our gifts for gamers prove that there’s a gift for every style. Take, for example, this candle inspired by one of The Legend of Zelda‘s most iconic locations. If you’ve never heard of Link, Ganon, or Zoras, you won’t look twice at this minimalist-inspired candle. If you are a fan, however, it will be a fun way to celebrate a nostalgic game with a very grown-up aesthetic.
Best Anthropologie Gifts
Anthropologie Grecian Bust Pot, $24
The R29 Shopping team is very into Anthropologie — especially where gifts are concerned. Since we spend most of our days picking out stuff for others, we decided to put together a holiday special highlighting our wish-listed favorites from its crowd-pleasing selection. From the pool of Anthro presents that our product-obsessed writers and editors would like to give and get, this very unique Grecian Bust Pot was the top-bought gifting pick.
At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. All product details reflect the price and availability at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.
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