Susan’s 2025 Holiday Gift Guide
I love the winter holidays. I love celebrating with my friends and family. I love going to all the parties and activities and doing all the winter holiday things. I live for December. My absolute favorite thing about the holidays, however, is giving gifts. As someone who celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, I have lots of gift-giving opportunities every winter. I love shopping for the people in my life, finding things that I hope they will love and use for their rest of their lives, and watching them open their gifts. I love going to the homes of my friends and family, and finding gifts I gave them sitting around, being used, having become part of the fabric of their daily lives.
As someone who adores really good gift guides (the kinds that are gifts people have actually given others, not just a list of links they’ll get commissions from), I wanted to make my own. So I set out to find five perfect gifts that you could conceivably give to anyone on your list. The gifts had to be tried-and-true: they needed to be things that I had given to others (that, importantly, were loved and cherished by their recipients); they needed to be things that I personally have used, tried, and loved; and they couldn’t be too crazily expensive. After combing through my receipts and my texts and my house and my gift-giving notes from the past fifteen years, I found five gifts that have stood the test of time.
On this list, you will find something for everyone in your life: your kids, your coworkers, your love interest(s), your significant other(s), your family members (both near and far), your friends, and even your enemies. Once you find something, order it right away! Over the years, I have learned that all the good stuff sells out really quickly, and by the time the holidays roll around, only the “meh” stuff remains. The people in your life are too special for the “meh” stuff. Get them the good stuff. Get them something they’ll love.
(Note: I get nothing from this list except the joy of helping you find something special for all the special someones in your life. There are no affiliate links. There are no commissions. There are no dragons. Etc.)
For Anyone (and Everyone) on Your List: Made*Here New York Throw Blankets
I cannot even begin to explain how wonderful these blankets are. They’re reasonably priced, they’re made of cotton, they are beautifully knit and super high quality, they feel wonderful and luxurious and cozy but never hot or sweaty or itchy, they last forever, and they can be run through your washing machine and dried in your dryer a hundred times (really, I have washed and dried mine over and over again for years and they look as good as new). I probably have half a dozen of these in my house, and I’ve given them away as gifts (including to my husband, who is obsessed with his).
They are truly the absolutely perfect gift for anyone on your list. Children love them. Teenagers love them. College students love them. Grown-ups love them. Grandparents love them. Great-grandparents love them. You can get one for your kid, your niece, your cousin, your sister, your brother, your in-laws, your grandkid, your grandma, your grandpa, your friend, your situationship, your boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife — or all the above.
They may open it and say “…a blanket?” And you will say, “yes, a blanket.” They will wrap themselves up in it and snuggle it while they scroll on their phone or read a book or watch tv, and when they have to get up and return to normal life, they will look at it with love and say to themselves: “yes, a blanket.”
Where to Buy: madeherenewyork.com
Pet Paintings by Sasha Spielberg
For the Pet Owner: A Watercolor Pet Portrait by Sasha Spielberg
This is the ultimate gift for any friend who has a beloved pet. For the friend who takes their pet everywhere. For the friend who has a kind of weird obsession with their odd animal. For the friend who lovingly spends all the free time in their life caring for their dog, their horse, their cat, their iguana, their rabbit, their guinea pig.
Musician and artist Sasha Spielberg AKA Buzzy Lee (AKA one of my favorite musical artists ever) paints lovely, adorable watercolor pet portraits that will be immediately loved and cherished for a lifetime. She paints pets of all kinds — horses, cats, dogs, bees, bunnies (you name it, she can paint it) — and she puts so much love and appreciation and adoration into each portrait. These are paintings for people who love their pets, painted by someone who also truly loves animals.
A few years ago, for a Hanukkah present, I ordered a portrait for two very wonderful friends of mine who have a sweet (and extraordinarily cute) little dog. The process was super easy (I sent over a few photos via email) and super fast (it only took a few weeks), and the painting captured his sweet, loving, loyal, and curious self perfectly.
This is one to order as soon as you can to make sure it arrives in time for the holidays! (I’m going to place my order right after I post this blog…)
Where to Buy: bysashy.com
For the Busy Woman On-the-Go: The Longchamp Le Pliage Backpack
I suspect most people are familiar with Longchamp’s famous Le Pliage shoulder bag, which is famously affordable, water-resistant, foldable, washable (even though they tell you it isn’t, I can tell you from experience that it is!), and lasts forever. It is the perfect travel tote, work bag (it can fit most laptops), and diaper bag. But, for the woman who probably already has one of the original tote bags and/or maybe needs to have her hands free and shoulders free on-the-go, I have discovered the perfect gift: The Le Pliage Backpack.
It is foldable. It is water-resistant. It is relatively indestructible. It is washable (I just pop mine in the washer with some woolite on the delicate cycle and then airdry it). It is unbelievably lightweight. It can carry (almost) everything you need. I have taken mine on countless zoo trips. To the aquarium. On hikes. To the airport. On travels all over the world. To school functions. To sports practices. To the gym. I can carry a baby or toddler on one hip and not have to worry about a tote bag falling off my other shoulder. It is the most wonderful backpack, and once you try it, you (and your gift recipient) will want one in every color.
(Note: I suspect men would also like this too but I have not given one to a man and have yet to meet a man who has/uses one, so I cannot in confidence recommend it for a guy but that doesn’t mean it won’t work for them!)
Where to Buy: Longchamp.com
For the 2-5 year old kid: microMAGS Travel Sets
A few months ago, I came across the travel versions of the Magna-Tiles that my kids have played with ever since they were babies: the microMAGS. They’re super small (but not too small), travel-sized, and come in little tins that fit perfectly into a backpack, purse, diaper bag, or oddly-large pocket. We’ve used ours while waiting for big sister to finish her gymnastics class, while waiting for our food at a restaurant, in the car, on a plane, etc.
These are an amazing gift for small kids and for anyone who has small kids around (parent, grandparent, etc.). They’re a delight for kids, a delight for parents (they keep kids busy for hours), and they’re just plain fun to have. They’re not messy, they last forever, and they stick together (so they don’t get lost). (The smaller sized sets also make perfect stocking stuffers and will actually fit into any standard-size stocking.)
Where to buy: magnatiles.com
For Kids and Teens of Any (and Every) Age: A Fujifilm Instax Mini Camera
This is, I think, one of the most lovely and useful gifts you can get for the kid, teen, or young-ish adult on your list. I’ve found that kids and teens really love taking photos on something that’s not their phone, and there’s a reason these are so popular now. A few years back, I got one for my daughter (who was, I think, four at the time), and the photos she has taken have become some of the most precious things I own. There’s something magical about handing a camera (not a phone) to a child and being able to see the world the way they see it. This is one of those gifts that I suspect you really can’t go wrong with for any of the young people on your list.
I do very much recommend buying one of the gift sets that comes with film and accessories. Target has fantastic gift sets (I know this from experience), so I’ve linked to those here. You can also buy a few extra packs of film and pop them in a stocking — luckily the film is super easy to find, and I’ve had a lot of luck using coupons for them at CVS (I use my almost-weekly 40% off and $4 off coupons to buy them for my kids and for others on my list.)
Where to Buy: Target