We've pooled together all our very favorite goodies to help you with your holiday shopping this year!
The holiday season is officially upon us! Whatever you're celebrating, the spirit of giving is in the air and Ravishly has collected our top gifts to give your loved ones this year. We have a wide range of recommendations to share, including some with exclusive discounts! We've got a little bit of everything: candles that smell like your favorite books, family pajamas that will last for years to come, and organizations to pick when giving the ultimate gift of a donation in your loved one's name to a cause they care about.
Gifts For The Family
Something They Want: Subscription boxes are the way to go! We recommend Yogi Surprise for teens, Book of the Month for partners, Happy Mail for parents, and Kiwi Crate for little ones.
Something They Need: Donating to a cause in someone's name is a thoughtful way to give a gift without adding yet more demand to that tricky beast we call holiday consumerism. This year, we're donating to Standing Rock, Covenant House, Animal Welfare Institute, and Black Lives Matter.
Something To Wear: We cannot recommend matching family pajamas highly enough. Well worth the investment when you get them from Hanna Anderson. A more budget-conscious pick would have to be Muk Luks (our faves are this pair and this one), which we admittedly love way more than their pricier Ugg counterpart.
Something To Read: Pick up Wreck This Journal for your preteen, Full Frontal Feminism for your actual teen, The Best American Infographics 2016 for your partner, and Carson Ellis' stunningly illustrated Home for your toddlers.
Gifts For Friends
Shopping for friends can be even tougher than finding gifts for your family. If our feminist flowchart still hasn't answered your urgent, freindship-gifting needs, have no fear!
We asked some of our staffers to tell us about their favorite online shops and miscellaneous gift recommendations, and this is what they had to say:
- Chakra Healing Shop is my favorite Etsy shop for reiki-charged crystals. Whether you use your crystals for reiki/healing or just love to look at them, this is the place. They are reasonable and make a beautiful gift for a friend or stocking stuffer. Shop owner, Cindy Castro, has generously given Ravishly readers a generous 25% discount, good through January 1st, 2017! Use the coupon code HappyHolidays at checkout.
- If you’re up for a splurge for someone special (or for yourself!), head over to PassItOnLTD also on Etsy.
Shop owner, Laurel Stearns searches far and wide for the most exquisite antique and vintage fine jewelry. Rav readers get a 5% discount on everything in her shop. Use the code RAVISH05. - I am a HUGE fan of NYC-based beauty line Glossier You really can’t go wrong with getting your BFF a little something from the site. I have LOVED everything I’ve tried there. While you’re there, pick up a little something for you too. My top 5 picks from Glossier are Boy Brow, MilkyJelly Cleanser, Moisturizing Moon Mask, Mega Greens Galaxy Pack, and Priming Moisturizer. Enter the site via this link and you get 20% off your order. Yay!
- Books. You really can’t go wrong with a good book. And poetry books can be even more special/romantic/sexy. My picks: Warsan Shire’s Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth, Max Ritvo’s Four Reincarnations: Poems , and The Complete Poems: Anne Sexton.
- Lancome Juicy Shakers: I am obsessed with these tinted lip oils. They don’t dry your lips out, they wear off well (as in they don’t leave half-colored cakey residue behind), and they offer just enough color.
- I love everything about the candles from Frostbeard Studios. Their scents are all based on conjuring up the smells from classic literary scenes. My favorite is Headmaster's Office, which is made to smell like a cozy evening sitting next to Dumbledore's fireplace. Use the coupon code BOOKISH for 10% off your first order!
- For the Book Lover: Get creative this year and buy that special bookworm in your life a subscription to a literary magazine. McSweeney’s is my personal fave, especially if your beloved reader is of the quirky persuasion. Glimmer Train is a solid bet for regular short story goodies, and if you want to make it fool proof, buy the 2016 Best American Short Stories anthology. Edited by Junot Díaz, okay, so I’m just sayin’… Anyway, there’s no better way to get acquainted with the titans of literary genius while also meeting up-and-coming new voices, plus you’re supporting actual literature like the culture vulture you (or your delighted giftee) are.
- For the Craftee: Letterfolk makes a beautiful board on which you can spell out different messages, to suit your fancy, and their handcrafted lettering makes all your thoughts look totes gorgeous and also profound. (Don’t be dismayed if your favorite board is Sold Out: they restock throughout the holiday season!)
- For the Snarky Biz Person: How’s about a customized desk plate that reads “Not Today Satan” or “I’ll Be Nicer If You’ll Be Smarter”? Sounds good, right? Right. Luxe Apothetique has got you covered.
- For the Music Lover: Sufjan Stevens anything, forever, bless it, goodnight. Okay, not yet. Also, since Leonard Cohen passed away this year, listening
through his Complete Studio Albums collection is one way to help process the loss. If someone needs to dance afterward, Fitz and the Tantrums kinda knocked their latest release outta the ballpark. Enjoy.
Bonus: An Extra Feminist Flowchart For Holiday Book Buying!
We're not done with reading recommendations just yet! We've still got a handy feminist flowchart to share with you, plus a few of our personal favorites in the staff picks below. Follow this chart to find the perfect read for your favorite feminist. Starting from the top left, we recommend Raymie Nightingale, The Wonder, The Girls, The Underground Railroad, Paper Girls, Dietland, Milk and Honey, The Vanishers, and Shrill.
