We did a quick survey of some FabListers to see what the ‘big hit’ gifts were in their households this year because we can spend hours planning and purchasing and then be surprised by what is a hit and what is a miss! I recall one year I got one of my young kids a bunch of stuff (sleeping bag, backpack, clothes) and he later said ‘Thanks Mom, but there’s nothing I can play with’…. which was a good lesson to always include a game or an activity if possible as a gift for kids…and adults!
Here’s a quick recap, in no particular order, of what our savvy FabListers had to say! Tons of great ideas!
I always give a favorite book of the year to friends.
For my vendors, I gave fixings for a Hugo drink – Elderflower and Prosecco.
We did a Shutterfly photo ornament from a family trip with my parents so everyone could have that as a memory.
Lots of games this year. Chronology and Code Names. Makes a different hostess gift.
Hypervolt!!!! We have a Hypervolt at my house, yet this year Santa brought one for each of the kids for their respective residences.
Our best family gift was a wine tasting. My son’s girlfriend wrapped four bottles of wine in paper bags and included ‘scorecards’ for all participants. Then she led us through the tasting. We made notes, scored the wines, and guessed the prices. We did it with 3 families (4 kids in each!) and 4 bottles was enough to serve everyone. It was such a fun activity. Lots of laughs and surprises during the big reveal at the end.
The Faherty Legend Sweater Shirt was a big hit! (Chrissie’s note: I gave this to one of my kids and it was also a hit – and selected patterns are currently on a great sale right now)
Big gift hits: airline gift cards, subscription beauty boxes – get trial sizes of multiple products each month, ski boot heaters, plant of the month club 😊
Three people responded with this same game (Chrissie being one of them!):
We loved the game Ransom Notes – made us laugh SO much and it’s super easy to play (we didn’t even make it a competition and you can play for as short or long as you want to).
I am so focused on sustainability so I bought one of the Wrappr gift wraps which are really cool, and I’ll probably be using it over and over! I also got the reusable (chalkboard like) gift tags. They are really cool looking and I got a lot of compliments. Vuori for the guys is always a big hit. SO comfy!
My partner gave me a post-Christmas Yeti stainless steel coffee mug so I could use it for my Cup of Calm tea during Dry January. That way the tea doesn’t go cold which happens in all my ceramic mugs.
These are super fun: celebrity prayer candles. I got my dad a Kamala Harris, and we have a Joe-Biden-Wearing-Shades one. They’re kind of good conversation starters, too—I admire this person or I’m praying not to be like them or whatever. I also gave some tee-shirts and cool notebooks from Cognitive Surplus. Oh, also I got Chris a useful slightly sexy man jacket from LL Bean.
The personalized Visitag luggage tags! Huge hit with everyone – kids and adults!
Personalized embroidered patches of our dog!
Well, my favorite gifts weren’t bought but funny and creative. One child wrote me a poem and attached a contract that she will play doubles with me in my choice of tournament. Another made gorgeous ceramic bowls. Another created that guessing game (found on the internet/kind of like Battleship where you guess all the people in your lives.) And one gave me flosser picks.😂
These Lulu pants were a hit for a 60 year old male and all his women love him in them!!
This ring and this necklace were a hit with my daughters! Plus great customer service. K had a necklace that broke – she took it to their store in the mall and they gave her a brand new one even though she’d had it for years.
This Hermes scarf ring was one of my favorite gifts! It was given with the comment “for the woman who has everything” (which I DON’T) and it was totally unexpected but delightful. It magically grips a 90” scarf with no knots, thus creating lots of new ways to wear a scarf. Perfect for Hermes, but fabulous for any similarly sized scarves. These are a few different shapes but this is the one I got – with a classic Hermes design.
Brightland Olive Oil! Makes a great gift.
If we include kids, the fan favorites were Madhappy Uggs, Scarf, Jackets, hats. Charlotte Tilbury bronze and glow and setting spray. Merit Highlighter Balm, gift cards to local places near kids’ colleges and homes.
Moerie hair vitamins and shampoo; Vince, NN07, Scott Barber, Rag and Bone, Topshop sweaters. North Face and Parajumper puffer jackets. UGG men’s snow and Chelsea winter boots, Herbal Face Food serums, Jenny Kayne Sweaters.
Snail serum and Osea products feature largely!
Barbour Jacket, J. Crew Cropped Cashmere Sweater.
My best Christmas gift was time with my kids.
Men love Aesop!
Portable Chargers, Lake Pajamas Cozy Robe, Lululemon Rest Less Pullover, Osea Undaria Algae Body Oil, Clarins V-Facial Mask, Clarins Cryo Mask, Aveda Hand Cream.
Ice Cream. Jo received this and loved it!!