Boy, I love writing these holiday gift ideas blog posts and seeing all the fun things there are for gifts this year! Now look, to be honest, I can write 100 of these posts and still not touch on all of them, but I selected a few to hopefully spark some ideas. Happy Holidays!
(Disclaimer: there are some affiliate links in this blog post.)
Emily in Paris
Maybe you can’t get to Paris, but you can still bring a taste of Emily in Paris to you with this adorable Emily in Paris Tea Entourage Collection by Vahdam India.
This exclusive set brings to life the allure of Paris and Emily Cooper’s exuberant style. Shaped like a vintage suitcase, each element of the design brings out the essence of Emily in Paris and is inspired by Emily’s chic Parisian life. Emily in Paris fans of will savor the delicious teas in this gift set, which come in 4 opulent tin tea caddies. The teas are exclusive blends crafted especially for this collaboration including:
La Vie En Rose – A floral infusion of rose petals, cranberry, beetroot candy, and pomegranate
Ingénue Violet – A tisane tea crafted with hibiscus, lavender, blue pea, and blue cornflower
Voila! Vanilla – A light herbal tea blend of natural vanilla, cocoa nibs, and candy with flowers herbs
Le French Earl Grey – An Earl Grey tea blend of premium Indian black tea with pure blue cornflower and bergamot flavor.
Pricing: $99.99 (currently on sale for $44.99 https://www.vahdam.com/pages/emily-in-paris or order through Amazon here.
Don’t forget the Emily in Paris Official Cookbook: If your friend or loved one is a fan of the Netflix hit show, they will love this cookbook — it’s très bien! You can make some treats and tea and binge the show all over again! The show is as much about fashion and the sites as it is about the food! Kim Laidlaw who, in my opinion, is a queen of writing cookbooks, has put together Emily in Paris: The Official Cookbook and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s filled with photos from the show and recipes that bring France right to your kitchen. You can learn how to make Provencal Eggplant and Tomato Gratin, Cassoulet, Beef Bourguignon, Gabriel’s Coq au Vin, and popular Parisian sweets like Pomme Frites, Macarons and my favorite Creme Brulee. It’s $17.89 and can be found here: https://amzn.to/3QyIrqa.
More Books
Hey look, I’m a writer and I love books, so I’m going to suggest them as gifts! Here are a few from Kensington Publishing:
Killin’ Generals: The Making of The Dirty Dozen by Dwayne Epstein ($28), the first behind-the-scenes account of the making of the groundbreaking, Academy Award-winning classic, “The Dirty Dozen” starring Jim Brown, Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes, Clint Walker, Telly Savalas, and Donald Sutherland. To order, click here.
The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear by Nat Segaloff (On sale July 25, 2023 / HC, $28), a fascinating, quirky, insightful behind-the-scenes cultural history of “The Exorcist,” timed to the 50th anniversary of the movie’s release. The book explores its lasting impact as one of the most shocking, influential, and successful films in history, still considered the scariest movie ever made. Author Nat Sagloff was one of the original film publicists for “The Exorcist” back in 1973 and was William Friedkin’s biographer. Order here: https://www.amazon.com/Exorcist-Legacy-50-Years-Fear/dp/0806541946.
The Way they Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen ($28) is the first book on the making of one of the world’s most beloved – and puzzling – romances. For over half a century, the film has landed on lists of the Top Ten Movie Romances of all time, in the august company of Casablanca and Gone with the Wind. But this instant classic was a nightmare to make, with a difficult cast, a jumbled plot about mismatched partners (based on Laurents’s own longtime love affair with actor Tom Hatcher), countless delays and rewrites, on-set tensions between everyone involved, difficulties at every step of the production, the skyrocketing demands of Ms. Streisand, a leading man who happily ditched premieres on both coasts and mixed critical reviews. Order here: https://amzn.to/3syJHBw.
Grimoire Girl
If you or someone you know is a fan of One Tree Hill’s Hilarie Burton Morgan, consider a signed copy of her newest book, which you can get through her local indy bookstore, Oblong Books. Copies ship in early December, so get your order in now.
Here is the blurb for the must-read: Since childhood, actor, producer, and New York Times bestselling author Hilarie Burton Morgan has felt compelled to record and keep, to collect and catalog life in all its strange wonder. It was a fanciful habit with no clear goal. And then, when she became a mother, the importance of all that collecting snapped into focus. Before she could help these brand-new souls figure out who they were, she had to go back and understand who she was. Which parts of life were worth keeping and which were meant to be discarded? What legacy did she want to leave? She dug through attics and basements, scouring journals, trunks of letters, spellbooks, and trinket boxes, trying to answer the question, What inheritance can I give these children that is true and loving and lasting? What will stay with them when I am gone?
Out of that the Grimoire Girl was born. It’s $29.99.
Hallmark Movie Fan
It’s no news that I was a Hallmark Movie prude up until about two years ago. Now I have a Hallmark Movie-watching t-shirt, I’ve tried their wines (so good), and I have a congested DVR of current Hallmark holiday movies. Let’s not forget the fact that I’m a huge fan of the Deck the Hallmark Podcast. If you have someone else who loves this time of year (or all year long) like I do, here are a few ideas for them:
Okay, do these skates give off Hallmark Christmas movie vibes? I think they do which is why I’m including them as a gift idea. So cute! Who doesn’t picture themselves in those skating scenes during Hallmark holiday movies? Not me! No, seriously I do. Give the same look to your Hallmark fan with these skates from Riedell, a fourth-generation legacy company that has been making figure skates and roller skates for over 75 years. In fact, Riedell was recently recognized as an official supplier for U.S. Figure Skating, the governing body for the sport. These skates in blush and cider colors can be ordered here: https://www.ice.riedellskates.com/Catalog/Casual-Series for $169 per pair.
A glass of wine and a good holiday romcom! That’s all many of us need. How about giving a special pair of Hallmark wine glasses and toast another season of movies! This Hallmark Channel Stemless Wine Glasses (Sip Sip Hooray! Red and Green) Set of 2, 12 oz. are $30. Add them to a bottle of Hallmark Channel Wines (I mean, ya gotta fill ’em up)! Personally, the blush flavor was my favorite. Order here.
Video Games
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
XCOM developers Firaxis have created a deep card-based tactical action adventure with heroes from several different Marvel properties. While expanding your combatic abilities, you also build relationships with Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Blade, the Runaways, and more. Firaxis combines their previous XCOM prowess for smart combat design with implementing deckbuilding similar to indie hit Slay the Spire.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is recommended for fans of Marvel, character-focused RPGs, and those looking for a crossover of characters you won’t see in the MCU. If you need even more, the season pass includes additional playable characters, missions, enemies, and 20+ skins; https://amzn.to/49yfjb8
Borderlands Collection: Pandora’s Box
This brand new collection includes all six Borderlands games released so far (with all downloadable content): Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition, Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Borderlands 3, Tales from the Borderlands, and New Tales from the Borderlands. If you’re new to the series or looking to dive back in, this has all of the Borderlands you can ask for. Play solo or co-op up to 4 players in the deep first-person shooter RPG campaigns of the main series, or enjoy hilarious narrative-driven adventures in the Tales spinoff series. If you want to skip straight to the highlights of the collection, Borderlands 2 and Tales from the Borderlands are the most critically acclaimed entries in the series. Borderlands also makes its film debut in August 2024, starring Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Cate Blanchett. https://amzn.to/3R3ulP3
NBA 2K24
2K’s flagship basketball simulation has been the #1 basketball game for well over a decade, and this year’s entry continues to fine-tune what it does well. There are modes for everyone: MyCareer lets you take a custom player through their NBA journey; MyTeam allows you to create a dream team of players spanning different eras of the league, and in MyGM you take full control of a franchise. You can also recreate the highlights of the late Kobe Bryant in Mamba Moments. Other features include the WNBA and new overhauled gameplay for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Put an exhibition game on the TV and you will undoubtedly fool your family into thinking it’s the real thing https://amzn.to/40GmeuY.
Movie Experience Gifts
Did you know that Virgin Experience Gifts has a variety of movie experience tickets you can buy for the favorite movie/TV fan in your life? Here are a few options and prices range depending on the tour.
Central Park Movie Sites Tour – It’s a two-hour film and television walking tour through Central Park featuring 30+ locations.
Downtown Chicago TV and Movie Sites Tour – See where Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Dark Knight, and more were filmed.
Boston Movie Mile Tour – See sites from Good Will Hunting, Cheers, The Departed and so much more.
Savannah Movie Sites Segway Tour – See famous locations from Forrest Gump, Something to Talk About, Midnight in the Garden of Good in Evil, and more.
Mister Rogers Television and History Tour – Explore the friendly world of your favorite neighbor during this immersive Mr. Rogers history tour that takes you through various landmarks in the life of the television legend!
Popcorn!
What movie buff or TV binger wouldn’t appreciate popcorn? I know I’d love it! Put together a package of Johnson’s Popcorn. Bring the delicious taste of the New Jersey Shore boardwalk directly to any popcorn lover this holiday with the world-famous Johnson’s Popcorn. For the past 80 years, their irresistible caramel-coated popcorn has been a highly sought-after treat on the Ocean City, NJ, Boardwalk.
Created through meticulous air-popping and hand-churning in copper kettles, each batch guarantees exceptional quality and taste. Choose from various gift options, including tubs, tins, and party favors, filled with the delicious sweet and savory popcorn varieties made fresh daily at the Ocean City storefront. Johnson’s Popcorn is also perfect for corporate gifts or holiday parties (party favors and tins can be personalized!). Featuring flavors like Caramel Corn, Salty-n-Sandy, Cheddar, Chocolate Drizzle, Peanut Crunch, and more, there’s a favorite for every popcorn aficionado. Gluten-free. Ships worldwide. Available at https://www.johnsonspopcorn.com.
Sherlock Mystery Game
If you’re gifting to a fan of the BBC show Sherlock Holmes (or of detective shows/movies in general), they will love Dear Holmes. Dear Holmes is a Sherlockian mystery game played by mail. Each month, Dr. Watson assigns you a Victorian-era mystery to solve. Each week you’ll receive a letter in the mail filled with clues to help you crack the case. All letters are printed on premium stationery and mailed with a real stamp. Dear Holmes letters are also available to members in podcast form (at no additional charge). Membership to Dear Holmes also gets you access to a members-only podcast, with audio narrations of every clue and solution letter. Pricing for popular plans: three mysteries ($49.99), six ($99.99), and 12 Mysteries ($174.99). https://www.dearholmes.com
Celebrity Black Book 2024
If you know someone who wants to write to their favorite celebs, they are going to need an address. Get them a copy of the Celebrity Black Book 2024: Over 55,000 Celebrity Addresses. It’s great for sending fan mail to request autographed photos from celebrities through the mail https://amzn.to/47GSOPL.
When readers purchase the book, they get a free 30-day trial to our online membership site, Contact Any Celebrity, ContactAnyCelebrity.com.
Tune in for Part 3!
