The Post Holiday Gift Guide

So I totally planned on writing this post the day after my last post, making it a Christmas miracle that I actually posted twice in one week and giving you all the perfect last minute holiday gift ideas.  I felt bad until I realized that some of you will get gifts that you don't like so you will need some ideas of what to get when you return that crappy sweater you got!  Also, the items on this list can totally apply to birthday gifts, anniversary gifts and just because gifts. Anyhow, every year my friends and I have our annual Girl's X-Mas: aka the white elephant and lots of champagne and wine night.  This tradition has been going on for over 15 years and I must say it's a daunting task to come up with a gift that gets stolen and becomes the hot ticket item, (because this is the whole point). My friends all have pretty good taste so I thought I'd share some of the amazing gifts that have made an appearance at one of our parties.  Oh and because my friend's rule, they flew me home this year so I wouldn't miss Girl's X-Mas!

All links are clickable:

Jonathan Adler: This is my go-to because I know most of the girls love JA, also he has lots of items in the $50-70 price range.  (I registered here for one of my wedding registries-Kyle couldn't figure out why we were getting so many elephant pieces.) I love the salt and pepper shakers, vice canisters, candles, pillows.  Like I said, I have a thing for JA.

Jo Malone: Candles and Cologne from Jo Malone are always a hit, (cologne is perfume here at JM). The packaging alone is beautiful.  It's a bit risky to shop for colognes here because the scents can be a little out there.  My favorites for both the candles and colognes are Peony & Blush Suede and Wild Fig & Cassis. I've seen amazing gift sets at places like Neiman Marcus,  Bloomingdales, Saks and Nordstrom.

LAFCO: Best. Candles. Ever.  The Home Scents are labeled for each room in your house. How cute is that?  These natural soy based candles will last over 60 hours and once you've burned through those hours you can reuse the beautiful glass the candle came in anywhere in your home. They have candles for the patio, guest room, music room, ski house, lake house, ranch house...well you get the idea.  These make the perfect personal gift for anyone.  And they smell amazing!

Speaking of beautiful glass art pieces for your home, you cannot go wrong Jeffries Glass. The hand blown drinkware glasses are amazing. Although he does not have the Nest Series wine glasses on the site yet, you should enquire about them.  The artist hales from beautiful Laguna Beach and sells his stuff at craft fairs such as the Sawdust Art Festival. These glasses are sturdy, beautiful and one of a kind!  Supporting local artists is always a good thing too.

Anything Anna Beck makes is GORG, and I am not just saying that because I know her and happen to think she is also an awesome human being.  Seriously, check out her stuff and try not to find something you wouldn't like for yourself, your sister, best friend, wife, partner, mother, daughter... you get the point.   Plus, if you buy the "Circle of Life" necklace, 100% of the proceeds go directly to the Bumi Sehat - a charity that supports woman's clinics in Bali and now Haiti that provides health and emergency care services.

A favorite perfume of all the girls is Kai.  The oil lasts forever, both in the bottle and on your skin! They have since come out with body wash, candles, lotion and even deodorant. If you have never smelled this before do yourself a favor and get some, you won't be disappointed and either will the special someone in your life ;)

Child came along just about the time we were looking to switch up or add to the Kai obsession.  It was our friend Courtney that found this little gem of a scent at a boutique in Encintas, Ca.  It soon became "one of the most sought after hard-to-find perfumes in the cult-niche brand world of beauty boutiques" I 100% believe that, this stuff smells that good.

The newest in scented oils came about this year and was again introduced to us by our girlfriend Courtney. Caudalie Devine Oil smells amazing! You can apply this light oil all over, it's also perfect as an after-sun lotion.

Speaking of sun, this is the perfect little bag to bring to the beach by day and use as a clutch by night.  Samudra makes totes as well as pouches in the most fun prints!  The Neon Palms was a hit with all the girls and definitely was a hot-ticket item!

For the tech-savvy friend in your life, Michael Kors makes an adorable little clutch that can fit an iPhone or Samsung phone.  No need to lug around your purse when running errands or hitting up the town at night!

Anthropologie anything.  You cannot go wrong with something from here.  The scarves, jewelry, leather gloves  (ahem, if you live where it get cold in the winter), clutches and wallets.  The list goes on and on.

I hope you all had an amazing holiday, here's a picture of me and the girls at the Girls X-Mas 2013. This pretty much sums us up.

~Mrs. G