Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts By Personality

Whether you shop nationally or locally – online or in stores – it’s now ‘Christmas Crunch Time’ for picking up meaningful gifts for the loved ones in your life this season.  Enter my holiday gift guide!

Shopping today and this week ensures:

1. Timely shipping and receiving of orders
2. Shows care and consideration of your recipients likes and dislikes
3. Stresses you are not an “Eleventh Hour Dollar Store Diva” when it comes to gifting

I do my best to keep gifts at $150 or under and I do stick to choosing presents with personalities in mind! Also, while I buy from national outlets (like so many of us do), I believe in balance, and always make a point of purchasing presents from local Mom and Pop shops as well.

Gift For the Foodie

My husband is a huge foodie and one of our favorite places to food shop is Doris market.  I’ve been going there since I can remember.  Whenever I visited my grandparents during Spring Break and summertime, we’d stop at Doris for groceries – especially their chicken cutlets!  Now that I live down here, Doris is my go-to for groceries.  They have locations in Boca Raton and North Palm Beach, as well as Coral Springs, Pembroke Pines and Sunrise!  Aside from the groceries, they also offer top-notch catering – I know, as I have ordered from them numerous times!

Gift ideas include a gift card which can be used in-store or online, a custom gift basket, handmade Italian pastries, and meal catering!

Dec. 14th is their 70^th anniversary – that says a lot about the store and it’s amazing reputation.  The first 70 customers in each of the 5 locations will get a FREE gift with purchase.  They will also be entered to win a $70 Doris gift card.  There will be a cake cutting ceremony and group photo at 10 a.m. in each location as well!

Check them out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest!

Gift for the Hostess with the Mostess

Pioneer Linens is a mainstay in downtown West Palm Beach.  Open since 1912, Pioneer is the go-to for bedding, bath products, and great gift options.  Some of the gift options I love are:

It was an absolute pleasure walking through the store with Penny, learning about the history of Pioneer Linens.  I can feel the thought and care that goes into the store and absolutely love that her daughters work alongside her.  Aside from the items I spotlight here, you can find just about anything you could ever dream of for your bedroom or bath – AND they can personalize just about anything.

I learned a few GREAT gift giving pointers during my time with Penny:

1. Let’s say you are going to a holiday party and are bringing a bottle of wine, but don’t want to just show up with the bottle.  Gift some beautiful cocktail napkins, like the flamingo ones in the slideshow above.  That simple added personal touch will make that much more of a wonderful impression.
2. If you are gifting a candle, why not add a beautiful box of matches along with it?  I assimilated this to what I was always taught growing up – when you gift something that requires batteries, be sure to include the required batteries.  Adding a decorative box of matches to the candle is a refined and super smart idea!

All are perfect gifts for the Florida hostess – love them!

Check them out on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter!

Gift for the Wine Lover

Planning the big holiday feast is daunting enough without also being tasked with selecting the wines. Vinesse Wines Holiday Collection relieves that stress by providing six bottles that pair beautifully with Holiday fare, while also addressing the diverse taste buds that are bound to be populating the dinner table. This Holiday Collection also can be divided and gifted to wine-loving friends.

An ever-popular gift, this is Vinesse’s 24^th annual holiday wine assortment!  The price for the Vinesse Wines Holiday 6-bottle Collection is $89.99 plus shipping.  Visit their website for more information and to place your order online!

2013 LA FENETRE ‘A COTE’ CENTRAL COAST PINOT NOIR: If you ever happen to find yourself riding the rails through Central Coast’s famous vineyards, you may also find yourself sipping a glass of La Fenetre’s Pinot Noir. The 2013 Pinot Noir is a classic expression of the varietal on California’s Central Coast. The wine has delicious notes of spice and red fruit, combined with weight and chewy textures and it rounds out to be a delicious and well-balanced Pinot Noir complete with light tobacco leaf and cedar notes.  The 2013 vintage is a perfect match for a pan-roasted chicken with sage and delicious chanterelle mushrooms.

2016 OLD TRAIN DEPOT CALIFORNIA CABERNET SAUVIGNON Cabernet Sauvignon is known as the king of red wines in California. Old Train Depot takes a multiple-appellation approach when making its Cabernet Sauvignon, having built relationships with quality-focused grape growers in various regions.  The goal is to produce a wine that is consistent in aroma and flavor from vintage to vintage, rather than an expression of a single year in a single place. With deep flavors of flowers, ripe berries, and caramel, this wine is the perfect addition to any holiday meal, especially if you have a roast or steak on the menu.

2016 BRAMBLE RIDGE WINERY CALIFORNIA CHARDONNAY Chardonnay is long-known to be one of the most food-friendly white wines that there is. The great thing about Chardonnay is it’s a real crowd-pleaser and it pairs well with all types of cuisine and enhances the food’s flavors.  We love the Bramble Ridge Winery’s 2016 Chardonnay because it exudes flavors of apple, pear, citrus and even a hint of buttered toast, all of which are synonymous with the best Chardonnays in California. It’s a perfect pairing partner with appetizers or a light dessert.

2015 CHATEAU CAP DE BIOLET BORDEAUX, FRANCE RED BLEND A gold medal award-winning Merlot based-blend from a four-decade family of winemakers.
This delicious blend has notes of blackberry, red and black cherries and herbal flavors and leaves a lingering sense of sweetness at first sip.The quality of the wine is A+ and it is a perfect match for the holiday meal side-dishes and main courses. It impressed our tasting panel and had us yearning for a trip back to Bordeaux, France.

2016 JONES BRIDGE WINERY YAKIMA VALLEY, WASHINGTON RIESLING A light touch of spritz and beautiful color; perfect holiday meal wine. In just a few words, that’s how our 2016 Jones Bridge Winery Riesling was described. It’s filled with delicious flavors of melon, white apricot, and fresh green apples.  There’s a crisp sense of acidity to enjoy followed by juicy fruit and a slight sweetness that lingers on the finish. This is an absolute perfect pair with a Thanksgiving dinner- roasted turkey with all the trimmings- sage and sausage stuffing and sweet potato.

NV KRAEMER VIN MOUSSEUX BLANC DE BLANC BRUT A creamy sparkler to finish or start your holiday meal. With grapes grown in southern France, this wine is the same grape that is used in Champagne and made from the same winemaking techniques as those used in the caves of Champagne. Truly, the only difference between this wine and a “Champagne” is where the grapes were grown. This wine has an enticing bouquet of yellow apple, quince, citrus and white blossoms with fine, lively bubbles. It’s delightful as an aperitif or even enjoyed with desserts. We’ll take it with both.

Follow Vinesse on Facebook and Twitter!  They also have an informative blog!

Gift for the Beauty Buff

The LUNA mini 2 facial cleanser uses gentle T-SonicTM pulsations to eliminate impurities, removing 99.5% of dirt and oil, as well as makeup residue and dead skin cells when used with Tarte’s gentle, vegan-friendly & fragrance-free cleanser.

The FOREO and Tarte gift set is your key to unlocking the secret to flawless skin and includes a:

• LUNA mini 2
• Tarte Brighter Days Highlighting Moisturizer
• Tarte Rainforest for the Sea Deep Dive Cleansing Gel
• Tarte Drink of H2O Hydrating Boost
• This gift set retails for $139 and is available at Sephora and J.C. Penney.

Gift for Your Furry Friend

Founded by sisters Gina Pollock and Angela Kats almost 20 years ago, Puppy Kisses offers chic and fashionable accessories that are affordable!  The Designer Dog Accessories line is hand-crafted by stay-at-home or retired moms.  Gina and Angela pride themselves on creating this business model that empowers women!

Looking for the perfect gift for your pup or the pup lover in your life? Puppy Kisses ‘Holiday in a Box’ is an “adogable” present for the dog or the dog lover in your life!

• Packaged in a clear gift box with gift card
• Retails for $25.00
• Comes in 4 options: (1) Large Bow Tie; (2) Small Bow Tie; (3) Large Collar Flower; (4) Small Collar Flower (male bowtie / female flower)

Puppy Kisses Holiday In A Box Contains:

1) Squeaker & Crinkle Dog Toy – Santa Dog Toy (measures: 11″L x 2.5″W).

2) Snack-A-Roo’s – All natural dog treats, hand-crafted in the USA. Consists of three ingredients: Apples, organic rolled oats, all natural peanut butter.

3) Puppy Kisses Designer Dog Accessory – Your choice of Tartan bow tie or Festive collar flower.

To ensure those puppy tails will be wagging this Christmas, be sure to order by this weekend!  Go to the website for a flurry of other gift ideas such as trendy apparel, collars, and leashes, as well as gourmet treats and homemade pup cakes and cookies! Check them out on social media too – Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!

Check out my latest news segment on WPTV, showcasing all of the items here!