Cheryl Shops

Whew, I feel a little late to the game this year—it seems like every other blogger and influencer on the planet has already dropped their gift guide for the holidays. But hopefully mine was worth the wait. I always love putting these together—it's like shopping for gifts with an imaginary unlimited budget—and I hope you find some great ideas. I already own and highly recommend many of these items (and some may be, ahem, on the way), but everything is something I'd be glad to give or receive. Also, special shout-out to Anthropologie for sponsoring this year's gift guide—I've included something from them in every category, as their store is a treasure trove of really great presents. Ready to check off your holiday shopping list? 

Grab some hot chocolate and crank up "All I Want for Christmas Is You," because the Cheryl Shops Holiday Gift Guide 2021 is here! You may notice that this is the earliest I've ever posted a holiday gift guide; I had actually been planning to do that since so many of the items I had wanted to feature last year had already sold out by December. But now perhaps you've heard of the global supply chain crisis, which has been impacting retail inventory since the summer, and has every news outlet urging people to do their holiday shopping early, lest our economy (and the retail industry) suffer! If you are a last-minute shopper, fret not, I'm sure there will still be presents out there. But if you're a get-'er-done-early shopper like I am, it may be wise to take advantage of all the Singles' Day, early Black Friday, and various other sales hitting your inbox. Because once you're done shopping for other people, you get to shop for yourself! So without further ado, here are my favorite gifts for 2021. 

When it comes to last-minute gifts, I have nothing against a carefully selected gift card from a place the recipient actually likes to shop, but let's face it, nothing says "I almost forgot to get you something" like an Amazon gift card that you bought at the grocery-store checkout line. (And in fact, I'm not one to stop you from shopping there either—here are some of my favorite products on Amazon, most of which can be ordered with express Prime shipping.) But even if you're going to show up with or send an e-gift at the 11th hour, you can at least put a little thought into it. So here are some of my favorite last-minute gifts that aren't gift cards—all can be delivered electronically, too, which should come in handy since we're all staying at home this year, right?

Now that you've shopped all of the Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and even Giving Tuesday sales, time to tackle gifts for other people. While I focused on major retailers offering ridiculously good discounts in my sale post last week, for my annual holiday gift guide, I really wanted to highlight small, local, sustainable, woman- and/or POC-owned businesses, because they're the ones who really need (and deserve!) our dollars at the moment. And speaking of money, I know it's been a rough year for a lot of people, and not everyone is in a position to spend a ton on gifts. And that's ok—for me, the most important thing is knowing that my family and friends are happy, healthy, and safe. But if you are in a gifting mood, read on, be thankful, and spend mindfully. (And if you're Sean, feel free to scroll straight to the splurge section. Kidding! Sort of.)

Usually I spread my gift guides out over several weeks—or months, as my very organized self did last year—but if you’re anything like me, the holidays REALLY snuck up on me this year, and dear god, how did this happen?! So in the interest of Christmas and Hanukkah being less than three weeks away, I decided to lump my somewhat abbreviated gift guides into one big post. This year, I didn’t filter by recipient; I went straight to price, but included something for all genders and ages in each. Well, except for splurge gifts—those are mostly just for me. ;) So without further ado, here are my favorite gifts for 2019.

Procrastinators, this one's for you. There's one Amazon Prime–able thing here (also available for instant download on Kindle) but otherwise these are all e-giftable, making them both environmentally friendly and quick. Here are ideas for people you might have forgotten, or just for shoppers who really like to leave things till the last minute.

And now, the most fun installment of my holiday gift guide: gifts for meeeee! These are the things on my wish list, from affordable to dream on, girl. Hence the name, dream gifts. Let's hope Santa sees this one before it's too late!

There are two camps: those who think men are easy to shop for, and those who think they're hard to shop for. I tend to fall into the former—like most gift giving, it's a matter of knowing your audience. In this case, I had a particularly stylish, do-gooder, food- and drink-loving guy in mind, but these gifts would work in general for the dads, brothers, husbands, boyfriends, sons, and various other guys on your list.

The Black Friday sales have already begun, which is both a blessing and a curse. Thankfully, I find shopping for holiday gifts for women—friends, sisters, moms, and so on—to be the next best thing to shopping for myself. So go forth, be generous, and take advantage of all those promos flooding your inbox!

1. You don't have to be a millennial to love avocados—and hate how they turn brown, even when you wrap them tightly. This BPA-free silicone cover (in two sizes) should prevent any spots.
Avocado huggers $7.95
2. This handy kit will transform your airplane vodka-and-soda into a Moscow mule—all you're missing is the copper mug. Also available for old-fashioned and gin & tonic.
Carry-on cocktail kit $24

3. Who doesn't love sheet masks? They're Instagrammable, even if you're an Instagram husband. Oh, and they make your skin look amazing.
Sephora Face Mask Magic! $25

4. If you see my #OOTD Instagram stories, you may have noticed one of these on my phone. It is pretty much the handiest thing—literally. I hold it while taking photos and scrolling through my apps, and you can also use it with a hook in your car. Seriously life transforming!
PopSocket $9.99

5. Labor Day weekend in San Francisco broke record heat temperatures...and also introduced me to this wonder, a fan that plugs into your iPhone and blows a surprisingly strong breeze.
iPhone fan $4.99
6. These are technically men's socks, but I'd gladly wear Han and Chewy on my feet (or, if you prefer, C-3PO and R2-D2).
Stance Star Wars Socks $20

7. Drinking your daily 64 oz. of water will be just a little more fun in a glitter-covered water bottle (that, god willing, should not spread its sparkle on others).
Ban.Do glitter bomb $24

8. This would be a fairly hilarious gift for coworkers with good senses of humor. "Replied all" may need to get reused several times; hopefully "Mediocre boss" won't.
Worst coworker ribbons $20

9. Apparently coloring books for adults are a thing. This one has 80 pages of New York scenes, the thought of which makes me just a little bit homesick—in a good way.
Seasons of New York coloring book $22.50


Up next week: my dream wish list, i.e. splurges for girls who've been very, very good this year.

I had totally grandiose plans for a multi-part gift guide, but, well, that didn't quite happen. So this gift guide, while not thorough, will at least hopefully give you ideas for everyone on your list. In other words, this is not one of those "gift guides" that's really just directed toward you and thus causes you to spend the first two post-Thanksgiving weeks shopping for yourself. Um, not that anything like that happened to me. But if you, like me, suddenly realized that Christmas is two weeks away and you haven't bought any gifts for anyone and you started to panic, well, then this one is for you. (But not really for you--stop shopping for yourself! Wait till the after-Christmas sales!)

For Mom, who has everything
My mom is always the hardest person on my list to shop for, a situation not made easier by the fact that she rarely gives me any gift suggestions. But I think I can beat her at her own game with the DKNY cozy, an ingenious cardigan that can be worn so many ways, it has its own iPhone app to show you how.


For Dad, who loves gadgets
He has a phone, an iPod, a GPS...and sometimes he forgets to charge them. This handy power pack and case features a device that charges nearly everything, perfect for the frequent traveler (or just the technologically challenged).


For the tween girl Twi-hard
Because she likely already has the Edward sheet set, get her these journals, which come in a nice tin box. They're mostly blank, but contain quotes from both the Twilight books and the works of literature that inspired them, so perhaps your tween will feel inspired to write her own epic romance, hopefully one in which the heroine is not passive and caught in an obsessive relationship with an emotionally manipulative 107-year-old. (That said, Team Edward!)


For the tween boy, a future hipster
Toddland makes quirky, colorful vinyl wallets with a definite ironic bent; this "I just want to ride bikes with you" model will give your tween a cool place to stash his allowance.


For the college girl, who is all about conformity
It's ok--when I was in college, I wore a uniform of North Face jackets and black stretchy pants, just like everyone else. For college girls nowadays, it's all about Pink, from Victoria's Secret. While I can't, in good conscience, endorse anything with "Pink" across the butt, I think these convertible gloves are really cute (and practical too, if your recipient is a stealth smoker, like many college girls are).


For the college guy, who's the life of the party
When he throws his umpteenth house party, your college guy can stay (somewhat) out of trouble by playing DJ for the night with this really cool mixer, which holds two iPods (or other MP3 players).


For your sister, who works too hard
Rebecca Minkoff is best known for her chic Morning After bags, but, little known fact: She also makes cute laptop bags, such as the Virginia, so your sister can at least look chic while traipsing to and from the office.


For your brother, who's working on being responsible
He has a cell phone with a clock, yes, but a watch will make him look a little more adult. And if he's traveling all over the country for his new consulting job, the dual-face design lets him keep time in multiple zones.


For your aunt, who's waspy but eco-friendly
Lily Pulitzer's coral necklace is chic enough for the ladies at the country club, but proceeds support SeaWeb's Too Precious To Wear campaign (which discourages designers from using actual coral), so it's the best of both worlds.


For your uncle, who has a wacky side
I have a family member who, every year, hands down, asks for underwear or socks. And while he prefers the basic white variety, I think he'd really like these Paul Smith striped socks, which are just fun enough.


For your cousin, whom you see once a year at Christmas
When you have to get a present for someone that you don't know terribly well, I feel like you can't go wrong with a candle, especially one from Laduree's new line. It's the next best thing to hopping a plane to Paris and marching yourself straight to Rue Bonaparte for some macaroons.


For little kids, who like to get silly
Their parents are going to kill you (hyper singing, dancing children are always so much fun), but to the lucky recipient of the Yo Gabba Gabba DJ Lance Dance Hat, you are going to be the coolest aunt/uncle ever. Hey, if it's good enough for the Brangelina clan, it's good enough for yours.


For your grandma, who's still elegant
Scarves are making a resurgence for younger folk, but for women of a certain age, they've never gone anywhere. I think Grandma would love to update her look with a lovely new scarf, such as this one from Judy Ross.


For your grandpa, the original Don Draper
Your grandpa was wearing a fedora before it was ironic to do so, and if he's anything like mine, he's probably still wearing a hat that he bought in 1964. So treat him to a new style, like this one from Bailey Barr.


For the grab bag at work
If I had to make one blanket statement about my coworkers, it's that they like to eat. Seriously, whenever anyone brings in food to share, it's gone in about 3 minutes. So encourage your coworkers to create something new to share with this so-gross-you-know-it's-awesome bacon chocolate chip pancake mix from Vosges. Yes, I said bacon chocolate chip.


For your boyfriend, who claims he's not metrosexual
MW likes to blame me for exposing him to the finer things in life, but I think his GQ-reading self always had an underlying appreciation for the good stuff. I might have introduced him to Steven Alan shirts, but I have a feeling he would've eventually discovered them on his own. Needless to say, I do not know one man who does not love these shirts. They are pricey, yes, but they wear incredibly well and they have that effortlessly cool look that guys are always after.


For your girlfriend, when you are a guy
This entry is for my limited number of male readers. Now, you may think that women want jewelry, or perfume, or lingerie, but I can tell you, what women really want are handbags. Specifically cute, somewhat petite ones that we'd never buy for ourselves because they're not really practical. I fell in love with this studded baby ball bag from Olivia Harris, which is Joy Gryson's lower-priced line; I have a feeling your lady will too.


For your best friend, whom you never see enough
Part of the appeal of Sex and the City, for me at least, is that Carrie and her girlfriends are always together for cocktails, brunch, shopping...and when it comes to my friends, sometimes it takes a month of coordinating schedules in order for us to meet for dinner. The real luxury is being able to spend quality time with your friends, so I suggest getting your bestie a gift certificate to Swarovski Crystallized, and then you two can spend an afternoon making sparkly jewelry (ask for Courtney to help you--she's the best), then perhaps retiring to the cafe in the back for a cappuccino. When you're done, you'll have some brand-new bling and, more importantly, the satisfaction of having spent girl time together. And isn't that really what the holidays are all about?