If 2020’s taught us anything, it’s to look after one other, stay healthy and keep balanced. The holidays are obviously looking a lot different, with online shopping even more at the forefront to maintain physical distancing in the normally crowded shops and malls at this time of year.
Searching through some of our favourite brands, we curated a gift guide to treat everyone on your list, from luscious luxury candles to warm and cozy, fleece-lined faux fur beanies.
NEST Fragrances
Two of NEST’s fragrant candles caught our eye: Birchwood Pine 3-Wick and Holiday. NEST packages their candles in recyclable cartons produced from sustainably-sourced materials (using renewable energy) and their containers are always so festive.
We’ve often kept the cleaned-out glass jars to fill with tiny battery-operated twinkle lights, succulent plants and candies.
Birchwood Pine is exactly as advertised: woodsy and pine-infused. The 3-wick candle will burn for 75-100 hours, so the investment is worth it as you’ll get to enjoy the gorgeous combination of pine, birchwood and fir balsam (over a musk and amber base) for many scented winter evenings. 600 g/21.2 oz; CAD $90/USD $68
Holiday is one of NEST’s best-sellers, as it contains the quintessential seasonal blend of mandarin orange, pine, cloves, pomegranate and cinnamon with a hint of amber and vanilla. It too is beautifully packaged in a recyclable red holiday-striped box in a glass container featuring rows of vertical gold decorative stripes to add a festive touch when lit. The classic size has a burn time of 50 to 60 hours. 230 g/8.1 oz; CAD $56/USD $42
Kyi Kyi Chunky Knit Faux Fur Beanie
The pom beanie is definitely trending this year. We’ve seen so many brands in the department stores and online, but looked to Canadian-made Kyi Kyi for this knit faux fur beanie.
The Montreal-based company produces a line of cold weather goods including faux fur vests, hoods, scarves, headbands, berets, ear muffs plus matching mommy and kids beanie sets.
Available in seven colours this season, these hand-knit chunky beanies are an easy gift purchase — one size fits all!
We selected the pink one, with a pretty pom-pom in dusty rose.
In addition to pink, there’s ivory, pistachio, black, light grey, beige and light salmon (this one sporting a multi-coloured pom).
Though chunky knits may seem counterintuitive to keeping your head warm, rest assured, this wool and acrylic staple has a micro-polyester inner fleece lining.
We’re also impressed with their mail order service, and were kept in the loop via email during the entire shipping process. The beanie even comes with a pom-pom care card to keep that fluffy ball looking its best throughout the season.
In Canada, find Kyi Kyi winter goods at Nordstroms, Simons and online. In the US at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales and Free People. Kyi Kyi offers free shipping throughout Canada and the US too. CAD $85.30/USD $65
Vichy Liftactiv Supreme Night Gift Set
Vichy’s Liftactiv Supreme Night Care is a firming, anti-wrinkle moisturizing night treatment that helps combat signs of skin aging by visibly reducing the appearance of wrinkles while helping to boost firmness — restoring your skin’s youthfulness. The Liftactiv Supreme Night Care face cream gift set is ideal for all skin types as well as mature skin.
Contents:
– LiftActiv Supreme Night, 50 ml
– Mineral 89
– Mineral 89 Eyes, 1 ml
– LiftActiv Supreme Day, 15 ml
Available online and in drugstores; CAD $49.95
Mejuri Travel Jewelry Case
Whether you’re planning a road trip or waiting for travel to become safe again to head abroad, this Mejuri travel essential holds enough for a short vacay or to store your favourite pieces.
The compact, grain leather case measures 10 cm x 10 cm x 3.5 cm (4” x 4” x 1.4”) with a gold tone metal zipper closure and anti-tarnish microsuede interior lining.
It can hold four necklaces tangle-free, plus three pairs of earrings and several rings (the latter two sections snap securely in place).
You can also opt for three monogrammed gold-coloured letters free of charge (all uppercase, English only, no spaces or special characters allowed).
The case comes in black grain, black grain with embossed crocodille pattern or beige grain leather with a drawstring storage pouch; CAD $110
