Illustration by Agathe Bray-Bourret
Buying a good and thoughtful gift for someone is one of the biggest challenges of the holiday season, but getting that perfect gift for everybody who’s on your list? That seems impossible.
To help check off a few people from your shopping list, writer Truc Nguyen, senior style editor Haley Steinberg and arts editor Judith Pereira shared their holiday gift ideas and answered questions about The Globe’s holiday gift guide.
Holiday gift guide 2025: 60 of the year’s best finds for everyone on your list
Readers shared who they were shopping for and what their interests are, and our experts suggested their best picks for an ideal gift. Here are some highlights from the Q&A.
Gifts for teens and young adults
I have two granddaughters to shop for. One is 22 and will graduate as a nurse this year. She is a bit of a homebody but very athletic and into fitness. The other one is 20, also athletic and is taking courses in alternative medicine.
Haley Steinberg: You could get them a gift card or class pack to a fitness studio near them (spin, Pilates, HIIT, yoga), or workout clothes or accessories like running headphones or a fitness tracker (I use the Garmin Forerunner 165 for running). For recovery, consider a contrast therapy session or spa treatment.
Judith Pereira: Sangre De Fruta perfumes. I love this brand and both the neroli and rose are my favourites. Sometimes when life is hard, it’s just nice to smell something wonderful. Also what about some lovely jewellery? Sometimes when people are thought of just as athletic, people tend to get them only sporty stuff. It’s like that one year everybody thought I liked frogs, and everything I got had a frog motif.
What’s a good gift for a 16-year-old boy, under $70?
Pereira: A lot of boys in my life are looking for Crocs or charms for their Crocs (also known as Jibbitz), or the Adidas slide. Teenage boys with the Broccoli-like ‘do have to maintain their perms, so look for hair products (the boys in my life are very interested in the beach-smelling, salt spray versions).
As they reach teenagerhood, many are also interested in perfumes and scents; I’d include a card advising that if you get them a tester pack from somewhere, they only need to put on one at a time. I was in a car recently taking four kids to a soccer game and I had to roll down my windows.
I’m a student who commutes to campus. A friend of mine lets me park in his driveway everyday. What should I get him?
Truc Nguyen: That’s a very nice friend! A gift for his home or apartment might be nice, perhaps a wool blanket or the candles in our gift guide. If you know he likes wine or coffee, I’m sure a few items you pick out from a favourite local shop would also be appreciated.
Agathe Bray-Bourret/The Globe and Mail
I am looking to find online gift baskets to send to my grown children who live a distance from me but I will not see over the holidays. I sent cheese packages in the past but the company is no longer in business. I require delivery into the Toronto area. Any suggestions?
Nguyen: In the gift guide, we suggested a gift box from Canadian company The Happy Box. All their boxes include free shipping across Canada.
For your family in Toronto, there are also many great local companies that offer giftable packages and baskets, including The Cheese Boutique, Bobbette & Belle and Grape Witches (for wine).
I’d like to buy clothes for my son and daughter, both in their 20s, but I’m a bit behind the times in terms of the latest style. Where should I start?
Steinberg: I would think about what they like to wear (or need) and start there. Don’t worry too much about what’s trendy. Do they have a favourite sweater they wear all the time that’s wearing out? You could look for something similar. Do they need clothes for the office? You could look for high-quality basics like wool sweaters, button-ups or trousers. If they like to be active, workout clothes are another great option.
Gifts for parents
What should I get a mom who likes ordering food from Uber Eats above all else and also likes her Taiwanese history deeply? She is into good-priced deals and usually won’t like something simply because it’s expensive.
Nguyen: I buy digital Uber Eats gift cards from Costco.ca, and if your mom likes a good deal she might appreciate that you got it at a discount!
My mom is over 60 and very crafty. Right now she’s knitting scarves for the winter. What should I get her? She’s open to trying new things.
Steinberg: If she likes classes and workshops, you could get her a craft or cooking class, like pottery, collage, calligraphy or bagel- or sushi-making. Alternatively, you could get her a craft kit, like those from Kiriki Press, mentioned in our all-Canadian gift guide.
Nguyen: If your mom enjoys knitting, what about some special yarns from a Canadian brand, such as Wellington Fibres, Briggs & Little, and The Opulent Alpaca?
The best Canadian-made holiday gifts
The gift of reading
Looking for gifts for thirtysomething adults and for kids 2 to 7 years old. Please help!
Pereira: I tend to give books for younger children 2 to 5 (The Gruffalo and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, are my favourites). Running the Goat is a fantastic Canadian kids publisher who prints some wonderful books.
Here’s The Globe 100 database, which captures 28 years of notable books so you can look back at past years’ picks.
For non-book gifts, I’ve got a Dansk butter warmer on my list – not only do I want it to warm butter, I want it for hot chocolate.
Agathe Bray-Bourret/The Globe and Mail
I always give books as stocking stuffers. Any suggestions for a fun read that’s not too heavy?
Pereira: I love giving books as stocking stuffers and tend to do books that they will never read otherwise. Here are some that I’ve gifted:
The Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane is beautiful (the illustrations by Jackie Morris are a real treat) and small enough to put into a stocking. It’s also a great one to ship. Macfarlane is on The Globe 100 list this year with his book Is A River Alive.
I also absolutely love Margaret Avison and so would recommend Concrete and Wild Carrot (it’s tiny but mighty and just makes me feel happy whenever I start to read it).
Gift-giving trends
Are gift cards a bad present? I’ve tried to give a few over the years to several different people, and I find that they often go unused and lost in a wallet somewhere.
Steinberg: It can depend on the person, but I generally find that gift cards do often get lost. Unless you know that someone is planning to make a specific purchase in the near future, it’s probably best to avoid gift cards and instead get them something they have the option of returning.
My family does a greedy Santa game every Christmas, where people can pick and steal gifts from a pile. We’re a big bunch, ranging from 13 to 70 years old. What gift could I get that would potentially please whoever picks it?
Nguyen: For “greedy Santa” or “White Elephant” gift exchanges, I always like a practical or consumable gift that would be appealing to virtually anyone at the gathering. A few ideas: a box of Mary Macleod’s Shortbread cookies, a “gift bundle” of movie tickets, a variety of body care products from a Canadian company like Rocky or Saje.
What do you get for a minimalist who doesn’t like adding things to his home?
Steinberg: Consider an experiential gift, like a workshop, spa treatment, activity or restaurant gift card. If you know his hobbies and interests, those preferences can help guide you. We’re also publishing our experiential gift guide later this month, which may give you some ideas.
What’s your personal style to shop for gifts? What do you tend to give?
Pereira: I listen and remember what they’ve said about things that make them happy or things that they eye in stores we’ve visited, and then try and find things that will make them realize that I’ve remembered what they’ve said. A friend of mine lives in Northern Ontario but she loves the chocolate by Chocosol. I know she loves coffee so I’m going to send her a bag of their coffee.
Another friend’s daughter loves makeup and so I’m getting her some Elf products for her stocking stuffer. I tend to buy Nordic socks for the skiers/skaters/cold weather lovers in my life. For my mum, I got her cashmere socks one year and she would never have done that for herself but she loves them because they’re soft and she wears them when she’s just sitting around the house (for the older people in your life, think of soft things).