I can’t believe that we’re already nearing the end of the year! It sure seems like time flies when whenever it gets closer to the holidays and you look back at everything that you’ve done within the past year. I particularly love this time of the year because the emphasis of spending time with family and friends really forces me to decrease my workload which in turn decreases my overall stress levels. Peter complains that I’m too much of a workaholic, and I couldn’t agree more—the holidays are the only real time that I can truly relax and enjoy the festive season. My justification? Everyone else is on holiday, so I should be too!

This year for #MDVPHoliday18, we decided to all take a fun trip in the sun together to Belize! You may have seen some of what we got up to in one of my previous blog posts about 10 things to do there, but I’ll also be sharing my top recommendations of things to bring if you’re planning a tropical trip in the near future to escape from the cold of winter! If the tropics aren’t really your thing and you’re more keen on spending your holidays in the city doing massive gift hauls, this post is going to be for you! Whether you’re a last minute shopping (that’s totally me!), an early planner, or someone who shops all year round (I definitely wish this was me!), you’re bound to get stuck with one person that you can never quite exactly figure out what to get.

This year I wanted to try something a little bit different. For this year’s edition of #MDVPHoliday, we decided to partner together with some of our favourite brands to share some of our loved, tried, and true products that would be amazing gift options for the love ones in your life. So if you’re looking for my typical holiday gift guide, this will be it! Here’s to some amazing gift ideas that would make for great gifts for your loved ones, or you know, you could always just scoop them up for yourself as well! It’s always important to take care of yourself, and that definitely includes a gift or two during the holidays! 😉 I won’t tell if you won’t!

For the beauty junkie

We all have that one person in our lives who is absolutely obsessed with beauty, makeup, watching YouTube tutorials, and trying all of the brand new releases. Is their checkout basket on Sephora’s website constantly updated with new things to try? Yep, you know exactly who I’m talking about! It’s probably already tough enough shopping for them since they already seem to have every hottest release in their makeup kit, but what they probably wouldn’t have picked up for themselves are some of the exclusive holiday kits that are only available at this time of the year!

I’m a particular fan of holiday gift sets because they’re often already prepackaged to look gorgeous, so you don’t have to spend too much extra time wrapping them up. For those who don’t enjoy gift wrapping (definitely not me, gift wrapping is my version of therapy), I’ve often found that gift sets are pretty much good to go on their own already with the beautiful packaging that they come in. Those that enjoy adding that little extra joy of opening up a wrapped present can easily slide the products into a beautiful gift bag and stuff it full of tissue paper to really give that feeling of anticipation as you’re opening up a gift.

I also love receiving gifts that I can use instantly, so reaching for Buxom’s gift sets this year as a no-brainer. Almost everyone has some sort of party or new year’s eve celebration in the works, so why not gift that special someone a gift set with all of the pieces to cobble together the ultimate NYE look? Chances are that the person that you’re shopping for already has all of the standard beauty products, but most likely won’t have these fun eye decals, and what better time of the year to wear them than for NYE?

For the skincare lover

I don’t know about you, but my skin always throws a fit at this time of the year. Maybe it’s the change in temperature, the change in humidity in the air, or the change in my diet, but I’ve found that I seem to have an annual battle with my skin whenever the holidays hit. Last year during the holidays, I got the chance to introduce Peter to a facial cleanser, and he gladly picked up on the habit. It’s been tricky getting him to integrate more skincare products into his daily morning and night routines, so we’ve decided to take it slow (extremely) and to integrate one new product each year. He hasn’t quite jumped onto the moisturizing band wagon just yet (let’s see if he’ll be game for trying one out in the coming year), so I figured let’s add something on that’s only within the next step of your typical skincare routine—a toner.

Peter is a huge fan of cleansers with exfoliants in them and has been loving the Clearly Corrective™ Brightening & Exfoliating Daily Cleanser due to it’s exfoliating beads, so I knew that the easiest way to incorporate a toner into his routine would be one from the same line. I gifted him the Clearly Corrective™ Clarity-Activating Toner ahead of the holidays so that he could already get into the routine of using it to provide his feedback, and it’s safe to say that he loves it! So much so that he steals mine every once in awhile to continue incorporating it into his daily skincare regimen. If you’ve got a skincare lover on your gift list to shop for, you’ve definitely got to give them a go at this line because it’s done wonders for my skin—especially during the chillier months when my skin begins to dry out quite a bit and overcompensates by over-producing oil

If your skincare lover is already an avid use of Kiehl’s, then what better way to celebrate the holidays than by gifting them some of the most beloved Kiehl’s products in the exclusive 2018 limited edition holiday packaging that features adorable drawings by the artist Andrew Bannecker. As a Kiehl’s enthusiast, they’re sure to both appreciate the products and the limited edition packaging as well. I know for sure that I love to collect the new packaging that Kiehl’s releases anytime they collaborate with an artist or a cause!

For the cozy enthusiast

There’s no better feeling than waking up in a cozy pair of PJs on Christmas morning—other than waking up to a brand new pair of cozy PJs! Because that definitely trumps waking up in an existing pair. As long as I can remember, I’ve always received a brand new pair of PJs and fuzzy socks from my parents every Christmas. The tradition is a long standing one and I can’t even remember a time when I didn’t get a new pair of them for the holidays. I’ve had the pleasure of receiving cotton, linen, flannel, silk, and other types of PJs in the past, but I definitely have to allow flannel to the claim of being my favourite sleepwear material. There’s something about it’s fuzziness paired together with its ability to hold a shape (I love a good pressed collar) that makes a flannel set just that perfect.

The best part about sleepwear is that everybody loves them. I don’t know of a single person who doesn’t appreciate a good pair of PJs. So if you’ve got someone on your list who enjoys staying in and binge-watching Netflix, consider PJs for your upcoming Christmas gift to them! My recommendation to you? This perfectly Canadian plaid set from GAP that not only looks great solo, but would make for a ridiculously cute family photo if everyone had a matching pair.

For the outdoor hobbiest

It’s definitely that time of the year because the snow has begun to fall—in Toronto that is. This is the time of the year when every begins breaking out their winter jackets, fuzzy scarves, knit mittens, and toques to keep themselves warm. If there is someone on your list who absolutely loves the winter and gets ecstatic about being outdoors, then a solid winter jacket might just be an ideal gift for them from you! I’m not someone who handles being outdoors for long, so having a snug and cozy winter jacket that can withstand the chilly temperatures of a Canadian winter is absolutely quintessential.

When it comes to synthetic jackets, Noize has absolutely got both the style and practicality factor on lockdown. I’ve never seen a technological driven brand more on point with their styles than this one. Typically brands that focus on synthetic material often lag behind when it comes to the fashion of their designs, but Noize really caters to everyone’s demands, even the trendiest of fashionistas!

For the holiday obsessed

And finally for someone who just loves the holidays in general and doesn’t necessarily need anything, you can always give them the gift of the holidays. What does that mean exactly? Well, you can literally give them a piece of holiday decor! Now this may sound a bit strange as a gift, but hear me out. No really, think about it. If someone is as obsessed with the holidays as I am, they will absolutely love holiday decor from you. And better yet, it’s something that you can bank on them being able to reuse year after year. Holiday decor doesn’t lend itself to being a gift that gets used once or twice and then tossed aside only to be replaced by something else new and shiny.

Trust me, that cute ornament that you get your friend will show up on their tree every year as long as you two remain friends. Or that adorable Christmas pillow with cute little reindeer on it? Yep, it’ll continuously appear on the couch each subsequent Christmas. It makes complete sense doesn’t it? So nudge, nudge, hint, hint, to all of my friends out there who are struggling to find me a Christmas gift. I would definitely appreciate a brand new Christmas tree from Canadian Tire, or just a couple holiday themed pillows would do the trick as well!

And there you have it! Some of my favourite holiday gifts that you’ll most likely see me giving to my family and friends this holiday season. If you’re stuck in a pinch looking for the perfect gift for someone, hopefully they fall into one of those 3 categories that that you have some new ideas as to what to gift. And if not, make sure to give any one of my previous years’ gift guides a browse to spark your imagination for similar gifts! Here’s to wishing you an amazing holiday season, and I can’t to share some of my big changes for the blog in the coming year!

Photography Credits: The Dunk Listt
This post was written in collaboration with Kiehl’s, Buxom, NOIZE, and GAP, however all views are 100% honest and my own.