What’s scarier: midterms or giving someone a gift you aren’t sure they will like?  Finding presents for your friends and family that they will actually enjoy without breaking the bank is a struggle we face every year. As Santa veterans and girls with siblings who have high expectations, we created a list of gift ideas that should suffice for every type of person this holiday season. For each category, the first is a gift of $50 or more, the second is between $25-50, and the last is $25 or less.

While trying to find a present for a friend who seems to own every new product the second it releases, it’s often difficult to determine what they don’t have, and in turn, what you can gift them. Luckily for you, we managed to figure out some unique gift ideas for your shopping-obsessed friend.

1. Experiences

These encompass all of the activities you could schedule for you and your friend. Whether that’s spending time painting each other’s pottery at Craft Haus in North Palm Beach or getting concert tickets for their favorite artist, the memories that you make will be valuable and something your friend will enjoy.

   2. Embroidered hoodie

Any type of customizable gift for a friend ensures you’re giving them something special, and a hoodie for the winter season (if you can call Florida weather winter) that has a fun design on it is worth looking into. You can buy one off of Etsy, small businesses on Instagram or Tiktok, or even embroider it yourself.

   3. Memory jar

This sentimental gift is full of timeless memories that your friend can look back on. Take a Mason jar and write down some of the good times that you’ve spent with your friend on small slips of paper to fill up the jar. 

For the people who can recite the entire soundtrack of “Wicked” or “Hamilton” verbatim (or any musical for that matter), it’s definitely worthwhile to get them one of these presents to feed into their obsession.

1. Show tickets

Give your friend the night of their life by getting them tickets to hear their favorite songs live. We recommend buying ones from the Kravis Center so they don’t have to travel far.  There are plenty of tickets available for the spring season, including “Peter Pan the Musical,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Moulin Rouge,” and one of Liliana’s personal favorites, “Les Miserables.” Order them online for as low as $60.  

   2. Merchandise

Find out what their favorite musical is and get them hoodies or t-shirts that relate to it. Find something for all tastes on sites like Etsy. 

   3. Vintage Playbill

After finding which musical they love most, you can check Etsy or other small businesses to get a unique vintage playbill poster for your friend’s room.

The obvious answer for people who love reading is getting them a book, but it can be hard to decide on one that they’ll enjoy or find one that they haven’t already read. As avid readers ourselves, we’ve come up with a few ideas for this type of person.

1. Kindle

Although on the pricier side, the Kindle is an obvious and perfect choice. All of your friend’s books can be stored in a singular place, and purchasing more novels on the Kindle is cheap and/or free. For people who like annotating and highlighting (like us), the Kindle makes it super easy to keep track of all of your ideas and comments neatly.

    2. Personalized book embosser

This is a unique gift idea for your reader friend. You can customize the print to have their name, a certain design, or a special message. Amazon and other online businesses sell them.

   3. Book light 

For people who often find themselves reading through the middle of the night (also like us), a book light is a great gift to relieve the strain on the eyes while staying up to read a novel. It’s portable and comes in a wide variety of colors, so it will serve both functionally and aesthetically for your reader friend; you can buy them on Amazon.

For the people that swear they “can’t draw” and then show you an utter masterpiece. 

1. Art materials

Art supplies can be super expensive depending on the medium that your friend specializes in. After figuring out their main interest, you can find a nice, quality set of colored pencils, paint, or oil pastels at any craft store or online.

   2. Tote bag

A tote bag adorned with art from a favorite painter or maybe a print that you think your friend would like is a practical and pretty gift for your friend that they can use whenever. They sell these on Amazon, Etsy, and at local bookstores.

   3. An interactive sketchbook

Sketchbooks that have prompts for your friend to play around with are a fun gift. They are sold on Amazon and at stores like Walmart.

For your friend that loves to dance and dreams of sugar plums during the winter season, we’ve compiled some gift ideas that they may like.

1. Dance wear

A great gift for a dancer friend is clothes. Whether it be the Lululemon Dance Studio Pants or the PopFlex Pirouette Skort, it’s definitely worthwhile to invest in this type of gift if you’re looking for something on the more expensive side. 

   2. Water bottle

Depending on their taste, buying them a new Stanley, Hydroflask, Owala, or other type of water bottle is just as much a useful gift as a pretty one. Even adding in some stickers or other accessories would allow you to personalize the gift. 

   3. Hair accessories

Whether it be hair pins, scrunchies, quality hair-ties, or other accessories, this is a great functional “stocking stuffer” type of gift that you can buy almost anywhere.

For the people in your life who actually know what ISO means and love to obsess about their file storage.  

1. Mini photo printer

Buying a small photo printer to make their digital memories tangible is a practical gift that they may like. You can get these from Amazon and off of various camera companies’ websites like Canon.

   2. Equipment

A new SD card is definitely a great gift (given the thousands of photos they probably take), as well as other practical items like a new SD card to phone adapter or a lens cleaning kit. You can buy all of these items on Amazon. 

   3. Scrapbook of photos together

This friend will be able to cherish this gift for years. You can buy a small book at any local store and print out photos at CVS or Walgreens, adding in any additional stickers/notes to make it more personal.

If their mood depends on if their team does or does not win, here are a few presents you can purchase.

1. Game tickets

For die-hard sports fans, a ticket to one of their favorite team’s local games is usually an appreciated gift. For bonus points, when buying the tickets in advance, research if that team has any highly-anticipated games coming up, like one against a rival or a playoff game.

   2. Flannel pajama pants

Going more into the cozy feels of the winter season, getting them pajama pants that have a franchise logo on it is a way for them to represent their sports team while staying comfortable. Dick’s Sporting Goods sells flannel ones from Concepts Sports that we like, but you can find other variations on Amazon or Etsy.

   3. Sports Poster

There’s no better way to display your allegiance to your favorite team or player than with a poster. They come in all designs and sizes and are sold pretty much anywhere. To make it more personal, research an iconic moment of their favorite player and get a poster showcasing it. If you want to get crafty, you can even design your own poster and print it out at your local office supply store. 

If your friend always looks their best at 8 a.m. at school and never fails to have extra lip gloss in their backpack, here are a few presents you can purchase.

1. High-end makeup products

A great gift for this type of friend is a makeup product from a luxury brand. Whether it’s an item that they don’t own or a restock, products such as Charlotte Tilbury’s blush, Magic Cream, or Dior’s Lip Glow Oil are likely to be used and appreciated. Pair this with a nice set of makeup brushes from Saie, Hourglass, or Patrick Ta Beauty depending on what type of product you get for them (foundation, bronzer, highlighter, etc).

   2. Cosmetics bag

A makeup bag is the perfect present for people who love to stay organized. They can use this while on vacation or keep it in their backpack/car. We recommend the Glossier Beauty Bag, the Lululemon City Essentials 4L, or even custom bags with their name embroidered to give a unique touch. 

   3. Heatless curl rods

Heatless curls were one of the biggest trends of 2024 in the beauty space. These inexpensive curlers will allow your friend to wake up to Hollywood curls every morning.  They can be found on Amazon, at Ulta, or pretty much in any department store. Get them in your friend’s favorite color to make it more personal!

For the friends who always have headphones in and their Spotify Wrapped minutes are just incomprehensible, we found some great gift ideas.

   1. Record player

While on the pricier side, a record player is an excellent gift to create a nostalgic feeling for your friend when listening to their favorite artists. You can find them in various colors and designs, such as the suitcase-style or turntable at stores like Target, Amazon, and Pottery Barn.

   2. Vinyls

Straying from the digitization of music, vinyls will provide your friend with a tangible listening experience. If they don’t have a record player, buying your friend a vinyl from their favorite artist still serves as a nice decorative addition to their room. Depending on the record, they are available at places like Target and Urban Outfitters, as well as some second hand stores. Otherwise, you can find them online. If you know his/her favorite album, get them a special edition to show you really know them. 

   3. Speaker 

A new speaker will help your friend enjoy music while serving a practical purpose for any parties and events they host or when they spend a day at the beach. You can buy these at Best Buy, on Amazon, and many other online stores.

Finding a gift for your significant other definitely seems stressful. Thankfully, we have come up with some ideas that you can buy for this special person.

Him

   1. Cologne or perfume

Both a sentimental and practical gift, selecting a nice scent for your boyfriend this holiday season is a present that they will appreciate. With a variety of fragrances to choose from, including woody, citrusy, or subtler fresh smells, this is a timeless gift that you can buy from various luxury brands that will remind him of you every time he wears it. 

   2. LEGO set

A creative, interactive, and collectible gift for your significant other is a LEGO set. Based on his interests, there are various Star Wars, architecture, and vehicle sets that you can buy for him that are both thoughtful and engaging. You can even offer to put it together with him for a fun date!

   3. Playlist of songs on a keychain

Depending on his music taste, compiling a playlist of some of his favorite songs (and some of yours) shows how well you know him. After making it, you can go to sites like Etsy and customize a Spotify code keychain so your significant other can take it everywhere with him. 

Her

   1. Sweat sets

A great way to win over your girlfriend this holiday season is by getting her a sweat set from stores like White Fox, Alo, Skims, or Lululemon. They are both cute and comfortable, something that she can wear while lounging around at home but still feel productive and polished.

   2. Jewelry

Whether it be earrings, necklaces, rings, or bracelets, buying your significant other a quality accessory acts as a symbol of your compassion and appreciation for her. We recommend buying these keepsakes from places like Kendra Scott, Etsy, or even Amazon. You can even engrave the jewelry to make the gift more personal.

   3. Lip products

Something that almost every girl can appreciate is a nice lip gloss/balm that she can bring with her anywhere. A few good products include Rhode’s Peptide Lip Treatment, Summer Friday’s Lip Butter Balm, and Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Mask, all of which can be purchased online and others are available at Sephora. For extra brownie points, use her phone number while checking out at Sephora so she gets the Beauty Insider Rewards. 

Lastly, but maybe the most difficult one to shop for of them all (at least for us), are the parents who insist that you don’t need to get them a gift. Since this is obviously untrue, we’ve compiled a list of items that you can buy (or make) for parents.

   1. Equipment/items for their hobbies

If your parent loves to play pickleball, garden, or cook/grill, buying him/her some supplies that correspond to his/her hobbies is a thoughtful and generous present that you know will be put to good use.

   2. Picture frame with family photo

Something that almost all parents can appreciate is a nice family portrait or a photo illustrating a special moment. You can select an aesthetically pleasing frame from places like Target, Michaels, or Amazon. Making your own can add an extra element of creativity while also elevating the sentimental value of the gift combined with the photo itself.

   3. Homemade coupon book 

A throwback to an elementary school arts and crafts project: giving your parents a homemade coupon book is a thoughtful (and free) present that shows your love and appreciation for them. You can add in services like “Run your errands,” “Reorganizing Your Closet,” and “Home-Cooked Meal of Your Choice.” Making sure that the coupons align to the interests of your parents will make the present even better. For example, “Golf Day with Me,” or “Beach Day with Me,” are ways that you can spend quality time with your parents while doing something they enjoy.

We hope that this list provides you with presents or at least some inspiration to get both your friends and family during this time of giving. While the process may be stressful at times, it is important to remember that it’s not the price tag that matters; as long as you are putting careful intent and sincerity into your gifts, the person who is receiving it will value that. We wish you all a great holiday season and happy gift shopping!