Gift Ideas for Him & Her

For each category, I tried to list the items in order from most affordable to most expensive. That said, there are several brands that sell many of the items on this page. I’ve linked my favorites, but I hope you do your own research as well! Additionally, I encourage all of my readers to support local businesses when they can! There are so many amazing smaller businesses in NYC, but I can’t necessarily link to them easily on this blog, so I’m keeping this gift guide a bit more general for people across the country who may be reading!

Gender Neutral Gifts

We all need to hydrate, so you can’t really go wrong with a nice water bottle! Plus there are plenty of options to choose from such as this Contigo insulated bottle for warm beverages, a bottle with a spout for water, or the steel S’well bottles.

A portable phone charger is so useful and can really save you in a pinch. Anker makes one that is super highly rated and so affordable too! Mophe also makes them at a slightly higher price point, as well as the charging phone cases.

I feel like board games are slightly cliched as a gift, BUT there are so many great new games out such as Settlers of Catan, What Do You Meme?, Monopoly Deal, and Red Flags. Games are cool again people! And they make a wonderful and affordable gift!

An aromatherapy diffuser is one of those things that can add such a nice touch to your home. They’re not very expensive, and they make a nice gift for anyone who enjoys decorating and sprucing up their home. This one has great reviews and this one is super affordable and is also really well liked.

Know anyone who is into photography? A clip-on iPhone camera lens is a great gift for anyone who doesn’t carry their DSLR with them but enjoys taking photos on the go. This one has great reviews and is super affordable. This one is supposed to be the best in the market and also has great reviews at a slightly higher price point!

This is the gift for the person in your life who is always misplacing their keys, their phone, and whatever else. These tracking tiles are affordable and very practical.

A bluetooth speaker is one of those things that’s great to use once you have it, but that you might not think to buy for yourself- and that’s why it makes a great gift! There are even shower speakers now, which I find very cool. This one is super affordable and has thousands of positive ratings, but there are also higher end speakers like these!

Okay this type of keychain is something I find very practical and sleek. I hate the jingling of keys, and this also just keeps everything looking really tidy. The OrbitKey is really nice, but Brooks Brothers actually makes one that’s way cheaper too.

A subscription service is an amazing gift that people can benefit from year-round. Amazon Prime, Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube Red subscriptions are all amazing gifts, and I can’t imagine someone being upset about receiving one. Just check to make sure they don’t already have membership before spending your $$.

If you have anyone who works in health care on your holiday gift list, a Figs gift card or set of scrubs is something they’re bound to love.

Wow, I’m really becoming an adult here, because this is a gift I’d LOVE to receive, but I think towels and bath robe sets are an underrated gift. Yes, everyone owns towels, but most people don’t buy the really plush hotel towels for themselves. Weezie towels are supposed to be REALLY nice and you can get them embroidered AND there is a smaller makeup towel set if you can’t splurge on a full set!

AirPods or noise cancelling headphones are an AMAZING gift. I’ve both given and received them, and it’s a no-fail gift in my opinion, especially if the person doesn’t already own a nice set of earbuds/headphones. Bose and Beats Studio are the holy grail of non AirPod headphones/earbuds. These are of course, a more expensive gift, but there are also several highly rated but slightly less expensive brands as well.

Again, I’m getting old, but nice luggage is a gift that I would LOVE to receive. There are so many great new brands that cater to millennials when it comes to luggage- i.e. charging ports in the bag, hard shell, etc. Away and CalPak make some great luggage for sure.

For Her

It sounds random, but a silk pillowcase is supposed to be great for preventing wrinkles, tangles, and frizz. I’ve heard that dermatologists can tell which side of your face you sleep on just by looking at you, so anything we can do to protect our skin and hair while we sleep sounds like a plus to me. This could be a gender neutral gift too, but a lot of the benefit seems to be preventing hair from tangling, so I’ll just leave it here.

Okay. Kyle Cavan makes AMAZING and affordable college jewelry. If they have a collection for your school, you should definitely capitalize on it. Their jewelry is high quality and elegant, and they offer both solid and plated metal options, so you can get some really nice stuff for significantly cheaper than you’d expect.

I feel like over the last year or two, I’ve seen so many subscription boxes popping up. From Flamingo to Fab Fit Fun, I honestly think these are a really nice gift option that keeps on surprising the person throughout the year.

When I first saw this, I thought it was a purse and I wanted to buy it. Then I realized it is a lunch box, and I want it even more now. So gorgeous and also something you can use almost every day.

For Him

I’m not sure why, but I just find a full length umbrella so elegant and masculine. They just look so much more classic than the really compact ones we use nowadays. Londonfog and London Undercover both make beautiful ones and they’re not as expensive as you’d think.

Again- subscription boxes specifically geared towards men such as Dollar Shave Club are the gift that keep on giving, and the recipient will appreciate you all year long. There are subscription boxes for every random thing- even boxes that send you beef jerky every month. So you can likely find one that the man you’re shopping for will enjoy.

I have seen so many men wearing the same leather shoes they wear all year long in the winter, while women transition from flats and heels to boots and booties. Needless to say, I think a nice pair of snow/rain proof boots are a great gift for a man during the holidays. I love this pair in particular.