CALLING ALL LAST-MINUTE HOLIDAY SHOPPERS! If you’re like me, you tend to leave your holiday shopping till the absolute last second (refer to 2020’s gift guide for additional last-minute gifts). I do not condone this practice, as it often leaves me way more stressed than necessary. However, I am stuck in my ways, and if you are too, you are likely still looking for some suggestions for presents to get your loved ones this year.

Maybe it’s the beauty buff in your life, perhaps they’re super into sustainable fashion, or maybe they just love cookies. Whomever you’re shopping for, I’ve got a handful of fabulous brands with wonderful products that I’d like to highlight for all of your 2021 shopping needs! Check out all the options below:

BEAUTY

Voir Haircare has just recently released an entire collection of holiday-themed gift sets. From winter essentials to an advent calendar, there’s bound to be something they’ll love!

Definitely not new to the beauty game, but new to Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada, Kylie Skin/Cosmetics products are fun stocking-stuffer-sized gifts for your beauty buff. From the coveted lip kits to mini skincare sets, Kylie has definitely got our backs this year.

From Canadian beauty brand, NUDESTIX, the Glowy Nude Skin Kit (and any of their kits for that matter) is a stunning addition to any beauty routine. Add a bit of holiday glow to their life in the form of sun-kissed colour sticks.

I’ve been using the Bye Bye Dark Spots Niacinamide Serum from IT Cosmetics’ Bye Bye Serums collection and I’ve got to say I’m not sure how I’ve lived this long without it. Choose from 4 serums that help minimize the look of fine lines, dark spots, visible pores, or dullness and give them the gift of skin that glows from the inside out.

WELLNESS/SUSTAINABILITY

The OURA Alta Towel (which is currently on sale, might I add?) is the hypoallergenic, antimicrobial, ultra-plush towel that you won’t want to give away. It’s super soft and super absorbent, and will even promote skin health and elasticity. Meet the only towel they’ll ever want to use.

No waste. No water pollution. No microplastics. No microfiber release. Seems like there’s not much to it, but the NONIE Trench is absolutely everything. Made from pre and post-consumer materials, this made-to-order trench is good for their closet and for the environment.

We obviously love a Canadian brand, and ecologyst definitely represents us well. All of ecologyst’s products are intentionally made with nature top of mind, so you can feel good about gifting them this beautiful gender-neutral cinnamon-coloured anorak for the holidays this year.

Unlike most clothing brands, Cuyana only produces as many items as they think they can sell. This helps reduce an enormous amount of waste. Their clothing and leather goods are not only produced responsibly, but they’re also totally gorgeous too.

SMALL/LOCAL

I met Yudith from House and Honey at the One of a Kind Show this year and immediately fell in love with her work. Everyone at the show was uber-talented, but something about the meticulousness that goes into each and every one of her pieces made her jewelry and home goods stand out among the rest. You won’t go wrong gifting your loved ones anything made by this lovely human!

To continue the Canadian brand hype, anything and everything made by Sirani's Fashion should be on their wishlist AND yours this holiday season. Shop all of the eye-catching African fashion including dresses, jumpsuits, blazers, headwraps, and more.

The art by Andrea of ANML Studio now takes up permanent residence in my brain and I think about these earth-tones on the regular. You can’t go wrong gifting your loved ones one of her unique and delicate limited edition prints.

When you don’t know what to get someone in your life, look to Naughty Florals for easily the most beautiful (and the most relatable) stationary, tote bags, stickers, and more. Because sometimes all they need is a tote bag that validates the fact that none of us really have any idea what we’re doing.

FOOD

Coffee is always a good idea, and the coffee from Melitta Canada never disappoints. There’s dark roasts and whole beans and hazelnut, oh my! Be sure to pick up some of their earth-friendly bamboo coffee filters to go alongside the beans too.

Hamilton Beach has a new 6 Speed Hand Mixer with Easy Clean Beaters that will forever replace any other hand mixer I’ve owned. Help them do all their holiday baking with endless mixing performance, minus the annoying clean-up.

Sample some of Soul Chocolate’s truffles, chocolate bars, or drinking chocolates and you’ll absolutely fall in love. With the goal of purchasing their cacao directly from the farmers themselves, you can feel good about indulging.. I mean giving their chocolate as a gift.

Handmade gifts are always welcome, which is why a hot chocolate kit accompanied by Loacker wafer cookies is the perfect gift for all the foodies in your life. Mix and match flavours to customize to their taste, from lemon and blueberry yogurt to matcha and tiramisu, and even classics like hazelnut and vanilla.

I’ve released gift guides every year since 2017, so the ideas certainly do not end here. Let me know what presents you’ve already picked up in the comments below, and don’t forget to give yourself a little grace this holiday season. It can be pretty chaotic, and ultimately, it’s the thought that really counts this time of year.