Fasten your seatbelts, kiddos. It’s that time again.
Yes, holidays. All at once nostalgic, indulgent, frightening, and manic. Which route will you choose?
Less my love for the local, I find that online shopping is the lazy introvert’s best friend. And, how exotic to shop at stores that don’t even exist locally?
I have made it easy for you, reader, busy professional, and Remarqed fan, to pick some pretty slick gifts you can have shipped to your home or elsewhere (mostly) for free, and tax-free in many instances.*
With gift-giving for everyone but your closest honeys, go with little luxuries. Something special your recipient wouldn’t buy for him or herself. After all, the season isn’t about getting a fuzzy, lovable new gift card that you’ll end up using to buy a washer.
Some safe options:
Candle: a perennial gift favorite. Diptyque Cyprès is my absolute favorite. Available at Nordstrom International Plaza or online. For the same price, you can try another haute cologne brand’s newest wax offering: Byredo Bibliothèque (French for library).
Seventh Avenue Apothecary pours in Ybor City and sells at TeBella and the Oxford Exchange, with seasonal scents like Bonfire + Spun Sugar, Cinnamon + Whiskey + Spruce, and Frasier Fir + Thyme. The Pink Petticoat carries Olfaction, also Tampa-based.
Journal / Notebook: the more we type and tap, the more important I think it is to write by hand, with a pen and paper you like. For therapy, dumping secrets, making lists. Or just recording the millions of random thoughts we each have in a day. Try one from Miansai or Etro. Makr is based in Orlando and created this one, which is beautiful in its simplicity.
I’d sorta like a datebook to jot down events that I don’t feel like entering into my phone. Barney’s.
Sweets: No one likes to spoil their carefully crafted diet with the omnipresent holiday sugary treats, but on occasion, especially in small and expensive doses, it is fun. Case in point: Bergdorf Goodman’s Pancracio Truffles, which look deceptively like cake balls, on a porcelain pedestal.
Last year I purchased several boxes of Toffee To Go, a local brand and one of Oprah’s favorite things! And it is delicious. A total ab wrecker though.
Something sparkly: Like, a Tiffany beer mug, the perfect clashing of cultures.
Or, a CB2 disco-ball gnome statue, for inside or outside.
I’m also liking these golden industrial cog tea light holders, from Tom Dixon. He makes some interesting stuff.
Something refined: Tea is a refined sport. No rough tackles or outbursts of flavor. You drink it if you’re feeling relaxed, comfortable, or delicate. Likewise if you’re not, but would like to be.
At the high end, you can order a Ladurée hamper, which includes tea and other accouterments. Barney’s has a Damman Tea sampler for sale, though it is far from on sale. Still cool though. Each tea bag can last 2-3 cups of hot water, so I tested yesterday at Élevage for brunch.
Don’t forget a tea pot. Japanese ceramic, or glass.
Locally, TeBella is your tea supply headquarters. Or, if you want to try a holiday tea service, The Royal Tea Room is always fantastic.
Something cheeky: This keyring. This incense burner.
A man clutch / pouch / pencil case: I plan to expand on this subject soon, because I have become most fixated lately, but should you think your man (or you) is…man enough for a carried piece that is strap-free and potentially smaller than a portfolio, check out this Pinterest board.
Coffee Table book: admittedly, no one reads these more than once. But, they’re almost like art, decor. Can complete a tablescape. Thus, they are useful and you might as well pick a good one. Vogue & The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Insitute, Bottega Veneta, both at The Oxford Exchange, which is now carrying a full selection of Rizzoli Studio books.
And if you must, something practical: Lip balm, a dopp kit, these AMAZING socks, cedar shoe-fresh inserts, a lunchbox, a less offensively-bulky fitbit activity monitor that looks like a Skagen watch, a Swiss army knife keychain, or this body wash.
*taxes collected online are based on a store having a physical presence in a state. Amazon, for instance, has a distribution center in Ruskin, so therefore collects the 7% Hillsborough County sales tax on its online orders.
The full set of about 80 suggested holiday gifts can be found here.
If you are still confounded by your shopping list, inquire here with any and all challenges. Remarqed can help.
Additionally, if you are looking for a guide to shopping in Tampa Bay, across all forms of retail, click here.