We love practical gifts — after all, we spend a lot of time thinking about what makes the perfect example of any given product. So when we find the best-ever travel pillow or an absolutely perfect cooler, we want everyone we know to have one.
When giving a practical gift, however well intentioned or thoughtful, you risk disappointing the recipient — or worse, outright offending them! Our general advice when it comes to giving a practical gift is to find the sweet spot of items that are useful but also feel like a true gift to your friends and family. Ahead, we’ve rounded up our favorite gifts that do just that. Need more ideas? Check out our gifts for him, gifts for her, Nordstrom gifts, favorite Amazon gifts and gifts for everyone else on your list.
$15 at Amazon
We live in an increasingly paperless world, which is great, but sometimes you just need to jot something down by hand. This gift set from Post-it includes a round notepad, a to-do list notepad, a prenumbered notepad and five felt tip pens, all in a festive red and pink colorway.
$6.95 at Etsy
$25 $12.99 at Amazon
As an organizing expert, I typically avoid single-use kitchen tools like the plague. But I bought this pineapple corer and slicer after seeing it on “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” and quickly fell madly in love with it. It makes quick work of hollowing out the flesh of a pineapple into rings, and by my back-of-the-envelope math, it paid for itself in three pineapples. (Precut pineapple is expensive!) As a bonus, the tool leaves the exterior of the pineapple intact so you can serve drinks in it, which I have done several times and which is currently my most impressive party trick!
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$49.99 $39.99 at Amazon
$19.99 $18.99 at Amazon
If the person on your gift list lives in a cold climate or is a fan of cold weather activities, a set of hand and toe warmers will be a very welcome gift indeed.
$11.95 at Amazon
$12 at Amazon
Ubiquitous items like mugs or water bottles don’t make great gifts, because most people have enough of those. But items that are related to those things can make useful and thoughtful gifts, like this silicone tray that makes ice perfectly shaped for use in a water bottle.
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$129 $99 at Tushy
$18.95 $15.95 at Amazon
$99.95 $82.99 at Amazon
An indoor LED grow light garden is a perfect gift for a budding home cook, providing fresh herbs right when you need them. The easy-to-use gardening system comes with a gourmet seed kit featuring six herbs — Genovese basil, curly parsley, dill, thyme, Thai basil and mint.
$44 at Pura
I was sent a Pura smart diffuser a few months ago, but I set it aside because I already had a traditional plug-in diffuser and I figured there wasn’t much difference. How wrong I was! When I finally set up the Pura I was absolutely WOWED by it. I love the scents, I love that you can program it to go on at certain times, I love that it allows you to adjust the scent’s potency and I especially love the customizable night-light feature. This thing is so cool, I’m giving one to everyone I know this year.
$35 at Flourish
If you’ve got a plant parent on your holiday gifting list, this organic plant food kit is the perfect thing. The set includes Flourish’s organic plant food and a limited-edition dilution vessel that makes feeding plants feel like a formal affair.
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$39.99 at Amazon
$16 at Liberty
A small tape measure is one of those items that is absurdly handy, and a pretty one, like this Liberty print, is a great small gift idea. Toss it in a bag or a junk drawer and marvel at how many times you reach for it!
$799 at Hyperice
$12.99 at Hex
The care of sporting equipment like protective pads, gear bags, workout gloves, etc. is often overlooked, resulting in nasty-smelling gear. Hex’s Gear Wash Kit is designed to deep clean a variety of gear and apparel and makes a great gift for the sporting sort on your holiday shopping list.
$18 at Clevr
$12.50 at Etsy
Sachets are small scented deodorizers designed to be used in drawers or closets to keep the contents smelling fresh. Typically, they are made of bags filled with botanicals like lavender, but these pressed wax sachets are a more modern approach that make a surprising and lovely gift item.
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$149 at Patagonia
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From $189 at Parachute
$199 $179 at Therabody
$138 $117.30 at Buffy
Buffy, the maker of those cloudlike duvets, took the pregnancy pillow and redesigned it for the masses. The Wiggle Pillow is a floppy yet supportive, tie-able pillow that offers full-body support for sleeping or lounging. A removable, machine-washable cover is available in three colors: Cream, Puff and Toast.
$289 at Uncommon Goods
For the indoor gardener, this frame-style shelf fitted with a growlight is a functional showstopper. The frame is also fitted with a timer, and is the perfect way to keep indoor plants and herbs happy and thriving in low-light settings.
$45.99 $35.09 at Amazon
$12.99 at Amazon
Kitchen shears are such a useful thing to own, but they’re a bit on the practical side to give as a gift — unless you elevate the form by picking a luxe-looking style. These gold-handled kitchen shears fit the bill perfectly.
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$28 From $26.60 at Frontgate
$125 at Magic Linen
$11.99 at Target
This is my own personal recommendation: I have never met an ointment I didn’t love, and when I learned that Aquaphor was offering their beloved ointment in spray form, I flipped my lid. This stuff is amazing, and honestly I think you should buy a case and put a can in the stocking of everyone you know.
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$88 at Lululemon
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$29.99 at Amazon
