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It’s normal to draw a blank when it comes to grabbing the perfect gifts for people.
You go all year using products you absolutely love, raving about brands making cool things, taking note of thoughtful items — but when it comes time to gift, all those great ideas you’ve been storing in your mind for months are nowhere to be found.
Cue your favorite gift guide.
Whether you’re looking to jog your memory or stoke some entirely new ideas, popular gift guides are a great go-to. They’re stuffed to the gills with memorable, unusual, or purely functional finds, so turning to your favorite publication is a no-brainer.
When cruising the World Wide Web for the primo presents this year, we recommend virtually flipping through these top gift guides. Not only are the goodies typically tested and trusted first-hand by the authors, but some of the brands highlighted are ridiculously easy to gift online (thanks to their partnership with Zest).
If you’re searching for stuff that’s high-quality, highly desirable, and hiiiighly easy to send to one or tons of people, look no further than Zest-powered brands making appearances on fan-favorite gift guides below.
Oprah’s Favorite Things 2025
The Lil Carl 4 Pack is a favorite for a reason — it’s delicious, it’s an experience, and it’s ridiculously adorable. What does Oprah have to say about it? “I trust Gayle to pick hot chocolate—and she’s looking forward to these cocoa bombs. Hand-painted Belgian chocolate snowmen filled with mini marshmallows are ready to melt into a warm mug of milk.”
Linnea & Co. Botanik 2-candle Gift Set
The Botanik Gift Set delivers a “fresh and bright sensory escape” straight to all your lucky recipients. Oprah says, “Wild mint or ripe tomato—these hand-poured, three-wick, generously sized candles smell like someone flung open the garden gate,” and we couldn’t agree more.
NY Mag The Strategist
Dandelion Chocolate Single-origin Hot Chocolate Mix Trio
Like The Strategist’s senior kitchen and dining writer, Emma Wartzman, says, “When in doubt, gift food.” Dandelion’s Single-origin Hot Chocolate Mix Trio is fit for “holidays in the mountains” or cozying up under your favorite blanket on a cold December night.
Esquire
Snake River Farms Griller’s Choice Box
Touted as a great gift for the “hard-to-impress father-in-law”, we firmly believe anything from SRF makes a great gift for pretty much anyone (anyone who eats meat, that is). The Griller’s Choice Box is (sadly) sold out, but comparable meaty favorites are readily available to send to one or tons of folks right now.
Boston Mag
ChappyWrap Hydrangeas Bluebell Blanket:
ChappyWrap is now synonymous with perfectly (over)sized throw blankets that are unmatched in quality and comfort. What does this gift guide have to add? “Woven in New England–based ChappyWrap’s signature cotton blend and printed with soft-blue hydrangeas, it’s comfort perfected.”
SeriousEats
Milk Bar is a NYC icon now readily available nationwide thanks to the internet and sweet gifting tools like Zest. “This variety pack from Milk Bar includes chocolate cookie dough and birthday cake truffles, and they’re both wonderful. Be warned: They are really easy to keep eating.”
Big Spoon Roasters Sugar Plum Almond & Hazelnut Butter
The folks at SeriousEats say, “You can gift anyone this jar of nut butter and it won't be weird. Big Spoon Roasters is pure luxury.” This limited-edition flavor is a mix of almonds, hazelnuts, apricots, and cranberries with a touch of wintery spice. Pair it with its seasonal counterparts and this gift is a dream come true.
The New York Times
“Graeter’s, an Ohio-based creamery in business since 1870, is known for luscious ice creams packed with signature fudgy chocolate shards",” and if that doesn’t make you wanna dole out this gift to all your pals (and yourself) this year, we don’t know what will.
Jasper Hill Farm The Vermonter Gift Box
Jasper Hill Farm is an award-winning creamery out of New England, and this gift box is really their gift to the world. “The Vermonter is a smartly curated box with a mix of cheeses both complex (a bloomy rind cheese) and crowd-pleasing (a tangy cheddar) alongside spiced pecans and sea-salt flatbread.”
Flamingo Estate Adriatic Muscatel Sage Candle
“Encased in a lovely green glass jar, the hand-poured Flamingo Estate Adriatic Muscatel Sage Candle is a worth-it status candle that actually helps me relax. Its nicely balanced fragrance has a lively herbaceousness with a crisp, briny undertone,” says NYT’s Lifestyle Editorial Director (which means she knows her stuff).
Fishwife Slow-smoked Mackerel with Chili Flakes
The NYT squad tasted more then 100 tins of fish and this flavor surfaced to the top as the “near-unanimous favorite.” Fishwife has breathed new life into the tired tinned fish market, and we can’t recommend casting out some of these treats to your fam or coworker strongly enough!
Wirecutter
Both Graeter’s Ice Cream and Jasper Hill Farm made some sweet cameos on this list, too, which probably means you should consider gifting them twice. (Right?)
Bokksu Snack Box: Seasons of Japan
Stuffed with 22 Japanese snacks, candies, and teas, this thoughtfully curated box is equal parts yummy treat and foodie experience. Plus, Wirecutter reports that it’ll last a single snackish person a week or two, so it’s a gift that keeps on giving from Christmas to New Year.
(Make sure to click “Personalized Gift Message” in the checkout to add a gift note! Or take advantage of sending to up to 10 people in one easy gifting checkout.)
Levain Bakery Signature Cookie Assortment
As a “gift that’s sure to impress anyone who loves a formidable baked good,” the Signature Cookie Assortment is stacked with your pick of 4, 8 , or 12 OG Levain Bakery flavors. Send a fat taste of NYC near or far, to one or tons, in one simple checkout.
As one of only two gift box brands spotlighted in Wirecutter’s list of “The Best Car Packages,” Giften was touted as having a vast selection of unique (maybe even unironically out-of-the-box options) choices, including the best selection for “men, babies, and dogs.” Giften’s ready-to-ship selection also lets you ship the gift of choice, where you pick the price point and your recipient picks what they want most!
Katie Couric
Brightland The Essential Gift Set
Katie Couric herself has been known to gift Brightland to friends and fam, and now the Essentials Gift Set — complete with two extra virgin olive oils and two zingy, fruit-infused vinegars in a gorgeous ready-to-gift box— is available to gift to all your friends, fam, and corporate clients in mere minutes.
Caroline’s Cakes 7-layer Caramel Cake
This was Katie’s dad’s favorite cake, and it’ll only take a single forkful to taste why. Dish out an unforgettable dessert with “tender crumb and melt-in-your-mouth icing” if you want to get on anyone’s good side this holiday season.
Snake River Farms American Wagyu Filet Mignon
With another nod in popular gift guides, it’s clear that Snake River Farms has perfected the meat game. Described as having a “distinctive buttery aroma and texture that’s probably unlike anything your grill-master has ever tasted, it’s naturally tender, and will melt in their mouth.” And it’s something your recipient probably wouldn’t typically splurge on for themself, making this gift extra special.
You’ve already seen Milk Bar’s cake truffles featured, and now it’s time for their iconic cookies to shine. The Cookie Faves Tin features three of the brand’s best-selling flavors all packaged neatly in a fun reusable tin (and who doesn’t love that?).
Flamingo Estate California Native Mountain Wildflower Honey
Decadent, flavorful, quality. This premium jar of honey is a sweet treat that’s “just as wonderful on yogurt as it is swirled into a mug of Earl Grey.” Flamingo Estate describes this gift as a “honey with a deeply complex floral taste and a deliciously herbal finish on the palate. 100% raw unfiltered Honey with nothing added but love and sunshine.”
Forbes
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you — this is, in fact, Flamingo Estate’s third apearance on this list. This premium brand is a hit with gift guides, and it’ll be a hit with your whole recipient list, too. Forbes is spotlighting the brand’s iconic soap-and-candle duo, and we don’t blame ‘em one bit.
Kitchenware as a gift? You bet. If you’re like many (too many?) people, you’re still taking out some tired pots, pans, or bakeware you picked up for cheap when you got your first apartment. Help your gift list out by giving them some quality, long-lasting, toxin-free essentials so they can finally retire that rusted out pot that’s 20 years old.
Levain Bakery Cookie Tin Gift Set
Levain Bakery is here again, but this time it’s to consider their Cookie Tin Gift Set. Pick the flavors and quantity you want to stuff inside a charming blue tin and the rest is gifting history.
If you have any cultural tastemakers on your list, Assouline has you covered. Deliver a hefty coffee table book digging deep into a variety of popular culture staples and consider this holiday season a (very successful) wrap.
