Home & Hobby: Holiday Gift Guide 2024 🎁🩰

Gifts for your home, gifts for your hobbies! (& in a move that surprises no one, it's all pink)

As you know, I’m an adult hobby evangelist… I love taking on new fun activities that have nothing to do with how we earn a living… exploring our adventurous, creative, generative, and social sides in new ways! Whether you’re into birdwatching or video games or studying Feng Shui or learning a new language, there is truly so much joie to be vivre’d and so much diem to be carpe’d.

This category is particularly fun because you don’t need to know someone’s size, what looks good on them, what color season they are, what perfumes work with their skin… these are gifts that are fun, involve some kind of activity (mostly), and work rather universally (this isn’t just “gifts for women” btw!) (but maybe it looks like it idk).

SHOP THE WHOLE THING HERE

In line with all my gift guides, this is a mix of things I want and things I already love… I’ll make a note within each item. This is a little niche luxury, a little Parisian-inspired, a little Italian-tinged, and a lot of ballet pilates princess core. Let’s call it Venusian.

Gifts for the Home

Candles & Candle Accessories

Overose Croissant Candle: on my personal wish list for a while now, this will create an atmosphere of a boulangerie in your home, with the scent of warm buttery fresh viennoiserie wafting through your personal space. mmmm.

Diptyque Narguilé Candle: my favorite winter candle (IYKYK) with notes of honey, tobacco, and subtle florals. exquisitely intoxicating, reminiscent of baking.

Electric Candle Lighter: I got this USB-charged electric candle lighter and it’s SO convenient (no more breaking matchsticks on the side of a decrepit matchbox and cursing the sky). They’re under ten bucks usually, super convenient, and make for a nice stocking stuffer or add on to a candle gift.

Candle Snuffer and Trimmer: some of you might be thinking, “I’m sorry… your candle needs accessories??? and my answer to you is GET WITH IT BI… just kidding. But yes, candle maintenance and smoke mitigation is lovely if you’re a candle enthusiast. This is another classy touch that makes for a nice standalone gift or add on, depending on your budget, as it’s something many people won’t outright buy for themselves. I love the fancy pieces from Diptyque, obviously… and Dior makes a candle snuffer too…. 👀

Decor

Luxury Teste di Moro: I’m oscillating between the Black & White, almost Mackenzie Childs-esque set and the monochrome pink set of Sicilian Moor Heads (Teste di Moro) — a pair of ceramic vases you see all over the southern Italian island. The classic version of these are colorful and loud and perfectly maximalist (it’s the Italian way), but I love an fashion-forward iteration.

Silk Pillowcases: I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again — silk pillowcases make an incredible holiday gift. I’ve had mine for years and can no longer sleep on other pillowcases (I even travel with mine). Yes, I have become high maintenance… and you can too! Not only are they a chic addition to the bedspread set up, but they’re great for hair and skin.

Marie Antoinette Wax Bust Candle: This technically isn’t a candle I don’t think? But it’s perfumed wax sooooo… it’s going in the decor category. I’m absolutely addicted to the concept of having a perfumed wax pink bust of Marie Antoinette in my house. She/this is my Roman Empire.

Cozy at Home

Ortigia Sicilia Mug: this flora-and-fauna print pink mug with gilded accents has brought me unimaginable levels of joy when I make my foamy whole milk cappuccinos every morning. I found it during my summer travels to Sicily, ironically while searching for niche Sicilian perfumes at Ortigia. They have such fun and chic homewares!

Laines London Café Croissant Slippers: MY FAVORITE SLIPPERS that I wear DAILY come in different colors with different brooches, but the café-croissant combo reigns supreme, IMO. These are an ideal wear-at-home cozy footwear, and make an excellent gift (I got mine for my secret Santa present last year!).

Camino Gummies: Legally this is a joke and I’m not recommending anything and none of this is medical advice. WITH THAT BEING SAID I love Camino Gummies and if I lived in California or a state where they are legally sold and consumed, I would be getting them for all my friends and family. They make a holiday/Christmas flavor that I luuuurve. Perfect for getting cozy at home :)

Kitchen

Le Creuset Mini Salt & Pepper Mills: Since I now have the dutch oven and the crock for my utensils, I must add the little salt and pepper mills to my shell pink Le Creuset collection. Join me on this quest!!! Luxury kitchen gifts for everyone!

Amarena Cherries: Speaking of luxury, this is niche luxury… fancy dark cherries from Italy. If you’ve known me for 10 seconds you know that I ride hard for amarena cherries. Why? Because they’re the most exquisite red fruit flavor. FULL STOP! Dark, tart, sweet, elegant… great with chocolate, great in a mocktail or cocktail, lovely on ice cream, mashed into a compote, blended into a cake filling (I’ve done this)… a great gift for a foodie (or for me 👀)

Pink Bialetti Moka: On the Italian theme, I saw this all pink monochrome Bialetti in a window of a shop in Montmartre and was like UMMMM… I considered throwing away my Nespresso (then I got so serious, and got it all the way together). Though I don’t personally need this, if you know a coffee lover, this is SO FUCKING COOL.

Raclette Machine: This could be categorized as a hobby tbh, and frankly, I almost moved it down into that category. It would be so cool if they made one like this but in pink. Anyway, I’m obsessed with raclette, and I need more of it in my life. If I had more space in my apartment I’d get one of these machines myself.

Gifts for Hobbies

Spiritual & Mental Wellness

Five Minute Journal (in hot pink): whenever I’m in a routine that involves my gratitude journal (this one here!), my life is better. This is an undated journal, so you can skip days, weeks, months, years, and still use the same one (love), so it’s not wasteful. The prompts are specific, simple, open-ended, and it truly only takes a few minutes AM/PM to center yourself.

Astrology School with Shannon Aganza: Want to learn the ABCs of astrology? I’ve taken this course three (yes three) times with my mentor and moon mom Shannon, who you’ve 1000% heard on the podcast at least once. Annnddd with this particular course (starting in Jan 2025), I’m the TA this year! I’m so excited to be a part of helping a new set of students begin their astrology journey, personal practice, and maybe one day professional practice. This is a go-at-your-own-pace, self-study course with six live Q&A sessions to dive deeper into course material. SO you can learn the stuff on your own schedule, and then join the meet ups to explore your own chart, clarify certain things, and get support on the study materials. Use my code — AF1THISISFINE25 for a cute little discount :) 

Productivity Planner & Wellness Journal: I love the journals from Papier, especially the undated ones (like I said, less waste!). They’re super customizable (you can get your name or another message printed or embossed!) and are really beautifully organized (signed off on by a Virgo). I have a wellness journal but am personally in need of the productivity planner (for a number of reasons).

French Tarot Deck: Whilst perusing the insanely cute offerings at Marin Montagut, I found this stunningly illustrated Le Tarot de Marseille deck.

An Astrology Reading with ME! I’m also doing mini readings and some cosmic coaching, virtually from Paris! If you or someone who is into self development/woo woo shit would like a little guidance on your personal star chart, hit me up (ie, use my booking platform) here (I have gift certificates!). This is one of the most unique holiday gifts you can give 🥰

Pretty Stationery: I’ll be honest I didn’t know what category to put this in… so it’s going here. I would like this stationary please. lol.

Painting

Paint by Numbers Kit - Paris: on my personal wish list is this adorable paint by numbers set of a Parisian scene… I might end up getting this for myself lol. Thirty bucks, a fun activity, and a piece they get to keep and maybe even hang?! so cool.

Paint & Sip Gift Card - I love a gift that’s an activity you can do with the person you’re gifting… you know what I mean? Shared time, a memorable experience, and in this case, also a DIY painting! Every area is going to have a different version of this, but if you’re in Paris, I loved Happy Paint because they have events almost every night, in different areas around the city.

Ballet & Pilates

Ballet Lessons: On my wish list, difficult to gift, but if someone pulled it off I’d be hype as helllll… the takeaway for you? Try gifting a new hobby to someone that honors their inner child… something that has nothing to do with the way they make money, earn a living, etc.

Repetto Gear: to go with the above hobby and my similar-vibe workout, Pilates, I’d like a leotard, and some Repetto ballet/exercise gear – boots, sneakers, yoga mat, cache coeur, sweats… I’m really into the super puffy boots that I could wear to and from Pilates or dance practice if when I find a new ballet studio… :)

Language Learning

DUOLINGO MERCH: on brand with my entire vibe (being a pro bono duo ambassador) is some geeeeear from the green owl. I’m honestly so obsessed with the entire duolingo brand 😂

Preply Lessons: I’ve been doing private tutoring using Preply, and I’m soooo grateful for the more structured support to supplement my daily immersion learning. If you know someone who wants to learn a new language, move to a new country, challenge their brain, or even just travel more to a particular region, getting them some language lessons could be an amazing gift. My link there will get you 70% off your first lesson :)

GET MORE GUIDANCE!!!