Hey, besties, Hello Sunshine.
Are you still scrambling to find the perfect holiday gifts? Don't worry, We've got you covered. Today is your show. So People Magazine's fabulous style and beauty director Andrea Labenthal is here with her ultimate last minute gift guide. It's packed with goodies for everyone on your list, from your pickiest friend to your impossible to shop for husband or mother in law, whoever that person is in your life. Yes, we've got options for every price point. Owen, did I mention?
Andrea is also bringing a few treats just for you, because you deserve it too.
It's Friday, December twentieth.
I'm Danielle Robe, I'm Simone boys, and this is the bright Side from Hello Sunshine, a daily show where we come together to share women's stories, laugh, learn and brighten your day.
It's Friday, Danielle. Can you believe it?
We are just five days away from Christmas and the first night of Hanukhut?
Are they on the same night? They are? Wow? Look at that unity. I get that. That's us. That's because the bright Side entered the universe this year.
That's the astrologer we had on I think it was her too.
You're welcome. She did this, You're welcome world. Honestly, here's the thing.
No matter how much we plan, prep and promise ourselves that we're going to be ahead of the game for the holidays, there's always that one person on the list that we still need a gift for. Simon, I don't know about you, but it comes to me like in the middle of the night, I think I did everything, I got everyone a gift, and I wake up at two am thinking, oh shit.
I forgot about my boss. Wait are you getting our boss a gift? Because if you are, I need to know we should discuss that.
Okay, okay, we'll discuss offline. I have not even begun to tackle my Christmas shopping, so I am all ears here to give us the four one one on last minute gift giving is People Magazines Beauty and Style director Andrea Lavinhal.
Come on in here, guys.
It is so nice to be here and the holidays season in the holiday spirit.
In the Holiday.
Spirit today is all about gift giving gift guides, which is so fun to talk about. But before we talk about our favorites, I want to know what your relationship to gift giving is.
Are you a good gift.
Giver, I like to think, so I have great ideas like for you guys, but for some reason, the execution when it comes to my actual friends and family doesn't always like play out the way I envision.
So like, I'm fine, I'm fine. I have great ideas.
Is gift giving or receiving a love language of yours?
Oh one hundred and twelve percent? But I like acts of service?
Actually that would be number one, And then gift giving is like right behind it.
Take out the trash and then buy me a Jenny Kine sweater.
Right right there, you go, perfect dream.
Well, Andrea, we've asked you here today because People releases an extensive gift guide this time of year, so we're hoping you could walk us through it. What are some of the most popular items on the list. Okay, so we do a lot of different gift guides, and I kind of have my own separate, private one that I stashed for you guys with some of my best ideas.
This one is.
More like, okay, it's last minute, which is, let's be honest, most of us, you're going to someone's house or it's a family member, it doesn't really matter and you have nothing, so you go to literally any store. It could be a CVS, it could be a grocery store, whatever, and you create a starter kit for that person, so like a little bit of cliche items that best represent that person, and you put it together and it feels like a cohesive and kind of jokey, cute gift somebody who can't be without.
I don't know. I always have like a protein bar in my purse.
That's a terrible example, but you know what I mean, Or their chapstick or their face wipes, or they always need tilet all or tampons. Like, create a little starter kit for them of all the things that you feel like represent them, and now you have a present.
But really what you have is a CVS receip. But you know what I mean, I love.
This, but it looks like you put thought into it because you ran around the store thinking about them and what they would want.
Well, anything personalized does require thought.
I like that.
Whenever I'm stumped on a gift, I always go the gift basket route. I just do what you're saying and just pile certain items that I think represent them and then present it really nicely and boom, takes the guesswork out of it.
It's all about the presentation.
You could go to the grocery store and just put together some like high end looking items that kind of like a really nice pasta with an olive oil and some fancy salt, and now you have like an Italian dinner night. Like you can create little vignettes. And again when you group things together and you put them in a little gift bag with some ribbon, all of a sudden, we have a party. Guys, like, now we have a gift. We went from condiments to a gift, you know what
I mean. And it's not that expensive. Do you guys know that I carry ribbon and scissors in my car for this exact reason. I'm tying up gifts last minute because I live out of my cargs. I'm in La so I have a whole to go. Gift dropping situations is amazing. That's incredible. It's a true Hollywood story. You're
the Santa Claus of Los Angeles. Another gift that I came up with that seems kind of like, I don't know, not that exciting, but it actually is is a magazine subscription for all of you listening who aren't familiar with paper products. This is a bound booklet, catalog looking thing with words and pictures about something you're excited about. And because people don't have magazine subscriptions the way they used to get one gifted to you is a year of
surprise and delight. Every month the magazine comes and it's reading material, and it comes addressed to you, and we all like mail. And I just did this for my father. He was getting surgery, and he was thrilled. I got an architectural digest who doesn't want to look at rich people's houses and feel bad about themselves.
It's a great gift.
I think subscriptions are a great idea. I gave my dad an audible subscription because he has a really long commute, and every time I see him now, he tells me about the eight books he's read in this month alone, and just how this subscription has changed his life. Oh, he says, it's the best gift he's ever received.
That's really nice.
I think subscriptions are really nice. Except for the time that my frenemy I'm going to call her it's just based on this gift gave me six months to.
The Brownie of the Month.
Club, and I just feel like that's really mean to do to another girl, because who gets lives alone gets a giant box of brownies and he's one, Like, we're selling me.
She was out to sabotage me and my stomach.
That's why it was me and that's why it's a Frenemy gift six months a Brownie of the Month club when you live alone in your single please totally I'm with you. Okay, Wait, Another gift that I love. One of my favorite gifts I've ever received. A milk frother.
Oh love.
This goes under things you didn't know you wanted and needed. It's simple, they're not expensive. And every single day when I press that button and watch my almond milk froth and then pour it on my coffee, I feel like I'm living a better, more elevated life. It's just really adds a little bit of delight to my day. And it's from a milk frother.
That's it.
It's all took. Another gift that I got and then started to give is this thing called the Diamond Dazzlestick, which sounds like it was invented by a real housewife. Now that I say it out loud, but it's like a really good stocking stuffer or white elephant gift. It's like a little pen and it has a jewelry cleaning solution in it, and you can clean your rings and stuff. Because have you ever complimented a girl on her jewelry, And what's the first thing they say? Oh, my god,
my ring's so dirty. It's so dirty, I have to clean it. Like that's It's the same thing with hair. Hair looks so good, and then she tells you the last time she washed it. So no one really buys themselves jewelry cleaner, but it is one of those things that, like, it's really nice to have, especially one that you could throw in your travel bag or whatever. So I love so good. So that's another one I love. And then
I'm not like a chef by any means. But one thing that I've enjoyed giving and getting is what I call rich girls salt, which is those like the Jennifer Fisher Universal salt. It could be any fancy salt. This whole world of like luck salt is it's just it's not my it's not my realm, and yet it's so nice to have, and when you give it to someone else, it's like fifteen dollars. I'm obsessed with those super flaky sea salts.
Yes, all of a.
Sudden, you're like putting it on your like lean cuisine or whatever, and you're like, look at me, I am putting fifteen dollars salt on a three dollar meal. But it's another thing that just like Ella, it's the every day and it's not expensive. But people, I don't buy myself fancy salt. I brought it to a White Elephant gift party and it was a huge, huge hit. Okay, Malden Sea salt flakes are only eight dollars. There you go even better. I would call that less rich girl salt.
Yeah, I love this idea. It's such a good gift. Yeah, high ends condiments.
It goes back to like put it all in a bag, put in some tissue, grab some ribbon from your car, and there you go.
Now you're like, it's a gift.
Do you guys have like a gifting closet like where you repurpose like random candles you've been given and like when you're going to a friend's house, you just like grab it and try and hope they don't they weren't the person who gave.
It to you last I have like a gifting, not like a closet. I don't want to overstate what it is, but it's like a little like a cubby and I but I remember what was gifted and what is brand new, you know, Like I have like new candles so that I can just grab and go, or new olive oil so I can grab and go.
Yeah, because it gets a little bit like fruitcakey after a while, with like the one bottle of prosecco that your friend brought you for book club and then you brought it to so and so's house to celebrate her engagement, and then you get it back and you're like, I don't drink persecco, guys, I'm gonna so you have to be careful with that.
The big one is champagne, right, because everyone gives it and like nobody drinks it.
That's what I'm saying. You just rotate for the rest of your life. Nobody should ever buy a new bottle. Just keep it rotating throughout. It's like the Sisterhood of the Trench Champagne.
What is amans back to you?
Yeah, well, I think that's it means something you close the loop, something magical happens. I'm not sure you also see that giving personalized stationary is another great gift, right, I'm like here for personalized anything, but stationary in particular is something that I've always liked getting because I never take the time to order myself note cards. It just feels like I missed that general. But I need them once in a while to write like a nice thank
you note. So I don't want to buy the ones that are like impersonal, but I'm not going on some fancy stationary thing and taking the time to design it. So if someone does it for me, preferably someone with good taste who can choose like the nice fonds and stuff, and that's such a nice gift and you think about that person every time you write a card. Another thing I forgot to share that's on my list. This is
more of a gifting tip. So if you're like me and your family exchanges gifts, what I like off property, Like we go to Florida to celebrate with my husband's family. I am not schlepping everyone's gifts and they may not arrive on time. So one of my favorite things to do, and it's great when it's last minute. I print out a photo of the gift they will be receiving, and they don't know about shipping delays, so don't worry if you ordered it that day, and then you just print
it out. You just say it's coming in the mouth. And then I decorate the picture. I write some funny or cute you can put stickers, whatever. And then they're excited because they're getting a picture of the gifts, so they know what they're getting.
And then they forget about it.
And then ten days later, bam, the milk frother arrives and their life is changed and they think of you fondly.
Again.
We've got to take a quick break, but we'll be right back with more last minute gift ideas.
And we're back with Andrea Lavenhal.
We've talked about a couple of white elephant gift ideas. You've got the frother, the diamond Dazzler, which is the jewelry cleaning pen. I also would add an electronic eyelash curler. They now make them so they heat up so you don't have to like apply the blow dryer heat to it.
That's another cheap one that's good.
What are some other cheap gag gifts or under twenty five gifts twenty five. Well, you know what you can do friends or twenty five that I think is a great gift is frame a photo. Again, this kind of falls under magazine subscription. It's like, but it's something that we just don't do that much anymore. And I find that we send each other pictures of each other all the time.
Look how cute we look.
Look at this selfie, look at blah blah blah, but nobody actually frames them and has them anywhere. I love getting a frame photo, especially when I look really good in it.
I think that's important. I'm gonna through out some curveballs.
See what you think.
Okay, I'm ready.
I love a great pair of socks. I'll take fuzzy socks. I'll take tube socks, especially if they have like a cute, fun little message on it.
Love that. I love a sock.
Especially if you know that the person likes to do pilates or yoga, like you could do that. If they, I don't know, have cold feet, you get them cashmere ones. If they like dogs, you get them ones with dogs on them. Socks are a good one.
This is for all the book lovers out there. I love a little book light that you can attack to your book at night.
So funny.
I was going to get my eight year old son a book late and see if that changed his life. I feel like that's such a camp like something I have when I went to camp and it felt like you're under the covers reading.
I think that's cute. I think that's a nice one. How about a shower bluetooth speaker. They have those for like under toe five bucks. You can stick them on the wall.
No, no, no, I've never gotten into speakers in the shower because a I think you have to like hang them up. Oh your said they just stick to the wall. Yeah, I don't know. I feel like that would fall on my foot and see it fall sometimes. How many things in your life right now need to be charged?
Oh?
Everything?
Like everything in my life needs to be charged. And I cannot take on another thing with a us B. I can't, I say, no, especially kids toys. I bought a freaking starve for the top of my Christmas tree. It needs to be charged with a USB cord and worse if it needed batteries, So like, you can't win.
I just I'd rather hear.
Myself think or sing terribly because I don't have to charge either of those things. But it does feel like something some people who don't mind the charging life would do. One of the best gifts I've ever given someone is I gave my husband a box cutter from Amazon. I searched for like best box cutters. So here's the deal. I got a lot of packages. I shop a lot, I order a lot, A lot of stuff comes to our house.
He is the head of that department.
He is in charge of box breakdown for recycling, and he's been doing it for the longest time with a scissor. And you know what, there's a better way, and that way is with an incredibly sharp box cutter. And when I printed out the photo, because how weird if we traveled with a box cutter in our suitcase and pulled it out on Christmas morning. But like a prize and delight, so something they need but nicer. Now, this is a hot take that I know you'll someone one of you
has to disagree. I hate experienced gifts. I don't like to give them, and I don't like to get them. I think, Andrea that I know, I know. Here's the thing. I don't want you really a millennial. No, I think I'm adjacent like Cusby. This is the cuspy part. So here's an example. For my birthday this year, I told my husband I want nothing except for my car to be detailed. And he said, is this a trick? And
I said it is not. My car is filthy. I don't have time or the wherewithal to organize a detailing. I would love my car just cleaned.
I don't know.
Day before my birthday, he was like, do you have like a company in mind or like a day in time?
I said, uh uh uh uh. The gift is that you do the work for me. You Google, you come up with the best place.
Please use promo code because if you don't get a discount, I'm going to die and it's not a present. And then figure out my schedule. You know what days I work from home. Just make it happen. Like I don't the work takes the beauty gifts anymore.
It's a negotiation between the two of us. I could do it myself. It's the same checking account. I just want you to organize it for me. That's a beautiful act of service. Did it happen for you?
It did, and honestly, for two straight days my car was so clean and then my kids ruined it. But for those forty eight hours, I felt loved.
But wait, that's an experience. What's wrong with well, I'm with you.
If you're going to do an experience, like a gift card for something, go the extra step to make the plan. So say to your friend what days are you free, What Saturdays or what fridays in the next few weeks. Hold those while you can, and then you're like, we are going to this place for dinner on me. Because if you give someone a gift card, it takes forever for them to use it. They usually waste it. I have a stack sitting right next to me. It's really
hard to take the next step. Like one year my husband got a photographer to take family pictures, but then I would have to find the photographer and arrange it.
No, no, it never happens.
And like dress your kids and get everybody's outfits done.
That's a terrible gift, yeas was he said, you could have a few months of a trainer.
No, okay, I have a low lift, amazing gift for this year. I'm going to go with the drop of Sunshine Wine starter pack. So there's a sparkling rose, a Chardonnay, and a red blend. You can gift it and separate it to multiple people and it's economically efficient. But I think this is a good one if you're wanting a low lift, high value gift. My question for you all is what do I pair it with? Like? Do I
pair it with like a charcouterie board kit? Do I pair it with me be like a cool cute towel wrapping? How do you best gift alcohol and wine?
I like getting two or four if it's not too expensive glasses. There's so many really cute wine glasses, not like the fancy stemmed kind, but something more fun and playful. I get a ton of stuff at Marshalls and home Goods and whatever. And again, if you put it together in a bag, it doesn't have to be expensive. It just makes it more of a cohesive, like thought out gift. But wine, it's wine. You could give me wine with anything. You could give me wine with socks or wine with underpants,
and I would think that was fantastic. Wine with the salt. Wine goes with everything in my house. So I think you can't go wrong. I'm with you.
You could also pair it with a nice wine opener. That's a good wine.
I need a new Everybody could use a new wine opener or the champagne stoppers. Again, I think anything that's like useful and functional, but not something you would just like have, like an external charger. I saw some soccer mom at soccer whip out this amazing charger and she just put it on her phone and I was like, what is that? And I said to my husband, That's what I want for Hanukkah. So I'm not going to remember. I'm not going to buy it, but he should remember
that was four months ago. Let's see how he does.
Will you come and report back and let us know. Absolutely?
Okay.
So I've been looking at the Hello Sunshine gift guide for inspiration, and I'm looking at the brook Linen organic ribbed robe, which is around one hundred bucks, the Kitch Pillow eye mask, which sounds great for travel. Andrea, what would you suggest for the self care girlies in our lives?
Oh my gosh. I First of all, I mask is always a good one, as is a robe, any kind of face tool, because face tools are kind of still that thing where if you know your friend isn't like has never ice rolled, this is the time in her life to introduce her to a jade roller.
I also back to the beauty products.
If there is something that you love and that you are like evangelical about an I cream, eye patches, a lipomb, a hand cream, don't gate keep it.
Give it to somebody you love.
A body cream that's really nice because it's like, this is my favorite, yeah, and I think you'll love it too.
I have a question about favor gifts. I guess it's in line with sort of what you were talking about with your husband detailing your car. Do you ever think that they are worthwhile? I remember being a little kid. I didn't have any money, right, so like I would make a booklet of favors and give it to my parents, like I'll do whatever you say and not put up a fight, or I'll massage your feet for ten minutes,
or whatever it is that are like favors. I sort of think this is interesting carrying it into adult life, like a book of favors from your husband could be really nice.
You know, I just saw a suggestion that you can do that for your children, that you can give them a booklet of things you like a yes day, you know, things that you're willing to say yes too. Because if you say to a kid, we're having a yes day, and mommy has to say yes to everything, like, that's not a good idea.
So they can use the yes book.
So it's like an extra ten minutes of TV or a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast or whatever weird stuff. So I feel like that's the way that the booklet works. Here's my best tip for getting the gifts you want. Because it's hard for your significant other to shop for somebody who I don't know. It is like me and maybe you guys who shops a lot buys what you want, has a very distinctive idea of like what your style is. I sent him about ten links, very specific. I'll get
down to the color and my size. I'll put promo codes because again, if it's purchased without the twenty percent off, I'll die. And I say, pick any of these, and I am always so excited to see of my crazy list what he hones in on and where he landed and why you're getting something from your own list. You just don't know what, so you still get a little surprised, but you're not going to be disappointed.
That's such a good suggestion.
It seems so like want want send them all this stuff, but you might as well make it easy. Yeah, and then they get to shop your list. So I'm a good gift receiver to bring it all the way back around. I actually am a receiver if you do it right, if you follow my directions.
Too, don't go off list.
My strategy is I've found the most aesthetic friend in my friend group, and I've selected her as my delegation to my husband. So whenever he has questions or if there's something specific that I want, I'll plan to see with her and then she'll have a conversation with him. But she's already pre vetted through me, brilliant.
It's time for another short break, but we'll be right back with Andrea Lavenhal's holiday gift ideas. And we're back with Andrea Labenthal.
Okay, Andrea, as we wrap up our gift guide conversation, we want to hear your take on the best last minute gifts.
For specific people in our lives.
This is going to be a little bit of a rapid fire, so I'm gonna throw out a type of person in our lives, and you feel free to say the first.
Gift that comes to your mind, oh god, this is fun. Let's do it.
All of this that we've been talking about, it's all been training leading up to now. Okay, okay, okay, okay, So best friend, Oh my god, the first thing that came to mind is really good sweezers and tell her to put them in her car so that when she's waiting for our kids that pick up and sees a chin hair, she can yank it.
Now genius, genius, generous and thoughtful.
How about a sibling.
Oh, I'm going to go back to Danielle's socks siblings. Socks for siblings, but no under pants, and maybe a T shirt. I think it's really nice to get like an elevated like a cool T shirt, nice T shirt, like a You're a T shirt or a Lululemon like a nice shirt and some socks. Yes, socks for siblings. Sounds like a lanthropy. I'm sure it is one out that it is. Okay, parents or maybe even inn in law.
You have to get them something that's going to help their electronic situation, like you got to get them again back to charging, some kind of really easy charging station, or we just got my parents' extra extra long phone cords for charging so they're not like next to their outlet. So I think anything that upgrades their current system, or like a subscription to whatever streaming service they don't currently have, audible anything like that.
Love.
Yeah, that's a great to do it, but you got to set it up for them. Don't be a jerk and leave it with them. Okay, how about a coworker. I think coworker is that's when you get a nice book, a really nice, thoughtful hardcover that they can like, sign off and go read a book.
Cute love it. How about a teacher.
That's the person that needs your Starbucks gift cards. To be honest, there's not enough coffee in the world to deal with anyone's children. So I say get them something like useful like that, and then combine it with something just nice and thoughtful, like a hand cream or some lip bombs, because I feel like teachers need to be pampered.
They need practical which is coffee and pampering. Well said, I've given my teachers my kids teachers I cream and written in the card this is for the stress that my children have caused.
You like the stress wrinkles?
Yeah, okay, how about a teenager.
They're the hardest. They hate everything.
I usually go with sweatshirts, like oversized hoodies or crops sweatshirts, or beauty products because they're all such like monsters for makeup and skincare.
Now monsters for Sephora. Yeah okay, younger kid.
So what am I get?
My kids are super super into legos, so I mean, that's kind of easy, but you know it's also a great gift. I've been getting them white sketch pads with fresh sets of markers or pens or crayons. They love to draw. They go through it all the time. Markers, they lose their tops, It's all over the place. There's something so nice about having a fresh set, so I do that. I also, they're gonna hate this gift, but I got them new water bottles.
I love that one eco front me too.
Here's my rule. Anything you buy your kids between Thanksgiving and the Holidays is a gift. I don't care if it's a toothbrush and they needed it, jazz it up, put some ribbon on it, put it in their stocking, and now it's a present. Put their name on it, put a sticker on it. Whatever, it's a present. So they're getting water bottles too.
Okay, do you guys get yourself gifts for the holidays?
I mean, the amount of stuff that has come to this house since Black Friday that is for me from me is a resounding yes to that question.
What about you, guys? Would you buy? I bought? I just updated my work wardrobe.
I just bought a few pieces from Maritzia, and I'm mixing and matching and.
That's all I need.
I really have cut back on shopping and I'm okay with it.
I bought myself like cosmetic packing cubes with many or like with another set of cosmetics, so when I travel, which I do often, I don't have to repack all the time. Like they're already set brilliant both toiletries and makeup, which is a splurge. But I just I can't keep packing unpacking.
But you gave yourself the gift of time, and time is money, yes.
Well said. And the number one best gift I've bought myself this holiday season are new sheets. I haven't bought new sheets in quite some time. I'm so excited to sleep on new pillowcases.
They all match.
I had so many different sets over the years that at some point I don't know really what I was sleeping on.
I would like somebody to come in and organize my sheets. That's a better gift at this point, even do it? Yes, like put them in by whose sheets go wear? Throw out the ransoms. Mine's a mess. But yes, that would be an act of service. So maybe I'll put that. Andria, have you seen those boxes that all the organizers on Instagram are telling you hues to organize the sheets? Yeah, but like, where's the person who organizes them in the boxes?
That can't be me.
I can't be the same purchasing I just purchased a bunch of boxes. I can't believe you said that. And MYO pair said to me, what are these four? And I said, I don't know, therefore organizing things and.
She looked at me and we both just left them.
And they're still sitting on the floor of the linen closet, just waiting.
I'm going to say happy holidays to everybody, happy organizing, happy gift giving. And Andrea, you are just the most fun and just so hilarious.
Thank you for brightening our days.
Happy shopping to all of us, and like, just keep passing the prosecco around till the end of time.
May the best add to your cartwin. Thank you, Andrea.
Andrea Labnhal is the style and beauty director for People Magazine.
That's it for today's show On Monday, we're sharing some never before heard clips of our favorite celebrity guests our show run or Tim is back to play a game we're calling secret celebrity holiday traditions.
Listen and follow The bright Side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The bright Side is a production of Hello Sunshine and iHeart Podcasts and is executive produced by Reese Witherspoon.
Production by Arcana Audio. Our producers are Jessica Wank, Krista Ripple, and Amy Padula. Our senior producer is IT'SI Kintania, and our engineer is PJ. Shahamat.
Arcana's executive producers are Francis Harlowe and Abby Ruzka.
Arcana's head of production is Matt Schultz.
Natalie Tulluck and Maureen Polo are the executive producers for Hello Sunshine.
Julia Weaver is the supervising producer and Ali Perry is the executive producer for iHeart Podcasts, Tim Palazzola is our showrunner. This week's episodes were recorded by Graham Gibson and Joel Morales.
Our theme song is by Anna Stump and Hamilton lighthauser.
Special thanks to Connell Byrne and Will Pearson Simone Voice.
You can find me at someone Voice on Instagram and TikTok.
And I'm Danielle Robe on Instagram and TikTok.
That's r O B A Y. We'll see you Monday, y'all.
Keep looking on the bright side.