Holiday Gift Guide: Create the Perfect Gift Box for Everyone in Your Life

With Christmas being a handful of weeks away, the excitement, cheer, and ambiance of the holidays is finally here.

Seasoned music caroling through the stores.

Tinsel and banners decorating the streets of the city.

Snowflakes specking the knitted hats of strangers.

The aroma of peppermint and pine drifting through the house.

Aside from being overjoyed by creating plans with family and friends, I have been busy brainstorming and browsing for the perfect gifts for the people I care about most in my life. The holidays are not about presents by any means, but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t get excited about holiday shopping for others.

This holiday season I was inspired to do a “gift box set” for some of the people in my life—and thought it would be a great idea to share with some of you. I’m really into aesthetics, so being able to wrap a gift and make it picture-perfect is something I try to always do. Besides making it look good, it’s important to make sure it’s a good gift as well. To create the perfect gift box set, I made a simple formula that makes the whole thing a little bit easier.

The Perfect Gift Box = 1 Color Palette + 1 Scent + 1 Sweet + 1 Big Item + 3 Little Items

To find a color palette, a simple search into Pinterest will suffice. Another way to create a color palette is to look at the colors in the items you already picked out for that person. For example, if you bought silver headphones and a light olive green scarf with bits of blue in it for someone, make the color palette for their gift olive green, blue, and grey/silver. Color palettes aren't necessary, but I like to do them when I can because it makes it a little more appealing to the eye. In the photos below, you'll see an example of a "For Her" gift that is similar to what I got for my sister. You'll also see that I wrapped the box because the colors of the box originally clashed with my color palette.

P.S. You'll want to wrap your gift box ahead of time or find the pre-decorated ones. If you set up your box and then wrap it, there's a good chance that everything will shift around!

For scents, some of my favorite stores to look in are Bath and Body Works, White Barn, Lush, and Macy's. Bath and Body Works and White Barn always have the best candles and super cute holders too, which I love getting for the ladies in my life (aunts, mom, grandma, etc.). For people around my age, I tend to head to Lush to find something scented for them. They have everything from bath bombs to lip scrubs. For the gentlemen in my life, I head to Macy's if I'm trying to find a nice cologne or body spray for them.

As far as sweets go, you can't really go wrong. Macy's sells candy. Fannie May sells candy. Starbucks sells candy. There are even candy stores in the mall. Everyone likes something sweet, but for those in your life who don't have too much of a sweet tooth, or who just like to avoid sweets (like myself), head into Lush. I swapped out candy for a yummy lip balm for one of the gift sets I made!

The big and little items are really going to be the "meat" of your box. These are probably going to be the more expensive and personalized items of your box. For the ladies, the smaller items I like to add are usually makeup-related. MAC just opened up in the mall, so including a few lipsticks or liners from there will quickly fill up the "little" items category. For men, I would head into Brookstone and check out the new tech accessories. Earbuds, chargers, Fitbits, and other items like those are small, but very nice presents.

Big items for men I would recommend are a Shave Kit from Bevel, a sports jersey (the Cubs did win the world series after all), sweater, shoes, etc. Big items for women can vary from anything like a blouse to headphones. I included the Elements Bluetooth Monster Rose Gold Headphones in my example gift box!

Below you’ll find examples of gift box sets I put together—feel free to use my ideas as inspiration to make your own!

For Her

Mom, Aunt, or Grandma

Color Palette: Gold & Red

1 Scent: Candle from White Barn

1 Sweet: Fannie May Candy

1 Big Item: Slippers or Blouse

1st Little Item: Earrings

2nd Little Item: MAC Lipstick

3rd Little Item: Gift Card (Ex: Brighton or Orland Square)

Sister, Cousin, or Girlfriend

Color Palette: Rose Gold, Mint, & Black