40+ Holiday Gift Ideas for Everybody On Your List
‘Tis the season for peak Southern entertaining, festive mingling, and well-wrapped gift exchanging. We’ve gathered this field guide to help you make the most of your holiday giving and gathering.
A good rule of thumb: be generous with those you love, and don’t forget to treat yourself, too.
PANTRY & PROVISIONS
Sweet and savory treats they’ll love
Alabama Sunshine Hot Sauce
Small-batch, farm-to-table heat bottled in Fayette, AL by a sister-brother team. The pros stock up: one for home, one for a saucy sweetheart’s stocking, and one for the glove box.
Buy: alabamasunshine.com
Edisto Gold Honey Infused Trio
Treat your honey to unfiltered, small-batch drizzlers bottled in the South Carolina Lowcountry. This trio showcases lavender, vanilla, and blueberry. Pour on biscuits, cheese boards, and Sunday mornings.
Buy: edistogoldhoney.com
Melvin’s BBQ Sauces & Rubs
A Lowcountry classic since the 1930s, we’re obsessed with the Golden Secret BBQ Sauce + French Fry Seasoning combo. A perfect gift for grillers and chillers alike.
Buy: melvinsbbq.com or Charleston locations
Mississippi State Edam
When Professor F.H. Herzer ordered ten teakwood hoops from Holland in 1938, the Dairy Science Department began producing Edam cheese using fresh milk from MSU’s own dairy herds in Starkville. This pale yellow cheese is both savory and mellow, and holiday entertaining officially begins with the first slice.
Buy: msucheese.com
Hubs Peanuts
A snacker’s dream: hand-cooked Virginia peanuts in Salted, Sweet Heat, Honey Kissed, and Big Reds. Be warned: these are addictive.
Buy: hubspeanuts.com, Amazon
The Original Goo Goo Cluster
A Nashville tradition dating back to 1912, Goo Goos are always a good idea. A symphony of peanuts, marshmallow nougat, caramel, and milk chocolate, this is a stuffer for the stockings, though be sure to save several for future personal snacking.
Buy: googoo.com, Amazon, select retailers
SIPS & MIXERS
Raise a glass
Doc Brown Bourbon Cream Gift Set
Woman-owned, family-owned, seed-to-still, and rooted in Senoia, GA. A spirited gift inspired by holiday flavors: coffee, peppermint mocha, salted caramel, butter pecan.
Buy: docbrownfarm.com
Oliver Pluff & Co. Tea & Coffee Gift Sets
Historic blends and handsomely packaged tins from Charleston, SC make for perfectly steeped porch sips and post-supper chats.
Buy: oliverpluff.com, Amazon, 49 John Street, Amazon, 49 John Street
Blenheim Ginger Ale
Ginger ale made the old fashioned way since 1903, no Southern bar should be lacking this spicy soda. A treat when blended with rum or whiskey, and equally enjoyable on its own. Enjoy #5 for a nice kick and, if you prefer a bigger bite, look for the red cap #3.
Cathead “Old Soul” Bourbon
High-rye blend, aged to harmony at Mississippi’s first distillery since prohibition. Enjoy a taste of Southern tradition in every pour.
Buy: Seelbach.com, Cellar.com, select retailers
Bittermilk No. 7 Gingerbread Old Fashioned (Limited)
Limited run sorghum molasses and gingerbread spice with a peppery finish, made in Charleston, SC. Simply mix with whiskey or rum and cue the carols.
Buy: bittermilk.com
HOST & HOME
Stock their stylish abode
McCarty’s Pottery
Hand-thrown heirloom pieces made from Delta clay in Merigold, MS, delivered in that signature brown bag. Feed their collection.
Buy: mccartyspottery.com
Furbish Needlepoint Pillow
These statement pillows are perfect for those who epitomize sassy Southern style and simply weren’t meant to suffer through bad vibes or boring conversation.
Buy: furbishstudio.com
Goldie Home Crosshatch & Shadow Linen
Original artwork printed on 100% linen—modern, artful, and dinner-party ready.
Buy: eastfork.com
Stone Hollow Farmstead Host & Hostess Gifts
Say “thank you” the Southern way. Keep the gift closet stocked with seasonal provisions, preserves, and pantry luxuries curated by a mother-daughter duo in Harpersville, Alabama.
LITTLE LUXURIES
Sweet & stylish Southern splurges
Mirth Pajamas
Nothing says “I love you” quite like a gift of decadent pajamas. Launched in 2016, this Houston-based, family-owned, contemporary womenswear line provides meaningful employment to artisans in developing countries.
Buy: mirthcaftans.com
AL&EM Bezel-Set Diamond Necklace
Show your beloved how deep your love is with a bezel-set diamond necklace handcrafted by Goldsmith Alex Klaes of Charleston, SC’s AL&EM. The center stone is customizable and pairs seamlessly with any of their signature chains.
Buy: xoalem.com
Pearson Farm Peaches
Give the gift of summer now for endless sweetness later. Send a gift certificate that promises a delivery of peak-season Georgia peaches in 2026.
Buy: pearsonfarm.com
Andia’s “’Tis the Season” Ice Cream Pack
North Carolina’s Andia’s delivers a most festive flight, served up in party-ready pints: Marzipan Cookie Dough, Santa’s Cookies, Peppermint, Sufganiyot, oh my!
Buy: Goldbelly via andiasicecream.com
Travel & Adventure
Goods for getting on the road
Ship & Play Gift Card
Give the gift of baggage-free travel with Ship&Play, a luggage shipping service that sends your luggage, skis, golf clubs, and boxes tracked and insured to and from your destination. No extra time spent in luggage lines at the airport means more time being merry!
JVANA Retreats at Kaiya Beach Resort
Send the self-care seeker to Florida’s Emerald Coast for a Mediterranean-inspired seaside reset with guided emotional wellness workshops, personal reflection, and silent exercises on 32 acres of untouched land once home to a historic peach farm.
Buy: kaiyabeachresort.com | jvana.org
Nisolo Dylan Duffel
For the jet setter who values ethically-made goods, Nashville-based Nisolo offers a handsome carry-on duffel that’s as versatile as it is stylish.
Buy: nisolo.com
Wildsam Field Guides
With more than 50 companions to choose from, these travel guides, full of maps, stories, and portraits, are as fun to read as they are useful for wayfinding your next favorite Southern city.
Buy: shop.wildsam.com
Gifts That Give Back
In their honor
Stareworthy Custom Children’s Books
Personalized picture books that put loved ones at the heart of the story. Turn your cherished family photos into keepsake hardcovers your littles will read on repeat.
Create your own: stareworthy.com
South Carolina Aquarium Symbolic Adoption
Adopt a sea turtle (symbolically) and support conservation. A fin-tastic gift that provides the animals with expert care, daily food and vitamins and enrichment opportunities.
Buy: scaquarium.org/adopt
Parks Project
For the adventurer who’s always chasing the next trail or summit, or simply enjoys being outside, Parks Project is gear with purpose. Shop your socks off via their online store and join a global movement funding under-resourced organizations that preserve and protect U.S. public lands. To date, they’ve given back more than $2.7 million, and every purchase helps fulfill their mission to “Leave It Better Than You Found It.”
Create your own: ParksProject.US
Center for Craft
Headquartered in Asheville, NC, but impacting makers nationwide, the Center for Craft champions the significance of American craft and expands access to it. Want to show your favorite maker some love?
Support the cause: CenterForCraft.org/Support
Donation in Their Honor
Support future memories in the places that make our communities vibrant and unique by making a donation in honor of the good company you keep. Contribute to organizations they love with a meaningful gift that creates a lasting ripple. May we suggest your local arts commission, area parks and conservancies, libraries, classrooms, and independent bookstores. Here are a few good ideas to get you started.
