8 gift ideas for everyone on your Christmas list

By Mariah Wilson, November 22 2019 —

With Christmas around the corner, it’s easy to leave shopping until the last minute as you deal with each impending final assignment and exam for the semester. To make life easier for you, we’ve compiled some gift ideas for each person on your list so that shopping can be as hassle-free as possible this season.

For the outdoorsy person:

A good sturdy backpack is essential for any adventurer, and our go-to is the Kånken backpack by Fjällräven. With their new store on 17th Avenue, you can pick out the size and colour in-person and save yourself the shipping costs of ordering online.

For the book lover:

The holiday season is the perfect time to cozy up with a good book, a nice cup of cocoa and watch the picturesque snow fall. The bibliophile on your list will thank you when you add to their pile of books by gifting them with a copy of The Hate U Give (Young Adult, fiction), The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (Advice, non-fiction), Where the Crawdads Sing (fiction) or Me, Elton John (Autobiography, non-fiction).

For the crafty knitting hobbyist:

The weird and wonderful world of knitting is an overwhelming tangle of textures, colours and creations — and Stash has got you covered. Any knitters on your list can head down to Stash’s Inglewood location to create a wish list of all of the yarn and supplies that their heart desires. Then, you can select items to buy off that wish list like a registry — how easy is that?

For the coffee fiend:

Calgary is home to a ton of local coffee shops that sell roasted blends of their in-house coffees for you to take home. Whether it’s the Tall Timber blend from the Calgary Heritage Roasting Company or the Godfather Espresso from Analog’s signature coffee line — you’ll find something for the die-hard coffee drinker on your list.

For the wellness aficionado:

At Saje, you can pick-up the 12 Nights of Wellness Advent Calendar for the wellness seeker on your list who really just wants a good night’s sleep — can you blame them? If this isn’t quite their style, you can grab other sleep-related essential oil sets that include diffusers, sleep masks and bath salts that are tailored to more specific preferences.

For the music lover:

Now that vinyls are back in, there’s a ton of record shops around the city where you can find new and used vinyl, like Blackbyrd Myoozik (17th Avenue), Hot Wax Records (Kensington) and Recordland (Inglewood), to name a few. You can go for a newer album like When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (Billie Eilish) or classics like Rumors (Fleetwood Mac) or Abbey Road (The Beatles).

For the sports fan (a.k.a armchair athletes):

While this may not be directly sport-related, it’s the perfect gift for the armchair athletes that want to sit back and enjoy their sports game from the comfort of their homes — a popcorn maker. The sound of popping kernels and the smell of popcorn seasoning will become just as much of a tradition as hearing the “Hockey Night in Canada” theme song.

For the foodie:

Food lovers that don’t shy away from advancing their palette with new spices and ingredients will find their haven at The Silk Road in Inglewood. From essential spice sets and a botanical gin kit to Vietnamese cinnamon and Aleppo peppers, you’ll have all of the ingredients you need to make the perfect gift basket for your food connoisseur.