Here’s Every Viva Holiday Gift Guide For 2023, Because You Need Ideas For Everyone In Your Life

Here it is! A guide to all of our holiday gift guides, designed to help you choose presents for every person on your shopping list this season.

What would the Viva team like this Christmas?

Turns out a lot of us want something practical.

Beauty editor Ashleigh Cometti longs for stationery (her love for it, she says, has no limits). “For the past three Christmases, my mum has treated me to a full suite of stationery from An Organised Life. Now that the brand is no more (the grieving period continues, to be honest) I’m making a swift U-turn from monochromatic lined notebooks and leather-bound diaries into the quirky, colourful world of Risotto Studio. This giant A3 planner ($49), available from Ruby, caught my eye with its fun illustrations, seven-day calendar and sections for doodling, note-taking and jotting down my coffee tally (always one too many, by the way).”

Fashion and creative director Dan Ahwa wants a kind of digital detox. “It’s strange (and slightly terrifying) to think how advanced and how much our smartphones can do, including taking photos at every whim. I’d like to take things back to the early 2000s when I used to carry a digi cam around to take photos.” His camera of choice is the Panasonic Lumix TZ80 Superzoom Silver digital point-and-shoot ($495).

For Emma Gleason, it’s time for a Benriner mandolin ($99). “This has been on my Christmas list for years, as regular Viva readers may have noticed, which I suppose is a sign of its enduring appeal,” she says. “After all, the best objects remain relevant, and the classic Benriner mandolin is an example of exactly that. Considered one of the best you can get and trusted by the best chefs (Peter Gordon has one in the kitchen at Homeland), it’s useful, well made — and as long as I’m careful with my fingers — a handy addition to the kitchen.”

There are others who are eyeing something pretty because sometimes the perfect present to unwrap (at least for journalist Madeleine Crutchley) is an actual bow. “The nostalgic emblem has been scattered across runways, red carpets and our local fashion scene,” says Crutchley, who has felt the sweeter-than-thou onrush of Baobei, Sandy Liang and Barbie, and wants in. “As the year draws closer to its end, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s finally time to join this fanciful parade.” She has one request for her loved ones: “Please consult the catalogue from local designer Caitlin Snell. I’ll be overjoyed with any of her creations, but my favourite, for the record, is this cream satin bow ($89).”

Fashion assistant Annabel Dickson loves this woven bag from La Tribe ($330). “It could also double as a market or beach bag, which is perfect because I anticipate many beach days in the near future.” Her request, more broadly, is for “Auckland’s weather gods”.

These are all good gift ideas for what can feel like a difficult task: finding something to surprise, delight and make your loved ones feel like you really see them. Below you’ll find plenty of more suggestions for everyone on your shopping list, from the skincare obsessives and makeup mavens to those who hike and go for morning swims, and the person who is all about food.

The Best Gifts For Food Lovers

Our favourite gifts for the foodie who cooks, eats and compulsively watches The Bear span everything from extremely useful kitchen tools to baking paraphernalia. There are machines (coffee, pasta) and dependable aprons, and pretty-yet-practical solutions for lemon-squeezing and salad serving. Of course, there are presents they can eat too (read: the hummus the Viva team can’t stop talking about).

Discover the full guide for gourmands here.

The Best Gifts For The Person Who Is Always Outdoors

The swimmers, the hikers, the adventurers and the gardeners — they’ve got salt on their skin and trail mix in their bivvy bags. Give them the gift of terry towelling, a tote that can go everywhere, a dependable spade made of high-tensile steel, or leather sandals that offer up a typically strong sense of languorousness with a cork-latex footbed and velcro fasteners (perfect for the beach or a stroll through the park).

Discover the full guide for the always-outdoors here.

The Best Beauty Gift Sets At Every Price Point

Discover the full guide for the beauty buff here.

For The Person Who Has Impeccable Taste And Loves Everything Earthy

What to buy the person who is great at buying things themselves, but who also has a nature lover’s heart? Cue these beautiful gifts that lean into organic shapes, like handmade vases and sculptural jewels, and the loveliness of texture, from beaded bags to special blankets from a brand committed to celebrating Māori excellence. If you’re shopping for a major minimalist, we’ve got you (and them) covered with stylish hats and linen robes, and a gorgeous planter to bring the outside in.

Discover the full guide for the stylish nature lover here.

Ostentatious Presents For The Person Who Prefers Their Gifts A Little ‘Extra’

They’re flamboyant, extroverted — anything but a shrinking violet. Our advice? Opt for statement-making fashion or show-off art books and look-at-me jewels — we’ve put together all matter of more-is-more ideas we think they’ll love, including a feather-trimmed coordinating pyjama set and elegant cocktail glasses complete with olive skewers.

Discover the full guide for the unapologetic extrovert here.

Charming Presents For The Person Who Loves Books

What to buy a bibliophile? For the person who reads everything, we’ve sourced gifts that fit into their routine — a table lamp made with a gorgeous glass shade, a bookmark for those who don’t dog-ear, cushy pillows and bags to carry their paperbacks. They’re all thoughtful presents, some nostalgic (like a vintage watch or a painting that could be plucked out of a Jane Austen novel), others practical. And if you want to buy them a tome, we can help with that too.

Discover the full guide for the voracious reader here.

Give A Gift That Gives Back

Your gifts can also do good. Support a medley of great causes including the SPCA (buy their annual calendar), Trees That Count (buy a native tree to contribute to Aotearoa’s unique biodiversity), Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust (buy a class for someone in need), Rise Beyond The Reef and much more.

Discover the full guide to gifts that pay it forward here.

Photographer / Mara Sommer. Fashion director / Dan Ahwa. Model / Karen Valerie from 62 Managemen. Hair and makeup / Shirley Simpson. Fashion assistant / Annabel Dickson. With thanks to Corban Estate Arts Centre.