By Rebecca Hay
The holidays are hands down, my favourite time of year. It’s a time to gather, celebrate and indulge. It’s all about giving and sharing and I am often hosting non stop. It can be a hectic season so being prepared always helps! Here are my top 5 holiday must-haves for this year.
All of these items will help set you apart as a host but can also make for excellent gifts!
Must Have #1 : A good Coffee maker
As a continual holiday host I need coffee to fuel my fire but also to offer our guests. It’s rare these days if someone doesn’t drink coffee. Also, my husband is coffee obsessed and Craft Coffee Brewing is one of his latest passions. I’ve narrowed down my search for the perfect gift to the new Precision Brewer by Breville . It allows coffee enthusiasts (my hubs) to re-create the same balanced flavour of craft brew coffee, at home. The fact that it looks good is just a perk for me. The bonus is that it creates 12 true cups of coffee in less than seven minutes, finally we can replace our little french press and have the volume we need to fuel all the relatives!
Must Have #2 : Cozy Socks
Everyone thinks about cozy blankets but I’m digging the cozy sock trend this year. Socks are a nostalgic gift for me as my father was in the textile business and always used to gift us with more socks than we could ever wear. These McGregor socks remind me of the ones he used to gift us with the added bonus that they are holiday festive and OH so Canadian. I plan to keep extra pair on hand for guests and hope to win serious brownie points as a host.
Must Have #3 : Unique Coffee Table Book
As a designer I always try to have a few fabulous large scale coffee table books out for guests to peruse while they sit by the fire. They make an excellent conversation starter and the right themed book can make for some very interesting debates! They also make excellent gifts!
Must Have #4 : Festive Toss Cushions
Updating your sofa and seating areas temporarily with festive toss cushions is an easy fun way to add a festive designer touch. Whatever the colours you choose to decorate with, get a few pillows to match and you will feel like you’ve stepped into a new home. Since I live in a small Toronto home I don’t have the space to store an entire set of cushions year round, So I simply swap out the pillow covers and re-use the insert.
Must Have #5 : Creative Cooking Tool
This one is completely a tool for my husband who is the chef in our family. He loves his outdoor smoker and uses it every chance he gets, but it’s time consuming to wait all day for your meat to slowly smoke! So I am gifting him with The Smoking Gun . A new held smoker that uses cold smoke to infuse natural flavours of hickory, Applewood, mesquite and more, into both food and drink for a natural smoke infusion . I’m expecting it to add a bit of theatre to our holiday dinners!
Here’s hoping that this holiday is a smooth one for all of us and that these 5 Must-Haves help make sure your holiday goes off without a hitch.