Fabulous Holiday Gift Guide 2012

Just in time for the holiday season, here is my annual round up of wonderful gifts. I'm hoping to refuse getting caught up in the nation-wide scramble for the perfect gift, preferring great dinners with friends and loved ones and a gift that's something heartfelt, thought-out and fully expressive of the love or caring you feel for your closest.


In that case, we should all bake cupcakes and brownies for each other, right?

Should you not be a master chef, here are my top items for this year's spending spree.




Oops! I meant gift-giving (tee-hee!).




If you can still cough up a few hundred on exquisite shoes, even in this economy, congrats! Now's the time. But The Outnet - my go-to site for the newest in sale items - will help you keep the cost down. This is the offspring of the very formidable Net-a-Porter, where the most lavish of expenses are doled out in the name of consumerism. The Outnet takes the leftovers and cuts prices to (relatively) sane lows.

I'm a little obsessed with thigh-highs, and particularly with Emilio Cavallini. From a tiny little shop I discovered this summer in Florence - the exquisite and imaginative collection is now purchasable on line. I've never seen anything like him, and at half the price of anything on this side of the ocean, it's a bargain for such high quality. My favourites are below - prices are in Euros and sit around 20 CAD per pair.

I'm partial to experiences over gifts these days, and although I'm not ready to jump out of planes,  dinner, drinks and a night at the opera/ballet sounds fantastic.

Ballet/Opera

The great Nijinsky is a beautiful modern ballet with music by my favorite composer Chopin and Shumann. Running from March 2nd through the 8th, purchase tickets here.

Carmen - my ultimate to-die-for opera is being rendered into a masterful ballet - running from June 5th through the 15th - purchase tickets here.  So excited for this one!

In terms of Opera - The absolutely renowned and amazing Tristan und Isolde is playing from Jan 29th - Feb 23rd. So good/tragic in fact, that listen to the highlights here and tell me you don't want to buy tickets here. Tickets are almost sold out, so hurry!

Restaurants

This year, I'm going for the ones at which I'd want to eat with my lover - delicious meals, great ambiance and consistently high reviews. Although we're not in New York, you can definitely expect to have your panties in a knot at:

Splendido - the top on my list that I've never been to and am eager to try. Italian. Top chef in Toronto. Consistently given all the appropriate accolades and stars. The menu speaks for itself.

Momofuku Shoto: The star on the myriad restaurants that David Chang has set up at the Shangri-La in Toronto, Shoto serves a tasting menu that offers up the incredible on a seasonal palette. Given the heaps of amazing reviews pouring in, apparently Toronto hasn't seen anything like it.

Café Boulud: in the Four Seasons, this renowned New York master set up a restaurant and bar that does innovate French and Mediterranean classical to perfection. With restaurants among the world's best, I can't wait to try this one. New Year's Eve seating available. 

I still love Joso's for its boisterous and sultry atmosphere, amazingly pornographic yet artsy decor and the unbelievable quality of its food - Italian and seafood-based with meaty options available. New Year's Eve seating available.

I was recently asked which jewelry I liked, and although I know Swarovski has been putting some serious effort into not looking like cheap knock offs with fake diamonds in bad settings, I'm still not sold. That being said, I do have a total penchant for their sunglasses and I did find one beautiful necklace online... which looks exactly like one of my favourite jewellers out there:

Oh, Alexis Bittar, you move me. With absolutely breathtaking designs, very intricate detailing and beautiful and often strange stones set together in intriguing ways, his work is refined and mysterious. His Elements collection is inspired by his travels through Africa this year, and aptly named Siyabona. Gorgeous and always classy. Shop online or at Holt Renfrew.

Every year I tell myself I will finally buy myself some Vosges chocolates, renowned to be some of the best in the world. The truffle collection, only available online, is to die for, with mouth watering flavours sourced from all corners of the earth. I'm partial to dark chocolate but there is also a Holiday collection and a Collezione Italiana with Tuscan fennel and Sicilian walnuts. Or - get all three.

What is any wish list without Tom Ford?  From his majestic private blends, I'm head over heels (nose) for Champaca Absolute. With its notes of cognac and bergamot, orchid and vanilla, this is a heady and musky scent, intensely daring and overly sexual. As an oil it fades slowly and leaves behind a chestnut and magnolia base, dark and almost velutinous. 

For the fitness enthusiast (re: freak) in your circle, I'm a little cornily in love with this ridiculous athletic gear with motivational mottos in lurid colors. Sure, it's not the super cool modern hip blah blah blah of Lululemon (which I love), but it does get the point across. If you've got 99 problems but a bench ain't one - this site is for you. 

Lastly, but definitely not least, for the charitable among you, (which is all of you, right?) my charity this year is Kiva. I'm very partial to micro-financing in development, and this charity helps people around the world obtain the loans that can help change their lives. Instead of simply band-aiding a problem, it's an empowering gift that gives back choice, agency and ability to people in need. Best of all, if your cause is education, or perhaps maternity care or even business development, guaranteed there are people who need some help setting up programs and businesses in that sector. Donate here! 

So that's all for me! I wish you the happiest of holidays and a very warm, loving and healthy new year. Let's hope it's one full of growth, happiness and kindness among us. 

All my love, 

C.