Looking for gifts for women? Discover unique, practical, and thoughtful gift ideas
for book lovers, travelers, cooks, and more.
Shopping for gifts for women can be tricky, especially when you’re looking for something a little different. (After all, I think we know that most women like candles.) I’ve put together this gift guide using products I’ve personally used, gifts I’ve given or received, and recommendations from family and friends. You’ll find everything from practical kitchen items to unique gifts you might not have thought of.
Most of the links below are from Amazon. I know from experience it’s easier to buy a bunch of gifts from one place than to juggle orders from three different stores just to meet the minimums for free shipping. But I’ve also included other places that I shop at, especially where it’s a unique item and provides a quality gift.
If you’re looking for more gift ideas, smaller presents, or inexpensive options, check out my 100+ Stocking Stuffers post. (The inexpensive gifts are helpfully marked with a money bag emoji.) My Ultimate Gift Guide for Men is another useful resource.
***This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase using this link. Full disclosure statement.***
Unique Gifts for Women
• Shop local markets. Visit a Christmas market, crafter fair, or farmer’s market for unique, handmade items. I often find locally made jewelry, handcrafted kitchen utensils, and artwork or home decor worth buying.
• Emotional support crochet dumpster fire. I got one of these for my sister-in-law one year before tax season (she’s an accountant). She put it on her desk for a small smile when she wanted to throw the keyboard through the window. Haha.
• Handmade soaps. The sky is the limit. They come in all colors, scents, and shapes. Find something unusual that matches her interests.
• Experience Gifts. Sometimes the best gift isn’t something you can wrap! Think concert tickets, festivals, weekend getaways, or classes where she can learn something new. Get creative! Ideas include cooking classes, pottery, glassblowing, photography, or even blacksmithing. Choose something that fits her interests, or an experience she’s always wanted to try.
• Calendar designed with personal photos. I’m jealous my sister-in-law thought of this first but she has dibs on giving this every year to my mom. And SIL does a great job. She goes by theme and uses different photos of all the grandkids every year. Leaf pile pictures one year for September, the latest Halloween costumes for October, etc. Once for a summer month, she gathered pictures snapped of each of the grandkids in their car seats (you know those candid pictures where a parent turns around and snaps a photo of the kid in the backseat?).
• DIY book nook kits. Part puzzle, part craft project, and part bookshelf decoration. These kits let you build miniature scenes, from cozy bookstores to shops to castles, that fit between books on a shelf. Some even light up or having moving parts. A gift much more unique than just a puzzle- plus you can pick a theme/design that aligns with her interests.
• Sinister Desktop Affirmations for Formidable Women. If you know a woman with a slightly dark sense of humor, I have the perfect gift. “Funny, dark, sarcastic, slightly witchy affirmation” cards.
Travel Gifts for Women
• Scratch-off maps. A fun way to keep track of places you’ve visited! Choose from world maps, United States maps, or National Parks maps for someone who loves to travel and explore.
• Luggage cup holder. If you’ve ever tried juggling a suitcase, a drink, and phone at the airport (or while unloading the car at the hotel), you’ll appreciate this idea. A luggage cup holder attaches to your suitcase handle and gives you somewhere to put your drink or other small items.
• Travel Jewelry Organizer. This is the #1 gift I recommend for women if they don’t already have one. In fact, I just leave most of my jewelry in a couple of them now. They’re easy to move from the bathroom to bedroom to downstairs if I’m getting ready in a different room. And the jewelry is already ready to throw in the suitcase.
• Reusable shopping bags. I use these. They come in a variety of sizes, fit well in the bottom of my purse, and I’ve had multiple grocery store cashiers and baggers compliment them and ask where they can buy them. I also always pack a few when traveling. They’re handy for unexpected purchases, dirty laundry, or carrying things back and forth from the hotel.
• Corkscrew and bottle opener. I keep a small one in every set of our luggage because I got tired of arriving at hotels and realizing we needed a bottle opener or corkscrew. They’re surprisingly handy! In fact, a family member liked mine so much during a ski trip that he complimented it and promptly put it in his pocket. He didn’t even ask if he could have it. Just said, “oh, that’s nice” and literally put it in his pocket.
• Small luggage scale. A handy little gift for someone who flies frequently and wants to avoid overweight baggage fees.
Gifts for Cooks and Bakers
• Spices and flavored salts. I buy these from The Spice & Tea Exchange. My personal favorite is ghost pepper salt, while my husband loves trying a variety of salts for grilling. My dad found my jalapeño powder when they were visiting right after my son was born, and now gets his own for Christmas every year.
• Spoon Spatulas. They’re amazing. My husband got me two about a decade ago. I looked at them, politely said thank you, and wasn’t particularly thrilled. Then I tried them out and fell in love.
• Adjustable measuring cups. No more trying the kitchen “hack” of spraying a measuring cup with Pam before adding peanut butter, only to discover that it still doesn’t come out completely!
• Adjustable measuring spoons. Avoid the double-sided versions with an adjustable tablespoon on one end and teaspoon on the other. I’ve tried multiple brands, and they’re just not very useful. Also, make sure the adjustable teaspoon includes a 1/8 tsp. measurement.
• Silicone prep bowls by Pampered Chef. They come in 1-cup, 2-cup, and 3-cup sizes, with measuring marks and lids. I wouldn’t substitute regular silicone bowls for these—the combination of features is what makes them so useful. I use the 1-cup with a lid to mix up spice blends. I use the 2-cup bowl to mix two types of cheese for my baked macaroni and cheese. I use the 3-cup bowl to mix together liquids for making sauces.
• Magic Bullet Blender Set. I love mine. Sometimes I just don’t want to drag out the full-size blender- especially when I’m making something small like homemade salad dressing or a quick breakfast smoothie.
• KitchenAid mixer. Definitely a splurge gift, but a wonderful one for someone who loves baking. It’s the kind of kitchen appliance that can get years of use, making it a great option for a special occasion or a gift several people can go in on together.
Gifts for Book Lovers
• Audible gift membership. I first started listening to audio books on those long, long trips from the East Coast to the Midwest (I was in the Navy, and my family lived in Iowa). 20 years later and I’m still finding new audiobooks to enjoy. My husband now listens to them now, too, as he has a 45 minute commute each way. Whether she’s looking to fill time in the car, on the treadmill, or even sitting in the office, an Audible membership is a great gift.
• Scratch Off Book Poster or 100 Must-Read Books. For a bonus, include a few of the books featured on the poster so they can get a head start.
(If you like the scratch-off poster idea, but aren’t sure they’d enjoy the books featured, Amazon has a variety of scratch-off posters from albums and movies to date ideas you can check out.)
• Guided journal. If they like reading, they might enjoy scribbling down some of their own thoughts too. Try a guided journal instead of a plain notebook. A couple of options are 52 Lists for Happiness or The Bucket List Journal. If they have a dark sense of humor and don’t mind profanity, check out the Inner F*cking Peace Journal for a slightly, um, different option.
• Historical fiction.
–The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. My ninth-grade teacher recommended this book to me back in the ’90s. I suspect he was getting tired of seeing me read nothing but horror and romance novels! It opened my eyes to a whole new world of historical fiction, and I’ve loved the genre ever since.
–The Other Boleyn Girl. Not the most historically accurate book in the world…but a good read. And it does have some good historic details.
–Here Be Dragons. This is the first of a trilogy, and I’ve read the trilogy multiple times. It’s very good.
• Books that made me think.
–Doubt: A History.
–A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. I ended up reading multiple other books by her after devouring this one.
-Salt: A World History. I had no idea how much salt influenced world history—or how essential it was to survival—until I read this book. I’ve spent my entire life in a world where salt is cheap and abundant (in fact, we eat TOO much of it most of the time), so it was fascinating to discover just how valuable it once was.
–History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer. This is actually the first book of a 3-book series. It was so good, I immediately went and bought the others. Fair warning, though: I actually had to break out a notebook to keep track of everything.
–1984. Fiction, but thought-provoking.
• Classics that are actually fun to read.
–The Good Earth.
–Gone with the Wind.
–Sherlock Holmes.
• Biographies & Memoirs.
–Chalked Up by Jennifer Sey. I’ve always loved watching gymnastics and figure skating, but I had no idea how young the pressure to compete at an elite level started.
–The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life. I particularly enjoyed reading about Buffett’s efforts to make money even as a child. It reminded me a bit of my brother…haha. One thing that stuck with me was his philosophy of not investing in a company unless he understood how it made money.
• Quirky & humorous books.
–People of Wal-Mart Coloring Book.
–What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions.
–Bad Days in History.
–The United States of Absurdity.
–Delete This at Your Peril.
Food & Drink Gifts for Women
• Tea. I discovered loose leaf teas some years back and have been in love ever since. My #1 stop for loose leaf tea is The Spice & Tea Exchange. But Amazon also has a good variety of loose leaf tea samplers.
If you don’t want to mess around with loose leaf, try these “in bag” options: Tea sampler: Taylors of Harrogate Classic or Yogi Favorites Gift Box.
Tea-related items: a tea mug with a lid a useful gift—it keeps the water hot while the tea is steeping. Many tea mugs have an infuser too, but that’s not necessary (at least in my opinion). For most loose leaf teas, you still need a tea infuser; the holes in the mug infusers are often too large. I use these steel mesh tea balls. I’ve tried other options and keep coming back to them: ones with handles let the tea get cold, ones with small screw on lids are a pain to clean out, etc.
• Popcorn is a good gift idea if you go beyond the basic $5 tin at your local superstore. I love the Popcornopolis brand. Their Zebra popcorn is my absolute favorite (yum…chocolate-drizzled caramel popcorn). You can also look for movie night popcorn sets with different varieties of popcorns and seasonings.
• Dip mixes. While you can definitely find these on Amazon, they’re another great item to find at local markets. Almost every festival or market we go to has someone selling their own special dip mix blends. Pair a few with a favorite local or regional brand of chips for an extra-special gift.
• Chocolate. Yes, it’s cliche. Because it’s delicious.
You don’t need to break the bank. Ghirardelli has good-tasting chocolate at a reasonable price. My sister-in-law loves the dark chocolate and sea salt caramel variety (I confess, it IS pretty good). If you’re buying around Christmas, Ghirardelli has peppermint chocolates.
If you want a little bit pricier, Godiva has some delicious chocolates and truffles.
And if you want something more unique, try Uncommon Goods. Their inventory varies and is often limited so I can’t promise how long these particular items will be available, but I like Why Choose? 8 Flavor Bar Set and Spices of the World Chocolate Truffle Collection.
• Ice cream topping sauce. Ghirardelli currently has caramel, sea salt caramel, chocolate, and white chocolate options.
• Wine & Accessories– Wine can be tricky to pick out, but it’s worth a try, especially if she loves trying new wines. I, personally, am a fan of fruit wines. Especially local ones. Stella Rosa is also a very popular, reasonably priced wine.
If you’d rather not choose the actual wine, try a wine tumbler (much more useful than wine glasses…trust me), freezable wine bag, or wine stoppers.
Pampering Gifts for Women
• Pretty compact mirror for her purse. I used to carry a super cheap mirror in my purse. Then I discovered that for a more few dollars, I could have a pretty one that made me smile and was functional.
• Reed Diffusers. These do double duty: they look pretty as decorations while making the room smell wonderful. A nice alternative to candles.
• Hand lotion. My family is partial to Bath & Body Works (I’m currently loving their A Thousand Wishes scent), but a nice hand lotion from almost any good brand makes a great gift.
• Bath and shower gifts. Bath bombs, shower steamers, body scrubs, bubble bath, loofahs, and other pampering products make great gifts. Look for gift sets with a variety of scents or put together your own collection of her favorites.
• Nail buffer block. If you’re putting together a gift basket, throw in one of these. The different sides have progressively finer surfaces for filing, smoothing, buffing, and shining your nails. I used these for years for easy, at-home nail maintenance.
Outdoor & Survival Gifts
I spent about a year researching emergency preparedness and putting together our family’s emergency backpacks and disaster gear. (My husband was NOT thrilled when I started explaining water purification in emergencies and why, although a LifeStraw was great for hiking, we needed something larger for our house in a hurricane zone.)
These are some of the items I chose, along with a few recommendations from guys I know who are into outdoor and survival gear. Fortunately, I haven’t had to put most of my purchases to the test! I stuck with gift ideas that are useful for camping and hiking, not just surviving a hurricane.
• Multitool. My husband has three of these. I would seriously think one would do…but who am I to question since my use is limited to its existence in an emergency backpack. Leatherman is a classic brand that most men love.
A slightly different option: one of my guy friends suggested the MyKee multitool which he can keep on his keychain. That particular one is no longer available, but you can still find plenty of keychain multitools.
• Lifestraw.
• First aid kit for hikers, campers, hunters, etc. Also handy to keep in the car.
• Fire starters. You can also check out pocket bellows.
• Waterproof mini pocket blanket. Some are designed as thermal emergency blankets, while others are simply compact, waterproof blankets that are handy to have along for hiking, camping, or outdoor activities. So double-check what you’re buying for before purchasing this a gift.
Miscellaneous Gifts
• Games. A good game can provide for years of fun. For women with a slightly twisted sense of humor, try Cards Against Humanity or Drunk Stoned or Stupid. Just make sure you know your audience—these definitely aren’t family game night choices!
I Hope You Found Something
I hope you’ve found a few gift ideas for the women in your life, whether you’re shopping for a birthday, Christmas, a retirement party, or just because!
If you’re shopping for Christmas gifts, you might also find my Free Printable Christmas Gift Certificates or Free Printable Christmas Gift Tags helpful.
And could you do me a quick favor? If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends! You’ll find the share buttons at the top of the post.
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