Shop now to be sure to get what you want for the holidays
For many in the US, holiday shopping begins after Thanksgiving on Black Friday. But, if you’ve been following the news, it may be a wise decision to start sooner, as retailers are expecting to be low on supplies this year.
Here are some gift-giving recommendations. For starters, if you visit our Italia Living Amazon Store, you can see and purchase some of our favorite items. We add and update our top picks frequently.
To many, the holidays are all about spending time together with family and friends over the warmth of home cooked good food. On our recommended books page, you can find some wonderful Italian cookbooks that share that connection of family and food – as well as some great novels, travel books and more: See Books.
For movie lovers on your shopping list, give a wonderful new release and award-winning film. Road to the Lemon Grove is a beautiful film about love and redemption – Italian Style. Take a trip from the backbone of America to the soul of Sicily, where we mend a father/son relationship, reunite a feuding family, and help all find love in places they never imagined.
Whether you have a coffee lover to buy for, or want a convenient home brewing machine for your own enjoyment and entertaining during the holidays… see my 5 Top Barista Quality Espresso Makers.
Give the joy of making authentic Neopolitan pizza at home!
One option is a small, portable tabletop dedicated pizza oven. The Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven is a propane-fired pizza oven preheats quickly, so you’ll be ready to cook in about 15 minutes. Plus it gets hot enough to cook a pizza in eight minutes or less with the 17,000 BTU burner. It has a double-layered ceiling that keeps heat inside and cooks the top of the pizza properly at the same time the crust browns. The exterior is stainless steel for easy cleaning.
Another highly rated small option is the Ooni Karu Outdoor Pizza Oven which runs on wood or charcoal. The oven is ready to cook in about 15 minutes and can reach 932 degrees if you need the heat. The body is stainless steel with ceramic fiber insulation, so it holds the heat in, while the Ooni baking stone retains heat for a perfect crust every time. A chimney baffle controls the heat by adjusting the oxygen flow for high heat or for low and slow cooking. A port on the back makes it easy to add more fuel for longer cooking sessions or to add new wood for different flavors. The legs fold down for a smaller footprint making it easy to move or store. A gas burner adapter is also available for separate purchase to convert it to use propane.
Treat yourself or a special person on your holiday shopping list to a little arm candy by Oriana Lamarca Designs. Oriana’s designs are completely influenced by her heritage and Sicilian culture.
Zagara Home is a carefully curated lifestyle brand offering fragrances, home accessories and bed & bath linens imported from Italy.
Of course you can’t go wrong giving personal care products made in Italy.
Mozzafiato is an innovative online retail shop offering many top, Italian beauty brands perfect for gift giving. With a focus on established heritage brands with a reputation for quality of craftsmanship and outstanding packaging design, these gift-ready items add an air of excellence and Italian ambience to any gift basket or room decor.
With a focus on the North American market, Mozzafiato aims to reinvent the American beauty experience through Italian culture and spirit and their motto is “beauty with Italian soul.”
Based in Colorado, Mozzafiato is the only U.S. multi-brand retail beauty store carrying exclusively high-quality, imported Italian brands across beauty & grooming, bath & body, skin care, men’s lines, fragrances, accessories, home and gifts categories. They also offer gorgeous gift bundles for both men and women, and recently launched subscription boxes.
“The gift that keeps on giving”, Subscription Boxes are hot for the holidays! Each recipient gets to enjoy an impressive surprise box delivered once every 3 months, for an entire year. Perfect for the gift recipient who is hard to buy for, each box contains a carefully curated, seasonal selection of full size, artisanal beauty, bath, body or home items from a variety of Italian brands, as well as product samples, beautiful postcards from Italy that tell each of the brand stories, and a surprise bonus item, all made in Italy with love. Choose from four themed boxes, by price point or by by gift recipient type.
Whether gift shopping for men, women, family or friends, at Mozzafiato, you are sure to find something for anyone… and don’t forget to treat yourself!
Last but not least – if you are lucky enough to be in Florence, Italy in the coming months, be sure to visit Fratelli Piccini – considered one of Florence’s most venerated upscale goldsmiths and jewelers.
Time-honored traditional techniques are what make Fratelli Piccini unique, and their creations continue to be sought after worldwide. In-house exquisite craftsmanship makes them stand out among the other jewelers on the famed Ponte Vecchio.
