The holiday season has officially begun with the first regional Christmas markets of 2025, sprinkled with a blanket of snow that is, for now, very romantic. We’ re counting down to the holiday season, and since we’ve got lots and lots of friends (plus some new ones we met at a run club this fall), we need to start organizing our gift-giving right away.
No need to buy Santa Baby ‘s list for the holidays – and in Montreal, we’d be using a ’54 convertible for how many months of the year? In 2025, we’re more conscious than that, and we’re going to store local for the gifts we’re going to put under the tree. And, by the way, it works for our Santa list too.
We’ve got a guide to the best holiday gifts in 2025…
Gift guide 2025
For our friend who walks an hour just to get a coffee to go…
Because the bravest of our friends spent the summer in Europe and discovered the power of 20,000 steps a day, we’re going to store at Montreal designers to give them boots that match their style of transport…
We recommend Maguire’s snake boots, incredibly cool and reserved for those who are the most adept at walking the streets of Montreal in winter. They’re $370.
And for the less expensive version, we also love shoe clips (which can also be used on bags, coats, hats, etc.) costing between $20 and $30, to give to our friends in style.
Where? Maguire Shoes, 5365 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Website? maguireshoes.com
For our more witchy friends and those celebrating the winter solstice…
Over the past few months, Montreal has become a little more mystical, and more and more cafés, popups and stores are offering Montrealers the chance to read their fortune in the cards.
Some say that a divinatory tarot deck only works properly if it’s been given as a gift by a friend, and this is the perfect opportunity for us to give a deck to the witchiest friend we know…
We recommend picking one up at Moonbrew Magic and, who knows, maybe we’ll discover a gift for ourselves!
Where Café Moonbrew Magic, 271 Avenue Duluth Est
For our friends who like to spend winter warm…
We’ve all got friends who’ll be spending the winter warm and cozy, and who like to dress chic to stay at home, and we recommend filling their stockings with Christmas and pieces from Em&May’s pyjama collection.
The small Montreal-based brand offers sizes from XXS to 4XL and made-to-measure pieces, and its latest pajama collection comes in hot-pink-chocolate plaid and soft fabric that makes us want to order one for ourselves too…
Pajama sets start at $154, shorts are $78, and panties and eye mask start at $24.
Website? emandmay.com
And for those for whom morning coffee, morning tea or four o’clock hot chocolate (with mini-marshmallows) is sacred, we recommend the perfect mugs from MONOKIINI…
Classic mugs start at $31 and customizable mugs (where you can add the name of your friend, relative or lover) start at $27.
We’re also a big fan of their oyster trays, which are perfect for entertaining (and because we deserve something for being so good this year)… Trays start at $62.
Website? monokiini.com
For our friends who spend too much time in the car…
With the snow, those long stretches in traffic or between the cottage and downtown on Sunday evening are going to get longer (and besides, toes freeze quickly in winter).
To cheer up those of our friends who spend too much time in the car during the holiday season, we recommend a good shot of nostalgia with the Star Académie Noël 2025 CD.
It comes with the special Star Académie holiday magazine Télé 7 Jours , available at participating retailers and on the website here.
For our most creative friends…
Montreal is slowing down as autumn draws to a close. It’s the start of siesta season, long afternoons by the window watching the snow fall.
Winter, like every year, is going to be long – and we all know someone who needs to make something with their hands and learn a new technique during this period.
That’s why we recommend offering an introductory course at one of these workshops;
- a themed ceramics workshop (a vase, a candelabra, a folk figurine) at Commons Studio, starting at $75 for a one-day workshop
- a candle-making workshop at Café Moonday, from $39.95 per workshop
- a session of knitting lessons at Les Laines Biscottes to learn to knit or to get help with a particularly difficult project, from $75 for three 2-hour lessons
And for those who love small decorative objects but don’t want to make them themselves, we’re going to Bref to store for small objects made by local artists and artisans…
Where? Bref, 261 Bernard Street West
Website? brefmtl.com
For our most studious friends and for those who have a lot to say…
For the festive season, there ‘s no better gift than a book! There’s something for everyone…
For cinephiles (and Jacob Elordi fans), a copy of Wuthering Heights to (re)read before the film’s release; for cooks, a recipe book from café Olive et Gourmando; for activists , a book of poems from Euguélionne.
We recommend a visit to one of our favorite bookstores in Montreal, Joie de Livres ( where you can also have a coffee).
For the friends we know best – and to pick us up something to read over the vacations – we’ll be snooping around at the $1 book sale at the Saul-Bellow Library in Lachine, from November 29 to December 8, 2025.
Happy Holidays!