The arrival of the holiday season has inspired me to put together a shopping and gift giving guide that I hope will prove useful to you all year round.

Read on for my top picks for Clothing, Jewelry & Accessories, Kids & Family, Food & Wine, Learning, Experiences, Escapes, Self and Home.

Enjoy!

Clothing, Jewelry & Accessories

Marina Calamai

Marina Calamai is a favorite local artist who uses the Renaissance lost wax method casting in all her jewelry. She works in bronze, silver, and gold and also creates bespoke pieces. The best thing about Marina’s work? She collaborates with several local non-profit associations to raise funds for social and environmental projects. My favorites are her Tuscany-inspired bracelets, earrings, cufflinks and rings, and her labyrinth of love necklace, one of her charity pieces, that I wear proudly with everything.

Affix

Affix, my go-to women’s boutique, offers an array of fashion forward clothes from casual to professional to evening wear at fair prices. Put yourself in Betty’s expert hands and let her great eye and keen sense of style guide you. This is a great shop to pick up a swank item or accessory for yourself or for someone special. I am a big fan of her one-size-fits-all colorful tees in a variety of colors and her smart jackets and stylish dresses.

Logico

I love to browse and get lost at Logico, a local menswear store. Their clothes range from classic to contemporary with a great selection of whimsical accessories. I love to gift their soft long-sleeved cotton undershirts, warm and elegant turtlenecks, and novelty socks.

Di Leonardo Shoes

I just can’t get enough of Di Leonardo Shoes. These gorgeous made-in-Florence women’s shoes, boots, and sandals are customizable in your preferred style, material and color, so go wild. I am like a kid in a candy store when I enter this shoe lover’s paradise in the heart of San Frediano where it feels like everything is possible!

Kids & Family

Lila Toys

Lila Toys‘ tagline is Giochi fuori dagli schemi, toys/games outside the box. This relatively new toy store has been a wonderful addition to the neighborhood, I really wish they had been around when my daughter was little. Not only do they offer gender-free educational, sustainable, and creative toys and games, they also make a big impact in the community through labs, events and workshops. They recently opened a second location on Via delle Belle Donne. They also have an e-shop and ship in Italy (website in Italian). I like to give my friends’ children their beautiful wood toys, colorful puzzles of all kinds, building blocks, books, and science experiment sets.

Tommaso Brogini

Give the gift of art this year, painting and drawing lessons for kids (and adults!) with Florentine artist, Tommaso Brogini. Classes range in length, are for all levels, and take place in his San Niccolò studio, Nonfinito Art Gallery / Studio or en plein air at the enchanting Giardino delle Rose.

Mama Florence

Cooking is such a fun and educational activity for kids and experiencing new tastes and techniques together as a family is a unique gift that will give you memories and recipes you’ll cherish for a lifetime. Mama Florence, in Porta Romana, offers an amazing set of private and group classes, as well as culinary and market tours. My personal favorites for the whole family are their gelato and pizza making or their colored pasta classes. They also have gift cards!

Food & Wine

La Dispensa di Andrea & Gregorio

Located in the charming hamlet of Strada in Chianti, just a short ride from Florence, La Dispensa di Andrea & Gregorio is a multi-sensorial experience. Gregorio, my co-contestant on Italian reality TV, is not only a hoot, he knows his stuff! He and his father are the proud owners of this “pantry” where you can dine-in, take out, or shop till you drop. They only select the highest level products from the very best producers. My favorites are his luxurious gift baskets and out of this world cheeses, salumi, and holiday sweets. Gregorio is also an avid collector, so when you go, be sure to check out all his memorabilia which he’s been carefully seeking out, choosing, and putting on display for years. Can’t go in person right now? Not to worry, he’ll ship directly to you!

Enoteca Gambi

Enoteca Gambi is a family-run business that has been a fixture in Porta Romana since 1957, it’s also my local wine and so much more shop. In addition to a fantastic selection of wines and spirits at various price points, they are also a gourmet deli with a carefully curated selection of sweet and savory delicacies. They also have a vast assortment of gluten-free products and an online shop. If you’re in town, get on their mailing list, they host great tastings and events. At a recent tasting, I discovered and was pleasantly surprised by their smooth and fragrant G Florence Gin. It’s made with local juniper berries, which abound here in Tuscany, and I was instantly sold (and I am not a gin drinker).

Pasticceria Buonamici

The bustling and popular Pasticceria Buonamici in San Frediano has been preparing the highest quality pastries, cakes, cookies and other delectables since 1949. I love coming for coffee and a budino di riso or a cornetto. Don’t miss their incredible selection of traditional Florentine and Tuscan products, panettoni and other holiday sweets and treats, as well as high-quality jams, honey, coffee, chocolate, and even books and accessories. Oh, did I mention that they also offer pastry and cooking classes?

La Via del Thè

Tea lovers, La Via del Thè is the place for you. They have a few locations, I like to go to their Oltrarno one, because it’s in my part of town. I especially love their aromatic blends in the Florence collection with romantic and evocative names like La Leggenda di Boboli, Il Segreto del Medici, Santa Maria del Fiore, Appuntamento su Ponte Vecchio, Il Mistero della Venere and Il Sogno di Michelangelo. My favorite items to give are their tea and herbal tea holiday gift sets, samplers and boxes, teapots, accessories, and their adorable tea tins. You can also give someone Tea Time or brunch at their Florentine tea room in the heart of Santo Spirito.

Learning, Experiences, Escapes

Chianti Delights

I learned so much from my recent adventures in the Chianti and from my podcast guests, true experts on the territory and its wines, and I want all of you to have some of that Chianti magic in your lives. For this reason, here are my top choices for the wine and food lovers, adventurers and bon vivants in your life. Gift yourself or someone you love a tasting, tour, lunch, cooking class, experience, or sojourn at one of these enchanting Chianti wineries and estates. The good news is, that if you can’t make it right now, you can still get a taste of life in this special corner of Tuscany through their wines and other products: Campo Sasso, Podere Capaccia, Podere Terreno and Querceto di Castellina.

unPINNED

Up your wine game with unPINNED, the #1 membership to learn about wine. Ashwin Muthiah is a charming, down to earth, extremely knowledgeable certified sommelier who is revolutionizing the wine industry by making it fun and approachable again. He has carefully distilled his expertise and packed it into online membership options that he and the unPINNED team have crafted to help you fully understand and feel more confident about wine and your choices. Treat yourself or someone you love and give the gift of learning!

Self and Home

I want to give Artist Vittoria Colonna’s SOS Emergency Purification kit to everyone on my list this year (full disclosure I have already given one to myself and have been happily using it). Vittoria’s one-of-a-kind sticks not only cleanse our environments, each one is a unique piece of art, crafted in various sizes and colors, and adorned with carefully chosen surprise elements. These thoughtfully created bundles add a personal touch to your cleansing ritual and bring an extra layer of intention and artistry to each experience. I truly believe we could all use a magic wand made of ethically and individually sourced elements to cleanse, heal and protect our spirit from everyday chaos and to make those bad vibes go poof!

Elinore Marianne

Elinor Marianne is a dreamy paper boutique that is perfect for the writers, readers and scrapbookers in your life. They have such an impeccable selection of original notebooks, agendas, diaries, cards, and various paper products in a range of styles and prices and have an online store as well. My favorite gifts are their Florence, Italy, Jane Austen, and season-inspired products.

SlowLife Coaching and SlowLife Yoga with Sandrine Kom

Take a SlowLife coaching, nutrition or yoga class, online or in person, with Sandrine Kom, a certified Nutrition Coach and SlowLife Yoga teacher who is fluent in English, Italian, French, German & Russian.

Through SlowLife Coaching and SlowLife Yoga she offers a suite of experiences and retreats where you can immerse yourself in personally curated moments of slowness and learn the tools to incorporate them into your daily life. Give yourself or someone you love the meaningful gift of learning how to live life in a slower and more balanced way.

La CLIT – Coffee, Literature, Inspiration & (sex) Toys

BFFS since middle school, Francesca (an architect) and Giulia (a lawyer) have just launched La CLIT – Coffee, Literature, Inspiration & (sex) Toys, an innovative venture centered on sexuality, pleasure, sex toys, wellness, and education.  They sell top tier sex toys and other luxury sexual health items, each carefully selected by them and available at their online shop. Their products all respect the highest body-safe standards and have been carefully chosen using eco-friendliness, women-owned companies, made in Italy or in Europe, and ethical work environments and standards as their main criteria.

They are currently hosting private events as well as pop ups at bookstores, bars, and clubs. Those who are Florence-based or visiting should get on their mailing list and follow them for news and updates.