October 24, 2026
The Best Holiday Gift Guides of 2026 (So Far)
Slow News Co. has no affiliate or sponsorship relationship with any guide or shop below. No one paid to be on this list, and we earn nothing from these links.
Every site on the internet has a holiday gift guide right now. Most of them run long, and plenty lean on the same classics. Writing a good one is an art, and everyone does it differently.
These are the ones we’d actually open. We read every guide on this list before it made the cut, so you can skip straight to the good stuff. Editors’ picks come first, then stores, then a short list for the journalist or news junkie in your life, plus a few gift shops run by news outlets.
One more is on the way. goop’s holiday guide isn’t out yet, and it’s one of the best in the business, so we’re saving it a seat. It goes on this list as soon as it publishes.
Editorial gift guides
Editors at big publications, each with strong opinions about stuff.
-
S-tier. Wirecutter keeps every gift guide it has in one place, so you can go from “Our 39 Favorite Gifts to Splurge On” to “21 Ways to Give the Gift of Luxury Without Spending a Fortune” without leaving the page. There are ideas for every occasion and every kind of person, whether they need stuff or not. The team says everything is handpicked and tested, and you’ll end up reading the whole thing.
-
TODAY sorts its picks every way you could want, by occasion, recipient and age. There are guides for 19-year-olds (Parke sweatshirts, digi-cams), a senior-friendly list and a full roundup of its Best Toy Awards. We found things we’d never heard of, and we’re already planning a purchase.
-
Highly curated, and everything looks like quality. AD sorts its picks by personality and by budget (under $100, $250 and $500) and has a lineup of guest editors that includes Shea McGee and Sandy Liang. Especially good for friends and family who love design.
-
Yes, that Wall Street Journal. Buy Side is its shopping section, with solid guides for coffee lovers, wine lovers, travelers and home chefs (34 gifts, recommended by cooking pros), plus a white elephant list. Head straight to the advent calendars. We hadn’t seen most of them, and we can’t wait to try a few. The page still has some Mother’s Day leftovers, so stick to the holiday links.
-
Cool and approachable, and very BuzzFeed: 67 stocking stuffers, 49 gifts under $15, and a list for people who like to check Christmas shopping off the to-do list in October. The kids’ list is a really good one. A few of the lists are built around a single store, like Macy’s or Uncommon Goods, so keep that in mind.
-
If there’s a kid on your list, start here. The 2026 guide has a Hot 20, a STEM 10 and a “12 Under 20” list, with picks like Bluey’s Light & Surprise Heeler House and The Crunchinator from CrunchLabs by Mark Rober. The Toy Insider is a whole site dedicated to toy reviews, and its kids’ lists are excellent, complete and broken out by age.
Retailer gift guides
Stores curate too. Every pick here is also for sale, so go in with your eyes open.
-
More than 400 Christmas gift ideas, sorted into gifts for your whole list, gifts for whatever they’re into and what’s trending under the tree. This is the place for stocking stuffers and tchotchkes, and a lot of it is really unique and pretty.
-
A high-quality, eclectic mix of Hanukkah and Christmas gifts, with limited-edition beauty sets and an AI Gift Finder to help you narrow things down. Best when you already have a budget in mind, since you can browse by price. There’s a ton to sift through, but the diamonds are in there.
-
Beautiful stuff for the home, from kitchen gifts and wine and cocktail gifts to personalized towels, pillows and throws. It works best when you know someone’s kitchen well enough to know exactly what they’re missing.
Gifts for journalists and news lovers
-
A fun mixed bag. Nieman Lab’s staff share 18 gifts, each with a first-hand note and a price, including Field Notes’ Front Page reporter’s notebooks ($16.95 for two), a Prohibition-era newspaper game ($24.99 on Steam), a poetry newsletter and noise-canceling headphones. It’s the 2025 edition, so keep an eye out for the 2026 one.
-
No frills. The Society of Professional Journalists’ annual wish list gives you 15 ideas, one product each, with prices. Think a $35 Fellow travel mug, a retro USB keyboard ($199.99), or a Dell 4K monitor for $1,099 if you’re feeling generous. If you’re stumped, start here. It’s the 2025 edition.
-
Niche, and very cool if the journalist in your life does sensitive work or travels to risky places. It’s a thorough guide to leveling up your security, with gadgets like security keys (a YubiKey is $25) and backup drives plus password managers and VPNs. Updated June 2026.
Gift shops from news outlets
If your news lover wants the merch, plenty of outlets run their own gift shops. The New York Times Store sells apparel, books and gifts, including personalized books. The Washington Post has its “Democracy Dies in Darkness” gear, and The New Yorker sells prints and desk diaries through the Condé Nast Store. The Onion has apparel, housewares and gifts from “America’s Finest News Source,” which makes it the funny option. NPR and PBS both run official shops too, and The Paris Review sells back issues, T-shirts and books.
FAQ
What is the best holiday gift guide of 2026?
Wirecutter’s, in our view. It collects ideas for lots of occasions and kinds of people in one place. TODAY, Architectural Digest and WSJ Buy Side are close behind.
Where can I find holiday gift guides for kids?
The Toy Insider has complete kids’ lists separated by age, and BuzzFeed has a great kids’ holiday list.
Are there holiday gift guides for journalists?
Yes. Nieman Lab, Quill and the Freedom of the Press Foundation each have one. Nieman Lab’s and Quill’s are from 2025, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation updated theirs in June 2026.
Does Slow News Co. earn money from these links?
No. Nobody paid to be on this list, and we earn nothing from the links.