It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Or perhaps the most stressful time of year. For all the twinkly lights and delicious food, the holiday season come with it’s share of anxiety. Family gatherings can bring up baggage, pressure to spend can rack up debt, and if you aren’t spending Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, winter solstice, or New Years Eve with the people you love, it can be a very lonely time.
We can’t help with these problems. We can, however, offer you some levity with our annual gift guide. Our editors Natalia Zurowski and Jasmine Chorley Foster are joined by Beauty Editor and make-up artist Julia Stone, women’s booker at Lang Models (Toronto) Sandra Tipei, and photographer Brian Ypperciel, to share in the joys of receiving, giving, and wishing.
Cozy up with a hot chocolate, get to know us a little bit better, and shop along with the links throughout.
Natalia is Co-Director and Editor of The Business Model. She is represented by Lang Models in Toronto. Follow her on Instagram.
Q: What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
A: This is such a tough one, I’m afraid I’m going to offend some people. But it honestly has to be a three way tie between the George R.R. Martin books I’ve received (signed and hardcover, mind you), Many Lives Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss, and my Telus flip phone when I was like, 13? I was over the moon. That camera was maybe 2 megapixels (is that even possible?) but it was the plight of narcissus the moment I got it.
Buy: George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones 5-Book Boxed Set
Q: What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?
A: When I got my boyfriend tickets to the Heat-Pacers game. And the best part is, they won. I was completely indifferent (Go OKC!) but I’ve never seen him so happy. My boyfriend has the emotional range of Darth Vader so it was a huge deal.
Q: What’re you hoping to get this year?
A: I specifically asked for a long list of books (hello, Monocle Guide to Better Living) and if I get something else I will be pissed. Oh, and lingerie. Great combination, right?
Buy: The Monocle Guide to Better Living
Q: What are you most excited to give this year?
A: I’m most excited to give my dad a really awesome gift that I haven’t thought of yet. He works so hard and just lost 40 pounds so he really deserves something cool. But what do you get the man who has everything?
Q: What extravagant gift would you give if money were no object?
A: I would take my mom on a trip to Phuket, Thailand and go to all the nearby islands. She would love the beaches and culture. I would be forced to take a picture of her at every block (my mom should have been a model, seriously) but seeing her smile would be worth it. Forget it, I would just hire a photographer too while we’re at it.
Jasmine Chorley Foster is Director and Editor of The Business Model. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Q: What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?
A: I gave my partner L.L.Bean winter boots last winter — his paper-thin casting boots just weren’t appropriate for snow storms. I’ve had mine for five Canadian winters and they are still 100% waterproof, warm, and comfortable.
Q: What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
A: My mom’s a designer (Fashion Crimes), and while we have opposite taste in clothing, she’s given me some of my favourite, indispensable dresses, trousers, and accessories over the years.
My partner gave me a KitchenAid Artisan standing mixer for Christmas two years ago and I literally screeched when I ripped the wrapping paper off and saw what it was. No matter how strong your forearms, nothing whisks egg whites like a proper mixer.
I also received all seven seasons of The Golden Girls one Christmas. I have seen every episode way too many times, and I think that I’ve determined that I’m a healthy combination of Dorothy and Blanche.
Buy: KitchenAid Artisan Series Standing Mixer
Buy: The Golden Girls: The Complete Series
Q: What’re you hoping to get this year?
A: Almost all of my best friends live in different towns or countries, so I just want catch up with them over coffee at Sam James Coffee Bar, my all-time favourite cup.
Q: What are you most excited to give this year?
A: I’m going to bake some sour cream donuts for my grandmother. I know they’ll blow her mind because the recipes are coming from Joy Wilson’s new book, Homemade Decadence, a gift I got for myself that is phenomenal. I highly recommend.
Buy: Joy the Baker Homemade Decadence: Irresistibly Sweet, Salty, Gooey, Sticky, Fluffy, Creamy, Crunchy Treats
Q: What extravagant gift would you give if money were no object?
A: I’d get my mother, the most hard-working person I know, weekly massages for a year. I’d also get my partner the full Metallica discography on vinyl. And if money really started falling from the sky, I’d pay off all of my friends’ student loans.
Buy: Master of Puppets vinyl
Links: L.L. Bean Boots, KitchenAid Artisan Standing Mixer, Golden Girls Complete Series, Sam James Coffee Bar, Homemade Decadence by Joy Wilson, Master of Puppets by Metallica
Julia is a model and make-up artist represented in both capacities by Plutino Group in Toronto. She is The Business Model’s Beauty Editor and pens our Beauty Guides. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Q: What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
A: An iPad from an anonymous doner that I now use for both my modelling and MUA portfolios. Also a leather jacket because the statistics are true, it is life changing.
Q: What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?
A: I gave my dad tickets for us to see Stevie Wonder this year and we had the time of our lives. Self gift! My girlfriend (Tenemy) also insists that the best present I’ve ever given her is the pair of black Nike Huaraches she hasn’t taken off in 4 months. She wants another pair for Christmas. Last year I gave my sister, Ten and myself “Carrie” necklaces with our names on them which we all wear every day. I loved getting something so personal that connects us together.
Q: What’re you hoping to get this year?
A: This year it’s most important for my family to have a relaxed, loving and joyful holiday season. That is my absolute #1 wish. In terms of fun presents, I’d love a great ankle boot (Acne Pistols maybe?). Tenemy has great style so I know whatever she decides to get me will be perfect. As I grow into adulthood I’m realizing I care more and more about my apartment. Now I love filling it with flowers and candles and fancy cheese platters so some Gweneth Paltrow approved home décor is right up my ally.
Q: What are you most excited to give this year?
A: This year I’m planning to give a lot of gifts that are based on experiences and less on material things. Day at the spa, theatre tickets, fancy dinners, that kind of thing. Of course it’s a bit selfish of me because it means I get to indulge too, but it’s really about spending quality time with the people you love.
Q: What beauty supplies do you have your eye on this year?
A: This year I’ve shown more restraint than usual when it comes to fueling my addiction for new products. My gears have shifted into the skincare direction lately so I’d love a decadent facemask like the SK-II Facial Treatment sheet mask or the Sunday Riley Good Genes treatment. I’m really into innovative fluid foundations so the Armani Maestro Foundation (how do I not have that already?) is definitely on my list and let’s throw in a Byredo or Comme des Garçons fragrance for good measure.
Buy: SK II Facial Treatment Mask
Buy: Sunday Riley Good Genes
Buy: Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Make Up Foundation
Buy: Byredo Bal D’Afrique Eau De Parfum Spray
Links: SKII Mask, Sunday Riley Serum, Armani Foundation, Byredo Perfume, Acne Pistol Boots
Sandra Tipei
Sandra is a women’s booker at Lang Models in Toronto. You can follow her on Instagram.
Q: What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
A: Two years ago, we bought our first home a few days before Christmas. We moved in and put up the Christmas tree right away, we had boxes everywhere but it was the best gift to wake up on Christmas day in our very own place.
Q: What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?
A: My mother used to be a ballet dancer so a few years ago I bought tickets for my mom, grandmother, and I to go and see the Nutcracker. We had a wonderful evening together and it’s a memory we all continue to enjoy.
Buy: The Nutcracker / Baryshnikov, Kirkland, Charmoli DVD
Q: What’re you hoping to get this year?
A: This year, I am hoping to receive a Fitbit Flex. My motivation to stay active stalls during the winter months so I think it would be a great tool to keep me accountable.
Buy: Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity Wristband
Q: What are you most excited to give this year?
A: I am so excited to participate in Santa Paws for Loyal Rescue again this year. They send you the details and needs of a dog currently in foster care so you put together a little care package for them and mail it to their foster home. For many dogs, a foster home is the first time they are in a loving and safe environment and it is great to help in any small way that I can.
Q: What’s the best gift a model could give to their agency?
A: The best thing about this time of year is spending time with family and friends, and we love when models come by the agency to visit us around the holidays. Our work can get quite hectic throughout the year, so it is nice to take time to really catch up. And we wouldn’t turn down to a bottle of wine either!
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