Actress Rachel Bilson's Go-To Christmas Shopping Tips Will Save Your Holiday Season
When it comes to gift giving around the holiday season, Rachel Bilson is all about picking out that perfect present to give to your loved ones. This year, the actress best known for her starring roles on The O.C. and Hart of Dixie, teamed up with Marshalls to bring some gift giving inspiration to shoppers. During a surprise drop-in at a Marshalls in New York City where she shopped along with customers, Bilson she shared some of her tips, tricks, and gift-giving traditions with Woman's Day.
When it comes to shopping at Christmas time, Bilson says her number one priority is making sure every gift she picks out is thoughtful and customized to each person she's giving the present to.
"I like to think of myself as a thoughtful gift-giver because I really love giving gifts," Bilson said. "For someone who loves to cook, you can find the cooking pieces that they wouldn’t buy for themselves, or someone who likes to have cocktails, you have a bar set or whatever it is."
Another great go-to for Bilson when it comes to picking out a tailed present is finding a rare first-edition copy of a book by someone's favorite author.
"I think it's a really fun one to give — if someone likes books, of course," she said with a laugh.
But as many of us know — and often dread — sometimes we're stuck having to buy a Christmas gift for someone we don't actually know all that well, whether it be a coworker, a neighbor, or a more distant relative. Bilson's tip for that: Get something that's holiday-related that anyone would enjoy.
"Even if it’s, like, a nice candle with a Christmas dish towel, it’s just something thoughtful for the holidays that doesn’t necessarily have to be personal to the person that you don’t know that well," she said.
As the mother of a 5-year-old, Bilson says that she likes to get her daughter involved in the Christmas gift-giving process, and sees it as a learning opportunity for her.
"I really give my daughter so much freedom creatively to pick out a gift, and it can be the most random thing but I let it happen — I’m pretty lenient that way," she said. "I think it’s cute if I give my daughter a $10 bill and I’m like 'OK, let’s go look together and try to read the numbers and find something within this bracket,' and it’s like a learning process. It’s nice to make it a learning game."
When it comes to choosing where to buy gifts, Bilson says that Marshalls has been a great one-stop shop that makes the often overwhelming Christmas shopping experience much more smooth.
"Christmas can be a little daunting but to be able to come to one place and get everything done is definitely appealing," she said. "And also just the quality of the items and the price point, it makes you feel good about shopping for Christmas."
Bilson put together a list of some of her favorite gift-appropriate items from the store (which can be found on the Marshalls website) that includes everything from fuzzy moccasins, to a tea set, to, of course, lots and lots of toys.
"I have a 5-year-old so I was definitely like 'Oh toys!'" she said. "And I love that they had so many options that were creative and things you can build, or art things or instruments, and so I gravitated towards that."
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