What's Your Fancy? Amanda Seyfried Shares Her Go-To Holiday Gifts

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Living in upstate New York, Amanda Seyfried feels ready when winter comes. "We've earned each season. Especially living on a farm, you really earn it," Seyfried tells Town & Country over Zoom from her home. "There's drawbacks to everything, but right now when the radiators kick on and the kids are bundled up, it just feels cozy."

She is eagerly looking forward to the upcoming months, particularly "warm, cozy dinners, and finally putting the fire on." A highlight, in particular, for Seyfried—who has two children with husband Thomas Sadoski, is "all the winter solstice activities that we do at the school. Our town isn't that big, but there's an amazing community here." Plus, she adds, "I get really excited to start using pine candles. It's as basic as that."

Like nearly everyone you know, Seyfried has already begun thinking about her holiday presents. But perhaps unlike everyone else, Seyfried is in Christmas mode early because she makes her presents for her family from scratch. She typically starts "right when the summer turns to fall. Because there's a backup—I only have two hands!" Each day, when her kids are at school, she dedicates an hour or two to crafting, while listening to books on tape. Currently, she's felting something for her husband from fiber, and crocheting a scarf ("because that's easy and it takes a week"). And though they have a whole set of drawers that are full of holiday decorations, she says, "I love making bunting. I love crocheting my own bunting. I have crocheted oranges for Christmas."

Despite her very DIY-mindset, Seyfried does purchase presents. As holiday shopping season gets underway, here are Amanda Seyfried's recommendations for the best gifts for everyone on your list:

Cottage Playhouse

In 2020, Seyfried launched Make It Cute Kids with two of her childhood best friends, launching the brand with cardboard playhouses. "I'm so obsessed with the look and feel," she gushes. "I'm such a perfectionist, we all are expecting people to be like, 'Oh, the fold line, it's just so unsightly,' but people don't care. People love the fact that they can pop this open and under a minute and their kids are completely distracted. It takes over their kids in a way that is really healthy and really creative, and the imaginative play is always really important. And they just are so grateful for the house—especially because it looks so cute!"

She adds, "We've got so many grandparents emailing us. And it's a small company, so the emails come to us. I read all of them. It's so incredible, it makes me want to cry sometimes. Everybody, unprompted, wants to share their experience with it and then people that have older kids want to buy them for their friend's kids."

John Derian x Astier de Villatte

"John Derian is a perfect gift shop," Seyfried says. "It's in the East Village and I love it. I buy things online, like their glass ornaments every year. They also make these animatronic animals, which are very expensive, but I have an owl and it just moves its head."

For gifting in 2023, she recommends their collaboration with Astier de Villatte. "The pitchers and vases, they're just really stunning," she says. "They're a perfect, classic gift."

Juicy Tubes

Juicy tubes are back, Seyfried declares. "I work with Lancôme, and I have for a few years now. I forgot that they were Lancôme products, and I've been obsessed. I have my own lipstick with them, which is cool, but I'm like, 'I need to be the face of the Juicy Tubes.'"

She says, "I wear them every night to sleep because they're the only thing that keeps my lips from getting chapped. They're an actual barrier. I never ever go to sleep without it. Not the glitter one—the glitter one's for the day. The glitter one's for the younger crowds. But thank god they brought the Juicy Tubes back because I couldn't afford them when I was younger."

It's not just about lip care or nostalgia, though, "they also look great! I'm sorry, but the wet lip look is coming back."

Appaloosa Bones (Vinyl)

Gregory Alan Isakov is Seyfried's all-time favorite musician, "besides Patty Griffin." She adds, "Actually, the first time I ever saw him on concert, he was with Patty Griffin!"

Seyfried continues, "His new album is perfect from start to finish. And for anybody who has a record player, that's an album that they need. It's perfect background music, it's the perfect lyrics, the perfect ambiance. It's so fall to me! Anybody with a record player, anybody... I don't want to say hipster, but I did, it's something you have to own."

Prism Blanket Bundle

"The Prism baby blanket is perfect for knitters. It's a really great, easy gift, easy kit. All their kits are great," Seyfried says. "Purl is killing it right now. I'm a loyalist—I love all their colors, I love everything. I just can't get enough. For kits, especially for baby blankets, they're quicker, and they're perfect for people to give other people, or for people to buy and make for other people."

When shopping for yarn, Purl Soho is her go-to. "There are places in England that I like, like Qing Fibre, and Koigo, I used to buy straight from there. Yarn.com has a lot of brands that I like," she says. "But Purl Soho has their actual brand of yarn, and they cannot be beat. They have everything that you could possibly need, and they'll send you bundles."

Midleton Very Rare Irish Whiskey

"Midleton is my favorite whiskey of all time," Seyfried shares. "I've been buying it for years, and I buy it for people who love whiskey. It's just the best." In fact, they day before we spoke, Seyfried sent it to her best friend using the Drizly app.

She was first introduced to the spirit by Damien Rice, "a long, long time ago" at his house outside Dublin. She recalls, "His friends, these twin guys, they have this amazing vegan restaurant. And we were all hanging out at his house, and we drank Middleton. And I was like, 'This is the best thing ever.' It's very fine Irish whiskey. Ever since, I'll have a glass by myself every two weeks just because I love it. I really appreciate it in a way I don't any other kind of spirit. And it is my go-to gift for whiskey drinkers for sure."

Read more: The Best Gifts for Whiskey Lovers

Vintage Hardwood Frames

"Signed and Numbered, I've been buying from them since I moved to this house—so 10 years I've been buying from this company," Seyfried says. "They take a really long time to ship, but it's all reclaimed wood. It's just a great framing company. When I have artwork that I want to frame for somebody, or when I have a photo that I want to frame, I always put it in a Signed and Numbered frame. It's so fucking great. They never fall apart. They're great."

Candidly, she shares, "I don't know who owns it, I don't know how long they've been around, but Signed and Numbered, they have a frame for every single person!"

The Takesumi Detox Charcoal Deodorant

"This is my gift to the world," Seyfried jokes. "I want to know who it doesn't work for, because I'm curious. I want to see the sweaters try that, because it's not an antiperspirant, but for whatever reason it dries you, too."

She first discovered the brand on Credo, a clean beauty marketplace, and says the deodorant has changed her life. "I don't smell!" she says. "Did you know that stress sweat is different than regular sweat? Anxiety sweat smells worse, and comes on way stronger. So when I have live things, anything where I have to go perform, it's the only thing that works."

CBD Capsules

"Another fun thing that I keep giving to people, and sending to people, is the CBD that I use, which is Sisters of the Valley," she says. "I'm not voodoo-y, but they do apparently bless the CBD on the full moon. I don't care what they do. I take two of them for my migraines, and I swear to god, for four hours, they go away. It's a gamechanger. I don't take Advil anymore!"

The Soft Socks in Cashmere

"I don't know Gigi Hadid, I've met her a couple times, but I love her brand. More than her brand, I just know that the socks, the cashmere socks, are a great gift. Buy the cashmere socks for your best friend. I gave a lot of people Guest in Residence socks last year," she says.

Women's Eco-Conscious Cashmere Socks

As we keep talking about socks, Seyfried also mentions that she bought a ton of Stems socks for stocking stuffers. "They are 85% recyclable cotton, and then 15% cashmere, so you can wash them in the laundry," she says. "And they're soft, and their colors are great. I bought them on Maisonette—I'm a huge fan of Maisonette."

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