3 Last Minute Holiday Gifts & Gets

Like untold millions of others, amid the rapidly approaching holiday you may be frantically trying to find that perfect gift for someone special but your mind is drawing a blank. This pressure is exponentially harder when shopping for that person who “has it all.” Keep calm and read on, as here are three diverse gift ideas that, given easy online purchasing, can still swing the time crunch for the impending exchange.

2016 Ocio Pinot Noir from Cono Sur (www.Wine.com)
This holiday season gift the indulgence of a special Pinot Noir that is both pleasing and eye-opening all at the same time. While regions like Burgundy and the Sonoma Coast have become synonymous with superb Pinot Noir, the 2016 Ocio from Cono Sur hails from Chile’s Casablanca Valley, a region that is quickly becoming known for this grape. This wine is considered the icon wine of Cono Sur—a true display of the varietal’s potential when grown in the ideal climate for Pinot Noir: foggy mornings, mild days and cool nights. Smooth and elegant, this wine leads with intense red fruits, berries, spices and tobacco, rounded out by a refined concentration and balanced acidity. It’s an ideal partner for an antipasto platter of aged cheese, your beautiful holiday duck or nearly any other festal feast on tap. This wine is fresh, laser-focused and bright. Its aromas and flavors of zesty red fruit are unadorned and pretty giving it that festive flare. Meanwhile, the company Cono Sur wines—firmly grounded in the spirit of New World winemaking—reflect the incredible terroir of South America’s Southern Cone. Surrounded by the Andes Mountains to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Atacama Desert to the north and ancient glaciers to the south, the Southern Cone sees abundant sunlight, vast day-to-night temperature variations and natural irrigation from mountain snowmelt. It all adds up to extraordinary fruit from unmatched vineyards in Chile.

TheSuitcaseLife.com Mugs & Other Merch for Travel-Lovers (www.TheSuitcaseLife.com)
Keen on finding fab gifts for road warriors that won’t break the bank? Consider my own site TheSuitcaseLife.com for those who live for travel. In addition to great articles and interviews with travel industry experts, highly giftable products are also available to help women with wanderlust in their soul celebrate and proudly display their desire to ‘travel, explore, shop, eat and repeat!’ – a mantra that’s on many of the items available. Other products proudly display the message: #slay the play – perfect for those who seek truly unforgettable and Instagram-worthy travel experiences. There are also mugs, mousepads, keychains and more for both guys and gals who love to get out and “DO SH*T”—one of many available designs and messages that adorn a diverse group of inexpensive items like various kinds of drinkware for home and on-the-go, travel bags, keychains, mousepads, ornaments and other swag showcasing a joy for journeying…every single day.  The mugs in particular will keep you sippin’ pretty and duly motivated while you ponder about your next vacay or business trip (or revel in your current one)! Plus they’re also a great way to present those tickets or that printout of a reservation confirmation to a lucky recipient. Check out some photos of the swag on Instagram and give a follow @LuxeListReviews.

dop Hand’s Free Smartphone Surface Mount (www.TheDop.com)
We use our smartphone in the kitchen to watch and read recipes and so much more–including having convos while cooking, so if someone you know needs their hands free all the while, this nifty problem solver. Dop is a super cool new consumer gadget that makes any mobile device hands- and frustration-free. Designed to enhance the everyday mobile experience, the dop kit let’s users enjoy seamless content creation and consumption with their smartphone. The mount can be positioned on any flat, polished surfaces that exist in your daily routine—including a window, mirror, refrigerator or computer screen—with a unique, non-adhesive, twist-to-secure function for easy removal and a smooth transition from one surface to another. The dop kit includes a dop ring companion piece that seamlessly connects to the dop mount and easily swivels your device at any angle. The dop ring also functions on its own as a stylish, 360-degree rotating accessory for a secure, one-handed grip and sturdy, multi-angle kickstand. The dop mount also simultaneously works as a pop socket. The dop kit is useful for anyone who would benefit from a mobile hands-free experience: The on-the-go news junkie looking to stay informed; social butterfly who video chats while multitasking; binge-watcher trying to keep up with the latest streaming videos; beauty enthusiast who watch and create makeup tutorials; aspiring chef sharing recipes and the at-home chef following along; fitness lover crushing workout goals; and explorers sharing their travel experience from the ground.

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As the Executive Editor and Producer of “The Luxe List,” Merilee Kern, MBA is an internationally-regarded brand analyst, strategist and futurist. As prolific consumer trends, lifestyle and leisure industry voice of authority and tastemaker, Merilee keeps her finger on the pulse of the marketplace in search of new and innovative must-haves and exemplary experiences at all price points, from the affordable to the extreme. The best-of-the-best across all product, service and travel categories—as well as noteworthy marketplace change makers, movers and shakers—are spotlighted in her prolific cross-media platform work that reaches multi-millions each month via broadcast TV (her own major market/network TV show “Savvy Living” and copious other shows on which she appears) as well as print and online publications. Connect with her at www.TheLuxeList.com / Instagram www.Instagram.com/LuxeListReviews / Twitter www.Twitter.com/LuxeListEditor / Facebook www.Facebook.com/TheLuxeList / LinkedIN www.LinkedIn.com/in/MerileeKern.

Some or all of the accommodations(s), experience(s), item(s) and/or service(s) detailed above may have been provided or arranged at no cost to accommodate this review, but all opinions expressed are entirely those of Merilee Kern and have not been influenced in any way.