DeRusha 2025 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
Dive in and let’s get some amazing gifts for the holidays!! None of this is sponsored content, I curated this whole list from brands I love, things I’ve bought, and people I adore. Tons of local and small businesses as well as some of my favorite national brands that fill out a lot of my wardrobe. Some of these items include affiliate links where I get a small commission.
COMING SOON: my guide to holiday volunteering and holiday experiences. If you have ideas for me - send them on! Jason@JasonDeRusha.com
RESTAURANT GIFT CARDS
BUY ONE GET MORE: I curate a huge list of holiday bonus cards - I think this is a great time to buy gift cards for your favorite places, for your kid’s teachers, for the postal carrier, house cleaner, neighbor who helps you out. THE LIST: minnesotamonthly.com/general/the-ultimate-minnesota-bonus-gift-card-list/
SUBSCRIBE TO SOMETHING
STAR TRIBUNE: Black Friday deal for $45/year of digital access. https://fluence-media.co/4p2T3O5
MINNESOTA MONTHLY / MIDWEST HOME: 1 year of both for under $10 https://fluence-media.co/4punNY3
FOR THE FOOD LOVER
Eversharp has the best in-store selection of knives I’ve ever seen and it’s run by just the nicest family in the world. ONLINE: or IN STORE: 344 Taft St NE, Minneapolis. Maybe a gift certificate for sharpening?
Brunoise does Whetstone knife sharpening and has subscriptions. Great work, great chef owns this [online]
Umei: Home goods and stationary, just a little treasure of a shop especially if you love the clean lines of Japanese goods.
Delicacies Jewelry: Locally, woman-owned jewelry company with food & ingredients (Baguettes, pickles, etc). Part of profits goes to fight hunger. delicaciesjewelry.com. A necklace for mushroom-lovers called Porcini?
COFFEE LOVERS
I got dressed up to take this handsome pic of my Fellow coffee station
FELLOW: I’m coffee-obsessed and love Fellow. Great performance, great design, great Minnesota-native founders. My coffee maker is Aiden: which mimics the style of a pour-over with the ease of a drip coffee maker. LINK TO AIDEN
POUR-OVER CURIOUS? This would be a nice design-forward alternative to a Chemex, the Stagg Pourover.
TRADE COFFEE SUBSCRIPTION: I’m a subscriber - I love that I get coffee from roasters all over the U.S. You set how often you want to get it and the flavor profile you enjoy. GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST BAG.
MY FAVORITE LOCAL BEANS: UP Coffee Roasters ($17/12 oz is a bargain); S.K. Coffee in St. Paul; GET DOWN COFFEE Co. in North Minneapolis, Duluth Coffee Company, Cuckoo Coffee from White Bear Lake.
COCKTAIL LOVERS
GLASSWARE: We love Estelle Colored Glass - great for design-lovers. Riedel is our fave - we adore the drink-specific rocks glass [shop at Target], for wine I use the Performance line
CLEAR ICE: I’m a huge stan for Minnesota Pure Clear Ice - you can order for local pickup in Saint Paul or nationwide delivery. https://minnesota-ice.com/collections/pure-clear ALSO most liquor stores have the cubes, spheres and shards. LOCATIONS: https://fluence-media.co/4f29zbU
MAKE-YOUR-OWN CLEAR ICE: A Minnesota entrepreneur created KLARIS, I have one of these machines, it’s fun for the hard core enthusiast. Takes about 12 hours to freeze a perfectly clear group of four cubes. The original is $550, you could buy a lot of MN Pure Clear Ice for that. BUT - this is cool! https://craftklaris.com/products/klaris-clear-ice-maker. The new Klaris mini is $299, it makes 2 cubes at a time. https://craftklaris.com/products/klaris-mini
CUSTOM BOURBON BARREL: A Minnesota distillery is bottling a custom bourbon in a small wooden barrel you can have customized to your company or your family. Such a cool gift. LINK TO LITTLE ROUND STILL $450 for 2.5 gallons of 8-year-rye!?
LOCAL GIFTS & ART
PENS: I am obsessed with Barry Rubin’s selection of fun and luxurious pens. I have about a half-dozen rollerball pens from Barry, email him NOW with a favorite color or hobby or alma mater and he’ll hook you up. EMAIL: penstore@gmail.com
GIFT SHOPS:
Curiosity in NE: Love this cute shop over by Vinai and Oro by Nixta! curiosityhomedecor.com
Gamut Gallery: We shop the Raging Art On every year - ornaments, jewelry, affordable local art. Open Thurs-Saturday until 7pm, also lots online.
Bench Pressed: Hilarious letter pressed cards, great gift selection in Seward Minneapolis. The “BACK OF HOUSE” cookbook from 12 immigrant chefs and their ancestral cuisines is on my wish list: BenchPressed.net
ART GALLERIES:
I’m IN LOVE with Kickernick Gallery in downtown Minneapolis - you need to go browse, although the online callery is dope kickernickgallery.com/collections
Drew Beson Art Gallery in the Shops at West End is another favorite, we put his art in our MG living room.
MUSEUM SHOPS: The Walker’s shop is smaller than it once was, still tons of cool jewelry and gifty items. Mill City Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts (mia) are huge faves of ours. Textile Center has a holiday gallery shop too.
KIND LIPS HOLIDAY PACK: My friend Josh’s company that fights bullying with kindness. $16/4 - stocking stuffer!
FASHION FOR MEN AND DADS
JH & Sons is a favorite of mine at Galleria in Edina: incredible personal service, from business casual to the best tailoring around. JH & Sons
HammerMade: The spot for men’s shirts: I’ve been wearing Jason Hammerberg’s stuff for more than a decade! HammerMade.com. 30% off for Black Friday.
Jaxen Grey is where I do most of my everyday local shopping. Woodbury, Ridgedale and North Loop. Shop online
Billy Reid: Great store at 50th & France, ask Kristin for fashion advice, she’s the best. BillyReid.com I love this Garrett Jacket - I usually go L in outerwear, M for shirts.
Empire Canvas Works: Have an outdoorsman in your life? Incredible leather and canvas clothing designed for the cold weather and designed to last. I love this camp coat! Made in Duluth- great tip from @ryanol on X.
Lester River Bushcraft: Great outerwear like this field jacket but I’m intrigued by some of the other gifty items like this pouch.
Grail Brand Shoes: I adore this local shoe brand. Nick Schneider has designed for all sorts of national brands, now he’s doing his own thing. It gives me streetwear style, high quality, and refined enough to fit my style. https://www.grailbrand.com/shop
Grail’s newest designs just dropped
Todd Snyder: I wish we had a store here - but I shop online at Todd Snyder all the time. If your guy is a polo shirt guy, upgrade with this [on sale] and I love this Rain Chore Coat too! The long canvas coat is one of my favorites, this sweater polo would look great on anyone, and it’s 30% off everything for Black Friday!
J. Crew: Another go-to: J. Crew is back! 50% off most everything for Black Friday. Great prices, terrific style and quality too. I have a lot of these Secret Wash cotton poplin shirts. This is a great price for a stylish cashmere sweater! How about a red barn coat for under $200!?
Madewell: Both Alyssa & I shop at Madewell, great basics, terrific denim. 40% off everything right now. Madewell.com [I love these Asics sneakers!]
GQ Box: I’ve subscribed to the GQ Best Stuff Box for at least 3 years. Shows up quarterly, has mens grooming and style products. I love it. $186 for a year, 4 boxes, well worth it. LINK TO GQ BOX
Of the Lion Shop: Great local shop in South Minneapolis focusing on activewear from a former MartinPatrick3 buyer (and awesome dude) ofthelion.shop
Houston White x Target: Local entrepreneur Houston White designs 4 collections a year with Target. Affordable price point and great style. Get it here.
LOCAL FASHION FOR WOMEN AND MOMS - AlyssaStyled Approved
Requisite: Alyssa loves going to Requisite in the North Loop (now with a full online store too!) Libby is the best - wonderful team there to give advice too.
Goldfine Jewelry: We love Sara Goldfine Baratz, she makes jewelry for the women in your life (we have many pieces) and also for the young women with Little G! Shop online.
Filigree Jewelers: From vintage to modern, Catherine, Brent, Sharon, Tamara - they have impeccable taste and can help you pick out the perfect special gift. North Loop location
Shop Senti: Beautiful 50th & France store with gorgeous French perfumes and home goods. Shopsenti.com
De Nova robe: Designed, cut and sewn in Minnesota by a Target exec, I bought one of these for Alyssa years ago.
Flirt Boutique: Amazing customer service from Jessica - don’t be nervous to shop for lingerie or luxury sleepwear! [online store]
Nordstrom: I know, I know, but the Nordstrom sale is fantastic. Black Friday deals + 60% off clearance.
WATCHES
TC Time & Luxury: I get all my watches from David Brenke. He’s spent his career working in luxury watches - he can find anything you need, but his showroom in St. Louis Park is stocked with pre-loved Rolex, Tudor and IWC to more entry-level Seiko. Tell David I sent you, he’ll give you an even better deal than normal! SHOP the online collection
INFLUENCER TOOL-KIT
I have a Best Buy storefront with the tripod I use, the gimbal I use to stabilize video, the microphones I use - all of it on Best Buy. LINK TO STOREFRONT
And I just bought a new cordless Shark vacuum that was on a bonkers Black Friday sale: bestbuycreators.7tiv.net/zxEMMM
