Jaime King Has Perfect Gift Picks For Everyone on Your List

By Britt Stephens

Updated on 12/14/2014 at 8:53 PM

Getty | Donato Sardella
Getty | Donato Sardella
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Jaime King is an actress, model, mom, and self-professed holiday junkie — she admitted to us that her family starts celebrating "irritatingly early," adding, "It starts way before Thanksgiving, and it lasts as long as we can push it until someone says, 'That's embarrassing that you still have your tree up.'" The Hart of Dixie star relishes the season by listening to Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" and eating lots of peppermint bark ("It's a problem," she says). She spends the holiday surrounded by loved ones, including Jessica Alba, her "longest best friend" and the godmother to her young son, James Knight. "There's a game we play where everyone brings an ornament and puts it in the center of the room, wrapped. Everyone picks one and opens it; if you like it, you get to keep it, and if you like someone else's, you get to steal it. So it's just this tug of war over who gets what, and it's pretty amazing and fun."

When it comes to finding gifts for her family and friends, Jaime goes for things that are thoughtful and from the heart. She encourages useful, handmade gifts and vintage books, and, as she told us, "Goodwill is highly underrated. You can find really beautiful things there — tea sets, fun paintings, scarves . . . and you can make something really fantastic with not much money." Scroll through to see Jaime's holiday gift picks, and make sure to check out even more celebrity gift guides to help you shop for everyone on your list. Source: Andrew Stiles; Front Page

"I love Tom Ford Beauty, and I wouldn't mind getting the lip color gift set ($200)."

"Beautiful, classic lingerie is always a nice gift. Violet Grey has a really great collaboration with Fleur de Mal, and I love the peony coquette set ($135)."

"I really would love to receive a Jennifer Meyer nameplate necklace ($1,150) with my son [James Knight]'s name engraved on it."

"I'm planning to buy my husband [director Kyle Newman] a cashmere sweater from The Elder Statesman ($1,025) and a really great superslim Samsung 60-inch television ($3,500). The rest I can't say!"

"I love giving gift sets. My mom does a lot of traveling, so this Violet Grey classic beauty set ($213) would be perfect for her. I'm all about things that are useful and all-in-one."

"I've noticed that my son really loves forts, so I want to get him one of those beautiful Land of Nod teepees ($159) that can go indoors or outdoors. He also loves the water a lot, so I'm getting him swim classes — he'd be the happiest boy on the planet!"

"I have an incredible collection of ornaments that my mother would get me each year growing up, and it's a tradition I want to keep with my son. Hallmark has really great ornaments ($15 and up) for every genre or hobby, and it's really fun to put your baby's name and the year on them."

"Plated is really fantastic. You choose from different menus and recipes every week, and they deliver the fresh food to you, all in the perfect proportions. I think a Plated subscription ($60 and up) is a really strong, go-to gift for men or women, since they can use it for dinner parties or date nights."

"When you're stuck on choosing a gift, it's helpful to think of a resolution someone may be making for the new year. I love things that are valuable for someone's health and well-being, so Mary Helen Bowers's Ballet Beautiful DVDs ($19) would be a great gift for someone trying to get in shape. You can also include a beautiful pair of ballet slippers ($84) and a pretty workout outfit to make it more of a collection."

"Another go-to gift I'm excited about giving is a Polaroid camera ($149). Most people don't shoot film anymore, and it's such a novelty. Getting someone a camera and film to capture their special moments is always a great gesture."

"The best gift that I've ever given was for Taylor [Swift]. She let us stay in her house for three months while ours was under construction — so when she moved to New York, I got her a full Le Creuset bakeware set ($240) and Plated for a year. She loves baking, so I knew it was something she would enjoy, and there was really no way to repay her for giving us a home when we were out of ours."

"Lena Dunham's book, Not That Kind of Girl ($28), is a perfect gift for a young woman."

Kelly Wearstler has really beautiful decorative pieces, and the Saints Hand ($225) is so elegant; you can put jewelry on it or use it as a sculpture, and it's a great housewarming gift that everyone will comment on."

"If you don't have a huge budget, a great gift idea is using Mod Podge to make a collage on a Moleskin notebook ($17). Anything that would be inspiring to the person — beautiful poems, photos of you together — you can use to put together a really lovely front and back cover. You don't need a lot of money to give really beautiful presents."

Getty | Todd Williamson

"I give a lot of philanthropic gifts, because people don't always want something tangible, and it's really great to donate to an organization that touches someone's heart on their behalf. Baby2Baby (Jessica Alba is a board member) is a charity that I really love, respect, and believe in — they work locally to provide families in need with diapers, clothing, bedding, and other essentials that they can't afford."

"You can't go wrong with a good Visa gift card! Some people don't want you to buy them a gift; they want to buy themselves a gift or spend it on something they need, like gas or groceries. You can never go wrong with a credit card. It's the best!"