I know what you’re thinking- it’s October.

People.

Shopping is a year ’round sport and there are some holiday gifts that require some advanced notice, so you’re going to need to think ahead of Cyber Monday for these ones. I’m talking about personalized and monogrammed merchandise. If you want to look thoughtful, get them something with their name or initials on it!

Let’s do this by recipient:

Guys in your life

Personalized Sneakers.  I have bought these for myself and for presents. They are always a hit! Almost every mainstream sneaker brand does a personalized option where you can pick the color and sometimes material for each panel, and add a monogram. I’ve had good success with Nike, Adidas, and Converse. If I were you, I would go for more of a lifestyle look rather than some high tech running shoe because they’ll want to show them off when they are out and about with friends. Converse is a little more affordable, but get ready to go above $100 for Nike, Adidas, or New Balance.

Friend/Family Couple

Canvas Tote. Let me tell you. I got this canvas tote (the above with the “E” on it) for my parents a couple years ago for them to use as a beach bag. It got a little bit of delayed reaction because I gave them a beach bag in December, but come July it was their new favorite thing. You could totally grab one of these from West Elm or the classics from LLBean or Lands End, and fill it with some other fun things: throw blanket, beach towels, bottle of wine, gourmet food stuffs, candles, etc. Depending on the contents you pick, it would be perfect for a newlyweds first holiday season, a hostess/holiday gift for overnight holiday visits, or a housewarming/holiday present to new homeowners.

Girls in your life

Travel pouches or toiletry bags. These are probably more of a stocking stuffer, but always useful and can be colorful and fun, or quite elegant depending on the recipient you have in mind. My instinct for this genre is Mark and Graham. They have a wide range of pouches, toiletry bags, jewelry rolls, tech cases, you name it.

Grandparents

Something warm: throw blankets or bathrobes. I always think of comfy, and easy care things for my grandparents. Because my grandparents are often cold, a nice throw blanket seems like the perfect option, and I think it helps if it’s machine washable like the above washable wool from The Company Store. It will hopefully upgrade their living room and get a lot of use. All the home stores have throws with monogramming available, so you have options. Also, a nice new fleece bathrobe would probably be much appreciated.

And one more for the Girls

Personalized notepads. I’m a big fan of stationary, and personalized notepads are a great, and affordable, gift for almost any friend, mom, or aunt on your list. I usually rely on Paper Source for my stationary needs (of which there are many). I recently needed to restock my own notepad supply for my regular list making, and I went with these. Most notepad sets at Paper Source are $35, and if notepads don’t inspire you, they have several other personalized stationary options.

Have you started your holiday shopping yet?