Top 5 houseplants for winter & gifting

+ Get your regifting etiquette on with these 6 tips

Dec 16, 2024

Houseplants for the holidays

Top 5 plants for winter and gifting

My bestie gave me a Purple Passion Plant, who I named Prince, a hundred birthdays ago. Every time I watered Prince or fiddled with his (eventually) 4-foot-long body, I thought of my friend. What a beautiful gift, I always felt — the plant and the reminder of our friendship.

Prince was the genesis of my grown-up relationship with plants, the responsibility that, before child or dog, seemed completely undoable. Now a freaky plant lady, I love stocking my window in greenery, picking plants as presents, and relishing in their happy vibes when life gets crappy — or cold.

Since the winter months can suck the sunlight out of us, enjoy grabbing one of these plants from your local nursery to gift a gal — even if that’s yourself.

1. ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)

Pros: Extremely low-maintenance, tolerates low light and infrequent watering, adds a touch of the tropics.

Cons: Can be slow-growing.

2. Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)

Pros: Virtually indestructible, thrives in neglect, improves air quality, and comes in various shapes and sizes.

Cons: Can be prone to browning at the tips.

3. Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

Pros: Easy to care for, comes in many varieties with different leaf colors, can be trained to climb or trail.

Cons: Can be toxic to pets.

4. Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior)

Pros: Lives up to its name — incredibly tough, tolerates low light and infrequent watering.

Cons: Can be slow-growing and may not thrive in very dry air.

5. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)

Pros: Beautiful white flowers, improves air quality, and relatively easy to care for.

Cons: Toxic to pets.

Tips for winter plant care:

With your bundles of joy ready to grow, take note of these cold-weather houseplant tips ‘til spring:

Reduce watering: Winter is the dormant season for many plants. Allow the soil to dry out slightly more between waterings.
Monitor for drafts: Cold drafts from windows can harm your plants. Keep them away from drafty areas.
Provide extra light: Supplement with grow lights if natural light is limited.
Avoid over-fertilizing: Plants don't need as much fertilizer during winter months.

Gift the above-mentioned plants easily on Amazon here:

ZZ Plant, Snake Plant, Pothos, Cast Iron Plant, Peace Lily.

The bad GAL’s guide to regifting with grace and style

BY ANNE HOLUB

Whether it’s an office Secret Santa gone sideways, or just a random tchotchke from a well-meaning aunt, sometimes you get perfectly nice gifts that you just don’t want to keep.

Is it OK to give those gifts away? You bet your jingle bells it is! But you should try and do it with a little consideration. Here are some tips on how to regift with class.

1. Ask yourself, “Is it something they’d truly like?”

When it comes to regifting, try your best to do the prep work that maybe your gifter didn’t quite nail. Sometimes a relative doesn’t remember your interests correctly — you like bird watching from your living room, not outdoors. So, give those binoculars to a friend who loves stargazing and sightseeing. Or maybe you got a well-meant present at the holiday gift exchange, but your dairy allergy and that hot cocoa would have you running to the Cindy Lou Loo every twenty minutes. Instead, regift it to a bestie who always orders their coffees with extra whip.

2. Consider timing

Regifting is best done stealthily, and not obviously. Don’t immediately give up a gift in front of Dear Aunt Clara. She doesn’t need to know that you’re not keeping that thing she wrapped and handed to you at the family pot-luck. Don’t be a B. And don’t regift to someone who might know the first gifter, either. They might show off the gift later and the original giver would definitely know.

3. Add some sparkle or a perfect pairing

Don’t just hand someone a regifted gift with the original crumpled bag. Rewrap it freshly with bows and sparkle. Think of the gift as something your personal shopper found you, but you still need to make it special for someone else. Don’t know how to wrap things nicely? Try some tips on beautiful gift wrapping or level up for that extra something.

For small items, pair them with a big gift you were already planning to give away. Coasters pair nicely with a new set of cocktail glasses and a bottle of something to ward off the cold. Soap can pair with a new robe or a set of self-care items. You get the idea.

4. Try putting ‘em away for a while

If you get a stack of nice but impersonal gifts, try sliding them into a drawer or a cabinet together. If you need an “emergency gift” for the babysitter or mail person or even the guy who you pay to shovel your driveway, maybe one of those gifts would be the perfect last-minute thing. Or, you might just find that, yes, you do need a battery-powered wine bottle sealer come the new year.

5. Think about donating

New-with-tags items might be great for someone else, and re-sale stores could make more money with these brand-new thingies. Instead of donating only mostly expired canned goods and old swimsuits in the winter, donate that sweater you never wore or some warm gloves you got in a pack of three. Chances are, your no-thank-yous are someone else’s scores.

6. Try to educate the OG gifter

You might take some time after the glow of the holidays has dimmed to talk to the gifter, especially if they are consistently missing the mark with gifts for you. Tell them you appreciate their gifts and thinking of you, but your interests are a little different. Or maybe you’ve shifted your mindset on how you like to spend your time — let them know. That way, they can get the satisfaction of giving you something you’ll love, and you’ll have one less mismatched gift to think about.

Above all, you want to have that warm fuzzy feeling when gifting, as well as when you’re receiving — and sometimes the fuzzies take a couple of tries to get right.

Share your regifting stories or opinions with us here!