Turns out “lit” majors do find jobs.
Just ask Dana Holmes.
She is editor in chief at , a 7-year-old online retailer devoted to sniffing out the best gifts for every occasion. Holmes, who is in charge of blogging, picks and other trendy content produced by Gifts.com, says her heady undergraduate education primed her to be a choosy consumer.
“It gave me a good eye for being critical and finding meaning in things,” says Holmes, who is up to her eyeballs at the moment in potential holiday gifts.
Americans are likely to spend less during the holidays this year, Holmes predicts, but our gifts will carry more weight and meaning.
Here are more holiday shopping predictions from Holmes, a New York City-based gifting guru.
Q: What holiday food, decorating and entertaining trends are hot this year?
A: This year is playing a huge role in what’s popular for the holidays. This is the first holiday season that (the website has) been around on a such a broad scale, so we’ll see a lot of DIY décor, appetizers and cocktails. People are going to use to be creative.
Q: Do you personally have a favorite holiday “pin?”
A: That’s a tough one, because … We have a Pinterest board that’s called We also have an board, which has different gift-wrapping ideas…
I guess one of my favorite DIY ideas for the holidays is kind-of a classic: like candy canes or tinsel or beautiful glass balls. There are tons of ideas for what you can do with them, and Pinterest is your oyster.
Q: , and smaller boutiques seem to bring out holiday displays almost as soon as they pack up the jack-o’-lanterns. Does the holiday shopping season get earlier each year?
A: I don’t think so. People get irritated when retailers put their stuff out too early. There are those retailers that have always done it. They cater to people who really like to start shopping early. Other retailers, like Nordstrom, refuse to decorate until Thanksgiving.
Q: What type of gift-giving mood do you think consumers are in?
A: that people are in a pretty jolly mood this year. I also attribute that to Pinterest. People are pinning a lot for the holidays, and celebrating in a way that they couldn’t do on or . It’s helping people get excited about this holiday season.
But I don’t necessarily think that will mean a big surge in spending. People are not going to buy many extravagant or frivolous gifts this year. They want to put more thought and meaning into their gifts… The hot price point for everybody this year is about $100.
Q: What types of gifts will be hot this year?
A: It depends on the category. We have noticed that toys are getting more expensive. Toy manufacturers seem to be inching up their price points, getting closer and closer to the $100 mark. Is that because people are buying fewer gifts and spending more on a single gift? We haven’t found any data on that yet but we’re interested to see how it pans out.
People will be spending more on gadgets. Of course there’s the . That’s still a hot commodity. And there’s the , the new handheld console that you can connect to your TV and carry with you. It’s basically the mobile Nintendo.
In general, we’ve found that people are spending less on gifts but putting more thought into what they’re buying. For instance, before the recession, the average amount spent on stocking stuffers was (about) $70. Now that average is about $50. We think that’s because people are being more thoughtful about the gifts that they’re giving.
The exceptions are luxury splurges like designer handbags, gadgets and expensive toys. Those are the three areas where people are spending more.
Elana Ashanti Jefferson: 303-954-1957, ejefferson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/elanaashanti
