Patagonia lighthouse

As Christmas is just around the corner, it’s time to get serious and plan those special luxury gift idea and holiday gift purchases. You want to make each gift perfect and not end up being returned for a refund, handed off to someone else, or even donated to a charity.

If you are looking impress that special female in your life with something unique, or want to surprise your best friend with a fun gift, these classy gifts are sure to bring on a holiday spirit, while avoiding the usual cliché gifts. We love sharing luxury gift ideas with our loyal blog readers.

Here’s a list of several luxury gift ideas that are sure to impress and make this holiday season one to remember:

No matter whether she’s been naught or Nice, get playful with Good and Bad Conscience Earrings by Rebekah Lea
Every girl’s got a good side and bad side. This season discover that hidden wild side with jewelry designer Rebekah Lea’s dangerously elegant Good and Bad Conscience Earrings
<http://www.rebekahleadesigns.com/collection/forbidden-forest/ ($750) from her dramatic Forbidden Forest collection.  Gentlemen ­ get flirty this holiday and see if your sweetheart has been naughty or nice this year! Just like her, these earrings have a little bit of both sides ­ black diamonds, white diamonds, black rhodium, sterling  silver, and some rose gold plating just to spice things up!  This is the perfect gift that will show her your fun side and just how much you care. Who knows, maybe it’ll bring out her wild side!
Available at www.rebekahleadesigns.com

Travel the Mayan Calendar in Luxury with Kensington Tours
Despite people’s scaremongering that the world will come on to end on December 21st 2012, a closer look at the much talked about Mayan calendar actually shows that this is all just a misbelief. Thankfully, that means you and your loved one, closest friends, or family, have still got time to visit all those places on your bucket list – including the home of the Mayans themselves. Treat them to the ultimate luxury gift with Kensington Tours decadent The Mayan Calendar in Luxury http://www.kensingtontours.com/tours/central-america/mexico/2012–the-mayan-calendar-in-luxury, tour which will bring them to Merida, the capital city of the Yucatan Peninsula where a private guide will take them to various cultural sites around the city including the famous Mayan Ruins of Chichen Itza. The city, once revered by priests and nobles for its prestigious cultural and religious significance, exists today as a testament to the success of the Mayan civilization. Then, after all that culture, they can rest along the beach in Cancun and enjoy some of the best entertainment
in Mexico. Just make sure you include yourself in the trip!
$2,089.00 per person for 7 days, available at www.KensingtonTours.com

Take your nearest and dearest to the ends of the earth with Jacada Travel
The perfect gift for the hard to please, Jacada Travel’s To the Ends of the Earth
http://www.jacadatravel.com/Holidays/500_to_the_ends_of_the_earth_torres_de
l_paine_tierra_del_fuego_ushuaia_and_the_glaciers&tab=Map  tour gives the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really explore and experience the varied and rugged beautiful landscapes of Southern Patagonia. The tour takes you down to the Moreno Glacier, across the border to the Torres del Paine national park (among the most beautiful areas in the world) before embarking on a 4-night navigation of the straits of Magellan and the Beagle Channel. The tour can also be customized to suit your every need and want. Even the most nonchalant of recipients couldn’t help but be impressed!
$5,445.00 per person for 15 nights, available at www.JacadaTravel.com

Immortalize your loved one with a custom piece by Paul Gerben
It might not quite fit under the Christmas tree or in a Christmas stocking, but a custom commissioned piece by fine artist, photographer and designer Paul Gerben is a holiday gift that will really take your loved one’s breath away. Gerben’s captivating mixed media compositions are timeless classics that will not only brighten a holiday morning, but can be treasured throughout life. His celebrity art portraits cover the spectrum, from Hollywood legends such as Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra to rockstars like The Beatles, and sports legend Muhammad Ali. Prefer something a little more personal? Gerben incorporates his distinct aesthetic and unique style into every custom commission he creates. La La Anthony, wife of Knicks Star Carmelo Anthony commissioned a large abstract piece from Gerben earlier this year so that she can still look at her husband every day, even when he’s on the road.
Prices available on request, for more information, please visit www.GerbenFineArt.com

Friends are hard to shop for. I try to give gifts that people both need and want. But fifty percent of the time, what they need greatly differs from what they actually want.

Case in point, the dinnerware set of 2009. Nice ceramic plates that bachelorette friend needs. So we can stop the indignities of eating from paper plates. But what she wanted was a sterling silver headband.

That is why I love wish lists and registries. That is where GiftVault.com comes in.

GiftVault.com fuses social media with luxury gifts by allowing users to search for their friends, see their wish list and buy exactly what they want.

When a gift is purchased on GiftVault.com, the item grays out and the “wisher” receives an email notifying them that someone has bought something from their wish list. This feature will be most helpful when it comes to items that come in multiple sizes or sizes.

GiftVault’s owners are Lee Greenberg, a formerly Beijing-based new media fundraising and venture capital specialist, and Violetta Gruosi, a luxury expert with degrees in business, gemmology and international management, and the daughter and step-daughter of the heads of Geneva-based jewellery brands De Grisogono and Chopard.

“At GiftVault we treat every gift with the same love and care as if it were for our own special occasion. Our social gifting network massively ups your chances of buying your friends a gift they’ll really adore,” says founder Lee Greenberg.

GiftVault.com is not an average online retailer site like Overstock.com. You won’t find Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, or Liz Clairborne on this site. Items tend to be more exclusive and unique. Brands such as Armand de Brignac, Carolina Bucci, and Christofle. Gifts tend to be pricey, so it would be an ideal Christmas, birthday, anniversary, wedding, or other special occasion gift site.