When I was chatting with my sister-in-law over Thanksgiving, she mentioned that she has been giving out Trader Joe’s gift baskets for the holidays for the last couple years and that they have been a big hit. And I immediately thought, “why haven’t I thought of this before??!” Most gift baskets you can get at the store are really overpriced and filled with subpar goodies so this way you can get your own basket at Michael’s or something and fill it with the good stuff people actually want.

Trader Joe’s has a strong following and people just freak over it.

If you show up to a party and say, “I brought pumpkin cookies.” Your audience will typically have a “meh” kind of reaction and maybe one or two of them will disappear off of your platter.

However, if you show up to a party and say “I brought pumpkin cookies from TRADER JOE’S.” Your audience will squeal with delight shouting “Trader Joe’s has the BEST pumpkin cookies (or fill in the blank with whatever item you brought) and gobble them up before you can say Happy Holidays!

People absolutely love Trader Joe’s. They love it in areas where it is sparse and you have to drive a long distance to get it. That makes it even more special. But I tell you what, you still get the same kind of response here in California where they are in every other town. Their food is good, and festive, and affordable too! How do they do it?!

So, here are a few of my favorite holiday items they have this year that would be perfect for a gift basket this year to bring to a friend, or coworker or whomever! You will feel like the Oprah of gift giving this year. Everybody is going to want what you are giving!

You can of course find all of these items at your local Trader Joe’s. If you don’t have one nearby mostly all of these items can be found on Amazon and shipped right to you. But unfortunately they are about double the price :(

Mini Gingerbread Cookies

At the top of my list are these gingerbread cookies. They are perfectly spiced and covered in a white fudge icing. Between you and me, let’s just say I may or may not have eaten the entire box minus 3 cookies by myself. In one day. Yikes! I know, I know. But it’s the holidays! It’s a stressful time where it is perfectly acceptable to binge on holiday sweets! That’s what I told myself. The New Year will be here before you know it where those gingerbread cookies are going to be swapped out for some ginger kombucha :)

Speculous Cookie Butter

If you aren’t too familiar with TJ’s, I would still bet you have heard of their cookie butter. This cookie butter’s reputation precedes it. It has a huge cult following, myself included. It is basically like a gingersnap cookie as a spread. You can put it on crackers, ice cream, cookies, heck, my neighbor said she loves it paired with green apples! I think this is the number one thing people love here at Trader Joe’s.

Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Joe Joe’s

Everybody loves a good Joe Joe, which is their knockoff version of an Oreo, that is different in the fact that is has real ingredients you know what they actually are This time they are covered in dark chocolate and peppermint. Yum!

Dark Chocolate Mint Stars

These are kind of like Keebler’s Grasshopper cookies. But Better!

Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa

They even do a nice salted caramel flavored cocoa. It is really lovely. You can really taste a nice caramel flavoring that is not too overwhelming. It is especially delicious with hot milk instead of water.

Have you tried some of Trader Joe’s holiday items? What is your favorite?