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How to Do All Your Holiday Shopping at Target

From one die-hard Target fan, a guide to pulling off a single shopping trip for all your food-focused friends

by Hillary Dixler Canavan Updated

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The exterior of a Target store, focusing on its sign.
Target
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Hillary Dixler Canavan is Eater's restaurant editor and the author of the publication's debut book, Eater: 100 Essential Restaurant Recipes From the Authority on Where to Eat and Why It Matters (Abrams, September 2023). Her work focuses on dining trends and the people changing the industry — and scouting the next hot restaurant you need to try on Eater's annual Best New Restaurant list.

When all other stores seem like too much work, when you don’t have the patience to match your loved ones to personality-appropriate brands, or when you plain forgot to do any holiday shopping at all, consider Target. Target, the place, is where you can roam and browse, reveling in the sheer delight of total anonymity and a gajillion celebrity collaboration products. But more often, at least in my case, Target is an admittedly busted mobile app, a tool for my phone-addicted mind to satisfy its scroll instinct while staying away from the Twitter hellscape. Honestly, I love it.

If you find yourself needing to maximize your holiday shopping efficiency, this is your store. The beauty of Target is that while it doesn’t have everything, it has a whole heck of a lot, and if you’re committed to getting all your presents in one fell swoop, it has exactly what you need.

From one die-hard Target fan, a guide to pulling off a single shopping trip for all your food-focused friends this holiday season:

Talented Kitchen Spice Organizing Set

  • $32
  • $50
  • 36% off

Prices taken at time of publishing.

For your partner who unwinds by watching TikTok and IG Reels about organizing, this kit offers everything needed to tackle an unruly spice rack. If the person in mind has a particularly large collection (or kitchen), go for the larger kit.

A green table runner with tassels

Jungalow/Opalhouse Cotton Soleil Table Runner

  • $20

Prices taken at time of publishing.

More unexpected and lower commitment than a tablecloth, this table runner from boho queen Justina Blakeney’s ongoing Jungalow collab is perfect for the friend who has filled their apartment with plants and enjoys a good tablescape.

A set of four blue plates

Threshold Stoneware Tilley Dinner Plates & Hearth & Hand Faux Mini Variegated Hoya Stem Arrangement 

  • $24

Prices taken at time of publishing.

These dinner plates are surprisingly sophisticated, with the artisanal ceramic look that so many restaurants go for, while the simple bud vases with convincing hoya stems is just the kind of thing a trendy cafe might have on every two-top. This would be a great gift for recent (or soon-to-be) grads, so they’ll be ready for those exciting first dinner parties and “let’s have dinner at my place” dates.

A breakfast-in-bed tray

Home Basics Rustic Pine Bed Tray

  • $49
  • $90
  • 46% off

Prices taken at time of publishing.

I am fully committed to bed life, and bed life demands a breakfast-in-bed tray. Useful for eating in bed, yes, but also for making your bed a functional work space, which is great in a small apartment like mine.

A glass cake stand with dome

Threshold Classic Glass Cake Stand with Dome

  • $25

Prices taken at time of publishing.

For your friend who is hosting a potluck, or really for anyone you want to bake for, bring your creation ready to serve on this lovely cake stand — and then let them keep it. Its simple, clear glass design should match any kitchen’s style.

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