Leslie and Nate's 2023 Gift Guide

Cue the Mariah Carey and track down which streaming service is showing "Love, Actually" (It is Netflix!!) for the holidays are upon us once more. This year, Leslie and I sat down and picked out a few items for all of the people on your shopping list.  

All about that Base

Scandinavians build every outfit from the base layers out, so we thought we would start there.  For women, Kari Traa sets the standard with all kinds of tops and bottoms. Leslie recommends the Rose Hood and High Waisted Pants. You can find all of the base layers for her here.

For men, Nate's go-to is the kit from 66 North both top in bottom in world class merino wool. We have a wide selection of other men's base layer varieties here. An added bonus is the Basar Half-Zip looks refined enough to wear out on the town...maybe under a vest!

Speaking of vests.

Vests might be our favorite article of clothing...so versatile and stylish.  Nate's current favorite is the Fonna Wool Fleece Vest by We Norwegians, perfect for the stylish beau on your shopping list. Our most popular vest for men is the gorgeous merino Hadar Vest by Ivanhoe. Leslie and Beth Dutton (probably) are big fans of the Yellowstone Vest...if you know you know. 

Sweater Song

Are we humming the Weezer song right now?? Yep. We have a wide array of sweaters for men and women this year and one for everybody on your shopping list:

From Norway, we present the Streamlines collection of heavy, traditional ski sweaters from the first family of Norwegian skiing, the Eriksens. Each sweater is built to be an heirloom. 

From Sweden, we proudly carry Jumperfabriken and their classic wool stylings. The Joe and Joelle are fantastic and the Siv, with its side button cardigan design is one of the most talked about items in the shop. Aktiv is the only American retailer that carries Jumperfabriken, so you won't have to worry about your gift receiver already having it. #bonus

The most talked about item in the shop? That is easy, it is the Boiled Laced Hoodie by Amundsen, check it out for men and women and give a gift that will become their new favorite thing to wear. Amundsen took the design of the hoodie and tweaked it a little to produce a gorgeous half-zip boiled ski sweater with their a classic pattern or a subtle (but not that subtle) Norwegian flag for women and men.

Some people prefer their sweater to zip fully and we understand that...for women the Kaldi is amazing while for men, we love the Moritz;

Others prefer their zipper to only be half and for that we love the Half Zip Comfy by Dahlie which is designed as a cross-country sweater but it will feel equally at home out on the town. See the five different colors for women and men or in four different looks.

True Originals

Let's face it...some people are hard to buy for. We are here to help. Aktiv carries 22 brands only available through us in the United States, so you can check that originality box! See their items in our Only at Aktiv section. One of the most original is definitely Varg and their new full-zip Sarek...wow!

For those with sustainability on the mind, the Undyed wool collection by Ivanhoe is perfect in a men's hoodie, women's roll neck,  a hat, socks and the cutest poncho we have seen...check out the details about Undyed wool on the product pages!

Is there a rock climber on your list??? Then Rungné by Magnus Midtbø is the answer. His personally designed pants, shirts, climbing dust and even chalk bags are available only through Aktiv.

For the people on your list that have everything....consider a beer blanket either individually or in a six pack, we would hazard a guess they don't have one of those!

That about wraps it up from us but if you have specific requests, please drop us an email at aktiv@aktivstyle.com and we will find something for everyone on your list!!

(Post credits scene...)

Two more items from us--the Scandinavian Winter Tights by Skhoop and the Timmer Shirt by Haglöfs.

Enjoy and remember,"There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing."