Maria Turner

Maria Turner knows gifts the way some people know food — not just what looks good, but what actually lands. Based in Houston and rooted in Baton Rouge, she brings over 12 years of hands-on experience coordinating seasonal retail campaigns and private celebrations across the Gulf Coast to her work at GiftGrader. Her B.S. in Consumer Sciences from LSU and Certified Event Planner credentials inform a sharp instinct for occasion-based picks and budget-smart choices for birthdays and major holidays. Her holiday gift guide series drew 180,000 readers in year one — and yes, she does keep a color-coded spreadsheet of every gift she's ever given. The candle-set incident of 2014 made that non-negotiable.