Minnesota-Founded Company Lands on ‘Oprah’s Favorite Things’ for 9th Year in a Row

It's a constant every holiday season: Oprah's Favorite Things! Am I not able to afford most of it? Yes. Is it still fun to window shop? Absolutely!

There are definitely some affordable gift ideas, but most would be splurges for the average person.

There are a couple of items on this year's list that we definitely need to talk about, though. That's because they come from a company whose roots start in Minnesota as a small, family-owned business.

This isn't the first time this company has been featured on her list, either. This is the 9th year in a row!

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Oprah's Favorite Things 2025

I enjoy looking through Oprah's list every year. Most of the time, I find a few things that I like, but then I look at the price tag. But I have been tempted time and time again to get one of these items from Softies that Oprah is obsessed with.

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Softies was founded in Minnesota and is the company on Oprah's Favorite Things for the 9th year in a row. How Oprah learned about them is actually kind of a funny story.

Minnesota Item on Oprah's Favorite Things

Oprah said on her 2024 Favorite Things list, “'Ooh, I love Softies—maybe you know that from how often I pick them?"

The Softies items she's featuring this year are the Softies Waffle Marshmallow V-Neck Luxe Lounge Set ($160) and the Softies DreamPlush Double Zip Jacket ($139).

Everything they sell looks so, so soft!

How Oprah Discovered Softies

So how in the world did this small, family-owned Minnesota company catch the eye of Oprah Winfrey?

I wrote a story about this six years ago when they had appeared on her list three times in a row already.

Softies started in a family basement in Edina in 2006. Tim Murphy, who is the current CEO of Softies, told KARE 11 in 2019 that his dad, "'Dennis Murphy, realized there was a need for moisture-wicking PJs to keep people soft, cool and dry." Peggy, Dennis' wife, "said she was experiencing heavy night sweats while going through treatment for leukemia.'"

So Softies was born! But it took until 2017 for Oprah to notice them.

Tim was at a tradeshow in 2017. He told KARE 11, "'I was there for four days... terrible location, it made no sense. I was basically in a stairwell.'"

In the last hour on the last day of the tradeshow, some people he didn't know came up and were asking him very specific questions. It turns out, those people worked for Oprah and later that year they ended up on Oprah's 'Favorite Things' for the first time. And the rest is history!