Q: Last week, I was headed to a 9 p.m. party when I realized I’d spaced out and forgotten to get a hostess gift—but I couldn’t figure out where to go at that hour. Any advice for next time? A: Luckily, the city that never sleeps rarely stops shopping. Details has four branches (Chelsea, West Village, Upper West Side, and Soho; call 212-366-9498, ext. 10, for addresses) where you can pick up the perfect scented candle, picture frame, coffee-table book, or dog toy until midnight Fridays and Saturdays through Christmas. And they gift-wrap.
Mxyplyzyk (125 Greenwich Avenue; 212-989-4300), for home furnishings and groovy pet stuff, and the nearby Flight 001 (96 Greenwich Avenue; 212-691-1001), for cool travel items, are both open till 9 during the holiday season. So are both locations of the MoMA Design Store (44 West 53rd Street, 212-767-1050; 81 Spring Street, 646-613-1367). And for kitschy gifts, try Alphabets; its three locations (115 Avenue A, 212-475-7250; 2284 Broadway, near 82nd Street, 212-579-5702; 47 Greenwich Avenue, 212-229-2966) close at 10.
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