63 Holiday Shopping Tips
Holiday-related proclamations and well-sourced recommendations from The Strategist’s staff and contributors.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s ‘Saved for Later’ section.
This article was featured in One Great Story, New York’s reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly.
.
If you’re buying a gift you hope they’ll use forever, cross-check it against the Buy It for Life sub-Reddit.
Community favorites include Zojirushi’s rice cookers and Canada West boots. —Erin Schwartz
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Update their old jewelry.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Spur Jewelry Custom Renovation
The concierge service Spur Jewelry will, for instance, turn an heirloom like a brooch into a chic necklace. —Jenna Milliner-Waddell
.
Costco sells good jewelry.
New! You can now save this product for later.
I’ve got my eye on its 18-Karat-Yellow-Gold Round Hoops. —Dominique Pariso
.
Costco also, surprisingly, sells Mason Pearson hairbrushes.
New! You can now save this product for later.
The “handy” version retails for $175, but Costco sells it for $93. —Lauren Ro
.
Diptyque makes a weightier version of its candle, meant for closets or dresser drawers.
New! You can now save this product for later.
It’s a surprisingly luxurious thing to own. —Margaret Rhodes
.
I love to gift a proper bayberry candle.
New! You can now save this product for later.
During colonial times, it was tradition to light one to ensure a prosperous year. (There’s even a poem about this: “A bayberry candle burnt to the socket brings food to the larder and gold to the pocket.”) —Caroline Weaver
.
Every Friday, TikToker Emma Ungaro posts vintage designer bags she’s spotted on resale sites.
Turn on notifications and grab one for the purse snob in your life. —J.M.W.
.
Give a one-on-one reading with an astrologer.
I like Rose Theodora, Janelle Belgrave, and Lisa Stardust. Everyone loves an opportunity to talk about themselves. —D.P.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Rose Theodora Reading
New! You can now save this product for later.
Janelle Belgrave Reading
New! You can now save this product for later.
Lisa Stardust Reading
.
A gift for your Moon Juiciest friend: single servings of actually delicious vegan anti-stress chocolate protein powder from Kate Hudson’s (weirdly good) brand InBloom.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Its main ingredients include reishi mushroom (of course), cocoa, and dandelion root. —Liza C. Corsillo
.
The best skin-care tool to give is a high-quality LED mask.
It’s one of the few instances in which price really does, always, correlate with efficacy. Dr. Dennis Gross SpectraLite mask is best for those with acne, and CurrentBody is best if breakouts aren’t a main concern. —Jolie De Feis
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
If they’ve expressed the desire to travel more often, offer to pay for their Global Entry. —J.M.W.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
A few Muji stores, like the one on Fifth Avenue, offer embroidery on in-store purchases (from $5).
Their right-angle socks or gingham pajamas both would make nice gifts. —L.C.C.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
ManiMe is a great stocking stuffer, Secret Santa gift, or present for anyone into nail art.
New! You can now save this product for later.
ManiMe Digital Gift Card
Your recipient can redeem their gift card for a set of stick-on gel nails custom-cut to precisely fit their nails (all they need to do is send in a picture of their hands!). —J.D.F.
.
Get your nail-biter friend cuticle oil from Deborah Lippmann.
New! You can now save this product for later.
It actually works and feels really fancy. —Rio Viera-Newton
.
Present them with a membership to the Noguchi Museum.
New! You can now save this product for later.
The gift within the gift is that they’ll then get a discount on Akari lamps. —Winnie Yang
.
Mogutable’s $8 food-shaped chopstick rests are ideal stocking stuffers for friends.
New! You can now save this product for later.
The takoyaki and hanami dango ones are sold out online, but you can pop by the Grand Street shop to check for more (like the yuzu!). —Chelsea Peng
.
With an annual subscription to Wonder Valley, they’ll get a different beautiful bottle of olive oil four times a year.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Each one also comes with a gift from another brand like Diaspora, Tart Vinegar, and Dark Horse Organic. —Emma Wartzman
.
Instead of the usual crate of pears, introduce your recipient to the delights of sapote and rambutan with a variety box of tropical fruit.
Or if your recipient has a reasonably green thumb, send a Meyer lemon or Australian finger lime tree, which both grow well in containers. —W.Y.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Pair a cookbook with a tool or special ingredient for an especially thoughtful gift.
Example: a copy of Jess Damuck’s Salad Freak with a greens stripper. —E.W.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Nutella releases one-ounce jars specifically for the holidays that make fun stocking stuffers. —Jen Trolio
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Not everyone can subscribe to every newsletter, so give someone a membership to a Substack.
Blackbird Spyplane (for more interviews and its “Cla$$ified Recon Tier”) or the new Passerby Club (to access its Discord and get discounts at brands like Saie and Mater Soap) are good options. —M.R.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
The hands-down best bath product is Dr. Singha’s Mustard Bath.
New! You can now save this product for later.
A 28-ounce jar of it costs $40 and will last for months, maybe a year. —M.R.
.
Send them an only-available-during-the-holiday-season treat.
My favorites: aged-one-year fruit cakes by Robert Lambert and Leckerlee lebkuchen that comes in special-edition tins. —W.Y.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Louis Sherry chocolate tins are a real twofer.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Once you’ve finished the Sicilian-orange, coconut-almond, and Turkish-coffee chocolates, you’re left with a lovely box for storing jewelry, loose change, or your weed stash. —L.C.C.
.
When in doubt, send dinner from Goldbelly.
My favorites are muffuletta from Central Grocery in New Orleans and BBQ from Snow’s in Lexington, Texas. —Kayleen Schaefer
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
The most highly coveted gift in my group chat of professional Brooklyn-based bakers is a White Bark Workwear hemp apron.
New! You can now save this product for later.
It’s known for its comfortable crossback and flattering silhouette and comes in a number of dusty jewel tones. —Tanya Bush
.
Andrew’s Honey has beehives on rooftops throughout the five boroughs and sells raw, hyperlocal honey.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
I find myself gifting Alpine Cooking: Recipes and Stories From Europe’s Grand Mountaintops every year.
New! You can now save this product for later.
It looks beautiful on a coffee table, the photographs inside are stunning, and the recipes are cozy and warming. It’s proved to be a fail-safe option for both friends who I know love cooking and for hosts whom I don’t know well at all. —Ruby Redstone
.
A tiny Le Creuset Dutch Oven only costs $36 (about $340 less than an actual Dutch oven) and is great for serving sides. —E.W.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Consider the group buy.
New! You can now save this product for later.
It’s simple: pool your funds and choose a gift the whole group wants, like a 42-pack of crab chips from Utz or a beauty gift set (have everyone previously agree on who gets what product). —C.P.
.
My go-to gift for the under-10 crowd is always temporary tattoos from Ooly. —Sam Daly
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
You can’t go wrong with a Lauren Manoogian sweater. —Katy Schneider
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Barefoot Dreams makes the most luxe, fuzzy blankets and can be found heavily discounted at Nordstrom Rack. —Zoe Denenberg
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Shinola has lovely linen-bound journals that are the same style as mainstays like Moleskine and Leuchtturm but are higher quality and made in the U.S.
And it monograms them for free. —C.W.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
A betta fish will delight at any white elephant exchange. —D.P.
.
A good last-minute gift: Go to a newsstand and get trashy gossip magazines, bundle them with a scratch-off lottery ticket. —Alexis Swerdloff
.
Band-Aids in fun colors, character prints, and patterns are the perfect stocking stuffer for kids up to 6 or 7 (ideal for ages 2 to 4). —J.T.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Support a radio station that gives a branded baseball cap as its member thank-you gift and then give the hat as a gift. A good local one is 90.7 WFUV. —M.R.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Persephone Books in the U.K. reprints books by women writers that never got the attention they deserved when they were first published.
New! You can now save this product for later.
I bought my mom Reuben Sachs, by Amy Levy, which was like Jane Austen but for Jews. Its whole catalogue is full of treats, and its books are beautifully bound with pretty endpapers. Shipping to the U.S. is free but can take up to two weeks. —Zoe S. Dubno
.
If you’re out of ideas, getting a bunch of hair accessories from Amazon in 50 different colors is an easy and very pleasing gift. —L.C.C.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
One thing I always put in my kids’ stockings is an interesting piece of fresh fruit.
Star fruit, persimmons, even a pineapple — whatever you think they will like but haven’t tried. —J.T.
.
A literal rainbow of solid-colored T-shirts and leggings from Primary was a huge hit with my older daughter when she was 6 and super into dress-up. —J.T.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Eva Chen just ordered this National Geographic gemstone Advent calendar for her daughter, and now I want one, too. —C.P.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Target, in collaboration with L.A.’s Sugar Paper, makes perfect red gift boxes.
New! You can now save this product for later.
They’re available in a set of three and look more expensive than they are thanks to a crisp white-edge detail. —J.T.
.
For kids, The Picture Book Club’s subscription (hand-curated, nonobvious children’s books that arrive every month for six months) is really a gift that keeps on giving. —A.S.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
And for adults, try a subscription to London’s Heywood Hill Bookshop’s “A Year in Books.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
It includes an in-depth, over-the-phone consultation to ensure each pick suits them. —Louis Cheslaw
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
For any amaro fan, Forthave’s Reserve 1 magnum will make a splash.
You’ll have to do some digging to score one of the few remaining bottles of Reserve 1, but for a more readily available (and no less special) amaro, try the distiller’s just-released Mithradates. —C.P.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Roll up to a holiday party with a few cases of Zuzu’s bottled agave-spirit cocktails, which are chic and contain only five ingredients
New! You can now save this product for later.
The calamansi flavor is the best. —C.P.
.
If your giftee is into aperitifs (or aperitif-curious), you can’t go wrong with a bottle of St. George Bruto Americano.
New! You can now save this product for later.
You can mix it into cocktails, but it’s also good on its own over ice. —J.T.
.
Reality-star Cameos are generally affordable and well received.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Angela Sankovich Cameo
I once ordered one from former Survivor player Janet Carbin for a friend, who was delighted. For fans of The Rehearsal: Angela Sankovich. —E.S.
.
I’m gifting multiple pairs of cute well-priced wool slippers from the German brand Haflinger this year.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
I have a habit of getting my husband high-end sweatshirts that he’d never buy himself.
Hits through the years have included Save Khaki, Jungmaven, and Buck Mason. —A.S.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Never forget that popes have been getting their cardinal-red socks from Mes Chaussettes Rouges since 1798. —L.C.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
The Met has released a collectible star ornament annually since 1972, which means this year’s is the 50th-anniversary edition.
You can also find stars from years gone by on Etsy, if you want to buy someone an ornament from their birth year. —Katherine Gillespie
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
If you want to impress your Secret Santa with a brand name — and great scent — consider some scented tags from D.S. & Durga, which are only $12 each.
They’re meant for your car, but they’re ideal for making your closet or dresser drawers smell nice, and they’re just the right size to slip into a holiday card or stocking. I like the classic Big Sur After Rain, but there’s something about Portable Fireplace that seems right for the season. —Maxine Builder
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Digitally wrap a donation on DoubleDutch.cash.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Choose a card featuring images by artists like Cindy Sherman, add a donation, and your recipient “unwraps” their gift via a link sent to their inbox. —C.P.
.
Etsy store 32NorthSupplies sells die-cut foil moons and Carta Varese paper that I used to wrap a Secret Santa gift last year to great effect.
New! You can now save this product for later.
The designs are beautiful, and the colors are superdense and rich. —E.S.
.
For older relatives whose sizes you aren’t 100 percent sure about, Saks Off Fifth sells inexpensive cashmere open-front cardigans. —A.S.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
For a primo selection of washi tape and the cutest stationery, go to Yoseka in Greenpoint. —C.P.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
You can buy some exquisitely packaged, pre-rolled CBD joints online …
New! You can now save this product for later.
… Like Gossamer’s new Happy Hour Pre-Rolls with CBG. —M.R.
.
Target has consistently stocked Black Santa products such as gift wrap, ornaments, and PJs. —Latifah Miles
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
.
Friends NYC consistently has the wackiest assortment of novelty ornaments.
Highlights from this year’s drop include a croissant sandwich and a sparkly field radish. —C.P.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Want more stories like this one? Subscribe now to support our journalism and get unlimited access to our coverage. If you prefer to read in print, you can also find this article in the November 21, 2022, issue of New York Magazine.
The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
