How Mickey Drexler Gifts
“Knishes for Christmas. It’s stunning. It’s unexpected.”
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We asked 20 notable people about their gifting philosophies, gifting nightmares, the best gifts under $25, and much more. We’ll be publishing each of their questionnaires now through December 23 in this new series, “How I Gift.” Today, businessman and investor Mickey Drexler on knishes, argyle socks, opera binoculars, and more.
What is your gifting philosophy?
Receiving or giving a gift is actually an emotional activity. I appreciate when people think about what gift we might like. My wife is a voracious reader. She loves to get a book she hasn’t read.
Is a gift card ever a good gift?
I think it’s one of the safest gifts, along with cash. It doesn’t have the same emotion, but it’s very practical.
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You have to give the same present to everyone for the rest of your life. What is it?
Knishes for Christmas. It’s stunning. It’s unexpected. And most people have never experienced the excitement of eating a knish. Yonah Schimmel’s Knish Bakery is two blocks away and is, I believe, the oldest knish store in America. It’s still there, and I went for lunch a few days ago.
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What gift have you received that you’re most surprised about still using regularly?
It was a store in London called W Bill when I was way younger, running Ann Taylor. I’d run, not walk, to that store. They had argyle socks that were fantastically beautiful. I got a gift of hand-sewn argyle socks, and then I bought a bunch, and now they’re all worn through. I still wear them ’cause they’re like vintage.
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Here’s $10 to get a gift for someone at Walgreens. What are you buying?
A pack of four Yasso bars with the chocolate coating. If you look online, you’ll see a picture. It’s chocolate coating with, um, what’s it called inside? It’s like a light brown. I love the coffees. Oh, No. 3 is the white cookie dough. Yeah, those three.
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What’s the last thing you impulse bought for someone else?
Doggy treats for our Labs. My wife gives them carrots, celery, and healthy snacks. I have two of them. They follow my wife around waiting for the moment. I swear. So if she goes into the shower, they’re waiting outside the door. I feel so badly for them. I love these two dogs.
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Who is the best gift giver you’ve ever encountered?
Well, I’m going to give you a weird answer. When I was a young guy, you know, probably in my 20s, there was a vendor and friend named Bernie Chas. And I’m friendly with his son. Today, I am kind of a father figure. Bernie passed away all too young. Every year we got a Zabar’s gift-bag package, and I couldn’t afford that or whatever. He gave it every year until we didn’t buy goods from him anymore. He was a friend. That was the thing I looked forward to the most. All the appetizing smoked salmon, bagels, white fish. We would never have treated ourselves to that.
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What was the most disappointing gift you’ve ever received?
This is an interesting story. When I was bar mitzvahed — I’ll never forget this. My father worked in the Garment Center. The big boss was Mr. Cohen. And my father was a bitter, angry, unsuccessful [man]. And I’m fantasizing about the gift that Mr. Cohen would get me — cash. And he was the only rich guy I really knew about. He wasn’t a friend or anything. And he was invited to the bar mitzvah. I don’t think he went. So I opened his gift. I’ll never forget; it was a pair of opera binoculars, like in the case. I never forgot that. My expectation was, you know, the rich guy’s gonna give me something. It was so weird. I’ll never forget it.
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