Pet Wigs and CashSoft: 34 Gifts Strategist Editors Are Giving This Year

Is it cheating if this is actually a gift I’m getting myself? Both of my parents attended Moroccan public schools, Benohoud’s subject, during the ’70s and ’80s. The images I’ve thus far seen have thoroughly scored themselves onto my heart and awakened my curiosity. I can’t wait to dive in to more of them with my mother over Christmas-day coffees.

I’ve gotten more comfortable with accepting that sometimes a good gift has a useful edge — combined with being personal to the giftee, and bonus points if it’s an item they wouldn’t buy themselves. Last year I monogrammed L.L.Bean Boat and Totes and filled them with friend-specific goodies. This year, I’m turning to the oft-complimented pouches that’ve never failed to come in handy on trips short and long or as a vessel for all the loose ends that end up at the bottom of my tote — stuffed full with new goodies, of course.

This will be waiting under the tree for my 3.5-year-old on Christmas morning. She might explode with joy.

I’ve leaned more toward experiential gifts over physical things for my parents the past many years. Theylikedoing things, but they don’t think to look up the things to do. So I like to look at the local event calendars and buy them tickets. (Also, I really don’t think they need morethings.) This year, I’m giving them a membership to a nearby botanical garden in Missouri that we used to go to a lot growing up. I think my mom in particular will enjoy just going to walk around when she has a free weekend. The price of a season membership is incredibly reasonable at $57, so I’ll probably throw in a gift card to a restaurant they like, too.

On Black Friday, I basically became a CashSoft concierge and organized exchanges of Gap’s very soft, verylounge-y sweatpantsandsweatersfor my parents, husband, and a few other family members whom I won’t name here in case they’re reading. I’ve had the set of boot sweater pants and oversize V-neck for a few weeks and live in them when I’m at home and think they’ll be appreciated by everyone over the holiday break.

I am getting my sister a belt bag from Lindquist, which just opened a boutique in Brooklyn. I went to the press preview for the opening a couple of weeks ago and everything was gorgeous, including the store’s décor. I have a phone sling in persimmon from Lindquist that I love, and I know my sister will love her Faba (in the same color), too.

My brother, a senior in college, is always misplacing his wallet. He was using a bulky AirTag to keep track of it until he got sick of how big his wallet looked, so I’m thinking this slim tracker will be a nice upgrade.

My sister, a freshman in college, has the Parke bug. I was able to grab her one of the brand’s limited-edition Chicago hats before they sold out. I think it’s a rather cute tribute to our hometown’s flag.

[Editor’s note: This hat is currently out of stock, but you can sign up for restock notifications on theproduct page.]

My partner, Sam, is the kind of person who doesn’t want many physical presents. He can be tricky to shop for, so I always try to make note of times he mentions something he actually wants. Luckily for me, while we were out walking in the cold this past weekend, he mentioned wanting some leather gloves. Then I spotted these ones one sale for Black Friday (thank you to my fellow Strategist staffers for surfacing the deal!), which felt like a stars-aligning moment, so I went for it.

I popped into the Spicewalla storefront in Asheville this weekend while it was running a 20 percent off sale, so I decided to get this ten-pack of spice blends for my sister and brother-in-law. They both like to cook and always make super-flavorful dishes, so I thought they might enjoy using these. Plus, as a set, these just look really nice.

My cousin’s kid very sweetly asked for “glow-in-the-dark stars that go on the ceiling,” so he’s getting glow-in-the-dark stars that go on the ceiling, rental-apartment lease be damned. Very charming throwback that would also work in a pinch for a White Elephant or Secret Santa gift.

My dad keeps losing his phone, keys, and wallet and it’s driving everyone in my family nuts, so I’m going to tuck this Black Friday find into his stocking. It will almost certainly cause a chorus of early Alzheimer’s jokes — it runs in my family — so it’s one part super-useful gift and one part light roast. ’Tis the season!

My floral-design friend needs a serious scissor upgrade, and only Niwaki will do!

I rememberbeggingmy mom for UGGs, and now it’s my mom who’s beggingme for UGGs. (Maybe sheread about them on the Strategist.) I’m going to make her UGG dreams come true, as she made mine.

I was given a pair of lightweight Arc’Teryx gloves a little over a year ago, and my husband and I constantly fight over who gets to wear them. He bikes to work and loves how windproof they are. So as a little surprise I was thinking I would get these warmer ones for him to wear this winter.

This is hiding in my closet right now, waiting to absolutely blow my son’s mind come Christmas.

I don’t know who I am giving this to yet. Maybe my mom? But I was in the Park Slope shop Mr. Boddington’s recently and had to buy it.

My 4.5-year-old loves lip balm, and since we celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah, and because Hanukkah has eight nights of gifts, we tend to keep gifts for the latter on the smaller side. This Super Smalls necklace checks all the boxes: She’ll get the necklace and the first balm on night one and the remaining balms over the next seven. I have no doubt she’ll love it.

My mom is always doing some kind of art, and lately it’s been a lot of collage. She has all the necessary “gear,” so I think this book of inspiration and technique instruction will be a fun and insightful read.

In doing a big closet clean recently, it became clear that my husband is lacking in the neutral-sweater department (he has so many sweatshirts and quite a few special sweaters that are very cool but more design-forward). This is kind of a boring gift, but I do think it would be nice to get him a high-quality, go-with-everything sweater that he can dress up or down. I like this cotton crew from Buck Mason (he runs hot, so I think staying away from wool or cashmere would be preferred and allow for layering) — but consider it a stand in as I’m likely to shop around more before I make a final call.

My mom is incredibly well equipped in terms of kitchen supplies but often complains she doesn’t have enough serveware. (This became especially apparent to me when I was home for most of the month of October.) I’d like to get her a special piece and Porta immediately comes to mind as the perfect place to buy something. I’ll sniff out if she’d prefer a bowl or platter but, upon initial perusal, I’m loving this one.

One of my friends has gotten very into cross-stitching and told me that all she wants is more blank plastic canvases to use for her projects. Does it sort of hurt my heart to be gifting something so deeply mundane and unsexy? Yes, a little bit. But the No. 1 rule of being a good gift giver is gifting whattheywant to receive, not whatyouwant to give them. (But I did throw in a few cute extras, like abee-hive kitandstar de-tailor, to soothe my bruised ego.)

I will be gifting my boyfriend the famous Purple pillow, because he admitted to trying mine while I was out of town and couldn’t believe how springy and supportive it was — like “sleeping on a marshmallow,” he said. He’s since gone back to his own pillow, but I can see him casting covetous looks over at my side of the bed!

My friend Elizaveta has a Sphynx cat who is obsessed with smelling women’s hair. I thought he might enjoy hair of his own; based on his energy, it has to be a blunt black bob with a microbang.

Last year, I got my partner a day pass toSample Housematerial library where we dazzled founder Michael DeChillo with our enthusiasm and lack of technical know-how. What a difference a year makes: We’ve designed and builtseveral pieces of furnitureand have become fairly competent carpenters. There’s a woodworking adage that you should buy your last tool first; we’re currently using a plastic-handled saw and some blunt chisels, which are definitely not going to last forever. I’m planning to go to Nihonsan in Park Slope to find some tools built to last for my partner: maybe thishand planeor thisdouble-sided pull saw.

Clinique’s Almost Lipstick in Black Honey is much loved by the Strategist team (myself included). I switched it up a little and bought it in Pink Honey for my mom; she doesn’t wear a lot of makeup, so I think this shade will be a little less dramatic than the former.

A few years ago, my stepmom gifted meThe Carrying, by former poet laureate Ada Limón. I’m returning the favor this year with Limón’s newest publication — which I actually got signed at the Texas Book Festival last month!

The obvious predicament with this story format is that it ruins the surprise if the recipient ends up reading this article. But my baby nephew who was born in September won’t read this, because he can’t. I was planning to get him a dinosaur-themed gift, and my sister-in-law and my brother’s favorite New York Museum is the AMNH, so discovering this onesie was perfect for little Romeo.

My friend and I obsessed over this film this year, so much so that our texts were inundated with references to it. I’m planning on getting him a slightly different version of this poster.

Even though I hate to spend so much on footwear for a fourth-grader, these platform UGGs are at the top of my 10-year-old daughter’s wish list, so I’m obliging and hoping they fit for awhile.

My sister-in-law unabashedly loves kitschy portraits of animals wearing clothes — she has quite a few hanging around her home — so I’m gifting her one of these ornaments from West Elm, specifically the Mona Lisa kangaroo.

My husband is into playing around with electronic instruments, and he is also a fan of reggae and dub, so this new sampler from Teenage Engineering is perfect to add to his music-making collection.