Welcome to this yearโs holiday gift guide, also known as the best place to shop for the eaters and readers in your life. This year, if you are so inclined, feel free to leave your best go-to gift idea in the comment section. The author of my favorite one will win a free copy Dinner: A Love Story, Dinner: The Playbook,ย or How to Celebrate Everything. Your choice!ย (Winner selected on Monday, December 17 at noon ET.) Happy Holidays Everyone.
.
Swirl Baking Dishes (MoMA, $15-$27) Leave it to MoMA to add one-of-a-kind beauty toโฆa baking dish. The ceramic is hand-swirled, so each one is different. More important: They are oven-to-table and dishwasher safe. (Andy: Are you listening?)
Temporary Tattoos (Tattly, $5-10) Before Phoebe road-tripped for a big cross-country race this past fall, I handed her an envelope that included a you-are-a-badass note and two โBelieveโ tattoos from Tattly (one for her teammate) that I thought might help shave a few seconds off her splits. (Iโll try anything.) She loved them and now I want to give empowerment tattoos to every kid all the time for any occasion. I also really liked:ย Letโs Do This, Believe, Self-Confidence, Warrior Not Worrier.ย That last one is for me. Great for the stocking.
.
The Latest Greatest Cookbooks I donโt know about your kids, but mine have this incredible talent for sniffing out a Milk Bar no matter what city we find ourselves in. If yours are the same, theyโll be psyched to open up the neon-lightedย All About Cakeย by Milk Barโs Christina Tosi ($16). For the friend who knows a little something about cooking, go forย Simpleย the newest Yotam Ottolenghi ($21) and 2018โs best entry in the Everyday genre.
.
Flour Sack Dish Towels (Food52, $39 for a set of 4) My mom is a woman who prizes utility over beauty for pretty much any circumstance โ When we were growing up, her idea of the perfect gift for my siblings and me were underwear jumbo packs. The good news: I just bought her these flour sack towels, which are both beautiful and useful. The bad news: I love them so much I might have to keep them for myself. Theyโre part of the cool new Food52 product line that crowd-sources development and design ideas. How fun is that? (NOTE: These are currently out of stock until 12/10; check back then!)
What Do People Do All Day ($11) My editor Maria at theย Timesย Book Review assigned me a round-up on what she called โBig Beautiful Books,โ the immersive kind that you imagine (hope? dream? cross-fingers) will suck your kid in for hours at a time on long winter days. You can head over there to find one that works for your kids, but I wanted to make a special plug for the My Big Wimmelbook series, which is great for the 2-to-5-year-old set. Something to note: Wimmelbooks are a standard part of young childhood in Germany and in the review I compared the large-format board-book volumes to the Richard Scarry books we all grew up with. Which made me realize โ hey! What about Richard Scarry who will never ever go out of style? Especially the iconicย What Do People Do All Day, a favorite when I was a kid. So if you donโt have that one, pick it up first.
.
Things I Ate As a Kid Puzzleย ($17) A 1000-piece puzzle, via Ben & Birdy, whose gift guide is always a treasure trove of ideas for game lovers.
Homemade Version of a Favorite Store-bought Food. If youโre going in the bake-a-gift direction this year, consider heading down the nostalgia road. My Dad, like all good members of the Bronx post-war Jewish community, loves his Entenmannโs baked goods and passed down that passion to me. I grew up eating their famous, now discontinued, Sour Cream and Nut Chocolate Chip Loaf. A few years ago, I surprised him with a homemade version of it and couldnโt believe how fast it took us back. The recipe, plus more ideas for meaningful food gifts are in my last book,ย How to Celebrate Everything, onย page 19. (Photo credit: Chelsea Cavanaughย for HTCE)
.
Pre-assembled Gingerbread House Kitย ($50, Dylanโs Candy Bar) A kit that gets straight to the fun part: The decorating.
.
Minding the Store, ($13, by Julie Gaines, Illustrated by Ben Lenovitz) Fishs Eddy is a New York institution and Iโve plucked many holiday gifts from its charming shelves through the years. (My in-laws still drink cocktails from the sweetย Todd Oldham-Charley Harper-designed glasses we gave them a few years ago.) This year, you should absolutely peruse their online shelves for the goods and the wares, but please also check out the graphic novel written by the Fishs Eddy owner Julie Gaines. Itโs all about her wacky family and running a small business โ and Catherine Hong, my favorite source for books and design recommended it, so you know itโs going to be good.
.
Instant Potย ($70 for 6-quart) Know any hold-outs? (Besides yours truly?) Now that the craze seems to have officially settled into Here to Stay, it might finally be the time.
.
Sloth Mugย (Urban Outfitters, $15) Wrap it up with your favorite hot chocolate (this one is tops) and a bag of marshmallows and your teenager will love you forever โ or at least for, like, 10 minutes.
.
Harmonica ($35) The perfect procrastinate-ACT-studying tool. Naturally, my high school junior is obsessed.
.
Cheese Knives (CB2, set of 3, $15) For your friend who hosts the best holiday party every year. Or even for the friend who doesnโt.
Fox 8ย by George Saunders (Random House $11). For people who like George Saunders (by now you know we sure do!) and for people who have kids who are older than 10 or 11 and are ready for a little darkness to go with their charming animal stories. This one is narrated by a fox (named Fox 8) and beneath the fun misspellings (โreeding my story bak just now, I woslike: O no, my story is a bumerโ) and ingenious narration is a powerful story about our lesser angels and our responsibility to the world and our environment. Added bonus: it fits right into a stocking.
In the span of about two hours this past weekend, we planned a five-day trip to Austin, Texas between Christmas and New Years. (As usual, recs welcome!) Only after I told the girls about it, did I realize I missed an opportunity to do the surprise plane-tickets-under-the-tree reveal like Liz did a few years ago. If you still have the time to plan, Iโd say go for it.
Other DALS guides through the years:
Gift Guide 2017
Gift Guide 2016
Gift Guide 2015
Gift Guide 2014
Gift Guide 2013
Gift Guide 2012
Gift Guide 2011
UPDATE: The giveaway winner has been notified. Congrats Hannah!
Happy Holidays!
I gave Sephora gift cards to my kidsโ teachers last year and they were a big hit.
So many fantastic ideas here ๐ My go-to gift for kids is a book or gift card to the bookstore and a clip-on book light. Stealing some of the suggestions on here for the adults in my life!
old/forever favorite gift: baking cinnamon rolls
new: blank comic books (for kids) w a fun pen
My go-to is a cheese board. Weโve given many -from Trader Joeโs olive wood board for $10 to beautiful homemade boards that my husband made. Itโs perfect on its own, but you could also add the cheese knives or even a few cheeses!
The problem with all these various gift guides is this: once published/posted, the items are invariably out of stock. Boo. Maybe not so much with booksโฆ
Virginia โ The only thing sold out as far as I can tell is the gingerbread house, which, according to readers who were smarter than me, was a rip-off anyway and you should go to Trader Joeโs for the $10 version. ๐
The Food52 towels should be back in stock tomorrow.
Do you have any recommendation for a good recipe journal ? My motherโs recipe are all in her head. I want her to jot down some of her lovely cooking. I thought I could gift her one and ask her to fill it up in her spare time ๐
Thanks.
Hi Jenny! Thanks for the list โ love your picks yet again! I am a regular giver of booksโฆbut kids love these games too:
Busytown Board Game: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/toys/richard-scarry-busy-town-game/810558010174-item.html
Rush Hour: https://www.thinkfun.com/products/rush-hour/
This year my kids and I are making a little treat for their friends: โSnowman Poopโ, as they like to call it! We make the โMeringue Kissesโ from โThe Joy of Cookingโ and substitute 1/4 tsp of almond extract with 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract. Yum!
Those are great suggestions! My favorite go-to hostess gift is a giant amaryllis bulb that is available only seasonally at Trader Joeโs. Under $10 and the giftee does not have to have a green thumb or have a special container. It is encased in wax and does not require ANY watering! I donโt know how it does it, but it grows into a big beautiful flower!
Best gifts are anything homemade. Iโve given rosemary walnuts, fudge, cranberry liqueur. A huge hit is my Night Before Christmas Cinnamon Rolls, which are frozen before the second rise, then sit on the counter all night to be baked on Christmas morning, then glazed with the enclosed frosting.
I love to cook for my friends but my new hobby is making soap. I pour the batter into a silicone loaf pan, wait a day, cut them into slices and gift them. Best thing is they smell divine, make my basement smell great and I always have a gift ready.
Books, always books. Something I loved and think the recipient will love. Even if they donโt, itโs something to talk about.
Iโve been reading this blog since long before my kids were born, but now that Iโm a mom Iโm particularly excited to check out How To Celebrate Everything!
My go-to gift is homemade caramels โ I think I originally based my recipe on Martha Stewartโs but it makes a TON of candies, can be modified to a million different flavors (orange-espresso is my favoriteโฆ or maybe milk stout and dark chocolate?), and is relatively foolproof (uses some corn syrup so you donโt accidentally turn the whole thing into a grainy brick of wasted sugar).
I bought these mini cactus kits from my friend Jessica to give as gifts this year. They are adorable and I love supporting my friend and her small business!
https://spaltedhome.bigcartel.com/category/mini-cactus-kits
These are adorable, Katherine! Iโve already finished my shopping but adding to my list of gift ideas. Thanks!!
Starbucks gift card emailed BEFORE the holiday to help everyone get through โฆ
Iโm loving the new cookbook โKindness & Saltโ as a simple gift that so many friends and family would enjoy ๐
Thank you for this list! I got my fam the puzzle because I loved the images and they love doing puzzles! And the stickers inspired me to give them each unique socks from Notes to Self socks (https://www.notestoself.com/).
Finally, I always love Trader Joeโs seasonal items. I stock up on favorite cookies, chocolates, teas, gift boxes and use them during the holidays and throughout the year.
A cozy oversized blanket to cuddle with on the couch is never a bad gift IMO and always will get a lot of use!
My go-to for homemade at the holidays is granola. It is a nice change from all the cookies.
For store bought, I am very practical and will always give a Target gift card. Who canโt use a Target gift card?!
My best go to gift is various flavors of extra virgin olive oil from a specialty store in my town called The Olive Cellar. The oils are put in really nice looking dark bottles and they all taste so wonderful. I like to give and receive this as a gift!
For kids- books, always books! Blueberries for Sal, Madeline, and The Gruffalo are a few favorites. Also Water Wow books for toddlers/preschoolers, and stickers, particularly the puffy, reuseable ones- small, universally-appealing activities that kids can do on their own, thereby giving the parents a moment of peace to enjoy their go-to gift: a loaf of my husbandโs auntโs friendโs incredible banana bread, wrapped in a pretty tea towel, and a coffee shop gift card. Happy holidays to you and yours!
Go-to gift for my parents, brother, and sister is a family adventure! It can be smallโlike a knife skills class at the nearby cooking school. Or it can be big, like last year when I planned a 4-day RV trip to the Santa Cruz redwoods! I loved seeing their faces as we walked out of the house to see the RV (borrowed from family friends) with a big red bow on it.
I love giving books! I used to work in an independent bookstore and thereโs something so personal about choosing a book to gift someone.Whether it be a cookbook, graphic novel, work of fiction or childrenโs book, thereโs a book for everyone on your list.
I think any kind of homemade food is a great gift- sourdough bread has been out favorite this past year, but people love anything you make really!
Ohhhโฆlove this! Iโve found that Zeelโs in-home couples massages work realllly well, with a bottle of wine and gift card for delivery from a fancier restaurant for parents of young children. It makes for a very relaxing date night in after putting the kids to bed that feels like a splurge but doesnโt require the babysitter or even getting dressed if you donโt want. For hosts, a nice bottle of wine and meat/cheese platter or fancy chocolate. Plus, a big bag of ice that hasnโt been requested (what party host doesnโt need another bag of ice half through the party when everyone has had one too many cocktails to drive?) Favorite stocking stuffer: definitely phone chargers.
My husband is a great cook. We watched Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat on Netflix and he was jealous of Samin Nosratโs salt dish. So this Christmas, he is getting a salt dish (pinch bowl? salt cellar?)
There are so many beautiful ones for under $20. This and a small package of Maldon sea salt might make a good gift?