In this edition of The Gift, we’re dishing on the very best gifts we got over the holidays. Plus: jewelry perfect for gifting to your new(ish) girlfriend.
At the top of each year, our gifts team collects some very important data: What did Wirecutter journalists get for the holidays that really knocked it out of the park? This always elicits a list of truly delightful finds. Because we will be the first to admit … our loved ones are up against a tough task. Gifting to people who work in the art of finding the very best stuff out there is not for the faint of heart. So when they get a gift right for us, it usually means it’s special. We gush over it—and then we take notes to share with y’all.
Let’s start with my favorites, shall we? First, I fought tooth and nail for a silly fake baguette in a vicious white elephant exchange. I got a new robe at last, some delicious chocolate, and a pretty lilac Bluetooth keyboard that has eased my return to work by adding a satisfying click-clack to my days. But it was two gifts from my stepdad that really crushed it this year.
First, he gifted me and my stepsister these very cute, engraveable signet rings (sadly currently sold out, but here’s a similar one we’ve written about). Having matching pieces of everyday wear is a special way for us siblings to feel connected, I think, from opposite corners of the country.
Secondly, he gifted me an expertly framed and matted photo of my grandfather’s car dealership from 1946. Having a bit of my family’s history framed in my entryway makes what was once just a crash pad for my shoes and jackets feel like a much more significant space. And I love that this gift required no real purchasing of anything new or major, just the thoughtfulness of resurfacing and repackaging an old forgotten photo.
Here are a few more gifts that delighted us:
- Staff writer and gifts expert Samantha Schoech received a set of these just-plain-fun anchovy tumblers complete with a matching platter from her friend and fellow member of her “Anchovy Club.” (I’m very jealous of said club.) “Obviously I will be using them for our anchovy-based cooking parties for years to come,” she says. Perhaps she’ll incorporate some of Wirecutter’s newly minted favorite tinned fish this year, too.
- Newsletters editor Brittney Ho, who recently moved, was gifted a handmade basket woven out of chopsticks (!) by a dear friend. It’s designed to be a fruit bowl, but Brittney has been using it to store the Nespresso pods in her new kitchen. “It’s already making my bland countertop so much prettier, and has solved an annoying storage quandary. It’s a gift I didn’t know I needed.”
- After spending the season coveting (and writing about) these dainty diamond hoops beloved by our gifts experts, head of newsletters Sofia Sokolove was thrilled to receive them herself. Another dainty delight: the frilly socks that made their way into her stocking.
- Newsletters coordinator Isoke Samuel has been dropping subtle hints to her loved ones about this cutesy little butter warmer for three years. And this year, her husband finally caught on. “So far I’ve used it to warm up my lukewarm coffee and tea, day-old fondue, and of course to melt butter for brownies. It’s quickly become my most used pot,” she says. It’s often sold out (like right now) but could be worth a preorder as a sort of surprise gift to yourself a few months from now.
- Lastly, know that I wrote this newsletter while wearing striped cotton pajamas gifted from my mom on Christmas Eve. They’re so crisp-yet-comfy, my colleagues may never see me on a work call wearing anything else ever again. Thanks, Mom. Sorry, colleagues.
