Typically, we share recommendations for the best products, period — it doesn’t matter when they came out as long as they are exceptionally useful, beautiful, surprising, or otherwise worth recommending. This year we have gone in a different direction, focusing almost entirely on the world of the new. Here, you’ll find a wide assortment of recently released things for every person on your list, from mood music for a plant owner (a rerelease of a 1976 record that apparently helps monsteras and ZZ’s grow) to a big-dog-specific tote for a pit-bull parent. Plus, of course, hundreds of other ideas, from a gold-plated sewing kit (seen above, $54 from shop.neuegalerie.org) to a handful eerily realistic ceramic peanuts to a Lucite cat bed that could easily double as a side table. Don’t miss all of the Strategist’s holiday gift coverage right here, too.
Milanese Table Runner
Designed by Lisa Corti, whose floral linens are sold at the Petit Palais museum gift shop.
Luxurious Long Johns
Big Wooden LEGO
Marc Jacobs Card Holder
Back-pocket-of-their-fanciest-jeans worthy.
Versace Slippers
In the classic Baroque print.
Caligula Cameo
The Roman tyrant can be worn as a necklace or carried as a memento.
Year-Round Easter Chocolate
Neo-Furby
The more you cuddle and play with this fuzzy robot, the quicker it learns to sing, dance, and talk.
Palm Pillow
These squeezable hands are made to order in Brooklyn.
Oakland Olive Oil
Four shipments, each of which comes with an oil-centric zine.
Darker-Skin-Tone Kit
Dr. Barbara Sturm’s entire collection but in (considerably less expensive) travel size.
500 Pages of Rihanna
Cheerful Ski Hat
Patchwork Pullover
By 24-year-old designer Tyler McGillivary.
Italian Surgeon Clogs
Calzuros are not new new, but new to the screen-printing, cheese-making contingent in North Brooklyn.
Gilded Sewing Kit
Includes gold-plated scissors and thimble, a spool of golden thread, and a golden-eyed needle.
Rich Person’s Skin
The celebrity-beloved brand now has a body cream meant to reduce cellulite.
Tie-Dyed Tights
Each piece is one-of-a-kind and made in New York by tie-dye designer Emily Dawn Long.
Euphoria Eyes
A metallic-eye-shadow quartet from Pat McGrath.
Gravity-Defying Wigs
Worn by the likes of Jinkx Monsoon and Blu Hydrangea.
Record Weight
It’s meant to improve sound quality by steadying the rotation speed of uneven records.
Baroque Watch
Moonlight, the Book
Barry Jenkins’s screenplay with a foreword by Frank Ocean and an essay by Hilton Als.
Dog DNA Test
For the adoptive pet parent who wants to know the percentage of Pekingese in their pup.
Gentleman’s Robe
Oxford blue with handsome red piping, in 100 percent cotton.
Phone Soap
A hypochondriac’s new best friend: This device kills germs that live on the surface of a phone.
ASMR Headphones
Preloaded with eight hours of original ASMR content from 16 top ASMRtists.
Muumuu Upgrade
An elevated around-the-house dress.
Handblown Pear
It takes three weeks for New Zealand artist Devyn Ormsby to cast her glass fruit; she also does a mean banana, mandarin, and lemon.
Scaly Skateboard
Bright-Red Beanie
Rose-Oil Halvah
Six whole pounds of the nutty, rosy dessert.
Patterson-Inspired Gloves
For a fan of the “Gentleman of Boxing.”
On-the-Nose Ski Top
New Nan Goldin
An updated edition of her seminal 1993 book, The Other Side.
Cow Puffer
To cap off a year of cow-print ubiquity.
Cow Pitcher
Stacked Packed Lunch
Oaxacan Tortilla Press
Doña Rosa has been selling tortilla presses to locals in Oaxaca’s Central de Abastos market for years; she agreed to do a limited run for Masienda, an heirloom-corn distributor.
1,883 Movies
A year of obscure gems from Criterion’s new streaming channel.
Friendly Snake
Ferm Living updated its classic stuffed reptile with a more contemporary colorway.
Meditation Mat
To elevate a morning Headspace habit.
Noncommittal Scalamandré
The famous zebra-print wallpaper, now in sticker form.
Dried Blenheim Apricots
A box of one of California’s most prized (and rare) fruits.
Faux Begonia
Because the real thing requires high humidity.
Couples Charger
It can charge two at one time and is made with premium pebble-grain Italian leather.
Tap Strap
Accelerometers track the movement of your hand, turning it into a mouse. Or a keyboard.
Artisanal Shower Curtain
Non-Granny Glasses Chain
The eyewear equivalent of orthopedic shoes gets an upgrade.
Toddler Trainers
A collaboration between popular-with-Brooklyn-moms Veja and popular-with-French-children Bonton.
Very Fuzzy Slippers
Made by sheepskin-centric Parisian brand Toasties.
Cork-Oak Face Cream
A path for hippie dads to move into the wellness space.
Deerskin Gloves
Fringed, handsome, and straight from Centralia, Washington.
Big-Dog Bag
So they can haul a pit-bull terrier onto the F train.
Ginger Doll
Blaire is the first redheaded American Girl since Felicity was shelved.
Bulgarian-Rose-Bloom Perfume
With notes of tobacco, resin, blood orange, and hibiscus.
Art Deco Hair Picks
Carved out of water-buffalo horn, a source of keratin.
Half-Quilt, Half-Throw
It’s a Merino-wool throw but with a classic quilt design from Danish line HAY.
*This article appears in the November 25, 2019, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!
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