We write about hundreds of products each week. Here, in our version of the Sunday circular, we’ve plucked some of our recent favorites: expert-recommended essentials, life-changing stuff you didn’t know you needed, newly launched gizmos, and very good deals we uncovered while trawling through the vast online-shopping universe — including the striped sweater on Mya Gelber’s gifting list, a bodega-inspired cookbook, and sparkly (but not flaky) Maybelline mascara.
Hyperspecific gift baskets (including one for a “boat dad”) for everyone on your list …
A gift basket doesn’t just have to be filled with designer pears and artisanal cheeses. This week, we presented 76 hyperspecific, Strategist-curated gift baskets for everyone on your list, from the “boat dad” and the “person who joined a running club to find dates” to the “Mmahjong mom” and “Sephora tween.” To create each basket, our team selected a harmonious assortment of items that would surprise and delight each kind of person. For the boat dad, that basket includes an anti-glare hat, lighted marine compass, and this ten-in-one boat tool.
… and a vessel to put the gifts in
You’ll also need something to put those gifts in, and our junior writers Bella Druckman and Brenley Goertzen have one piece of advice: “Gift wrapping is nice, but a gift basket is better.” In their minds, many kinds of vessels can count as “baskets,” so they scoured the internet and our archives for 31 of the most handsome baskets and clever almost-baskets, including this surprisingly chic Yeti bucket. “Consider it for the boat dad or gardener who should appreciate the non-slip handle,” they write.
The banana-scented candle one Strategist writer has on her holiday wish list …
Over the past few months, our team has vetted thousands of gifts, so when it came time to answer the question “What do Strategist writers want as gifts for themselves?” we had a few ideas — and this week, we divulged our wish lists. This banana-scented candle was on writer Kitty Guo’s list and is an item that she “desperately, desperately” wants. “Considering the amount of candles I already own, it would be sheer fiscal malfeasance for me to spend my own money on another one,” she says. “So here’s the plan: I sit back in blissful ignorance while a proxy does the dirty work.”
… and the personalized M&M’s one writer is gifting
We shared our gifting lists, too, for those wondering how we’re shopping for our trickiest recipients. (Strategist relatives — keep scrolling!) So if you, like writer Emma Wartzman, are stumped about what to get for your boyfriend’s brother, take her lead and get him personalized M&M’s. “The one thing I can count on is that he loves chocolate — and I love the idea of chocolate being this fun and special,” she says.
The one-trick machine one writer devotes cabinet space to
“Could I ever enjoy hot chocolate enough to dedicate valuable cabinet real estate to a $150 gadget that does nothing else?” asks Guo in her ode to Hotel Chocolat’s hot-chocolate machine. The answer, it turns out, is a resounding “yes.” “I must now report that, since receiving the Velvetiser, my hot-chocolate consumption has increased from a few times a year to nearly nightly, which I credit entirely to how easy the machine is to use and the delicious hot chocolate it produces,” Guo writes.
Lisa Loeb’s key to working out on the road
Given how many different weights are included in Lisa Loeb’s resistance-band set, she says, “I can completely vary my workout every single time I do it.” The bands can hook to everything from doors to handles to heavy furniture, so she can take them on the road, too. “I could probably do an entire workout at my seat on an airplane,” she told us. “I don’t do that, but if I’m stuck at an airport, I can find a little corner if I want to and do an entire workout with these bands.”
A non-flaky, very sparkly mascara from Maybelline
“My love for Maybelline Sky High is well documented, so it’s no surprise I ordered a tube of its new glitter top coat as soon as it launched,” says Strategist writer Rachael Griffiths of her favorite November purchase. Though she and her editor, Ailbhe Malone, were worried that the glitter would flake off into her eyes, Griffiths is happy to report that’s not the case: “It simply adds a little frosting to your existing mascara, which doesn’t show up excellently on-camera but is dazzling in real life when it catches the light.”
A new take on a traditional Claddagh ring
Speaking of Malone, this week the editor gave us a peek into her brain, sharing all of the tabs that she currently has open. Those tabs include a cotton jumper from Babaa, a psychedelic print from Judy Chicago, and this update on a traditional Claddagh ring. “I love Irish academic and author Emma Dabiri, and I love Alex Monroe,” she says — so this handmade ring, which is a collaboration between the two, is on her mind.
A book for kids who never stopped asking “Why?”
Strategist contributor Youngna Park says by the time kids are 6 years old, “they’re more discerning and have honed some of their interests” — which makes it harder to gift a book to a kid that age (and beyond) that’s just right. To help you find a book that they’ll love, Park spoke with authors, editors, booksellers, and parents about their recommendations. One was this book that “answers preposterous questions or gives outlandish advice for common concerns,” often in a very funny way. “Every kid I’ve given this book to devours it. It’s smart, funny, and sure to spark their curiosity,” says Erin Jang, an artist, designer, and parent of two.
A very New York cookbook
If you’re gift-hunting for a home cook, consider this book, which Wartzman calls one of the best cookbooks to gift this year. “Drawing from her Dominican heritage and her life growing up in NYC — or, specifically, growing up around the bodegas of the Bronx — Paola Velez’s debut cookbook is chock-full of truly fun baked goods,” Wartzman writes, adding that you’ll see recipes for classic snickerdoodles, extra-chewy chocolate-chip cookies, and miso-and-dulce-de-leche-mousse pie.
Mya Gelber’s striped sweater with a vintage twist
“When it comes to my gift-giving hit rate, I’ve found that the gifts I hesitate to part with the most are always the most well received,” writes Strategist contributor Mya Gelber. So, to create her gift guide for Mya Gelber types, she compiled a list of gifts that she “either received and adored, gifted with great success, or [is] excitedly eyeing.” That includes this chunky cotton knit sweater from Sonderhaus Studios. “I love the vintage twist on this one, perfect all year long,” she adds.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
