Crypto News: Small gifts that never fail

Happy holiday season everyone!

It's Chris Rovzar, editor of Pursuits. Hope all you Americans enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving, and if you're elsewhere, that you enjoyed a nice few days without the annoying chatter of your US colleagues. God, are we chatterboxes! Enough with us already.

Normally we end this newsletter with questions that we have solicited on social media. But this time, I'm starting with answers that I sought out on social media (and beyond).

Allow me to explain: Usually, during the weekend after Thanksgiving, I love wandering the streets of SoHo and the Christmas market in Manhattan's Union Square, shopping for presents the old-fashioned way—by walking into stores and stalls and seeing what I can find. I just really enjoy laying eyes on something for the first time and thinking, "Yes! My friend Amy would love that!" Or, "Ooh if I get that sweater for my brother I wonder if he'll finally throw out that other one he always wears that's so horrible." (That feels even better.)

Bubbly never fails during December. Our wine critic just outlined seven trendy bottles to give, at a helpful range of price points. Photographer: Janelle Jones for Bloomberg Businessweek

But I recently had foot surgery, so I'm stuck in the house for the holiday season. I spent a day scouring Black Friday sales—by the way, do NOT sleep on Nadaam for cashmere, or Todd Snyder, Ralph Lauren, and Bloomingdales, the last of which has discounts on expensive beauty items that almost never go on sale otherwise.

I still felt like I wasn't finding anything original and memorable, however. So I put the call out to my most tasteful friends and Instagram followers and asked them what their NEVER FAIL gifts are. I need stuff both to put under the Christmas tree and to deliver as thank yous for the couple of parties I manage to hobble to later in the month. I was very pleased with the ideas people came back with.

Here are 21 excellent suggestions for bulletproof gifts this holiday season:

Source: Fishwife

Fancy tinned seafood from Fishwife. "They look beautiful even if they never open them," gushes novelist Andrew Sean Greer. We've also been bullish on tinned fish for years now over here at Bloomberg Pursuits, so I wholeheartedly second this emotion. $78

Shiatsu warming foot massager. Maybe it's because I have a broken foot, but when someone suggested this, it sounded like heaven. $63 with Amazon Black Friday sale.

$20 in scratch-off lottery tickets. An especially great option for a holiday party with a price limit.

Vintage ashtrays or vide poches from eBay or Chairish. It's especially delightful to get one from a hotel or restaurant you know that the recipient loves. This is the type of gift everyone at Vanity Fair would get each other when I worked there during the Graydon Carter era. Prices vary.

A facial. "If I really, really love you I'll get you a facial with Jess at Sage & Sound," says Rachel Blumenthal, the founder of Rockets of Awesome. "Otherwise if I love you, flowers from Flowerbx." Facials there start at $250.

Source: Urban Dandy

A beginner Bonsai tree from Dandy Farmer. I adore this idea, but choose your recipients carefully—giving someone a plant as a gift is a bit like surprising them with a pet. I.e., it's something you'd do for a person you really, really love, or really, really hate. You're bestowing on them responsibility that could last for years, even decades. These painstakingly pruned trees are great for your green-thumbed friends, because they are small and lovely to look at, and often don't require a lot of maintenance. $65 and up

A magnum of Champagne. Simple. A big wow to receive. Fun to open and enjoy together. $134 for Moët

A distinctive nut bowl. Someone once had dinner at my home and wrote me a thank you note afterward saying that he went home and had a conversation with his spouse about the small bowl full of nuts that I had set out. "We'll know we're grown ups when we have a bowl just for nuts," he said they solemnly told each other. I didn't tell him that it was only a $20 bowl, but that it was nonetheless extremely special because I bought it at LuAnne de Lesseps' estate sale in the Hamptons. Alternately, you can get a pretty luxe one from Waterford at a not-insane price: $205

Source: Michigan Mitts

Michigan oven mitts. I did not understand why this idea was cute until I saw what they looked like. Perfect dad gift. $30

A bud vase from the MoMA Design Store. First of all, no matter how challenging your gift recipient is to shop for, there is a perfect item for them at the MoMA Design Store. Even Mark Zuckerberg, who not only has many real world mansions filled with art and treasures but also infinite mansions in the Metaverse, would be delighted by a set of eight hand-crafted Polish beechwood dolls that conceal speakers so they can each sing the different voice parts of his favorite baroque choir music. But go with a bud vase because it's small. Your giftee can easily pull a bloom from a bouquet in the living room and give themselves a treat on their nightstand or bathroom counter. $39

Package together all the ingredients for a new cocktail you think they'll love. This is great for a potluck dinner or when you're spending a weekend away with folks.

An Amaryllis bulb in a nice planter. "It reliably blooms three to five weeks later, creating a reason to get back in touch," says Andrew Hamilton, associate curator at the Art Institute of Chicago. From $40 at a flower shop. (Someone else swore by getting a lovely box of paperwhites.)

Source: Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten lip balm in a mix-and-match case. "Dries makes these lip balms in gorgeous cases" where you can pick the colors and patterns, suggests Noora Raj Brown, EVP of brand & communications at Goop. "I love giving them to people because it's sort of ridiculous." $78

A scented terracotta pomegranate from Santa Maria Novella. This is apparently a thing. And people love it. $75

A Panettone from Roy. This suggestion comes from Diego Moya, the chef at Margot Brooklyn, one of the best restaurants in my neighborhood. "It's expensive, but it always works!" Moya notes. These airy Italian cakes embedded with chocolate nuggets can be controversial—about 50% of people who have received them will say they don't really like them. I would posit that those 50% of people have not tried heating up them up in the oven and eating them with heavy whipped cream. $102

The Nomos Glashütte Campus Club Source: Nomos Glashutte

A watch with an engraved message on the back. This makes a classic gift a billion times more unique and special. Rolexes and Tudors are prime timepieces to get engraved, because they have a real sense of occasion and don't tend to have sapphire casebacks. But if you don't want to spend many thousands of dollars and potentially wait a long time, you can order a Campus Club watch from Nomos Glashütte and order the engraving right on the website. $1,500

A monograph art book that matches the person's aesthetic. You can spend from about $70 on one of these at a used bookstore to $1,500 and up at Taschen. This Studio 54 book by Ian Schrager, the surviving half of the duo that founded the legendary nightclub, is a great go-to for anyone who is living the modern glamorous life. It's got pictures of all the incredible parties, stars like Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli and Diana Ross—plus a foreword by former Interview editor Bob Colacello. Check out Rizzoli, Assouline and Taschen for a variety of other options.

A St. Pia marble water bowl for their pet. This suggestion comes via Janie Kruse Garnett, who herself makes the most delightful jewelry and ephemera that are perfect for gifts. $112 for the dog bowl. $4,870 for one of JKG's drop dead chic Doric rings.

Source: Lacma

Peter Shire hand-splattered ceramic mugs. This comes recommended by art advisor Molly Epstein. The distinctive mugs are designed by the Memphis group artist Shire and hand-painted by residents of his Echo Park neighborhood of LA. $90

Diptyque hand soap in a refillable glass bottle. After a good weekend at someone's house, I love to send them a bottle of this for each bathroom. It looks nice and the smell is so sumptuous and lasts a long time after each wash. (Sorry, readers. Aesop is nice, but there's a difference between nice and special.) $75

A truffle! OK, I had to end on this absolutely baller suggestion from Galerie magazine editor Jacqueline Terrebonne. I am thrilled by the notion of arriving for the party with a single giant truffle in a precious box, like it's the potion for eternal life in Death Becomes Her. You can get 4 oz at Eataly for $275.

There is literally no end to the number of great candles and candlesticks you could be giving someone. (Or that they could already have in their closet.) See our top choices for entertaining here. Photographer: Frank Frances for Bloomberg Businessweek

A loooooot of people chimed in recommending candles: anything from Trudon, the candlestick-shaped ones from Loewe, Slow Burn from Boy Smells, L'Objet candles in their crazy holders, Rigaud, anything from Diptyque, and of course, Tom Ford F**king Fabulous. And I love a candle myself. Sometimes, on random mornings, I just wake up with the song "The Christmas Candle" from SNL stuck in my head.

But if this is a host gift, and it's for someone who entertains often or has a lot of houseguests, I say refrain. "I've given away so many candles," said one of my richest friends, who is an impeccable host. "In fact, I hate host gifts in general." That includes random bottles of wine. I heard this from a lot of fancy folks, and I think this is fair. They've got their fragrances they probably already liked and they're fully stocked, they may even have a chef who is cooking and choosing the wines to serve. They don't need your chaotic input. Save the candles for me.

If this was summer and you were going to an outdoor party like a picnic, we say go wild with your contributions! Here's our list from our July entertaining issue. Illustration by Beya Panicha for Bloomberg Businessweek.Gift this article

My candle giver-awayer says he always sends flowers the next day as a thank you—they're a pleasant surprise that are lovely for a few days, and then one doesn't have to worry about storing them anywhere. In fact, many respondents to my informal poll said they either bring a small bouquet along with them or send something afterward. This is very classy.

A great second alternative is to bring chocolates or something else that's easily eaten—or even shared on the spot. I recommend a box from Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at the Louis Vuitton stores in New York, Paris, Singapore and Shanghai. You can't go wrong with Li-Lac or Laderach, or with hand-painted bonbons from Stick With Me Sweets or Borough Chocolates.

These Stick With Me Sweets are truly almost too beautiful to eat. Photographer: Stephen Lewis for Bloomberg Businessweek

Finally, I heard from a lot of you that you are baking or cooking things to give as gifts. Let me be absolutely clear: I think this is an utterly wonderful gesture and I will absolutely never do this myself. Life is too short to hand-roast sweet and spicy pecans when Public Goods sells them for $6. For me, at least. But please, you continue doing it—and coming over to my house during the holidays.

At the end of the day, you know what host gift I like receiving the most? A nice, hand-written note that shares how much our time together meant to you. I save those, and they take up a lot less room than my closet full of candles.

Now that it's almost December, it's time to dig into our official 2024 Holiday Gift Guide, which gathers a whopping 100 brilliant ideas in classic categories—from handbags to jewelry to kitchen whizbangs. Get shopping! You're running out of time!

Photographer: Joanna McClure for Bloomberg Businessweek

And for more genius inspiration:

The Ultimate Food and Drinks Holiday Gift Guide

In the UK? Our British Holiday Shopping Guide

Top Business Leaders Pick the Year's 49 Best Books

Gift Ideas for Watches at Every Price Point, From $200 to $25,000

11 Holiday Gift Ideas That Are Truly Magical

With Giving Tuesday coming up next week, a lot of people (and companies) are making big commitments to charitable endeavors. And that's amazing—one of my favorite things about working at Bloomberg is that most of our company profits go to the Bloomberg Philanthropies.

A while back we asked 16 major philanthropists to share their most personal advice on giving. Many of them said to start by looking around you. Illustration: Uli Knörzer

On a personal level, there may be a lot going on in the world right now that makes you feel like you're powerless to make it a better place. I get it. But as the year comes to a close, I try to think of modest ways that I can look out for my community and the people directly around me in the coming one. If the first half of this newsletter was about small gestures of decadence, allow me a moment to share three ideas for small ongoing gifts that might make you feel good, too.

Find your local mutual aid society and join it. From the website for the one in my neighborhood: "Mutual aid is a form of community organizing where people, not institutions, take on the responsibility of caring for one another. It has a long history of being practiced around the world, and is rooted in Black, Indigenous and other marginalized communities." You can use your local mutual aid society to volunteer, donate funds for groceries, run errands for people who need assistance, and help out in times of emergency.
Find an agency that assists the weakest members of your community. I have long been a supporter of the Ali Forney Center, a group that provides services and shelter for at-risk LGBTQ+ youth—many of whom have been turned away by their families because they are queer. As a gay man and a parent, this cause is near and dear to my heart.
Send birthday texts. This might be the smallest gesture, but it's actually my favorite. Every day I wake up, have some tea, meditate, and look at stupid stuff on my phone. And then I check Facebook to see whose birthday it is. It's literally the only thing I use Facebook for anymore: Birthdays. If it's your big day and you're in my family or one of my friends, you're getting a text from me that tells you all the reasons why I love you. It may be long, it'll probably get weird, and it might even be alarming in its detail. But I like to spend time thinking about what's so special about each person, and then telling them; the things I would say about them at their funeral, instead I tell them on their birthday. It is truly the best way to start the day.

And with that, happy holidays everyone! Have a great December, and have some fun with your giving—in whatever form it comes.

New for subscribers: Free article gifting. Bloomberg.com subscribers can now gift up to five free articles a month to anyone you want. Just look for the "Gift this article" button on stories. (Not a subscriber? Unlock limited access and sign up here.)