The best gifts of 2023

Hi it's Chris. I have some tips for how to become that friend who buys the best holiday presents. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi everyone, it’s [Chris Rovzar](, your Pursuits editor in New York. And today I’m going to talk about giving gifts. As a journalist covering luxury, I start getting holiday gift pitches over the summer. Pursuits photo editor Leonor Mamanna, our super-talented Gift Guide contributor [Kristen Shirley](, deputy editor [Jim Gaddy]( and I start thinking about what we’re going to put in our annual guide while we still smell like our Fourth of July barbecues. Most of my friends and family aren’t used to thinking about the gifting season so far in advance. When we published [our 2023 Holiday Gift Guide]( this week, I heard from a few people saying, “Thanksgiving is in two weeks! Give us a minute! Who are you, Mariah Carey?” Our 2023 guide includes: Super Smalls [kaleidoscope](, Bulgari [Allegra necklace](, Prada [Symbole sunglasses](, Leica [Sofort 2 camera](, Vacheron Constantin [Traditionnelle Tourbillon watch](, Tiffany & Co. [brooch](, Yinka Ilori [Happiness candles](, Patek Philippe [watch](, Loewe [glasses](. Photographer: Elizabeth Renstrom; Prop Styling: Katlin Taosaka The answer is obviously, yes. I am Mariah Carey, [Queen of Christmas](. And if there is one thing that I, Mariah Carey, know, it is that the key to holiday shopping is to plan early. I don’t mean you have to shop early, but start a little note right now in your phone with the names of everyone you’ll get a present for, then keep your eye out for ideas. Look at gift guides [like ours]( and poke your head into your favorite stores. Also, pay attention to the stuff that gets pushed to you in Instagram ads. The algorithm knows what you like, and chances are that’s similar to stuff your partner or your friends like. When it’s time to shop, you have your list. I have been served this [Mannkitchen pepper grinder]( so many times on social media that I finally bought it for my husband. And IT IS AMAZING. Photographer: Kerri Brewer Also—and this is crucial—start writing down things you want for yourself. I have a persistent list in my phone called “Christmas Gifts for ME.” Because my mom starts shopping in September, and if I don’t give her (and my mother-in-law) good ideas, it’s going to be more Brooks Brothers pajamas that I will never wear and zip-up sweaters that I will wear—but only when I see my mother-in-law. This year’s Bloomberg Pursuits gift guide is full of beautiful inspiration. There are amazing bags, accessories and jewelry from the top luxury brands we cover. Yet every year it’s the weird, offbeat, head-scratchy things my team finds that I end up chasing down to actually buy for my friends and family. I’m talking about ideas like the [Yinka Ilori Happiness candles]( from the MoMA Design Store (which is an INCREDIBLE source for good gifts) or the [Yoto Mini Audio Player]( for kids to listen to their favorite stories. From left: [Wittner Metronome](, Breguet [minute repeater watch](, Montblanc [MTB-03 in-ear headphones](, Bowers & Wilkins [PX8 headphones](, Yoto Mini [audio player](, Paul Morelli [meditation bell and chain](, Sydney Evan [whistle charm](, Marshall Middleton [speaker](. Photographer: Elizabeth Renstrom; Prop Stying: Katlin Taosaka I want you to spend some time [perusing the 2023 guide](, but for the fun of it, here are my favorite offbeat items from the most recent three years of our holiday pages. I hope you can find something fun for your loved ones in this list. Or, crucially, yourself. FROM 2023 - [Spurcycle bike bell](: Your friend who rides their bike to a nice dinner in town, even though the restaurant is kind of fancy and they should have worn actual pants? They need a good bell, and this one’s the cutest. - [Nordic cedar sauna](: “WHAT? YOU GOT ME A SAUNA??” Admit it, you’ve always dreamed that your friends would scream this at you one day, and they will when you get them the Sunray Savannah sauna for three people. - [Craighill Tetra Puzzle](: I don’t know about you, but I’m very fidgety at work, and I love toys like this. At my prior job, my team bought me a bunch of weird cow puzzles to keep my hands busy in meetings. (When they inevitably do an Investigation Discovery show about my life, yes, these people will say, “I always knew there was something wrong with that guy.”) - [Oh Mon Dieu incense holder](: This lip-shaped incense holder will get double takes on any console in the house, and it make your loved ones think of you in an unsettled—but loving!—way every time they walk by it. - [Paul Morelli meditation bell necklace](: There is a person in everyone’s life who could really use a bell around their neck to warn others that they’re coming. If you can’t think of who that is in your life, I’m sorry to tell you, but the person is you. From our 2023 guide, from left: Winston Flowers [ruby radiance arrangement](, Baccarat [Eye Oval Vase](, Brioni [Eau de Parfum Essentiel](, L’Objet [Oh Mon Dieu incense holder](, [Sant Ambroeus by Le Labo]( candle, Oribe [hair and body oil](, Fenty [Parfum body creme](, Tom Dixon [Elements diffuser](. Photographer: Elizabeth Renstrom; Prop Styling: Katlin Taosaka [FROM 2022]( - [Hermès eau de rhubarbe ecarlate eau de cologne](: Fancy perfume that makes a person smell like rhubarb. Enough said. - [Tops Malibu orange surprise ball](: Kids peel this ball, which is shaped like a piece of fruit, to find 12 toys tucked inside. Great for when you have to get something for a bunch of children opening presents at once; It’s guaranteed to occupy them for at least 94 seconds. - [L’Objet stars letter opener](: Letter openers are useful, and your relatives will love this one because, with its 24-karat gold plating and Swarovski crystals, it doesn’t look like a murder weapon. - [Louis Vuitton flower burger box](: A set of six coasters, all the color of different hamburger toppings. They come in a box that looks like it was made for a Big Mac. It’s perfect for that friend of yours who wants something from Louis Vuitton on their coffee table, like in a funny way, but also in a way that you will definitely notice and talk about. - [Forme mirror trainer](: This is my favorite mirror training device: The pulley arms go in any direction and have a wide array of adjustable weights. And there are different personal training videos (and real-time training) offered through the reflective screen. Just make sure your loved one asked for something fitness-related and aren’t offended the way I was when my husband got me a Peloton that I had never asked for or even mentioned wanting. #divorceforchristmas The [Bearaby Napper]( is a stylish weighted blanket without beads. Photographer: Stephen Lewis for Bloomberg Businessweek [FROM 2021]( - [An adults-only cruise](: You think you aren’t a cruise person, and then you have kids. Suddenly, a week where you stay in one room and yet you see the world, and there are people paid to entertain your children while you sit by the pool... well, that seems very appealing. Then you go on one, and you think, “You know what would be even better? Doing this without the kids.” - [Smeg rose gold toaster](: Nothing says you’ve made it in life like a toaster that actually works. And is made of gold. - [Dante Cosmopolitan-scented candle](: Yes, the legendary NYC cocktail bar sells a candle that smells like Sex and the City’s signature drink. And just like that, the ’90s are back. - [A Bearaby weighted blanket](: Get this heavy, loose-knit blankie for your friend who really needs to relax at the end of the day. Try it yourself first, though, just to make sure it works. Lie down on the couch, pull it up to your neck and feel your stress loosening. Doesn’t that feel nice? Don’t you feel like you’re in the womb? Maybe you can keep it for a while. Don’t worry about what to do with it now. Think about it after a glass of wine. Wait, what were you just doing? Who was your friend again? Never heard of them. - [A Box of Iberico ham from Spain](: A big box of ham will bring such joy to anyone, it’ll even fix your relationship with someone for whom you bought a present but then ghosted for no apparent reason right before the holidays. Here are a few of our most popular recent stories [The Eight Best Puffer Jackets for Staying Warm in Cold Winter Weather]( Whether you want something sustainable or clearly bankable, we’ve got the winter coat for you. [The Science Behind Buffalo Trace’s $10,000 Eagle Rare 25 Bourbon]( A 25-year-old bourbon usually doesn’t taste very good, but Buffalo Trace has a secret weapon. [Restaurant Owners Are Fed Up With Reservation-Hoarding Bots]( Platforms like Resy and Tock are searching for ways around algorithms that snatch up prime-time reservations and then resell them to desperate diners. [The Best New York, Chicago and DC Restaurants, According to Michelin]( This year the guidebook folded three of America’s biggest food cities into one big event. [How to Maximize Your Odds for a Hotel Upgrade]( Seven tips that actually work. Some podcasts to love Pursuits recently launched an automotive podcast called—wait for it—Hot Pursuit. And I’m so thrilled about it. In it, car columnist [Hannah Elliott]( gabs with TV host and fellow four-wheel fanatic Matt Miller about what’s new in the world of luxury cars, what they’ve been driving and what’s coming around the bend. [Subscribe to it wherever you get your podcasts](! Here are my other favorite podcasts that I think you might enjoy: [The Michelle Collins Show]( This daily show on Patreon allegedly covers the news, advice and current topics in pop culture, but people really keep coming back for Michelle Collins’ wildly entertaining accounts of the mundanities of her daily life. Returning tunic dresses to Zara has never been more funny. [Pop Pantheon]( DJ Louis XIV is a friend of Pursuits and a pop music devotee, and he and his guests hosts devote episodes to dissecting the careers of some of our most beloved stars with insight and hilarity. [Serious Trouble]( When I graduated college, I didn’t understand why everyone in my life went on to law school while I went out and got a fun job as a journalist. Now I get it! There is so much insanity going on in America, it feels like you need a law degree to understand all of it. Also, now all my friends can afford to send their kids to college—and I cannot. In this funny, brilliantly informative show, Josh Barro and Ken White explain everything you wanted to know (and a lot you didn’t) about America’s public legal dramas. [Letting It Settle with Michael Galyon]( I believe I can say that it is a scientifically proven fact that therapist and meditation guide Michael Galyon has the most soothing voice on Planet Earth. (Sorry, [Judi Dench](.) His episodes range from guided breath exercises to in-depth examinations of anger and trauma. [Who? Weekly]( I love it when people with great big brains devote them to idiotic pop culture, and nobody does this better than Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber in their rollicking podcast about all the people in the gossip rags that you’ve never heard of—but somehow keep reading about. So, you had some questions. Which watches would you be glad to receive as a gift? I’d be thrilled to receive any timepiece in our Holiday Gift Guide. But watches are a very personal choice, and if you’re giving one as a gift—without going shopping with someone to buy it together—I would very much err on the safer side. If it’s a person’s first nice watch, you can’t go wrong with a [Cartier Tank Française]( or a [Tank LC]( on a nice strap. Three versions of Tiffany’s Lock bracelet. Photographer: Janelle Jones for Bloomberg Businessweek What’s the classiest, simplest jewelry to gift a loved one this year? A classic bracelet may seem like a cliché, but women everywhere are stacking them up to their elbows these days, and one of the icons from a legendary jewelry house is always a good bet. Think [Cartier Juste un Clou](, [Van Cleef Alhambra](, [Tiffany Lock](, or [Bulgari Serpenti Viper](. What are the best bottles to bring as gifts for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year? I’m going to defer to the experts over at our [Top Shelf]( newsletter to answer this one. (And if you haven’t signed up to get the monthly Top Shelf email, [here’s the link](.) For more-personal gifts, our whiskey expert Brad Japhe suggested in a piece last week to think in terms of what they already like. American whiskey? Wild Turkey’s new [Generations]( is a dark cherry bomb that finishes sweet, and it’s got a nice family backstory. If they lean more toward Japanese whisky, the Taiwan distiller [Kavalan]( just reintroduced its award-winning Single Cask Strength Series for the first time since 2018. Scotch? If you want a 25-year-old whisky at a fraction of the $10,000 Eagle Rare 25 price, get this [Aberfeldy 25-Year-Old Single Malt](. If you’re just bringing a bottle as a thank-you, [these Burgundies are great value](s. I like the sparkling verdejo from [this list of nonalcoholic options](. And [you know you can bring rosé anytime of year, right](? Got more questions? [DM us on Instagram](. Oh, hey, here’s one last gift idea— 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](.) Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? 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