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Hi friends!

How are you? I am… in disbelief that Thanksgiving is this week! I’m preparing for an exhausting two-day work week, which I’m sure will be incredibly productive. 😜

As far as Thanksgiving goes, this is the first time in many years that I will neither have to host nor travel for the holiday, and I’m excited to be home with Ross and the cat and just cook whatever I want. I’m thinking of going non-traditional. Right now my plan is to make a baked ziti with garlic bread and a big crisp salad, the kind with crunchy lettuce, savory croutons, and Italian dressing. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Normally when I make salads, I go with nutritious dark leafy greens like kale or arugula, but lately I have really been craving a “trashy salad” like you’d get at a basic Italian restaurant. I could eat the hell out of a salad like that right now… and I likely will, on Thursday!

Today I have a gift guide for you, and I tried to focus on hard-to-shop-for people like the cool girl, the straight man, and the person who has everything, along with loads of other ideas. Everything is under $50, because ain’t nobody got time for expensive bullshit this year. Spiritually, we are all in Brooklyn, trying to survive in this economy, like Alex McCord of RHONY said so many years ago.

It has been rainy and cold in Los Angeles, and for the most part, I am loving it. The part that I didn’t love was that it was pouring cats and dogs when my in-laws came to visit from the east coast recently, expecting sunshine and warmth. I felt bad that they got dumped on. November through January can be pretty cold and rainy here, although it’s not consistent. There are always some 75 degree and sunny days sprinkled in, you just never know. Ross introduced them to $20 Erewhon smoothies, and we ended up getting ramen from Daikokuya and playing a lot of Codenames (highly recommend).

I went to see Wicked: For Good last week for my company’s Movie Day, and while I’m very appreciative that we get to do cool things like all go see a movie together in the middle of the day, I didn’t think the movie was all that great. I would give it like a 5 or 6 out of 10. I wish that studios wouldn’t be so greedy and break stories into two parts that cannot sustain themselves in such a format. All the performances were good, it just felt to me like there was a lot of filler. It was very “they’re going to get her… oh, she got away. They’re going to get her… she got away.” Over and over again. I also feel like the better songs were in the first movie (“Popular” and “Defying Gravity” being two of them).

We actually ended up seeing the movie in 4DX, which, if you didn’t know, is kind of like being on a ride at Universal Studios the whole time. Your seat moves (quite aggressively, I might add), and air and water gets blown at you. I spilled my drink almost immediately. I felt bad for my coworkers who bought food and were trying to eat it through all that. I could see 4DX being fun for an action movie like, say, a Fast & Furious movie… as long as you’re prepared for it.

I’ve started working on my best of the year series for 2025 (you can read the last three years’ editions here), and those will be the next newsletters you’ll get from me! First up will be the Best of Beauty 2025, then the Best Recipes of 2025, and then finally the Very Best of 2025, with a resolution recap and my predictions for what will be in/out in 2026. I hope you’re ready!

But for now, let’s get into:

So, here’s the thing about gift guides: they inherently promote consumerism around the holidays. We can’t get away from that. Honestly, some of the best gifts I’ve given and received have been homemade, secondhand, or something small but so specific to that person/me, you would never find it on a gift guide. So, like: big ol’ grain of salt for these ideas.

That said, I personally love reading gift guides and have found them really helpful at times. Last year’s gift guide did pretty well, stats-wise, so it seems like there’s demand there. In thinking about writing another gift guide this year, I really wanted to write one my way: no Amazon, lots of options for hard-to-shop-for people, and everything under $50. 

Prices listed are as of the Sunday before this was published (11/23), but keep in mind that there are likely to be sales going on this week and through next Monday for U.S. retailers, so items may get even cheaper (yay!).

I sure do hope you find this helpful!! Let’s dive in:

For the Hanukkah host/ess:

- Hanukkah is early this year (starting the evening of December 14th), so get ready! (Side note: my mother-in-law once noted that every year, Hanukkah is always either “early” or “late.” People are always remarking about one or the other, it’s never just… on time. I find this to be an extremely astute observation.) I think these dreidel old-fashioned glasses ($15.95 each) from Crate & Barrel are super cute and festive. If you want to class up a Hanukkah tablescape further, this Star of David chip and dip ($39.95) would make a really nice host/ess gift.

- For the Jewish dog lover: why not get their pup their very own dreidel ($2.99)? It’s not made out of clay, but it still looks pretty fun.

- My husband wears his Hanukkah socks ($16) all year round, but don’t feel obligated.

- You can’t go wrong with bonbons from Jacques Torres, and luckily, this box of dark chocolate treats ($36) comes in a festive Hanukkah sleeve. Plus, it’s kosher!

- This chutzpah mug ($28) is a charming collab between Susan Alexandra and Fishs Eddy. There’s a matching tchotchke dish ($19.50), too! Who doesn’t need some more Yiddish in their life?

For the cool girl:

- Every cool girl needs a signature scent, and Phlur is the hottest mid-range brand around these days, with several of their scents going viral on TikTok over the past few years. (How does a scent go viral on TikTok? I don’t know, ask Gen Z!) For $39 you can get her a discovery set with eight samples of Phlur’s best selling fragrances, from Missing Person to Strawberry Letter to Father Figure, so she can decide which one she likes best before committing.

- Want something edgier and less mainstream? Discothèque Fragrances makes a seven-piece discovery set ($35) that comes in a cigarette box, and their perfumes have hip names like “Baise Moi On the Dance Floor” and “Heathens, Cowboys, and the Santa Ana Winds.” Even better? It comes with a $30 voucher toward a full-sized fragrance. Be sure to give your cool friend a heads up that Discothèque has playlists for all their scents on Spotify, so she can groove while she mists herself.

- Uno recently did a collab deck with Belgian artist Vexx ($27), and his colorful, playful doodle art truly elevates the card game from kiddie to cool. Plus, the deck comes with four mini art prints! (Full disclosure: I’ve worked with Vexx on a few different campaigns for work, but if anything, that’s just made me a bigger fan of his art!)

- All the cool girls love A24 horror movies! Get on her level with a Midsommar-inspired May queen tree topper ($48), or ax-wielding Pearl tree topper ($48). I know those are a little expensive, but can you really put a price on weirding out Christmas visitors?

For a straight man:

- Straight men can be tricky to buy for because society tells them they don’t need anything because they’re already brilliant. However, EVERYONE needs socks, so why not get the token straight man in your life some really nice ones from Pendleton ($26.25), that support the National Parks?

- One thing I’ve found over the years is that straight men love getting stuff that comes in nice leather. This passport holder ($23.50) from J.Crew Factory looks very sturdy and has multiple pockets for other ID cards, Euros, and/or museum tickets. Plus, giving someone a passport holder totally says, “I think you’re well-traveled,” which is flattering.

- Straight guys LOVE reading nonfiction!! My first rec is the new Mark Twain biography ($41.94) by Ron Chernow, which apparently was on Obama’s summer reading list this year. That would be a good gift for a dad OR a lad. Keeping on the writerly biographies train, Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs ($33.55) is the first major biography of James Baldwin in three decades and got a frankly gushing review by the The New York Times. And finally, Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource ($29.82) is about a fascinating but little talked about environmental justice issue and written by Sam Bloch, a former college classmate of mine. (Check out the interview with him in Dark Properties to learn more, written by another former classmate, Willa Koerner. Vassar ‘09: killing it!!)

- If all else fails, idk, get him a leather belt with carabiner ($39). Straight men love carabiners.

For the reality TV/pop culture fan:

- Not to toot my own horn (although truly, what is an email newsletter if not tooting one’s own horn?), but last year, I got my coworker these Love Is Blind bingo cards ($10) along with this mug ($16) for Secret Santa, and over this past trainwreck of a season, everyone who watched at our company played bingo together. I had to download them and print them out, but that was easy enough. If you search Etsy, there are lots of different bingo cards available for all kinds of trashy TV shows.

- This “I’m sick of apologizing for being rich & gorgeous” poster ($30) with a famous Catherine Zeta-Jones quote is perfect for anyone who loves iconic words from confident women.

- If your giftee is a pop culture fan AND a little woo, might I suggest giving them a pop culture-themed tarot deck? It’s like the new version of the pop culture prayer candle that was so ubiquitous in the 2010s. The Academy Museum has a Clueless-themed deck ($27.99), perfect for celebrating the movie’s 30th anniversary. Or, there are loads of others on Etsy, like this Golden Girls-themed deck ($17.09).

- If you’re willing to be a little crafty, you can make your own Real Housewives version of the game Guess Who? fairly inexpensively by downloading these card inserts ($7.99), printing them out, then adding them to a game board ($15.19). I can’t imagine a better gift for a Housewives fan, truly.

For someone who likes to bake and/or cook:

- Penzeys makes excellent spices and dried herbs and offers a variety of gift boxes ($14.95 - $26.95) with quarter cup “mini” jars that are perfect for trying out their products without overcommitting to, say, a giant jar your giftee will never finish. Plus, they have a strong anti-Republican message! Send everyone woke spices this holiday season!

- McCormick sells a holiday baking gift set ($45.99) that comes with everything you could possibly need to fulfill your cookie and dessert dreams this holiday season, from pie spice to vanilla extract. Plus, it comes in a metal tin that’s perfect for storing goodies once they’re baked!

- Is your giftee more of a barbecue fan? Give them this sauce and dry rub gift set ($25.95) from the world-famous Salt Lick in Texas, which comes with both their classic regular barbecue sauce and a spicy version.

- Speaking of spicy, who among us is immune to the charms of Sean Evans and Hot Ones? Nobody, that’s who! Hot Ones has multiple different hot sauce gift sets available on their site, but I think the most crowd-pleasing is probably “The Warm Up Pack” ($36), which features hot sauces #1, #2, and #4 in the current season 28 line-up. For someone who likes it spicier, try “The Heat Pack” ($36), which features sauces #5, #7, and #9.

- I truly never thought I’d see the day when I could feature an item from Williams-Sonoma in an under $50 gift guide, but this infused olive oil gift set ($44.95) sounds really nice, and given how expensive olive oil is, it’s actually pretty well-priced. It comes with four different flavors of infused olive oil: blood orange, roasted garlic, aromatic basil, and white truffle. Yummmmm.

For someone who enjoys a cocktail (or mocktail):

- The History Company sells beautiful barware inspired by glasses used in famous and/or historic locations, like these beautiful coupe glasses ($29) styled after those from Truman Capote’s famous Black and White Ball at the Plaza. They’re classy AND historic! (I can speak to their quality from experience: we received these whiskey glasses fashioned after those from the Men’s Bar of the Astor Hotel as a wedding gift, and they are sturdy and gorgeous, although sadly, over $50).

- This glass and stainless steel cocktail shaker ($32) from Anthro comes in adorable prints like cocktail olive or cherry. Even better, it has really positive reviews stating that it doesn’t leak and looks great on a bar cart.

- Even if your giftee doesn’t drink alcohol, everyone could probably use more coasters. Am I right? And there are so many cute options out there, like these colorful leather ones ($20) from the MoMA Design Store, these beaded girly ones ($29.95) from ban.do, or these groovy pink and green ones ($35) from Jonathan Adler which I guess are technically cocktail napkins, but I would personally use them as coasters.

For the tea lover:

- As you can probably tell if you’ve read this far, I’m a big fan of gifting people sets or variety packs, so they can have fun trying out a bunch of different items. After all, spice of life, etc., etc. Last year, Ross was getting very into tea, so I bought him a bunch of different sample canisters ($6.50 each) from Good Medicine Tea, a family-run small business based in the Pacific Northwest that’s partially run by a member of my former writing group! (Miss that group, btw!) Each canister is a festive bright red and comes with five tea bags. And of course, even though this was a gift for my husband, you know I snuck some of those teas for myself. They’re SO good! My favorites are the Dharma Green and Warm Hugs.

- Of course, if you’re going to give someone tea, you might as well give them something to put it in, too. I thought this “Sip, Read, Repeat” mug ($7) from Kohl’s, of all places, was really cute! And Kohl’s is literally always having a sale, so I doubt you will even pay that much for it.

- Is your person not so much into hot tea? Uncommon Goods has a bubble tea making kit ($40) that actually sounds pretty fun, for the boba obsessive in your life.

Stocking stuffers:

- ColourPop has an adorable and holiday-appropriate peppermint swirl lip mask + lip scrub set ($12.60) that would be a great stocking stuffer.

- Salt and pepper shakers don’t have to be just functional, they can be decorative too! I love these retro phone and typewriter ones ($22.99) and black and white lucky cat ones ($12.99) from World Market. If you’re looking for something edgier (like… much edgier), you can’t go wrong with these cocaine and heroin ones ($50)!

- Speaking of drugs, this little dolls canister from Jonathan Adler ($30) would be a super cute place to store your Xanax.

- Trinket trays are lovely gifts if you’re just looking for something small. I really like this red and gold snake one ($35) from Jonathan Adler.

For the person who truly has everything:

- Okay, yeah, this person has everything, but do they have a disco ball vase ($40.96)?! I doubt it! Just imagine when direct sunlight hits that baby, hoo wee!

- This puzzle of Van Gogh’s The Starry Night ($35) comes with 1,000 pieces and actually looks quite challenging, so it should keep your person busy for a while.

- This snap-on prism phone camera filter ($25.95) creates really cool color effects on photos that you take with your phone. It’s a product that I haven’t really seen before, but looks fun.

- Most people (in the U.S., at least) don’t have easy access to Asian potato chips. Gift them some fun unique flavors like roasted chicken wing ($4.49) or numbing spicy hot pot ($4.49). You can even buy them a large bundle of chips for $44.99! (Shoutout to my company for sending us a bunch of snacks from Bokksu Market recently and opening my eyes to how awesome this store is!)

- Finally, my pièce de résistance: personalized monogrammed ice cube trays ($39 for 4 cubes). This person may have everything, but do they have personalized motherfucking ice?!? There’s no way. Checkmate!

And that’s it! We did it! I hope this was helpful.

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Until next time—buy it on sale!

Love,

Liz

XOXO

XOXO