All Our 2018 Holiday Gift Guides
Gift-giving can be difficult. But we still have to do it every. single. year. So we here at Bon Appétit, Healthyish, and Basically did the leg work for you, finding all the best stuff to wrap up—and pulling all our guides together into one place. It’s your shortcut to all kinds of prezzies for all kinds of people. Consider it our gift to you.
Photo by Alex Lau1/1515 Gifts Bon Appétit Staffers Are Giving (and Hopefully Receiving) This Year
Holiday gift-giving is easier said than done. What do you give your sister this year that’s different from last year (and the 10 years before that)? How about the work friend who’s listened to all your venting the last 12 months? Surely he deserves a little something. Here, Bon Appétit staffers share what they’re planning to give (and hoping to receive) to help get your gift ideas flowing.
Photo by Alex Lau2/15The Cookbook Gift Guide That Covers EVERYONE You Know
What gift says “but really, make me dinner” better than a cookbook? Isn’t that why we give them every holiday season? Sure, your friend looooves to cook. But be honest: you’re in this for you. But giving a cookbook is harder than it seems. Is it about gifting something they’ll actually use or is it more of a coffee table trophy situation? Know thy audience. And since we at BA see every single new cookbook coming into this world, we have a pretty good idea of what’s out there, what’s actually cookable, beautiful, interesting, and gifty. These are the cookbooks we’d give this year, based on these very specific types of food people we know and love.
Photo by Alex Lau3/15Stockings Are Meant to Be Stuffed with Tinned Fish
Excuse me, is that a candy cane? No, no, no. That will not do. Some of us need stocking stuffers that appeal to flavors we actually love and crave: sardines, smoked oysters, the salty sea air. Just imagine waking up on Christmas morning to a stocking so heavy with aluminum tins that you can barely lift it. Portuguese sardines in olive oil with piquillo peppers? Oh Santa, you shouldn’t have! I mean. You should. This year, give the gift of tinned fish with our handy guide to the best possible options available online right now (but if there are any importers reading this, please make more tinned delicacies available to the U.S. market!). And hey, you don’t even have to wrap them, the packaging’s so good.
Photo by Alex Lau4/154 Jumpsuits That Give the Gift of Wardrobe Freedom
I’m not sure when my jumpsuit fixation started, but I know who is to blame: senior associate food editor Molly Baz, who owns as many of these pajama-chic suits as normal people do pairs of socks. I’m especially fond of the looser-fitting variety, which let me move freely in the kitchen as I stretch to get things off shelves and bend to use the oven. Pants with waistbands: It’s been real.
Photo by Alex Lau5/1513 Tasteful Gifts Under $50
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from bingewatching years–worth of holiday Hallmark movies, it’s that there’s always someone older and wiser ready to dole out sagely advice right at the moment of peak inner turmoil. That, and that an impromptu snowball fight will fix anything. Right about now, you’re probably feeling that What-Gifts-Am-I-Supposed-to-Give-!?!?! stress start to creep up on you. We may be neither older nor wiser, but we’re here to look after your cortisol levels (and your wallets)—and save your holidays. Whether you’re shopping for a dear friend or yet another white elephant party, these 13 gifts for under $50 are sure to make the season merry and bright.
Photos by Alex Lau6/15Brad Leone’s Very Specific Holiday Gift Guide 2018
BA’s resident fermenter and It’s Alive! host knows a thing or two about cooking and craftsmanship. This year, he pulled together his ultimate wish list—a mix of products that he’s tried, tested, and stands behind. This is the stuff that he can’t live without. This holiday, you and yours won’t have to either.
Photo by Alex Lau7/158 Gifts for Those Annoying People with the MOST Discerning Taste
Out of everyone on our list, it’s hardest to shop for people who love to shop for themselves. Their aesthetic is carefully curated yet somehow unfussy—an amalgam of vintage chore jackets scored on Montreal's Saint Laurent Boulevard, turquoise jewelry from their friend in Red Hook, and a molcajete brought back from their last trip to Oaxaca. For these people, a bottle of natural wine with a cute label just won’t cut it. This gift guide is made for those (let's admit, slightly annoying) friends: It's full of ideas that are spot-on-trend yet personal, fitting yet surprising. Give the gift of good taste with these eight picks, and you just might add another one to the cart for yourself.
8/15Give a Bon Appétit Gift Box, Become a Holiday Hero
Here’s a little unsolicited holiday advice from the Bon Appétit team to you: People care a lot about what you get them each holiday season. Sure, we all know that it’s the “thought that counts” and as long as your heart is “in the right place,” everything will work out fine. But really, that scratchy sweater your great aunt gave you? We didn’t think so. Instead, give Bon Appétit’s brand spankin’ new gift box and be the holiday hero your family and friends deserve.
Photo by Alex Lau9/156 Ceramic Mugs For the Classiest Tea and Coffee Drinkers in Your Life
We’ve all gotten our fair share of mugs reminding us to live, laugh, love, or cure the Mondays. And while there's nothing wrong with a dad-joke mug, these ceramic beauties fit my Platonic ideal of what a mug should be: visually intriguing, easy to hold, and free of faux-motivation. They’re sculpted with care, embellished with pretty dips and dyes, and accented with playful handles, and they're just as comforting as a cheesy aphorism.
Photo by Alex Lau10/157 Luxurious Products That Give the Gift of Self-Care
The holidays can feel like that person you meet on Tinder who whips you into a frenzy of parties and dinners, then drops you at the end of the month like last year's news. To prepare for the inevitable split, you need to take good care of yourself and your crew. These self-care gifts are great receive, but they're even better on January 1st when you wake up to three more months of winter and a desperate need for some relaxation.
Photo by Alex Lau11/15The Feel Good Gift Guide: 6 Gifts That Give Back
Despite all our holiday cheer, gift giving can get us down. We close our eyes and see an endless scroll of online shopping burned into our brains, set to the tune of Carol of the Bells. And don't even get us started on the pressure to buy the perfect gift. To counter some of the holiday spending hangover, we look for gifts that give back by supporting sustainable labor practices and having a charitable component too. These are the gifts we feel extra-good about giving this year.
Photo by Alex Lau12/156 California-Made Gifts for the Wannabe West Coaster in Your Life
Before Emily Fiffer and Heather Sperling were co-owners of L.A. restaurant Botanica, they were artisan-obsessed editors who loved curating objects and experiences. Below are but a few of the pair’s California-made favorites; they’re in heavy rotation at the restaurant and their homes, and they think they should be in yours too.
Photo by Alex Lau13/1510 Stand-Out Books to Give and Receive This Year
We’ve all bought a book with the best of intentions—We’ll read it on the beach! In a sunny breakfast nook! In the bathtub without getting a single page wet!—only to leave it on a shelf where it stares at us and reminds us of our failings. That’s not what happened with these books of 2018. These are the stories captured our attention, the cookbooks that convinced us we could skip the takeout, the novels that made us miss our stop on the subway. And they’re the books we’re giving to our favorite reader-friends this year.
Chelsie Craig14/15Basically Gift Guide 2018: The (Affordable!) Platters, Bowls, and Utensils You Need to Host a Proper Dinner Party
You’re past paper plates and plastic forks. By this point you’ve been cooking (and eating) long enough to know that the platters, bowls, and utensils used to serve a meal are (almost) as important as the food itself—and even more so when you're having people over. The real-real? You need to invest in some gear if you want to up your dinner party game. Here are our picks.
Chelsie Craig15/15Basically Gift Guide 2018: The Cheap, Chic Glassware You Need for Your Next Party
Now before you groan about being asked to buy more stuff, just relax: The glasses you’re looking for are affordable enough to buy in quantity, durable enough to survive a party, and low-profile, meaning they’re easy to stash on a high shelf until you need them again. Where can you find glasses that fit this description? Well, right here, of course! Here are six options you should buy right now.
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