’Tis the season…to spend money on someone other than yourself.
Whether you’re tasked with finding a gift for your best friend’s ill-behaved toddler, struggling over what to get your favorite aspiring tradwife, or hoping that this is the year your mother-in-law acknowledges that Christmas dinner doesn’t magically appear on her dining room table, Vanity Fair’s group of expert gifters knows exactly what everyone on your list would love to unwrap.
With ideas ranging from a thoughtful styling session to a simple wad of cold, hard cash, let Green River Project cofounder Aaron Aujla; jeweler Lisa Eisner; artist and designer Laila Gohar; fashion editor and stylist Carlos Nazario; comedian Kareem Rahma; Moda Operandi cofounder and chief brand officer Lauren Santo Domingo; “Feed Me” founder Emily Sundberg; and director John Waters be your guides as you put a bow on the internal politics of the happiest season.
Get into the holiday spirit with their clever picks below.
Aaron Aujla
Cinema snob: Notes on the Cinematograph by Robert Bresson
Friend whose job you can never seem to recall: A subscription to Vanity Fair
Art collector: A Calder and Bode Suitcase Box from the Whitney Museum
Neighbor who just had a baby: A miniature comb with the new baby’s name from Officine Universelle Buly
Said neighbor’s baby: A vintage Steiff from John Derian
Parent who “doesn’t want any gifts this year”: Dinner at Il Buco
Mother-in-law who’s never quite satisfied: A treatment at Shibui Spa at The Greenwich Hotel
New friend whose country home you’re dying to be invited to: Monet’s Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet
Best friend’s ill-behaved toddler: A cardboard fort kit with a set of 48 JoyCat markers
Favorite dog walker: A seersucker technical fishing shirt from Foris
Lisa Eisner
Mother-in-law who’s never quite satisfied: A Lisa Eisner bug box
Friend who married your ex: Sage
Ex who’s still your friend: Books from Arcana
Best friend’s ill-behaved toddler: A leash
Old friend who can’t get anywhere on time: Mel Robbins’s book The Let Them Theory
Family member who made an absolute fool of themselves at Thanksgiving: A subscription to Sam Harris’s Waking Up meditation app
Neighbor who just had a baby: Earplugs
Parent who “doesn’t want any gifts this year”: A box of Edelweiss dark chocolates
Colleague for whom Mercury is always in retrograde: A Saint Christopher necklace with a black jade amulet
Laila Gohar
Mother-in-law who’s never quite satisfied: A Mill food recycler. An amazing garbage can that magically eats your scraps and turns them into soil.
UPS guy: Flowers from Fox Fodder Flowers. I mean, how often do they receive flowers?!
Second cousin on your mom’s side who always treats you to dinner: Ted Muehling Nymphenburg Porcelain Snail Salt and Pepper Cellars. A very chic gift that will make them think of you every time they sit down for a nice meal at home.
Favorite bartender: A bottle of Yola mezcal. Best mezcal—neat and to make a margarita.
Extreme foodie: A Gohar World gift set. The perfect kitchen companion for holiday entertaining. An international dinner party featuring fine food made in collaboration with Gohar friends: Fishwife, Casa Bosques, Solar, and Artment.dep.
Neighbor’s baby: A Sophie Buhai Pearl Baby Necklace. A very precious, albeit over-the-top, newborn gift.
Parent who “doesn’t want any gifts this year”: Zazzle Custom Face Socks. These socks with my kids’ face printed on them—I gave these to my parents. They don’t wear them, but it’s funny. I also gave them to my friend with a photo of her dog, and she’s obsessed with them.
Your friend in-laws (your friends’ other friends): Casa Bosques Chocolate Dominoes. Beautiful and delicious.
Friend’s husband who will not shut up about protein: David high-protein cod. Perfect for all the protein bros out there, of which there are so many.
Carlos Nazario
Friend who married your ex: A year of Headspace
Teen niece who is also a fashion influencer: A Lume Cube ring light
Extreme foodie: A Napron food and utility apron
Lovable Luddite: An S.T. Dupont pen
Friend’s husband who will not shut up about protein: Therabody’s TheraFace Depuffing Wand
Friend who dreams of one day having an Erewhon smoothie named after them: The complete Bailey On series on DVD
Kareem Rahma
Mother-in-law who’s never quite satisfied: Introduce her to the world of edibles, and if she’s staying with you, send her to The Plaza hotel for a night of “pampering” so you can spend some quality time with your significant other.
UPS guy: A big, fat cash tip. It’s surprising to me that we don’t already do this. We tip everyone else. May as well tip them too!
Best friend’s ill-behaved toddler: A bunch of rolls of gaffer’s tape. It comes in fun colors, comes off walls easily, and is cheaper than stickers!
New friend whose country home you’re dying to be invited to: Some nice placemats will go a long way in getting you invited to their home.
Old friend who can’t get anywhere on time: Obviously, get them a new watch. If they already have a watch and they’re still always late, get a new friend.
PTA parent-friend with a secret trust fund: They literally deserve nothing.
Brother-in-law with terrifyingly good taste: A subscription to Emily Sundberg’s Substack newsletter, “Feed Me”
Art collector: Draw them a little picture. Sign it. Frame it. Hammer a nail into their wall and hang it while they aren’t looking.
Cinema snob: I can’t stand these people. Show them who’s boss by getting them this box set of Caveh Zahedi’s films. If they don’t know who he is, they’re not a true cinema snob.
Friend who swears her suburban town is just like Brooklyn: A gift card to Walmart
Lauren Santo Domingo
Friend who married your ex: A Slip Silk Queen Pillowcase. Here’s to many nights of beauty sleep…in the bed I once knew.
Ex who’s still your friend: Comme Si cashmere socks. Cozy, noncommittal intimacy, just like your current relationship status.
New friend whose country home you’re dying to be invited to: A custom Nine Fair backgammon board, because nothing says “I summer tastefully” like rolling dice while casually mentioning your other weekend plans.
Old friend who can’t get anywhere on time: A Kronos Hourglass by R&D Blueside. A gentle reminder that even geology has better time management than they do.
Colleague who must have ChatGPT writing all their emails: The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, so they can learn some alternatives to the em dash.
PTA parent-friend with a secret trust fund: A Smythson Happiness Chelsea Notebook. For their “meeting notes,” a.k.a. their rage-induced, passive-aggressive comments about refined-sugar-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and gluten-free cupcakes.
Your contractor, whom you have a crush on but also kind of hate: A Utilikilt, because if he’s going to ghost you on deadlines, he might as well do it in style. The ultimate thirst trap meets threat: drywall dust meets Braveheart cosplay. You’ll regret buying this the second he bends over to measure trim, but you’ll also never recover.
High school friend who is a fourth pregnancy and a Lacanche away from becoming a tradwife: Gohar World Oven Gloves, for handling the buns in the oven, both literal and metaphorical
Friend whose job you can never seem to recall: A Ralph Lauren Macomber Letter Opener, for opening all those checks from their totally real employer
Colleague for whom Mercury is always in retrograde: Smudge sticks and crystal set to “clear the energy” after yet another printer jam. (Spoiler: It wasn’t Mercury. It was Gary from IT.)
Emily Sundberg
Couple friends who’d be your first pick to swing with: Commission a piece from Oh de Laval, of course.
Friend’s husband who will not shut up about protein: Mouth tape
Parent who “doesn’t want any gifts this year”: This usually means they don’t want more stuff to take up room in their house. But a giant jar of Andrew’s Honey (made from bees that buzz around New York City) and a box of fancy chocolates from Plaq will result in at least two thank-you texts in the weeks following Christmas.
Friend who swears her suburban town is just like Brooklyn: A styling session with Becky Malinsky and a subscription to her Substack, “5 Things You Should Buy”
Favorite bartender: Clare de Boer (of King and Stissing House) and her husband, Luke Sherwin, started an American-made-furniture company called Roseland. They have this one piece called the Martini Table that’s hand-forged in Maine—the concept is simple and perfect.
Lovable Luddite: A print subscription to Midcoast Villager, in which they can learn about moose invasions, oyster farmers running for government, and small-town documentarians
Cinema snob: Animator Ralph Bakshi sells original frames from his films (The Lord of the Rings, Wizards) on eBay. Start bidding!
Mother-in-law who’s never quite satisfied: Either a prescription for Xanax or a chunky mock-neck sweater from Gwyn, Gwyneth Paltrow’s new fashion brand
High school friend who is a fourth pregnancy and a Lacanche away from becoming a tradwife: Your gut will be telling you to get her something from Ballerina Farm’s country store, but I’m telling you to get her a CurrentBody red light mask.
Favorite dog walker: The Lee sunglasses from Easton Marley, Rothy’s slip-on clogs, or AirPods Max headphones
First cousin who’s a ski bum, but you need a place to stay in Park City: A marble egg weed grinder
John Waters
Best friend’s ill-behaved toddler: A Chucky doll to scare the little brat into obedience
Extreme foodie: The I Can’t Chew Cookbook by Jean Bly, just to remind them that there is such a thing as a “last supper”
Neighbor who just had a baby: The one-sheet for the movie It’s Alive
Teen niece who is also a fashion influencer: A pair of gold Spring-o-lator high heels, so she can walk just like Divine did
Art collector: A mold painting by artist Karin Sander. It can make you sick, wreck your house, and might even disappear. It’s expensive too. The perfect rigorous (God, I hate that word) gift for a contemporary-art enthusiast.
Favorite bartender: The serious alcohol-recovery autobiography by Chaney Allen that goes for [about] $2,000 these days and was originally published in 1976 under the title I’m Black & I’m Drunk. You can be pretty sure they won’t have it.
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
Cover Star Teyana Taylor on Her Breakout Year
First Look: Meet Love Story’s John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette
I Was Held Hostage in Panama in 1989. I Know the Real Cost of Trump’s “America First.”
The Roommate Scandal That Has Downtown New York Talking
Autopsy Report: Inside the Murdoch Dynasty’s Final Moments
The 11 Best-Dressed Stars at the 2026 Golden Globes
The MAGA Dive Bar That’s Also a Church
The Life—and Shocking Murder—of Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten
Belle Burden On Her Family’s “Legacy of Infidelity”
Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the “Junkyard Dogs”: The White House Chief of Staff On Trump’s Second Term
From the Archive: Hitler’s Doomed Angel
