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Photo Credit: Philip Karlberg
12/13/11
You Haul
Saving the Best Gifts for Yourself
If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself. So with that being said, here’s a list of the holiday gifts you’ll be giving you this year. Just remember to simultaneously say thanks and you’re welcome.
Samplrs
The self-surprise gift—a feat previously impossible to accomplish without short-term amnesia—is now a
reality with Samplrs, a monthly delivery service that’ll provide handsome tote bags filled with random
artisanal foodstuffs. Think cardamom chutney, spicy pickles and maple-glazed jerky. Actually, don’t think
that. It’ll spoil the surprise.
- 411:
- $29.99/month, available at Samplrs
Cashmere-Scented Candle
Call it a hunch, but we’ve got a feeling quite a bit of cashmere is coming your way this holiday (after
all, your wish list was just “cashmere things” written over and over again). So to prepare: a candle
that purports to capture the very essence of luxury sweaters. If only all cardigans really smelled like
nutmeg.
- 411:
- $74, available at Always Never
Abstract Houndstooth Robe
You’ve got big plans for this Christmas break. And according to our quick calculations, it looks like 87%
of them involve pajamas/robes. So you’ll want something silk. Something with pockets (for your cob pipe,
naturally). Something with a hand-stitched fringe waist belt. It’s the black tie of couch coats.
- 411:
- $1,200, available at Barneys New York, 660 Madison Ave, 212-826-8900
Tennis Lessons in Grand Central
You’ve got the Nadal-ian hair. But if you’re serious about winning Wimbledon, you’re going to need to
improve your serve. Or at least your post-serve grunt. Here to help: the private instructors (and their
video analysis equipment) at Grand Central’s
Vanderbilt Tennis Club. Because every successful tennis career starts in a train station.
- 411:
- $160, available at Vanderbilt Tennis Club, Grand Central Terminal, 212-599-6500
Bender Bound Books
There’s nothing like a good book. Except perhaps a good drink. So logic would dictate that if you combined
the two, you’d really have something. Enter Bender Bound, an innovative workshop in Brooklyn that’s
carving secret flask storage spaces into old leather tomes of your choosing. You can never have enough
dictionaries.
- 411:
- Starting at $99.95, available for preorder at Bender Bound
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