Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Gift-amist: An Occasional Holiday Gift Guide From Gothamist Staff
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 2, 2013
Modified Dec 11, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 2, 2013
Modified Dec 11, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Over the next couple of weeks Gothamist staffers will give you some suggestions on what you could get us (OR your loved ones) this holiday season. These are from the heart! Our warm, materialistic hearts. We really do like this stuff.

In 2007 I stayed at the Ace Hotel in Portland, Oregon. I walked in to the room, looked at the blanket, and thought, "That looks really scratchy and uncomfortable." BUT IT WASN'T. It was so soft, and warm, and I wanted to sleep with it every night for the rest of my life. But I had to check out a few days later, leaving it behind to keep the next guest warm. Time passed, seasons changed, I sighed every night pulling my $20 comforter up to my chin, and I still thought about the blanket every now and again. I'm not trying to be poetic, I really did think about it... and finally the hotel (at this point an expanding chain) was making it available on their online store. FOR $360. I put it on my Amazon Wishlist that no one knows about years ago so I could keep an eye on the price, which would surely at some point drop... but it never has.
The woolen Pendleton blanket has a simple Elk silhouette in the middle of it, and it's perfect, and you should buy it for anyone you really love because it will bring them the lifetime of warmth and joy that I'll never know.

Similarly, but for even longer, I have pined after that zebra wallpaper that appeared in Royal Tenenbaums. (Ahem.) It is real, and it's really expensive ($149 per 5 yards), and I don't even own my own walls to put it on, but the heart wants what the heart wants. And my heart wants everything draped in Scalamandre. Luckily, they also offer accessories with the same print—those will set you back a lot less and also who wants to wallpaper anyway? There are pillows ($99+ each), a dog pillow ($300), an ottoman (for the quirky price of $473), a table runner ($295), an umbrella ($95), a scarf ($195) and a tote bag ($225). The scarf and the tote are the clear winners here.
For a gift in a more realistic price range, check out Greenmarket Bucks, which are vouchers that can be spent like cash at farmstands in almost all Greenmarkets around the city. And if you're going for a romantic vibe, may I suggest you deliver them in a bouquet of swiss chard and radishes?
Tagged
gift guide
giftamist
gifts
gothamist gift guide
pendleton
scalamandre
original
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Published Oct 8, 2026
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
By
Sonia Rao
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
By
Alec Hamilton
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .