December Gift Guide

One for you, one for me 🎁

Photo by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash

Hi friends,

Thanksgiving came late this year, leaving us all tragically behind on gift-giving. Yikes! If you’ve been trying to figure out what to get your loved ones, consider this gift guide your shortcut. Pick yourself up something pretty along the way, too. You deserve it.

Happy holidays!

-Ximena

📚 Books

Honestly, I’m a writer. What else did you expect? Besides, I think we can all use a little escapism this holiday season given the state of the … ahem.. entire world.

Nonfiction

1. The Life Audit (by yours truly!) For anyone in your life on the cusp of a big change, be it the friend whose divorce papers finally went through, the neighbor about to become a new parent, or the high school babysitter gearing up for college admissions season. Also perfect for that person in your life who loves setting New Years resolutions and crushing goals.
2. Rest Easy (also moi!) For the burned out and overtired among us, let this book be a gentle reminder that it’s okay to rest. Jam packed with ideas for how to get that much needed R&R in, despite the many constraints we all deal with day in and day out. Perfect for the parent friend in your life who always puts their kids first, the spouse who keeps the ship running at home and could use a break, or the ambitious career-driven sibling who hasn’t taken a real vacation in years.
3. The Invisible Kingdom, by Meghan O’Rourke. A year later, this one has stuck with me. This is the story of one woman’s search for a diagnosis, but it’s also so much more than that. It’s a look at our health care system, an investigation into the rise of chronic illness and autoimmune disease, and a cultural examination of what “health” means in America. Deeply reported, deeply felt. Great for the cerebral family member interested in how things work, or the friend who loves a good medical mystery.
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• Fiction

1. Margot’s Got Money Troubles, Rufi Thorpe. For your hip younger sister or cousin in art school. I loved this novel, a truly unique mashup of OnlyFans, pro wrestling, mothering, literary voice, and a boatload of emotions. This actually might be my favorite book of the year. And if you’re thinking, “No way, too weird,” I promise you it’s not. When I first read the synopsis, I did not think it was going to be a book “for me.” But I’m so glad I went for it anyway, because I absolutely loved it. I listened to it on audio and loved Elle Fanning’s narration. (She’ll be playing Margot in the upcoming Apple series, too.)
2. How to End a Love Story, Yulin Kuang. This is a novel about grief and intergenerational trauma and family and second chances and career doubt and creative block and also it’s the horniest love story I’ve ever read. So there’s that. Kuang is adapting Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read for the screen and all I can say is we are in good hands. Perfect for the romance reader in your life who wants more than sunshine and roses.

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Kids

Am I the only one entirely bored by children’s books these days? The market is flooded with books that are designed to appeal to parents’ tastes, not children’s: They’re saccharine, so P.C. they immediately feel dated, and so focused on teaching and staying “on message” that they forget to be interesting and fun. (Looking at you, Antiracist Baby.) Kids don’t become life long readers by reading books that lecture or bore them, but by reading books that are entertaining and playful. And adults don’t deserve a pat on the back for virtue signaling their liberal ideals by buying these books instead of, oh, I don’t know, engaging in our community in meaningful ways. Let’s do that work IRL (model the behavior! talk about it with your kids! build community! vote for change!) and let our kids experience the pleasure of a truly good book. OK, end rant. Here are a few books for the budding readers in your life.

1. The Skull, by Jon Klassen. Kids like dark stuff! This is weird and beautifully illustrated and perfectly unexpected. It’s based on a Tyrolean Folktale. My kid loved it, and he was only four when he got it. You can definitely age up on this one, too.
2. Paddington, by Michael Bond. A new Paddington movie comes out in January. What better time to get your kids hooked on the original story?
3. Fly Guy, by Tedd Arnold. If you have a child learning how to read, you know that a lot — and I mean a lot — of Early Readers are incredibly boring. They’re often watered down versions of a popular TV show or movie. (Or sometimes even a book version of a movie that was then made into a TV show, with the book as a kind of third wave translation of a single episode.) Or, if they’re not based on a show, they’re terribly repetitive without being at all interesting. But not Tedd Arnold. That man is a genius. My sister turned us onto his Fly Guy series and let me tell you, these do not disappoint: My kindergartener loves to read them (on his own! success!) and they are well illustrated and well told. They’re funny and weird — a boy named Buzz has a pet fly named Fly Guy — and there are over 20 to choose from. This one is a fan favorite in our house.
4. Cornbread & Poppy at the Museum, by Matthew Cordell. Is it just me or do a lot of picture books look aesthetically the same? We’re getting a lot of brightly colored but very flat illustrations these days. (It reminds me of the current trend of illustrated romance book covers, or the flat design trend that hit our apps way back when skeuomorphism went out of style.) But Not Cordell. Cordell is a Caldecott Medalist. His vivid illustrations feel unique among a sea of trendy, flat style illustrations. The series is zippy and fun and Cordell even manages to slip some messages in about friendship in between all the fun and whimsy, and without being overbearing or patronizing.

🎭 Experiences

Not all gifts come in bags! Here are a few ideas for experiential gifts. Perfect for the friend or family member who views gifts as just more “stuff” (or even junk!). Also, a great way to get more involved in your local community. No links, since you’ll want to find the equivalent near you.

1. Try an arts membership. Do you have an amazing art museum in your city? Maybe an excellent theater scene? Support the arts and enjoy give a great gift at the same time. As a bonus, pick out an exhibition or show you’d like to see and set a date to go with your bud!
2. Become a member of your local Botanical Garden. There’s always something to see, no matter the season. Most BGs also have great local programming, including workshops, children’s events, and more.
3. Grab a shift at your local soup kitchen with your favorite Scrooge. They’ll be sure to get into the holiday spirit, and you can tag team it together. Gift junk be gone!

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🍪 Food

1. Panettone: A holiday classic, you can go as high or low budget as you need. Grab a fancy Olivieri for the hostess with the mostess, or keep it budget with one of these from Amazon. This one from Williams Sonoma even comes in a tin! There’s a panettone for every budget, and every palette: You can go traditional, chocolate and pear, apricot and caramel, limoncello, and beyond! Panettone makes a great breakfast meal the day after the big holiday dinner (simply by the slice, or perhaps a French toast panettone anyone?) — it’s a little luxury that never goes out of style.
2. Christmas cookies: Whip up some sugary holiday treats and pop ’em in a cute tin and you’re on your way! No need to pick the hardest cookie out there (looking at you, NYT Cookie section), unless you want to. Even a simple sugar cookie can hit the spot.
3. Homemade granola: Another way to make your kitchen smell diiiiivine. I love Samin Nosrat’s granola recipe, but there are so many! (Might I suggest her excellent cookbook, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, beautifully illustrated by , as another gift idea?) Once you make your granola, you can put it in some cute jars or tins and top them off with ribbon. Voilà!

💌 Thanks as always for reading along and supporting my work. If you like what you see, hit the heart button, drop a comment, or share this with someone you think will love it, too. You can order my new book or book me for a speaking event here. 💌