Holiday hacks 

 

Limit my phone use during the holidays? 

Be more present? Block distractions? Focus? Listen? 

PUT DOWN MY PHONE? 

Hmmm, that is a tall order. I might need a little help from this Brick.

 

 

I vividly remember writing my letters to Santa. It never mattered that he largely ignored my wide-eyed requests. I simply loved the ritual, and I knew I had genuinely tried to be as good as I could be. 

 

For those stressed parents who truly don’t have many resources in swoops Operation Santa. You have until December 13 to adopt a letter from a child in need. I make a point of doing it every year, and I am always glad I did. 

 

 

’Tis the season for cozy sweaters, which means I am combing my knitwear over and over with this magnificent tool to zap away every last trace of lint, fuzz, and pilling. It is quite soothing tbh. 

 

Oh, the holidays — always a recipe for stress! We all know it, so let’s stop pretending. Lately, my go-to for calming my nerves is Neurocalm. Now, I’m no doctor and this is certainly not medical advice, but it truly is performing like a charm. 

 

As always, a reminder: If it’s not top-tier quality, don’t put it in your body.

 

I perpetually vacillate: One minute I’m lamenting the wastefulness of wrapping paper (just toss a bow on it!), and the next I’m completely drooling over the cool designs. 

 

Enter: graphic wrapping paper covered in food — think bold patterns of butter, croissants, and oysters. Seriously good! Right?

 

 

I am always on the hunt for the perfect present for that client or collector who has everything. 

 

My reliable trusty gifts are typically a hand-engraved bottle of Casa Dragones tequila or the signed book a month from the Parnassus First Editions Club.

 

This year, apparently, the ultimate flex is the handmade Bottega Veneta x Jenga set — yours for a cool $6,900. Er, don’t look for that under your tree from me. 

 

Instead? You can always go with what The New Yorker called “witty and provocative” — my Amuse-Bouche book !!! 

 

Copies are selling fast, and, no, I absolutely will not be printing more.