A Peek Inside the Strategist’s Annual Secret Santa Exchange

Crystal bakes a lot, so I knew I wanted to get her something in that world. I figured she already has a pretty good utensil setup, so I texted another baker friend for ideas on a useful but not-obvious tool. She suggested a wooden oven pull, a genius thing I had never heard of — one end has a hook and the other has a ridge for safely pulling and pushing hot oven racks. Etsy has a trove of handmade ones. I picked out an oak one from this shop.

I bought three pair of these in black, gray, and white (they were on sale). I saw Sam liked them in one of our Hauls, and she’d said she’d like a few more pairs. So I thought, Why not?

Kelsie makes my life better by being extremely organized. So, I wanted to make her life better with something extremely frivolous. (If you’ve ever read her Strategist Hauls you will see that she very much considers every purchase. Like these pants — which she eyeballed for five months before buying). I was close to adding this Brooklyn Museum water bottle to cart but thought it was still too practical. So, I went with these Memphis-y Bodum wineglasses — a 1983 reissue. Good and silly (but still slightly useful).

I was so torn on Amelia’s gift! Among the things I considered: something from an Asheville-based business to support the town post-hurricane (Amelia lives in North Carolina); a Snoopy hat (she’s fawned over Peanuts collabs and hats in Slack and Strategist Hauls many times); Chappell Roan merch. But in the end, I went with these pasta-shaped pot holders that she dropped in one of our Slack channels months ago, commenting that they’re “very cute.” She’s actually dropped several pasta-related products in Slack (including this hat that was sadly out of budget), so I had a sense that pasta merch would be well-received. And it was! She’s already sent a picture of them in her kitchen drawer, lying in wait.

I saw that Kitty wrote about these Portuguese egg tarts in her Strategist Brain, but I didn’t want to get her anything perishable since I was mailing the gift. So I thought, What goes well with pastries? Jam! This Bonne Maman set lets her try a bunch of different flavors, and the jars will be cute to have around once she finishes them. As my colleague Dominique pointed out, you could also use them as shot glasses.

Arielle and I once ran into each other at Mister Sunday, an all-day dance party founded by DJs Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter. She recently moved to Texas and said that she’d been missing the music and rave scene in New York, so I sent her these vinyl records produced by Harkin and Carter’s record label, Mister Saturday Night. It’s a compilation of tracks from electronic artists who’ve played the party, so I figured she could throw it on whenever she was feeling nostalgic for Nowadays.

I had Lauren, who I know likes to read, so I gifted her My Lesbian Novel, by Renee Gladman. We’d chatted about Miranda July’s buzzy All Fours a few weeks prior and I felt that this book had some similarities (an auto-fictional main character mostly) but without feeling like a repeat. It’s about a woman trying to write a romance novel that ends up being about writing, the self, and, of course, love. The cover is stunning, too, which doesn’t hurt.

Jen has mentioned BonBon several times in the Strat Slack, and as a gummy-candy obsessive myself, I knew she would appreciate receiving candies in the mail. I chose a mix of sweet, sour, and black licorice in a pretty gift box. Shipping took a while, but I’m excited to visit the store someday soon.

I was shopping the MoMA Design Store website — a favorite place to browse — and added a few different options to my cart, including this velvet shell-shaped jewelry box in lavender, the Strategist favorite desk toy the Hoptimist, and one of Baggu’s mini bag charms. But when I learned that Ashley had recently gotten engaged, it sealed the deal for the shell. I simply got lucky that lavender turns out to be one of Ashley’s favorite colors.

I got Brenley two charms of her initials from a Toronto-based jewelry store, Armed, she mentioned in her latest Strategist Brain. I had to pivot from my initial ideas, due to postal workers on strike in Canada causing shipping delays, so I had to get a little creative; luckily, I was able to call the store so Brenley could go pick up the gift herself right in her neighborhood.

I knew Erin, who is our resident home-DIY expert, is a fan of the silver and chrome décor that’s been popping up everywhere recently. And after going through a long list of DIY gadgets, I finally landed on this magnetic-parts tray that’s both functional and makes for a nice-looking catchall.

Erin has a large pegboard covering one wall in their kitchen, so I searched for a new accessory that might be useful (and that they wouldn’t already have). I stumbled across this tape and ribbon organizer and decided it was perfect. It’s 12 inches long, so I can imagine it holding lots of cylindrical items, from tape spools to wine bottles and even mugs.

I was reading a recent Strategist Haul article and saw that Ambar loves Pocky. I also know she’s into jewelry, based on her beat. I figured I could get her a big shipment of Pocky, but I thought a little Pocky-themed charm would make a longer-lasting gift as opposed to just a restock!

I had fortuitously planned a short vacation in Lisbon in November — perfect timing for Secret Santa shopping. A Vida Portuguesa is a wonderful place to look for gifts and souvenirs, and I found a few items there that I thought Hilary might like. I looked first for soap, since I read in a Strategist Haul that she had recently moved to an apartment with a bathtub.

And I got a cork soap dish at AVP’s sister store, Depozito. (Portugal is the leading producer of cork products, and you can find so many cork things there. Also, cork is a very cool material with lots of interesting properties.)

And lastly, I got an Emílio Braga notebook. The exact one I got isn’t listed online, but there are similar ones here.