What our gifts editor is giving this year

Every year, without fail, I am asked what I’m giving my loved ones for the holidays. The truth is: Nobody in my family needs anything. We are extraordinarily privileged. Still, though, gifts are one of life’s loveliest joys, and I like to celebrate the season with meaningful, memorable offerings. So I’m crowning 2023 the year of the upgrade. Everyone is getting something they already have or tangentially love, only a much better version:

• My six-year-old daughter has a fort-building passion. But we call them frustration forts, thanks to slippy sheets and floppy pillows. She’ll love the lightweight blankets in the Tote-a-Fort The Original Kit, which are edged in velcro fasteners; the set’s weighted bags add even more support.
• My almost two-year-old son is like a terrifying bolt of lightning on his baby bike, but his big sister’s old balance bike is way too heavy. This under-$100 balance bike has a lower crossbar for little legs and only weighs about six pounds.
• It’s true! TikTok teens love analog film. I’m getting my 15-year-old content-creator niece the Fujifilm Instax Mini Smartphone Printer with plenty of extra film.
• These Velcro One-Wrap Cable Ties will be a salve to my beloved, clutter-phobic partner, who’s always tidying our home’s “zones.” (His word, my specialty.) They make easy work of tangled cords, junk drawers, and stray pieces.
• I already have a robe. But maybe someone will gift me the exorbitantly expensive, preposterously chic Offhours Homecoat anyway.