The procrastinator's guide to holiday gifting 🎁
Five NYC-themed food gifts for all your gifting needs.
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, it’s time for our annual last minute gift guide. All gifts have been tested mostly on my sister before. Read past posts here, and please follow my Instagram, @fivethingsiate.
Cookie bundle from Levain cookies
Levain cookies have really grown in hype over the recent years, but IMO they’re still great. Now, I understand a scone-sized super gooey chocolate chip cookie might not be for everyone, but who are the haters?! I really appreciate Levain’s cute gift packaging and themed bundles – including an adorable NYC one. Pro-tip: If you’re gifting local, you can actually buy a cute box from Seamless and get it delivered ASAP. Great for a truly last-minute option!
Chocolate babka at Zabars
Here's a nice gift box version.
This was the winning babka in my Battle of the Babkas, and it makes an excellent gift for people who are true Upper West Side fans. For some extra ooh’s and ah’s the babka comes in several different gift boxes and baskets, including the one I linked above which also has the cinnamon variety and rugelach to boot. Ships within 1-2 business days.
Chocolate rugelach at Breads Bakery
I’ll never forget the time I was sick with COVID and in the depths of self-isolation and my friend Claire so kindly sent me a box of chocolate rugelach from Breads. In that moment I decided that Breads rugelach is the GOAT, even if their highly ranked babka is not my personal #1. This is the perfect treat to go with your breakfast cup of coffee, and if you want to cross-pollinate you can enjoy that in a Zabar’s mug.
*Note: It seems like it’s slightly too late to get these shipped to you before Christmas/the first day of Hanukkah, but I honestly feel like a food gift package is welcome at any period between now and New Year’s.
Holiday gift box from Ladurée
This one screams “Paris” a little more than New York, but a pretty box of macarons is never a bad idea. A set of 16 macarons is probably the right amount to show you made a great effort without going totally bankrupt, and the special edition holiday box is perfect for keepsakes. Website says there’s 24 and 48 hour deliveries, or you could pick-up in store.
Box of chocolates from L.A. Burdick
Locations for in-person shopping.
If you really want to knock it out of the park, a box of fancy chocolates from L.A. Burdick’s is the way to go. I first came upon L.A. Burdick’s in Harvard Square when I was a graduate student (wow what a quaint sounding time), so imagine my surprise when I learned the absolutely adorable chocolate mice they craft are actually native to New York City! They have seasonal boxes for both Christmas and Hanukkah but ya know for the cat girls in your life, why not spring for a box of chocolate mice? There’s both overnight and 2-day shipping, if you’re really running late.
XOXO,
Soph
P.S. Have other local last-minute gift ideas? Send ‘em to me.