In this The Gift, we’re going out on a limb with the best present for most people(!), plus more for life’s toast-worthy occasions, including housewarmings and engagements. Also: what to give retired parents who already have everything.
I’m a big fan of having a “go-to gift” for certain occasions. And I’m not alone: For birthdays, newsletters editor Brittney Ho loves to give a printed photo in a nice frame. Newsletters editor Haley Jo Lewis is known for the incredibly comfortable socks she doles out each Christmas. And my parents give the same wedding gift to every couple: a handsome hardcover atlas. (Why? “It invites exploration, curiosity, adventure, and a focus on broader horizons,” my mom says. “All part of the foundation for a strong marriage.” It also just looks great on a coffee table.)
Gifting is joyous, yes, but there are phases of life—the wedding circuit of your late 20s, the deluge of baby showers in your 30s—when it can also feel like a stressor. Having some go-to gifts can take away a bit of that to-do-list dread by making the whole thing as easy as clicking “reorder.” And choosing ones that you genuinely enjoy giving can also quell that icky feeling of spending money hurriedly on a gift that feels like an obligation.
If you are in need of a new go-to gift, may I suggest mine? Champagne glasses. I’ve given Champagne glasses to my brother when he graduated law school, to friends’ to cheers their nuptials alongside a bottle of bubbly, and even to new parents to celebrate a baby. (What—and who!—is more deserving of a toast than someone who’s just brought a tiny human into the world?)
So I felt extremely validated when my colleague, gifts editor Hannah Morill, agreed with me on this recommendation: “After three years in my role here—and a lifetime as a ravenous, enthusiastic gift giver—I’m ready to go out on a limb. Champagne flutes are the best present for most people.”
But not just any flutes. Colorful flutes. Hannah first discovered Estelle glasses when stumbling upon the beautiful decanter in our gift guide for cocktail lovers. Since then, she has gifted or recommended gifting these hand-blown jewel-toned flutes to friends celebrating life’s biggest moments: house ownership, parenthood, even divorce.
“There’s a special kind of unbridled optimism in giving someone flutes,” says Hannah. “They promise a toast, the clink of two glasses, the implicit assurance of good times to come. In an overscheduled, increasingly digital world where we could all use more connection and small moments—and a lot less junk—these joyously hued Champagne flutes demand it, one fizz at a time.”
There’s no one-size-fits-all gift. But these come really close.
