Are we the only ones humming Shakin’ Stevens after this weekend’s first snowfall of the season? There’s just a certain kind of magic to it. Less magic is the grey sludge next day, but let’s not talk about that now. Let’s instead focus on what snow also often is a sign of; the Holidays! (And winter, and hot toddies, and skiing, and snow boots plus big coats, but we digress.)
The holiday season brings a lot of joys. One of them, if you ask us, is buying presents for the ones you love. (Well, receiving them isn’t half bad either…) Did you check out our 8th annual Holiday Gift Guide? This year featured beautiful clothing for men and women, makeup and skincare picks for the glam fam and of course some ideas for the little ones, and the even smaller ones — your pooch, and more.
In our office, it also inspired some great talks about what we’re putting on our wish list this year. Here are some of our top picks. Has anyone heard from Santa yet?
Red Wine Glasses from Villeroy & Boch
At Downtown, we like to joke that if you don’t like wine, you can’t sit with us. While not quite true, we all do appreciate a good glass of Merlot or Cabernet after a long day to unwind or over a dinner with friends and family. To make it a real luxurious treat, serving it in just the right glass actually matters. These timeless classic crystal glasses from Villeroy & Boch deliver the perfect size in an elegant design. The glasses are also available in White Wine 4-piece set and Champagne Flute 4-piece set if you prefer a glass of Pinot Grigio or Dom Perignon.
Villeroy & Boch Ovid Red Wine Set is priced at $19.95 and can be purchased at Villeroy-Boch.com and Amazon.com
Ruggable 2-piece Washable Rug System
What is ruggable, you might ask. We hadn’t heard of it either, until one of our editors stumbled upon it, quite literally, at a meeting. And this genius creation consists of a removable washable waterproof rug cover and a nonslip rug pad, which means you can peel your rug off the pad and take it straight to the cleaners, i.e. your washing machine, and it’ll come out like new. The rugs come in a great variety of designs meaning you’ll find them fitting for everything from offices, living rooms to bedrooms and even kids rooms and nurseries.
The Ruggable 2-piece set come in sizes 3×5, 2.5×7, 5×7, 8×10 priced at $89 to $389 and can be purchased at ruggable.com
Enter the code DOWNTOWN20 at checkout for 20% off the entire order now through March 31st.
Agabhumi Accessories
Full disclosure: We’re an office consisting mostly of women. Our mantra? Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize. One of the brands we fell in love with earlier this year is Agabhumi (pronounced Ah-gă-BOO´-mē and means “ancient firmament”). The brand features island-inspired jewelry, apparel, and accessories, and each piece will send your mind on a journey to warmer places. For the holiday parties, we’re dreaming of decking out ourselves with bracelets, earrings, and rings from the collection.
Prices vary depending on item, pictured is Wisk Earring priced at $58, and can be purchased at agabhumi.com
Nobis Outerwear
Another season, another jacket. At least that’s the excuse we’re using. And yes, we’ll use any excuse if it means going shopping and coming home with something new to wear. With the snow and the freezing wind tunnels, NYC’s tall buildings create however, we want to keep it practical. Lucky for us, practical does not mean giving up style and elegance. Canadian brand Nobis has been love at first sight. And with the city finally starting to feel like winter, we may or may not be planning a wedding. The hazel (pictured) comes with premium Canadian Origin White Duck Down for ultimate warmth, it is wind- and waterproof and has a beautifully tailored fit. It doesn’t get any better than this.
Prices vary depending on item, pictured is The Hazel priced at $695, and can be purchased at us.nobis.com
Flitt Flying Camera
But first, let us take a selfie. Our office is into selfies, but we also all know the struggle of not being able to fit everyone or everything in the shot – and no, we’re not fans of the selfie stick. We are, however, fans of Flitt‘s flying selfie camera. The photos and videos come out crystal clear, and you can capture those difficult angles. Another plus is that it’s easy to bring along, as it folds together in a size no larger than a king-size candy bar and fits perfectly in your pocket. Perfect for us New Yorkers always looking for the next original shot but don’t want to carry heavy equipment.
Flitt is priced at $99.99 and can be purchased at flittcamera.com
