The Holiday Gift Guide for a True New Yorker
Holiday shopping can be stressful, especially when shopping for a New Yorker. We’ve put together a list of our quintessential New York holiday gifts that make the holiday season a little less stressful.
1. Same Ole Line Dudes, LLC. New York is all about wanting what we can’t have. Or could have if we were willing to wait a really, really long time for it. Whether it’s Cronuts, Barney’s New York Warehouse Sale, or a Central Park concert, line sitters are like winning Willy Wonka’s golden ticket. Well, more like the obnoxious girl whose father puts his entire factory to work looking for one. Either way, the person receiving this gift will be very grateful. Same Ole Line Dudes, (www.sameolelinedudes.com), charges $25 for the first hour and $10 each additional hour for General Waiting for events, stores, tickets sales, DV, etc. They also offer a Delivereach Premium Service which is waiting plus purchase plus delivery (think new iPhone). Bragging rights are free.
2. A Citibike Gift Certificate. Take your friend up on their “New Year! New You!” resolution with this gift. For the active or environmentally conscious New Yorker, Citibike has gift cards for a 24-hour pass ($12), a 3 Day Pass ($24), or an Annual Membership ($163). There are thousands of bikes at 100s of locations around the city making it a perfect alternative to packed subways and traffic logged buses. And while the 30 – minute time limit (45 minutes for annual members) means you can’t wander for the day, every time you drop off your bike and pick it up increases your chances of running into (hopefully not over) Leonardo DiCaprio. You can purchase any of the passes at: www.citibikenyc.com
3. A 30-day Unlimited Ride MetroCard. This is kind of the equivalent of bringing a large box of cloth diapers with a note that says “Not for use as diapers but for spit up, food spills, and everything else” to a baby shower. Not exactly the precious Tiffany & Co. key chain the new mom has been coveting since pre-child conception, but way more practical. And in this city, practical wins. A 30-day Unlimited Ride MetroCard costs $121 and is good for 30 days from the first use. There is also a 7-day Unlimited Pass MetroCard which costs $32 and is good for 7 days from first use. The MetroCard will be a gift that keeps on giving. At least until it expires. Unlimited cards can be purchased at www.web.mta.info/metrocard/mcgtreng.htm#unlimited.
4. A Subscription to the New York Times. Nothing says official New Yorker like having your name on one of the New York Times piled outside your building door. Grab a bagel and coffee and curl up with a couple of sections and you have officially arrived. A daily delivery is just $6.65 per week and there is also the option for weekend delivery at $3.80 per week. You can also opt to give a weekday subscription (Monday – Friday) for just $3.60 per week (Subscribe Here). New York Magazine (Subscribe Here) and the New Yorker (Subscribe Here) are also great options depending on the gift recipient’s New York type.
5. Bomber Bucks. A trip to Yankee Stadium is one of those must-do New York sports experiences and for any sports fan living in the city, it’s a must. It’s also the most expensive baseball stadium ever built, which for a chance to see how the other sports fans live, it’s also worth the trip. Bomber Bucks are the equivalent of a gift card for Yankees Games and can be used to purchase any regular season home game individual game ticket or a Yankee Stadium Tour. And for any sports fan reading this that completely disagrees, see also Mets Gift Card (newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/ticketing/gift_card.jsp).
6. Uber Gift Card. Uber is now cheaper than taxis. At least UberX is. But that’s not really why Uber is so desirable. Sure it’s controversial (all the more reason to use and tell) but it’s also what separates the haves from the shift-change-I’m-never-getting-home-in-the-pouring-rain desperados. Other perks: the cars are much nicer than a cab, you don’t need cash and the app system guarantees your driver will actually show up. One caveat: You must have an Uber account to give a gift card which you can do by signing up at get.uber.com/sign-up/
7. Monopoly New York City. Real Estate and Manhattan go hand in hand. And what better way for your gift recipient to contemplate just how much they are overpaying to live here than to relive the experience with a board game on a Saturday night (especially if thanks to said home, they can no longer afford to do anything else)? Include a nice bottle of wine and fancy nibbles and the memory should be quickly replaced with ones of laughter and fun to get them through the winter months. Maybe they’ll even get some play money revenge. You can find Monopoly New York at Amazon.
