The New York Groove 2024 gift guide

Is your wallet worn out after the past week of spend spend spending on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday and whatever other shopping holidays our sicko economy has managed to concoct? Too bad, you've still got more spending to do! Well, that may not be technically true — we don't know your personal budget or holiday shopping list. Regardless, we know that picking out the exact-right thing for every person on your list (or hell, just for yourself) can drain a person emotionally as much as financially.

And with that in mind, we've put together The Groove's first annual holiday gift guide, featuring — you guessed it — locally-sold and generally New York-themed options for every type of person on your list, including those who currently live far away but have understandable New York City FOMO. Perhaps most importantly, we've opted for options that are largely within a sane person's price point — everything other than an all-important Citi Bike membership is under $200 and most things are far cheaper than that (one option is $5.25). We've all got exorbitant rent to pay, but that doesn't mean you can't give great gifts:

Wooden New York City Subway toy train, $16.95

In honor of their holiday train show, the New York Botanical Garden is selling these extremely cute wooden trains, which you can buy based on the line of your choice. They've even got Metro North and LIRR versions, for the lil'est suburban commuter in your life. (NB that those ones are more expensive; consider it an early lesson in congestion pricing.)

NYC Tarot deck, $26.99

There are few better party tricks or ice breakers than breaking out the 'ol tarot deck, and this is especially true if you've got this custom illustrated deck that depicts each card as a New York City symbol or landmark ("The Empress" as a deli cat, "The Knight of Wands" as the Brooklyn bridge, and so on). Snag these for your friend who appreciates the mystical as much as they appreciate a locally-themed art object.

Only NY x MTA table lamp, $168

A bigger-ticket option for transit heads of all ages, and a good way to shake up the sea of beige in any apartment. If trash is more your thing than transit, this same company also sells full-size and pen-holder-size replicas of DSNY trash cans.

Send bagels to people where the bagels are bad, various prices

If you have a loved one who lives anywhere else in the country, they don't have good bagels. If you loved one who moved from New York to anywhere else in the country, they don't have good bagels, and they know it. You can help them out by shipping them some real bagels from some of the city's finest bagelries using a service called Goldbelly, which exists to ship restaurant-quality food nationwide. Is it environmentally dubious to be shipping local food across the country? Maybe, but just don't use the app like it's Seamless and you'll be forgiven.

Russ & Daughters offers free shipping on a "brunch for 6" package for $195 that comes stocked with cream cheese Nova salmon, bagels, babka, coffee and a Russ & Daughters mug.

Subway surf sweatshirt, $40

Rockaway Beach-based designer ilovethatforyou makes clothes that celebrate the gritty mashup of urban life in America's only good beach city (we've said it before, we'll say it again). That includes this sweatshirt of life on the A train shuttle, a shirt featuring a rat surfing a wave of garbage on a pizza slice and a surfing/anthora coffee cup mashup.

NYC Inspired Miniature Ornaments, $7.95 apiece

Depending on what size gift you're looking to get, you can buy an individual ornament or put together a whole set of these small and extremely cute ornaments from The Museum of the City of New York, where they understand just how much everyone still loves yellow cabs and and those aforementioned coffee cups even as they slowly disappear from our streets. Thankfully, the pigeons don't seem to be going anywhere, but you should still get an ornament version of one of those, too.

"Pigeons of NYC" print from Fishs Eddy, $25

Speaking of pigeons, you can pick between 50 different pigeon prints from Fishs Eddy to rep either your actual neighborhood or just your general vibe. Each and every one of their options is, to coin a phrase, "a whole mood."

"Brooklyn" scented candle from Brooklyn Candle Studio, $42

Was there a time when we would have rolled our eyes at the concept of an expensive candle purporting to represent the smell of an entire borough? Sure, of course. That was before we smelled it. It may not smell exactly of Brooklyn, per se, but whatever it does smell like is luxurious and dreamy, and anyway, if you're stumped on a gift for a person you don't know all that well, there's nothing as reliable as a tasteful, locally-made candle.

Sahadi boxed falafel mix, $5.25

Falafel ballin' on a budget this holiday season? This mix from Sahadi costs a little over $5 and easily whips up at least 20 delicious falafels. Maybe pair it with some good pita and hummus for a friend who'd love nothing more than the gift of a veg-friendly main.

Here is New York by E.B. White, $18.95

E.B. White's love letter to New York City is somehow as potent now as it was when he first wrote it in 1949. It's also a perfect addition to the bookshelf of any New Yorker whether they just arrived at Port Authority yesterday or consider themselves a dyed-in-the-wool lifer.

Library lion bookends, $175 (member price $157.50)

You're not just going to leave that E.B. White sitting on a shelf all alone without fortification, are you? Certainly not. That's where these bookends from the New York Public Library of their famous front steps lions — Patience and Fortitude — come into play. Library members get a nearly $20 discount on these bad boys, so if you needed any extra motivation to sign up with one of the city's greatest institutions, here it is.

New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson $21.99 at Greenlight Books

Does your friend enjoy living by the ocean but also dread the day the Hudson River is lapping at Vesey Street? Kim Stanley Robinson's sci-fi classic about New York stubbornly staying New York even as the sea levels rise to the point where Canal Street is turned into a literal canal is funny, poignant and strangely hopeful about what the future holds for an underwater lower Manhattan.

Anthology Film Archive membership, $75

The membership to the East Village's Anthology Film Archive comes with discounted tickets for all screenings, and free admission to more than 100 programs all year. It's a great gift for the Cassavetes, Jarmusch and Lynch fan on your list (thanks to K. Liakos on Bluesky for the tip!)

One year of Citi Bike $219.99

Give the gift of transportation, but without having to be on the hook for a monthly MetroCard! This is a great gift for a friend who rides the bikes sometimes but hadn't considered a membership, because it will save them a ton of money in unlocking fees and e-bike charges. It's also a good gift for a friend who's always late to things because you can encourage them to ride a bike the last five blocks to where they're meeting you.

New York Groove mug, $15

Supporting your favorite worker-owned local news outfit and bestowing chic swag upon your coffee- and news-consuming loved ones? Why, that's a reason for the season if ever we heard one.