Rod Dreher's Diary Gift Guide

In Which Your Diarist Makes Suggestions, And Invites Yours

Christmas season in Prague, 2023

A second weekend extra post! Just saw this gift guide from The Free Press, and thought hey, why not write one here, while there’s still time for people to get them? Below, I’ll share with you some of the things that have meant a lot to me over the years, and suggest why you might want to consider giving them to that special someone. I also invite you subscribers in the comments section to give your own gift advice.

First, I would not be serving my own greedy interests if I didn’t suggest that you give a year’s subscription to this here diary. It’s only $60 annually, and you get a new posting every weekday, plus sometimes (ahem) others on the weekends.

For that matter, why not consider a gift of my new book Living In Wonder? US buyers, go here; UK buyers, go here. Nothing I’ve ever written has received better reviews. It’s all about God, Beauty, prayer, miracles, signs and wonders — as well as darker manifestations of woo, including UFOs, the occult, and advanced tech. I think it is going to prove an essential guide to this era of re-enchantment in which we now live.

Now, to my list.

The Insta Pot. Here is a supremely practical gift that every kitchen should have. You can steam things with it, make rice and oatmeal, make soups, yogurt, steam things, sauté, and slow-cook anything. I can’t think of a more useful kitchen appliance, at least for the money. I’ve linked to the 8-quart model, the most expensive, but you can get them in small, less expensive sizes. Mind you, I have a Thermomix, which is a total luxury, one that I have not dedicated myself to learning how to use to its full potential (later, later). Still, I don’t use this machine, which costs many times as much (though it’s shockingly less expensive in Europe, where I bought mine), as much as I used my humble Insta Pot (which She got in the divorce, oy).

Pocket Squares. Ties aren’t in fashion much anymore. I rarely wear one, but I don’t feel quite right with no adornment. I really love pocket squares to spruce up a blazer or suit jacket. They’re not all that expensive, either, and they’re widely available. My favorites come from a shop in Vienna, Wilhelm, Jungmann & Neffe; every time I’m in Vienna, I stop to buy a new one. These are details of the two-sided silk one I bought yesterday:

A good men’s shop will have a nice selection of them. Think about the sensibility of the man for whom you are buying one. For example, I usually don’t care for geometric patterns. I prefer nature patterns, as above, or classic patterns, like paisley or jacquard. But maybe your intended does like geometric patterns. Whatever — there’s a pocket square for the man in your life. Even plain ones are excellent! I just discovered that you can buy William Morris print pocket squares! Want!

A Saddleback Leather Wallet. That’s a link to a selection of wallets from the Texas-based Saddleback Leather company. The only men alive who do not covet Saddleback Leather products are those who do not know about them. My kids gave me a Saddleback Leather bifold wallet some years back. It took a while to get broken in, but once it did, it became a precious possession. Saddleback’s cheeky slogan is a nod to its quality and durability. “They’ll fight over it when you’re dead.” True.

A Barbour Jacket. They’re not cheap — they run just shy of $400. But boy, are they a treasure. They’re waxed, so they shed water, and they look so classic and British. They come in a women’s model too. I wear mine almost every day in fall and winter. This year, when UK farmers began protesting the Starmer government’s agricultural plans, Barbour jackets became coded as “right-wing” in Britain. Well, what more do you need to know? If the man (or woman) in your life needs a big present, this is ace.

Corbs Eyeglass Frames. I constantly get complimented on my eyeglass frames (see image of Self at top), which come from Lesca Lunetier, a French manufacturer. They are the “Corbs” model (follow link in bold), though if you follow this link, you can explore the Lesca site. It’s almost certainly too late to order frames for Christmas delivery, but they do deliver to the US. You can buy them with sunglass lenses, but if you need a prescription, buy the empty frames and take them to your eyeglass shop and have them fitted for prescription lenses. Warning: Corbs are thick plastic, and are significantly heavier than most frames.

Books. My favorite things to give! I could write a long list, but here are a few.

Does your intended love travel? Hard to do better than A Time of Gifts, the first volume of Patrick Leigh Fermor’s brilliant, unsurpassed three-volume account of his trek on foot across Europe in the mid-1930s, when he was a young man. He writes like a dream, and his evocation of a Europe that has now passed into history is the kind of book you want to read by the fire, with a glass of something warming near to hand. (If you are feeling generous, buy the next two volumes in the series.)

How about something for the Paris lover? Well, Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast is canonical, but chances are your Lutetophile has already read it. Score with the New Yorker writer A.J. Liebling’s Between Meals: An Appetite For Paris, a collection of his essays about learning how to eat as an American in Paris in the 1920s. Liebling uses food as a lens through which to draw vivid portraits of an entire culture. From a Spectator review of the book:

Liebling’s Paris is a comestible world peopled with comestible characters. Of a fellow gastronome he writes: ‘His face in those days was the precise colour of the inside of a châteaubriand which is between rare and medium rare.’ On millinery matters he notes: ‘The cloche was an enlarged skull cap, jammed down on the head like an ice-cream scoop on a ball of vanilla.’ Chefs loom large. M. Pierre, of the eponymous restaurant in Place Gaillon, ‘has the appearance of a distinguished sinner in a René Clair movie’, while a Greek chef, born in Cairo, ‘must have measured six feet eight inches from the soles of his shoes to the top of the chef’s toque he always wore – one of the starched kind, shaped like an Orthodox priest’s hat’.

Interested in Orthodox Christianity? Or Russia? There are any number of books about Orthodox theology and spirituality I could recommend, but I’d recommend giving Eugene Vodolazkin’s wondrous novel Laurus. It’s set in medieval Russia (the author is a medievalist by profession), and tells the story of a simple man, the title character, who commits a terrible sin, and spends the rest of his life atoning, in the process having amazing adventures, and becoming a saint. Interestingly, Christianity isn’t the focus of this novel, but the faith saturates every page. It’s an entry into a thoroughly enchanted world.

Similar to Laurus, but more accessible to the general reader, is another favorite novel of mine is Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset. It’s a trilogy about the life and times of its title character, a Norwegian girl of the Middle Ages. It is an incredibly rich tale of passion, romance, faith, pilgrimage, family, sin, salvation — well, the whole wide world. Undset’s Norway is also a thoroughly enchanted Christian (Catholic) world. I did not want it to end. This too is a book to be read fireside. I’ve linked to the Tiina Nunnally translation; that’s the one to get.

Stocking Stuffers. Here’s a fun gift: Marvis is a boutique Italian toothpaste brand. Americans can buy on Amazon a set of their two most popular flavors: Ginger Mint and Jasmine Mint. They have many others, but I’ve only ever seen them in Europe. Black Forest, for example, is chocolate and cherry, which sounds awful in a toothpaste, but it’s fantastic. I was just in Vienna and saw that Marvis has produced a limited edition flavored like fragrant flowers. Anyway, nobody thinks it’s special to get toothpaste in their stocking. That’s because they’ve never tried Marvis.

Any tea lovers among your people? Buy them the gift of Mariage Frères. The Cultured Cup in Dallas will do mail-order of a good selection from the French tea sellers. Of the ones the Cultured Cup sells, I’m especially fond of Esprit de Noël, which is cinnamony, and Marco Polo, which is rich and fruity. But look, I’ve never had a cup of anything by Mariage Frères that was anything short of exquisite.

Beard oil. I’ve heard of men using beard oil, but I don’t have a long beard, so I never thought about trying it. Then a friend gave me a bottle of this kind from STMNT. It’s really wonderful stuff, especially in the winter, when a man’s face gets dry. This brand smells citrusy and spicy, just like Christmas. It’s a lovely bit of seasonal frippery.

Finally, after all this worldly stuff, let me recommend the least expensive, but most important gift suggestion on this list: an Orthodox prayer rope. You can get them online from many monasteries; here’s one, but try to find an Orthodox monastery near to you, to shop local. No need to buy fancy. Get a simple wool one; the 100-knot is standard. Learn to pray the Jesus Prayer on it. Easy to say the words, but a challenge to still the mind and open the heart. Trust me, it will change your life. There’s nothing specifically Orthodox about the Jesus Prayer — all Christians can say it: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” One minute to learn, a lifetime to master.

Your suggestions? See you in the comments.