You might not be in a position to gift your loved ones a trip to France this year. But that doesn’t mean you can’t give them a little slice of la vie française this holiday season. Whether you’re shopping for a foodie, a bookworm, or a fashionista, these gifts are perfect for any francophile. (And at every budget.)
Art Hiding in Paris – $24
Art lovers in your life will adore Art Hiding in Paris, an illustrated guide to the French capital’s public artworks. Each piece is accompanied by backstory that offers a bit of French history to take you back in time to the work’s creation. Check out our review here.
Glenfiddich x Thierry Atlan Grand Cru Scotch Whisky-Infused Macarons -$68
The New York-based French atelier Thierry-ATLAN has joined forces with Glenfiddich to release a limited edition set of 12 macarons flavored with Glenfiddich Grand Cru, a single malt Scotch whisky that has been matured for 23 years and finished in rare French Cuvée casks.
EspressoWorks 15-bar Espresso Machine – $220
How are you supposed to pretend you’re sitting at a Parisian cafe drinking coffee and reading Sartre without an espresso machine at home? The EspressoWorks 15-bar Espresso Machine comes with everything you need to make the perfect café crème, including a coffee grinder single and double shot baskets, two ceramic espresso cups, and a milk frothing pitcher.
L’Occitane “Unwind With Lavender” Gift Set – $85
The beloved purveyor of decadent French hand creams, L’Occitane, goes hard for the holidays so you can take it easy. Order this Unwind With Lavender gift set (complete with lavender-scented hand wash, body lotion, hand cream, and a relaxing pillow mist) for the person in your life who desperately needs a trip to the spa.
Le Creuset Stoneware Mini Round Cocotte – $22
Every foodie hopes to someday win the lottery and be able to afford a full size Dutch Oven from French cookery manufacturer Le Creuset. But their Mini Round Cocotte is an excellent budget-friendly alternative for making single-size adorable dishes.
Amanda Bankert’s Vegan Pastry Cookbook -$25
Vegan skeptics, be warned: if your loved one makes you something from this book, you’ll never know. That’s how good Amanda Bankert’s sneaky plant-based recipes are. The American chef, famous for her bakery Boneshaker Donuts in Paris, has written a guide to French baking and pâtisserie with instructions for how to make everything from macarons to gâteaux de voyage. Check out our review of Voilà Vegan: 85 Decadent, Secretly Plant-Based Desserts from an American Pâtisserie in Paris, and get your favorite plant-based foodie a copy.
Raphael Metivet Print – $275
Raphael Metivet is a French photographer best known for his intoxicatingly voyeuristic rooftop photography, which allows viewers to peer into the homes of everyday Parisians. Shop one of his dreamy prints on Etsy, or browse his Instagram for other options.
Michel et Augustin Cookies – $25
Michel et Augustin are a charming duo known for their butter cookies implanted with hearts of molten chocolate. Get a Christmas gift box of 12 bars of their cookie squares for the sweet tooth in your life.
L’Artisan Parfumeur Discovery Set – $38
Why pick a perfume for someone when you could give them the option to discover one for themselves? The La Collection Discovery Set contains six mini spray bottles of L’Artisan Parfumeur’s signature scents, ranging from deep and sultry blackberry and musk, to bright and floral jasmine and orange blossom.
Revol Ramekins – $34 for 2
Ramekins are the perfect gift: something useful that the average Jean probably wouldn’t buy for themselves. They’re perfect for soufflés, eggs en cocotte, chocolate mousse, French onion soup, or even a side of olives on a charcuterie board. And you can’t get any more French than Revol, a company founded in 1768!
Macaron Baking Kit – $35
Some baked goods, like the notoriously finicky macaron, require a little extra equipment to make sure things go according to plan. This Macaron Baking Kit from Sur La Table comes with a specialty silicone baking sheet, bowl scraper, pastry bags and tips, and an offset spatula.
VEJA Sneakers – $150-220
The darling of the sustainable fashion world comes from VEJA, a French sneaker brand that uses organic products and boasts with a sense of style that perfectly marks the line between classic and trendy.
Candied Chestnuts – $56
Marrons Glacés, or candied chestnuts, are a delicacy in France, usually served around Christmas. The seminal brand Faugier sells gift boxes of the labor-intensive sweets. They might seem pricey, but if you take one bite you’ll understand why!
Maison Margiela ‘REPLICA’ Mini Coffret Set – $75
The boundary-pushing French fashion house Maison Margiela has released a miniature collection of perfumes “inspired by precious moments of the past,” with names like Jazz Club and Lazy Sunday Morning.
Provence Olive Oils Gift Set – $100
Provence has long produced some of the most fragrant, delicate, and sumptuous olive oil in the world. This collection of five Provençal olive oils from A L’Olivier focuses on flavors of the region: Lemon, Lavender, Basil, White Truffle, and Black Truffle.
Williams Sonoma Tour de France Gift Crate – $120
The foodie in your life will go nuts over this mouthwatering collection of French treats from Williams Sonoma. The smoked salmon, triple cream brie, paté, caviar, and blinis are all sourced from France, and delivered in a charming wooden crate. Perfect for a rooftop picnic with a bottle of wine.
Violette’s Holiday Beauty Sets – $78-118
Violette is our French beauty spirit guide, and her capsule collection of mid-price, high-end, carefully-curated beauty products is a fab gift for any francophile. This year, she’s offering three different beauty sets. The Anna Set, the most extravagant, includes her cult favorite Boum-Boum Milk, Bisou Blush, Bisou Balm, and Yeux Paint.
Cognac Park – $40
Your friend, uncle, or coworker with the most impressively stocked bar cart probably has enough expensive whiskey on hand, which is why you should get them a great bottle of cognac. Great for sipping or for making exquisite cocktails, Cognac Park VS Carte Blanche is a fresh, young cognac produced in small batches that manages to come out at an extremely reasonable price for its high quality.
Talia Sari Map Jewelry – $199
If you want to wear France on your body, but get the ick from anything with an Eiffel Tower pendant on it, Talia Sari has an answer for you. You can have custom jewelry made to show a specific portion of a map anywhere in the world. Maybe it’s the street in Paris where your fiancé popped the question, or the neighborhood in Nice where you spent an unforgettable summer. It can be your little secret—or a great conversation starter.
French Wine Bundles ($155-295)
It’s hard to go wrong with a good bottle of wine… or six. Dedalus, a nationally renowned wine shop in Burlington, VT, has curated two exclusive wine bundles for French wine lovers. The first, Young Guns of Beaujolais ($259), includes six bottles from up-and-coming Beaujolais winemakers. The second, Iconic Red Burgundies, comes with either two bottles ($155) or three ($295) from Burgundy, hand-selected by the somms at Dedalus to offer some of the best wines of the already stellar region.
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Catherine Rickman is a writer, professional francophile, and host of the Expat Horror Stories podcast. She is currently somewhere in Brooklyn with a fork in one hand and a pen in the other, and you can follow her adventures on Instagram @catrickman, or on TikTok @catinthekitchen.
