I’ve always considered fall the true annual reset, if not the soft launch of the upcoming holiday season. I know, I know — we’re still in the month of October, and actively shopping for Jack O’Lanterns. My Instagram ads, however, have already started overflowing with advent calendars and early-bird holiday deals for food-lovers. As an overplanner and Eater’s dedicated town crier for all things shopping-related, I’m actually very here for it. At this big age, I like to get as much done ahead of time to give the cool people in my life equally cool presents that feel thoughtful and curated. (Also, my mother has received enough “coupon books for free hugs” in her lifetime. Now, it’s time to shower her with Japanese A5 Wagyu ribeye steaks and holiday drops from Le Creuset.)
In many ways, the work of putting together this particular gift guide is easy [clears throat in Ratatouille], because it’s simply about finding the stuff that’s worth shopping ahead for — the tools that will last, pantry finds that will dazzle, and aesthetic air fryers. Consider the following a lovingly curated holiday cheat sheet to the coolest gifts for food-lovers that are sure to sell out fast.
The epic advent calendars have landed
Last week, we rounded up the best food- and drink-themed advent calendars of the year, from luxurious, detailed boxes of artisanal chocolates to mini-jam-jar-filled calendars by Bonne Maman. Keep in mind that these stunners often sell out quickly, and sometimes give giftees a sneak peek at soon-to-be-released products (as is the case with Fly By Jing’s 2026 calendar).
For the dirty martini loyalist
Ultimate shoppy-shop Big Night has curated a very cool selection of gift boxes for food- and drink-lovers, including the Dirty Martini Box. Inside the cheery coffret, you’ll find a set of martini glasses by Sophie Lou Jacobsen and a jar of Spanish olives from Quincy, which packages its pitted olives in barrel-strength, dirty martini-worthy brine (our editors are obsessed).
An unexpected and delightful launch from Fishwife (no, it’s not fish)
Fishwife has solidified its place as the queen of the cool tinned seafood brands thanks to its ever-growing, stylishly packaged smorgasbord of ethically sourced seafood. If you really love someone who has a passion for clams and/or a dedicated tinned fish fork, consider spoiling them with this cool, albeit unexpected launch from Fishwife: reusable eye masks. Yes, the good fish folks have partnered with Dieux, a Brooklyn-based skincare company centered around sustainability and high quality products on a pair of lightweight, reusable eye patches. Simply apply your favorite under-eye serum to the two fish-shaped patches (designed by Fishwife’s longtime illustrator, Danny Miller), let them chill under your eyes to depuff, rinse, and store in your collectible tin.
Gato’s loaded dates taste just as sumptuous as truffles, and while its classic lineup includes must-trys such as almond and pistachio butter, it just dropped a limited-edition drop with maple pecan crunch and honey from Ojai Roots, a regenerative farm shop from the scenic SoCal city.
The Platonic ideal of panettone
Originally founded in Arzignano, Italy, in 1882, Olivieri 1882’s panettones and pandoros always dazzle (and sell out) during the holiday season. If you pull up with one of the heritage bakery’s triple chocolate panettones or the signature dramatic, powdered sugar-dusted pandoro to your in-laws’ house, it’s safe to say that you will have won the holidays.
For the home cook looking for a little pizzazz
L’Isolina’s Spaghetti Dust sells out so quickly and frequently that it has become something of a grail item for online shoppers (I speak from personal experience). This groovy, graphic tube is essentially an at-the-ready aglio olio e peperoncino blend, as L’Isolina explains: “Just add to your drained, al dente pasta with 1/3 cup of great extra virgin olive oil, toss and serve!”
Flamingo Estate’s princess-cake-scented set
The posh au natural Los Angeles lifestyle brand Flamingo Estate has a reputation for making limited-edition candles that smell good enough to eat. Last year’s standout scent belonged to the prinsesstårta candle, which captures the not-too-sweet aroma of the marzipan-topped cake from Sant Ambroeus. Flamingo Estate also launched a Prinsesstårta fragrance oil, and has bundled it together with the candle as part of an elegant gift set (I also challenge you to find a chicer gift box than those at Flamingo Estate).
For the smashburger aficionado
Smashburgers are here to stay. The thin and crispy patties have permeated restaurant menus across the country for years — so much so, that there’s even smashburger-ready cast-iron press from Caraway that comes in a bunch of fun colors (and will look great hanging from a pot rack).
An extra-special olive oil flight
Olive oil brands are more personality-forward than ever, and while I love my non-aesthetic jug of Pompeiian EVOO as much as my yassified Graza squeeze-tip bottles, it is truly hard to go wrong with the gift of Brightland’s glass-bottled olive and balsamic oils. The company partnered with New York City lifestyle brand Hill House on a duo of some of its best-selling olive oils, the Awake EVOO (vivid and peppery) and Ardor Chili Olive Oil (sultry and slow burning), all dressed up in Hill House’s seasonal Poppy Damask print.
A Hanukkah gift for the ultimate chocolate lover
These vegan dark chocolate-covered squares of matzo are the brainchild of luxury Los Angeles chocolatier Compartés, which specializes in especially creative, small-batch confections, so you know it will taste as delicious as it looks. (Plus, you can request a gluten-free option as well.)
Maison Balzac’s holiday wrapping (and a new dishware collection) is here
If there’s one thing my stylish and emotionally withholding grandmother taught me, it’s that your gift is only as good as its presentation. Maison Balzac makes a spectrum of surreal, whimsical French-inspired home goods and tableware collections, and it just launched its playful holiday packaging for presenting them with flair. The new Pomponette collection is perfect for the holiday season. “[It] invites the breakfast table to play dress-up,” the site explains, “teapots wear crowns, handles bloom into soft constellations, and porcelain begins to whisper.”
For the MoMA Design Store nerd, a postmodern pancake maker
Leave it to the MoMA Design Store to give us a postmodern pancake-batter machine. Melt away all the stress of drips, spills, and unevenly mixed batter with the Design Store-exclusive Bodum gadget, which also functions as a mixing bowl (with built in whisks at the handle) and measuring cup.
