Shopping and Champagne: Simplifying the Holidays
Posted in Holiday Train Show on November 30 2011, by Matt Newman
What else flutters the heart like opening that first bottle of champagne? The percussive pop of the cork brings everyone close, and it doesn’t matter how much you spill. Sometimes that’s the point–champagne is a cheer to the evening with or without occasion.
At The New York Botanical Garden, we’re toasting holiday nights with an event just glitzy enough to make for the perfect outing in the city, boasting bottles of your favorite bubbly beverage and a chance to check off the names on your gift list in one easy sweep. No hemming and hawing over what to buy for that colleague you hardly know, or catering to your neighbor’s gardening habit without a clue as to what she needs. It’s just you, a glass of champagne, and a walk through the Holiday Train Show’s miniature marvels; 140 landmark replicas, a quarter-mile of tracks, and memories made every moment. And after relaxing in the starry glow of the seasonal lights, stroll over to our Shop in the Garden to put our gift experts to work. Oh, and it’s not a hard place to find–just head for the sparkling display of holiday conifers.
Shopping and Champagne starts this Thursday, December 1, and runs Thursday nights for the following two weeks, so you’ll have ample opportunity to spend some time at the NYBG after dark. But if you’ve never had a chance to stop by our Shop in the Garden, fear not: I’ve got a little teaser to lend you some easy gift ideas. With home accents, gardening accessories, jewelry and books, you’ll be hard-pressed to come up empty-handed here.
As a fan of cooking (I’m awful at it, but I’ve yet to burn a kitchen to the ground), having a cookbook with a touch of authenticity to it is a point of pride; it’s the next best thing to having your family recipe cards in a worn wooden box on the shelf, and miles beyond the culinary magazines you pick up at the supermarket. And with decades of homemade Italian recipes inside, The Arthur Avenue Cookbook is about as good as it gets for the amateur chef.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that every recipe, interview and anecdote in this edible history of Little Italy comes from right here in the Bronx.
It turns out that form and function don’t have to be mutually exclusive! For any gardener on your gift list, there’s no way to go wrong with a watering can–as long as it’s nicer than the one they’ve already got, of course. That said, this simple, functional, and beautifully-designed classic would look just as good displayed as an accent piece as it would dipping its spout over a tomato plant. And we have plenty of matching pieces to help you build the perfect gift set, too!
E-mail and text messaging may take up most of our time these days, but that doesn’t mean that the art of the written word has disappeared. At least not for those of us who still appreciate the timeless routine of keeping a journal. The NYBG’s box set offers a trio of bound books–journal, address, and appointment–to help the writer in your life keep up with his or her penmanship. Each one bears a different landmark painting or illustration from the history of botanical artwork, including pieces by John Fitch–19th century artist and contributor to the famed collection of prints known as The Orchid Album.
The popularity of terrariums has exploded in the last few years. There’s something wonderfully simple and engaging about a tiny ecosystem flourishing under glass, especially when it’s so clean, easy to keep, and begging for your creative input. And with these artisanally-crafted terrariums, you’ll have the opportunity to design growing worlds to your heart’s content, whether you’re cultivating exotic foliage or raising local plants at home. And you don’t have to go into this hobby blindfolded, either; we carry terrarium project books by renowned horticultural experts to help get the first glass garden off the ground.
But if you’re anything like me, this one won’t even make it into the gift wrap before you’ve claimed it for yourself. You can deal with the guilt later, right?
Do you love all-in-one kits as much as I do? Having an infatuation with gifts that multitask better than I do, I’ve set the benchmark pretty high. But I’m sure you can appreciate the concept: our picnic cooler for two carries everything you’ll need for an afternoon out, shy of a sun umbrella.
This one sports an all-natural fiber weave on the outside, with an easy-to-clean PEVA lining on the inside (fully-insulated and PVC-free, naturally) to hold all manner of fancy cheeses, beverages, sandwiches and what have you. And because not everyone is keen to eat with their hands, a slim front compartment stows away a full two-person table setting: plates, glasses, flatware of most every shape, and even a corkscrew. Toss in a bottle of wine and you’re ready for just about anything a day of languid relaxation can throw at you.
Have a look at our other picnic gear to find something to suit any taste on your gift list.
Sometimes a lasting experience goes so much further than a trinket or toy, and you’re that much more likely to remember the loved one who made it possible. It’s why The New York Botanical Garden offers yearly memberships. Pick one up while you’re here for Shopping and Champagne, and you’ll be presenting an entire year of access to 250 acres of stunning floral exhibitions, winding forest trails, holiday gatherings and so much more.
