The Knick’s Guide To Holiday Shopping In NYC
There is no better place to check everyone off your holiday gift shopping list than New York City. From the high-end gifts that are some girls’ best friends (Tiffany! Cartier! Talk to me Harry Winston, tell me all about it!) to silly little stocking stuffers you can’t get anywhere else, the holiday markets, neighborhoods, department stores, and mom-and-pop shops of NYC have stocked up and are ready to make merry.
Here are a few of the unique and festive holiday shopping experiences that our guests love most:
Holiday Markets
One of our favorite festive ways to kick off the holiday shopping season is to grab a coffee or hot cocoa from Jake’s @ The Knick and visit the Bryant Park Winter Village, which opens at the end of October every year. In addition to dozens of kiosks for artisanal goods, gourmet products and handmade items from around the world, the Winter Village is among New Yorkers’ most beloved winter wonderlands for free ice skating, cozy people watching in the rinkside bar and food hall, igloo rentals, and iceless curling lanes available to reserve. Some of the other holiday markets to check out around town include the Columbus Circle Holiday Market, which is reminiscent of a quaint German village and features free Broadway performances on Monday evenings in November and December; the Union Square Holiday Market, also modeled after a European market, but with an emphasis on world-class gastronomy and fabulous gifts for foodies; Grand Central Holiday Fair for its old New York — and indoor — appeal; and Artists & Fleas Holiday PopUp at Chelsea Market for finding work from emerging artists.
Nordstrom
To celebrate our favorite season for dressing to impress, we’ve partnered with The Nordstrom NYC Flagship on an exclusive holiday shopping offer. Shopping at The Nick by Nordstrom includes a $100 Nordstrom gift card for use in the store or online, breakfast for two at Charlie Palmer at The Knick, VIP personal one-on-one styling services, bespoke Knickerbocker welcome gifts from Nordstrom, and complimentary gift wrapping and delivery to your room at The Knick or shipping to your U.S. home address. To check availability for this special holiday offer, please click here.
Photo by NewYorkLoversNYL, courtesy of Rockefeller Center
ROCKEFELLER CENTER
The legendary Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lights up on Wednesday, November 29 this year, and it’s a perfect excuse for a holiday shopping excursion to flagship children’s stores like FAO Schwarz, Nintendo, and LEGO; fashion and jewelry boutiques like Aritzia, Kule, Hill House Home, and Catbird; regalia for sports enthusiasts at the Major League Baseball Flagship Store and Saturdays Football; and special New York souvenirs at FDNY Fire Zone and The Rink Shop.
Photo courtesy of Pearl River Mart
Pearl River Mart
For five decades. Pearl River Mart has been among New Yorkers’ not entirely best-kept secrets for one-stop holiday shopping. The SoHo Flagship (in a new location at 452 Broadway since 2021) is brimming with beautiful, imported home décor — including ceramics and tea sets, original art and origami, lighting and linens; clothing and accessories for men, women and children; and cult favorite skincare like Bee & Flower Soap and Budlet Brand Florida Water, an eau de cologne with mild astringent properties. A perennial top holiday gift for food lovers is the Friendship Box, which can feature condiments, snacks, teas or other pantry items from Asian countries. At Pearl River Mart Foods in Chelsea Market, find classic and new food items from all over Asia, as well as prepared specialty items from chefs and businesses around NYC.
Times Square
Yes, Times Square has more than its share of souvenir stands (we like this one) and tourist-friendly flagships like the M&M Store, but it’s also a great place to shop for certain aficionados on your list. For the theater lover, score the last minute gift of tickets at TKTS, or peruse for something truly unique at The Drama Bookshop. Wow your favorite sports fan with something from Pelé Soccer or Grand Slam. And, for the sweet tooth on your list, you can choose between the aforementioned M&M Store and Hershey’s Chocolate World, or get something a bit harder to find from Swiss chocolate shop Läderach or Bibble & Sip’s French confections inspired by Asian flavors.
Photo courtesy of Bon Bon Swedish Candy Co.
Specialty Candy Stores
Win the award for best stocking stuffers by stocking up on candy in NYC. Fortify your candy cache at well-known emporiums like Dylan’s Candy Bar and the old-school icon Economy Candy; sample Scandi candies at Sockerbit and Bon Bon; and satisfy serious cocoa cravings at Jacques Torres and Kee’s Chocolate.
Museum Gift Shops
For multi-taskers, museum gift shops offer the ultimate way to shop. At The MoMA Design Store, you can browse a large, curated selection of interesting and useful gifts for the modern art and design lover in your life, and take in the current Ed Ruscha Now/Then exhibition. At The Met Store, you can feel good that your purchase is supporting the museum’s mission of the “study, conservation and presentation of 5,000 years of art”; and at the New York Historical Society Museum Store, you can combine souvenir shopping with holiday giving.