Before being there comes getting there. For many, the festive season begins with a journey back—back across distances and into awaiting arms, certainly, but also back through time, to encounter familiar sights, sounds and scents that the passing months may erode, though never quite erase. In this year’s festive short film, our protagonists find themselves engaged in this business of returning home. In the warm interior of a train carriage, with snow-dusted pines streaming past the window, the overhead luggage racks creak with largesse. Suitcases are packed with all manner of efficacious and aromatic formulations, ready to delight discerning recipients. It is a time to give, a time to gather; a time to embrace.
If there is still an empty space or two in your own festive suitcase, here are a few ideas of gifts with which to fill them.
Discerning hosts: gifts for the home
'Tis the season not just of homecomings and gift-giving, but also of hosting. From the first umber of autumn, the convivially minded among us begin gleefully to dream up this year’s domestic mise-en-scène; carefully curated table settings and elaborate centrepieces with which to delight any and all guests lucky enough to be invited over.
Serenity seekers: gifts for the self
A joyous time it may be, but even the most gregarious are bound to experience a degree of jubilation fatigue over the course of the festive season, leaving one in need of some quiet recuperation.
Curious travellers: gifts for travel
If looking something that would please an inveterate wanderer, then the Arms Outstretched gift kit might be something to consider.
Hands-on nurturers: gifts for the hands and body
Hand and body care formulations make for thoughtful gifts, not just because of the sensory pleasure they bestow, but also for the nurturing attention they signify. Gift kits like the aptly named Evergreen Affections, Touching Gestures, or Gentle Embraces, will communicate deep appreciation for a cherished recipient.
The Aesop Valise
If none of the above has leapt out and announced itself as the ideal gift for someone on your list, or if you are looking to make a gesture of utmost generosity this year, then consider the Aesop Valise. A sizable carry-on which brings to mind that annual journey homeward, it is filled with a profusion of sensorial delights including skin care, formulations for the hands and body, and fragrances for the self and home. Designed to be gradually unpacked and enjoyed throughout the month of December—or all at once in a flurry of excitement—it is a gift that will still be talked about when the next festive season arrives.
‘Happiness seems made to be shared.’
Pierre Corneille
