Untapped New York's NYC Holiday Gift Guide 2024

We’ve created a holiday gift guide with presents for the intrepid New Yorker! From books on the hidden histories of NYC and secret dinners catered by Michelin-star chefs to honorary donations that let your giftee own a piece of the city. Check out our picks for 2024!

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For the Art Lover:

1. An Ornament Commemorating NYC's Octopus Attack

Sculptor and Staten Island resident Joe Reginella makes monuments to forgotten moments and figures in New York City history such as the man who introduced rats to the city, Porkchop the bulldog bootlegger, and the terrible Staten Island ferry octopus attack. Okay, maybe these events aren't so much forgotten as they are made up...Nonetheless, when Reginella displays the monuments in Battery Park they bring joy to passersby. The full-size monuments are ephemeral, popping up on random days, but you can have a piece of faux history forever. In his online shop, Reginella sells miniature versions of his sculptures, tree ornaments, and t-shirts. Whether you want to commemorate your sighting of his work or just want a conversation starter, these would make the perfect quirky gift. Check out all of Reginella's merchandise at the button below.

2. Local Museum Membership

Show support for a local museum by gifting a membership or making a donation in someone’s honor. Museum memberships often come with fun perks such as free admission, access to special events, and gift shop discounts. Many smaller New York City institutions that Untapped New York has had the pleasure of partnering with for some of our members-only Events such as The City Reliquary in Brooklyn, The Dyckman Farmhouse in Manhattan, and the Morris Jumel Mansion, can especially use support. Check out our list of the coolest museums in New York City for some inspiration!

For the VIP:

3. Untapped New York Membership

Give the curious New Yorker in your life a passport to the city’s secrets with an Untapped New York membership! Members at the Insider tier get an ad-free website experience, discounts on public tours, access to our digital archive of 300+ on-demand videos, access to exclusive in-person tours and virtual talks/livestreams, and more. Check out all of our upcoming member-only experiences here.

For the Foodie:

4. A Private Dinner Cooked by Michelin Star Chefs

Resident offers events where guests can attend private dinners in underutilized real estate buildings with Michelin-star chefs – the ultimate gift for discerning New Yorkers who crave a unique and intimate dining experience. No more struggling to snag reservations at popular NYC restaurants! Picture speakeasy-style gatherings where expert chefs, honed in world-class restaurants, take center stage to create unforgettable evenings. Resident is not just a culinary platform; it’s a passport to five-course tasting menus that touch various cuisines, such as Coastal New England, Latin/New American, Modern Korean, Afro-American, and more. Reservations for a Resident dinner are $195 per person and include a five-course tasting with wine pairings.

5. A Gift Basket From The Bronx's Little Italy

Share a taste of the Bronx's Little Italy with a gift basket from local Arthur Avenue businesses. These gift bundles feature a variety of authentic Italian delicacies and goods that can be hard to find anywhere else. Whether you're looking for high-quality soppressata and cheese for a holiday charcuterie, olive oil for cooking and dipping, or Italian cookies for dessert, these baskets are jam-packed with delicious goods from established local and family-owned shops. Gift baskets from Mike's Deli,  Tino's Deli, and Joe's Italian Deli are available in-store or online. You can get baskets from Marie's Fresh Roasted Coffee Beans & Gifts and Teitel Brothers in-store or over the phone. Borgatti's Ravioli & Egg Noodles, Vincent's Meat Market, and Artuso Pastry Shop also offer shipping to bring Bronx Little Italy to you.

6. A Print of Their Favorite NYC Restaurant

Former New Yorker magazine editor turned self-taught artist John Donohue made it a mission to draw all the restaurants in New York City, over 24,000 of them! He added over more than 100 drawings this year. Since 2017 he has been creating signed, limited-edition prints of his drawings on museum-quality paper with archival inks. Some of the iconic sites included in his All the Restaurants series are favorites like Pete's Tavern, Katz's Deli, and P.J. Clarke's.

For the Urban Explorer:

7. Gift Card for an NYC Tour

Give the gift of adventure with an Untapped New York Gift Card! This is a perfect last-minute gift that can be sent directly to the recipient digitally. Recipients can use the gift card for any future tour date. An Untapped New York Gift Card will unlock the secrets of landmark New York City sites from Grand Central Terminal to the Brooklyn Bridge.

On expert-led tours guided by licensed New York City guides, guests will discover relics of the city’s past (from the remnants of Penn Station to traces of Dutch New Amsterdam in Lower Manhattan), savor the flavors of New York City (eating their way through the Lower East Side or sipping coffee from Greenwich Village's oldest cafes), and uncover sites most New Yorker overlook (from a stone cottage transferred from the fields of Ireland to abandoned Brooklyn subway stations). You can see all of our upcoming tours here.

For the Curious Bookworm:

8. An Unusual Guide Book

Untapped New York founder Michelle Young just released a new edition of Secret New York: An Unusual Guide with co-authors T.M. Rives and Hannah Frishberg. The latest edition of this unconventional guidebook reveals 200 quirky sites to discover including hidden gems like the IFC Center spy holes, the Hess Triangle, and pieces of the Berlin Wall in Manhattan. When you order from Untapped New York, you can get an autographed copy!

9. More Books!

Right now you can snag a great deal on more "Secret" guidebooks and stunning coffee table tomes during Untapped New York's fire sale! Guidebooks in the photo above are just $5 and coffee table books are $10. Plus, no matter how many books you add to your haul, everyone (in the US) gets $5 shipping! Don't miss out:

10. Put Their Name in an NYPL Book

You can honor a loved one on your list and help support the New York Public Library by purchasing a book nameplate. When you make a donation of $35 or more (usually $50 or more so act fast!), your gift recipient’s name will be printed along with a personalized message and put inside a book circulating in The New York Public Library. They’ll be part of New York history and your last-minute holiday gift will be very thoughtful!

For the Transit Nerd:

11. NYC Subway Traintrackr

Transit nerds will love this hi-tech NYC-themed gift. Traintrackr uses live data received over WiFi to show the movement of MTA subway cars. The New York City subway map and train movements are displayed on a printed circuit board dotted with 599 red, green, blue, orange, yellow, white, and purple LEDs. The board shows all 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, J, L, M, N, Q, R, W, Z and shuttle lines! Traintrackr has made PCB maps of transit systems all over the world, from the Boston MBTA to the London Underground.

12. Only NY MTA Table Lamp

Perhaps the hottest gift for subway enthusiasts this year is Only NY's MTA Table Lamp. When New York City's Transit Authority (TA) became the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in 1968, the blue and red "TA" logos changed to a blue "M." This symbol can still be seen at a few subway stations, but fell out of use in the 1990s. You can gift a nostalgic piece of transit history with this lamp, which debuted to much applause in the summer of 2024. It is part of Only NY's extensive line of New York City-themed clothing and decor (which includes pen holders shaped like DSNY trash cans, hoodies with the Parks logo, and more).

13. An Actual Piece of the Subway

Every winter, New York City Transit hosts a Memorabilia and Collectibles Pop-Up Shop where transit enthusiasts can purchase actual pieces of New York City's public transit systems, from signage to grabholds. While reservations are currently booked, walk-ins are welcome on Monday, December 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The outdoor shopping event will take place at 2429 Stillwell Av, Brooklyn, NY 11223. Just remember that you'll have to haul out whatever you choose to buy, there is no shipping! See more info here.

For the Homebody:

14. Concrete Jungle Candle by Aerangis

This Concrete Jungle candle by Aerangis captures the pleasant scent of Midtown on a wet fall day. “My first visceral impression of New York City came stepping out of a subway station somewhere in midtown Manhattan one wet fall morning. I was mesmerized by the metallic colors and endless layers of granite, glass, and metal facades on the countless structures towering over me.,” recalls Alicia Tsai, who founded Aerangis after graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology’s cosmetics and fragrance program and working alongside some of New York’s top fragrance leaders. This candle was inspired by her olfactory memories and features notes of cedarwood, hyacinth, and bergamot.

15. A Piece of New York City Real Estate

New York real estate is beyond pricey, but we’ve found an alternative option! You can purchase a piece of New York City property from the Queens Museum...though it will be very tiny. Through the Museum’s Adopt-a-Building program, when you make a donation you receive a deed to your place of choice on the world’s largest architectural scale model. Find your gift recipient’s favorite building, a sentimental spot, or where they used to live. This makes for one of the most unique last-minute gifts you can find!