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First, an exciting announcement — we have a winner in our Ooni pizza oven giveaway! Congrats to winner Julie H. We see delicious pizza in your future. We’ll send you an email.

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What we’re covering today: 

• The world’s fastest gift wrappers (and, how to reduce wrapping waste this season)

• IRL shopping is making a comeback so we’ve got the scoop on the world’s wildest malls and the coolest bookstores in the U.S.

• Sunday styling: how to choose men’s styling products, and a DIY blowout tutorial 

• Plus: a new Bloody Mary spritz, the Pantone Color of the Year revealed 2025 home design trends & the product Costco won’t be selling on the reg in 2025

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Mall rat

The comeback of malls, bookstores & IRL shopping 

The Skinny: Is the allure of online convenience, and the constant staring at screens that accompanies it, finally fading? Gen Z, in particular, is rediscovering the fun of wandering through stores, feeling fabrics, smelling fragrances, discovering new items, and socializing while they shop. In fact, according to this story, Gen Zers and their Boomer grandparents are the two demographics who are shopping in-store the most. And it’s not just malls: bookstores are buzzing again thanks to their uniquely cozy IRL shopping vibe and proud stance of a living, breathing experience where you follow your own real-time interest and discovery—not an algorithm’s. 

So grab your crew and cash stacks, and let’s head out. 

First, a global tour of some of the world’s wildest malls, including one in Iran that has a “hall of mirrors,” and another in Japan that boasts a “Ramen Stadium” on its top floor. If these types of malls are the future, here’s a trip down Mall Memory Lane with a roundup of the most rad mall shopping experiences from the ’90s. RIP, Orange Julius. 

Moving on to bookstores—who doesn’t love getting lost in one? After doing a little digging to find unique indie bookstores in the U.S., we stumbled upon some that we’ve been to, and others that we’d love to visit. Standouts are: 

• Montague Book Mill, next to a little waterfall and in a charming off-the-path location in Western Mass. (we’ve been), this used book store prides itself on being hard to find and filled with books you don’t need. And don’t try to find an online catalog, they say, because it doesn’t and will never exist. Their promise to visitors? If we can’t find the book you’re looking for, we’ll find you a better one you didn’t know you wanted.

• Literati bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI, which has a OG typewriter on display for the public to type their every musings (which they made into a book). 

• An afternoon well spent: step into New Orleans’ Faulkner House Books, lauded as “the world’s most charming bookstore, and settle in for a couple chapters of the Wild Palms. Tucked away behind Jackson Square, this bookshop is housed in Faulkner’s former residence and bills itself as a “sanctuary for fine literature.” Indeed.

It’s a wrap

The joy of a beautifully presented gift

The Skinny: How to eco-wrap! According to recycled wrapping paper brand Wrappily—which makes recyclable, compostable, and double-sided paper from newsprint—4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper is wasted each holiday season. Here’s what you can do to help reduce that number:

First, you can use gift wrapping bags or even make your own bows.

“Suzanne here, The Skinny’s editor and little sister to its co-creator Nicole. In fact, Nicole taught me how to wrap presents. As a teenager, she taught this toddler how to tear tape in appropriate lengths from the desktop tape dispenser (which still exists—in all its faded off-whiteness) and crease the paper for perfect corners. While this is a core memory, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE wrapping gifts, the Christmas morning waste started to bother me. Growing up, we’d just toss the paper into the fireplace, but that’s a no-no today because it combusts quickly and could cause chimney fires.

My solution, and one that’s becoming popular, is using fabric. You can make your own gift bags like I have, or wrap in a square of fabric like Japanese Furoshiki or the more versatile (multi shaped) Korean Bojagi. If you’re able to sew a straight line on a sewing machine, with a few materials you can make bang out a simple drawstring bag or a more structured quilted version with handles.  I use them at home, adding a few new ones each year if there’s a need for a specific size and made some pink Christmas ones for mom’s presents.  Last note, fabric is of course not cheaper than paper, so make sure you’re gifting your hard work to someone who appreciates sustainability, and who will reuse them!”

Nicole is way less crafty than Suzanne, but even she went on an unprecedented crafting mini-binge last year, and created a handful of DIY bows made from magazines (shown below). Save ’em, reuse ’em!

We leave you with: 1) these crazy fast gift wrappers, who do it without tape, at an Osaka mochi store; 2) and prepare to be amazed by this wrapping pro, demo-ing how to wrap a leaf blower. 

It’s a blowout

Dry your hair like a pro

The Skinny: Moving into two weeks of parties and get-togethers, now is the time to experiment with new hair styling, whether you’re testing out new products (guys: we highly recommend this YouTube explainer about the different types of men’s styling product, which includes lots of images of hair type/style inspo) or trying to perfect your hair curling technique. 

But today, let’s talk bouncy blowouts—you know, the kind you get at the salon that leaves you strutting outta there like an ’80s supermodel. Our friend Fabio Scalia and his team are the absolute blowout masters, and while you’re likely never to achieve the results they can, here’s how to do this at home with a tutorial from stylist Samantha Gradilone. 

In the video, Sam uses the La Sophia brush (from the Fabio Scalia Collezione of brushes that are designed by Fabio, and made in Italy. Find the best one for you, with this quiz). Before attempting a salon-style blowout, you first need the right tools: a quality blow dryer but, most importantly, a boar bristle brush. As Fabio explains in his blog, boar bristle brushes are key for hair health and results, but they also help distribute natural oils, add shine and reduce frizz.

OHM, there’s more

This week’s newsfeed

• Anyone who knows us, knows that we never met a spritz we didn’t like. Aperol, Hugo, and now…V8®, thanks to a collaboration with the Spritz Society.

• And the Pantone Color of the Year for 2025 is…named after a classic, chocolate-y French dessert. Billed as evoking “thoughtful indulgence,” this one’s not resonating with us yet. But give us a minute, maybe we’ll warm up to it (but rather unlikely… scroll down in this edition for our previous thoughts on this color territory in general). 

• While it’s far from a blissful indie bookstore shopping vibe, we feel the need to inform that Costco will stop selling this item year-round as of January 2025.

• From the increase of sculleries to spa-like vibes such as “wet rooms,” here are the latest home design trends courtesy of a Zillow analysis.

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