Best Coffee-Table Books to Give This Christmas
Updated: 4 days ago
A coffee-table book is the gift that keeps showing up. It sits on the table, gets picked up by guests, and gets opened again on a slow Sunday. It is also one of the easiest gifts to choose well, because you can match a book to a person: the one who loves style, the one who cooks, the one who travels. Books also last. Long after the wrapping is gone, a good one is still on the table, still being opened.
This is my edit of nine books and one pair of shell bookends for Christmas. Every title is linked in my coffee-table books LTK post.
What is the best coffee-table book to give for Christmas?
The best coffee-table book to give is one that matches a person's taste: Slim Aarons for the style lover, Ina Garten for the cook, and Assouline travel titles for the one who is always planning a trip. Choose the person first, then the book.
A quick guide to the edit:
For the style lover: Slim Aarons: Style or Slim Aarons: Women.
For the dreamer who wants a summer in Italy: Slim Aarons La Dolce Vita, or Assouline Amalfi Coast.
For the first Slim Aarons book on the shelf: Slim Aarons: The Essential Collection.
For the cook: Ina Garten's Simply Ina, Barefoot in Paris or Go-To Dinners.
For anyone who loves Palm Beach: Assouline Palm Beach.
For the person who already has the books: a pair of shell bookends.
Coffee-table books also make lovely hostess gifts. My Hostess Gift Guide: 24 Gifts That Look Expensive includes a few, and the shorter hostess gifts under $50 edit has candles and table pieces that pair well with a book.
If you are not sure of someone's taste, choose by the rooms in their home. A Slim Aarons book suits a living room, an Ina Garten book suits a kitchen, and an Assouline travel title suits a guest room or a bedroom bench.
Which Slim Aarons book should I buy?
Start with The Essential Collection if it is the first Slim Aarons book on the shelf. Choose Style, Women or La Dolce Vita if the person already has one and you want a theme.
Slim Aarons photographed what he called "attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places." His pictures of pools, terraces, ski slopes and Palm Beach lawns are why his name comes up so often in conversations about quiet, sunlit luxury.
The four in my edit:
Slim Aarons: The Essential Collection. A broad selection, and the natural first book.
Slim Aarons: Style. As the title says, the focus is style. A good fit for someone who loves fashion.
Slim Aarons: Women. Portraits of women across his work. Elegant on a dressing table or a bedroom bench.
Slim Aarons La Dolce Vita. Italy: the coast, the villas and the long summer lunches.
Two or three of these stacked together make a beautiful set. If you are giving more than one, tie them with a wide ribbon instead of wrapping them in paper.
His photographs are full of sun, water and light. That is part of why his books are so easy to give in December: they bring a little summer into the darkest month.
Are Ina Garten cookbooks good gifts?
Yes. Ina Garten's recipes are approachable, and her books look good out on a kitchen counter. They suit beginners and confident cooks.
The three in my edit:
Simply Ina. A good pick for someone who already owns a few of her classics.
Barefoot in Paris. French home cooking, written for American kitchens. A lovely gift for anyone who daydreams about Paris.
Go-To Dinners. Built around the dinners you make again and again. Practical for a busy household.
How to make a cookbook feel like more than a book:
Mark one recipe with a ribbon or a handwritten card.
Add one ingredient or tool from that recipe, like good olive oil or a wooden spoon.
Wrap the two together in a linen tea towel instead of paper.
Cookbooks are also one of the few gifts people use with their hands. Expect a few splashes on the pages over the years. That is a good sign.
For a table to cook for, see A Beautiful Thanksgiving Table, and for a more casual gathering, my Friendsgiving checklist.
What are the best Assouline travel books for a gift?
For a Palm Beach lover, Assouline Palm Beach is the obvious choice. For someone who loves Italy or the sea, Assouline Amalfi Coast. Both are part of Assouline's travel series of large photography books, and both look good on a styled table.
Why the travel books work as gifts:
They suit almost any room, from a living room to a guest room.
They are a gift and a memory at once for someone who has been there.
They are a plan for someone who has not been yet.
Their covers are part of the decor, so they look good face up.
From New York to Palm Beach is the whole idea of this journal, so Assouline Palm Beach is the one I would put on almost any list. Pair it with a pair of shell bookends for a coastal gift that does not feel like a souvenir.
If the reader on your list prefers stories to photographs, my sister brand, South Nook, shares book recommendations for quieter reading and its own coloring books.
For a couple who travel together, give one book for the place they loved and one for the place they want to go next. Palm Beach and Amalfi Coast make a natural pair.
How do you style coffee-table books at home?
Stack two or three books with the largest on the bottom, and place one small object on top. Keep the spines facing out and choose covers that share a color.
A simple formula:
Base: the largest book, like a Slim Aarons title.
Middle: a smaller book in a related color.
Top: one object, such as a small candle, a shell or a tiny dish.
On a shelf, stand books upright between shell bookends and lay one horizontally to break up the line. On a console, use a hammered gold tray under a stack to make it feel finished. On a nightstand, one book is enough.
What to avoid:
Stacks taller than a hand's height on a coffee table.
Too many objects on top of a stack.
Mixing too many cover colors in one stack.
Rotate the books with the seasons. A Palm Beach cover feels right in summer, while La Dolce Vita or Barefoot in Paris feels cozy in winter. Changing the top book is the easiest way to refresh a room without buying anything new.
How do you wrap a book gift for Christmas?
Wrap a book in heavy paper with clean folds, or skip the paper and tie it with a wide ribbon so the cover shows. Coffee-table books have beautiful covers, so letting them show can be the wrapping. If you are mailing a book, wrap it twice, once in tissue and once in kraft paper, so the corners stay sharp in the box.
A few ideas:
Wrap in kraft or cream paper, tie with velvet ribbon, and tuck a sprig of greenery under the bow.
Tie two related books together, like Simply Ina and Go-To Dinners, with a wide ribbon.
Slip a handwritten bookmark inside with a short note.
Add a printable gift tag from Tiger Eleven Studio, my printable shop on Etsy.
For more small gifts to tuck alongside a book, see my stocking stuffers she'll actually use. For children on your list, the Christmas activities for kids post has printables and craft kits.
Frequently asked questions
Do coffee-table books make good Christmas gifts?
Yes. They are easy to match to a person's taste, they look good wrapped and unwrapped, and they stay out where they get used. They also suit people who are hard to shop for, because a book can match a place, a hobby or a memory.
What is Slim Aarons known for?
Slim Aarons was a photographer known for pictures of glamorous people at leisure: pools, resorts, ski towns and Palm Beach, among other places.
Which Slim Aarons book is best for a first gift?
Slim Aarons: The Essential Collection is a natural first book because it covers a wide range of his work.
How many books should be in a coffee-table stack?
Two or three books usually look best. Add one small object on top and stop there.
Where can I shop these books?
Every title in this post is linked in my coffee-table books LTK post. All of my picks are on my LTK page.
Shop the edit: all nine books and the shell bookends are linked in my coffee-table books LTK post.
Shop the Post
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