I’m a sloppy wrapper. And as much as I appreciate beautiful papers and ribbons, I rarely have them on hand. Instead, my gifts are often packaged in newsprint, tissue, or a child’s painting –– and the ribbon always has creases from its last effort. I’d like to have a ribbon tying lesson with a salesperson at Smythson one day, and my friend Bianca needs to show me how she pulls off those perfect folds. It’s what’s on the inside that counts, yes, but who doesn’t love a beautifully wrapped gift?

My friend Olivia gives such original gifts. There was the hand-painted skittle set from Mumbai, and the papier-mâché masks from Conran’s in London. For our wedding gift, Olivia wrote us a piece of music, and when we christened Luma, she sent us a Russian olive tree. True to style, I received a beautiful set of miniature ceramic vases from the amazingly talented Yutu Segawa last week. They are so tiny, that I can fit all five on a small silver plate. “There’s a mysterious charm about making miniature pots,” says Segawa. “You don’t need a large scale to express the beauty of clay, glazes and shapes.” Segawa throws each miniature by hand, but also pushes the limits of his medium by throwing with his feet, abdomen and tongue, too. It’s utterly unique and brilliant. Rather like Olivia.

This summer we stayed at a charming (if not a little run down) country inn in Upstate New York. It wasn’t pink like this grand dame, but it was similar in spirit. There was a croquet lawn and a games room, and we enjoyed evening cocktails in wicker rocking chairs on a big white porch. I imagine that the inn is covered in snow now, and that maybe its guests are sitting on the porch with tumblers full of Scotch and blankets on their laps.