What a Magazine Editor Puts On Their Christmas Wish List

We’re simple magazine editors, with simple needs: all we really want for Christmas is for you to sign up for a free print subscription to Western Living. But if you’re done doing that and need a little something to read while you wait for your copy to arrive in the mail, here are a few more things that made our wish lists this year.

The Western Living Editors’ 2023 Holiday Wish List

This colourful, oversized cotton throw

No disrespect to the throw my aunt lovingly crocheted for me 15 years ago, but I’ve been dreaming about spending a cozy winter’s night snuggled up under this Museum blanket by Studio Arhoj ($265). Could there be a more beautiful tapestry to wrap oneself in for the time-honoured holiday tradition of enjoying a rum-and-nog by the light of the tree and/or re-watching Parks and Rec for the 29th time? —Stacey McLachlan, senior editor

A stylish and functional toaster

Has someone invented a design-forward toaster that actually works? Judging by the reviews on every website I’ve scoured, the answer is no. This feels hard to believe (according to the always-reliable Wikipedia, toaster designers have had about 130 years to get it right) so consider this my official callout: if anyone knows of a toaster that isn’t an eyesore and can also cook a bagel, please let me know. Or buy one for me. ‘Tis the season. The one pictured above is from Alessi and on sale for $80 at Indigo now… it has mixed reviews. —Alyssa Hirose, managing editor

A gorgeous serving bowl

Vancouver ceramicist Janaki Larsen is an artist whose work is literally in demand all over the world: Noma famously hired her to do their dinnerware, as did a new restaurant in NYC more recently. (When I popped by her studio during Design Week this past September, she laughed that it was time to get an assistant after the thousands of plates she’s created.) I have one treasured piece of hers that I inherited from a friend who passed away, and I’ve been obsessed with collecting more of her perfectly imperfect designs—like this gorgeous serving bowl with a torn edge and pitted glaze ($185). The dinner parties I’d host to celebrate this one incredible dish! —Anicka Quin, editorial director

A giant book about Champagne

By now I’m trusting that all of you have read and probably re-read my tome on buying bubbles for the holidays, so you have a sense of just how near and dear I hold Champagne. The funny thing is, I’m a relatively late convert to the allure of pricey sparkling wine. As a young me working in The Wine Cellar (Canada’s first private wine store, BTW) I was frequently known to poopoo the idea of dropping $80 on a bottle of Champagne: “Give me $80 and I’ll by you a bottle of still white wine that’ll knock your socks off.” And I wasn’t totally wrong: you could by a transformative bottle of Chenin Blanc for the price of a mass-produced, mass market entry-level bottle of Champagne. But—and this is a sentiment I’m still coming to grips with even in my advanced years—it’s not always all about money. For me (and most of my fellow wine writers), indulging in a bottle of well-made Champagne still represents a pinnacle of winemaking: the intersection of art, history and tradition. A wine that, almost across the board, is the best pairing for whatever it is you’re cooking. Plus, it’s a host gift that always make people feel immeasurably happy.

I suppose I could ask for a bottle of, say, Taitinger Comtes de Champagne (a personal fave), but that’s the difference between giving someone a fish and teaching them to fish. So I’ll go for the book Champagne: The Essential Guide to the Wines, Producers, and Terroirs of the Iconic Region ($119)—likely the greatest, definitely the most voluminous book every written on the region. It’s huge (300-plus pages), has handy maps and opens up an entire world of small producers and hidden bottlings I’ve never know about. I can’t wait.—Neal McLennan, wine and spirits editor