“I think that the holiday season doesn't necessarily entail decorating for the holidays,” says Dan Rubinstein, design journalist and host of The Grand Tourist. “It doesn't necessarily mean theme or color, but refinement, because nowadays, when do you really pull out all the stops?” And for someone who’s spent their life immersed in the opulent world of design, that entails a table of collected Saint-Louis crystal and more modern collaborations from Ginori 1735 for his cocktail parties. The elements of which he plans meticulously thanks to his Manhattan apartment’s lack of space. Think a staggered guest rotation—and a correspondingly staggered drink menu. Below, Rubinstein walks us through all of the elements of a truly indulgent holiday season, whether that be screening re-runs of Absolutely Fabulous, custom making throw blankets for loved-ones (or rather having throw blankets custom-made), and even jetting off on a cruise to Antarctica.
When I say holiday season, what's your gut reaction?
“Oh, my gosh. When someone says holiday season, I think of the scarcity of time, that it's a busy season for everybody. So the constant push and pull between wanting to slow down, but also wanting to see as many people as possible and to celebrate as much as possible. Of course, it's the anxiety that everyone feels [also comes to mind]. It always creeps up on me. Especially this year, unseasonably warm weather, this is the first fall where I feel like the world of art and design has come back to normal in terms of time. This has been a mad, mad, mad, mad fall that we haven't experienced in three or four years. It's like we forget. ‘Oh, my God. Christmas is two weeks away.’”
Do you travel, or do you stay at home?
“I usually stay at home. However, the past couple of years, I have escaped to do Christmas cruises. I've done two Christmas cruises, both on Viking. I've done the Rhine, and I've done the Danube. The greatest thing about a Christmas cruise is that nothing gets you out of any family or work obligation over the holidays like saying you're on a cruise. A river cruise is very different from a traditional carnival cruise line—those massive ships with thousands of people on it and 15 pools. A river cruise on the Danube during the holiday season is essentially a small floating hotel. We did it once as a lark. It started with us making fun of the Viking commercials on PBS for Downton Abbey. Season one, it was, ‘Oh, my God. Who would ever do that?’ By season seven, ‘We have to do this,’ and booked it. Once we did it once, we booked it again and the next time I actually wrote a story about it. We've done two of those and I just got back from a third Viking cruise, but this time to Antarctica. If you're ever thinking about doing a get out of jail free card, remember that Antarctica, our winters are their summers.”
Do you decorate for the holidays?
“We do a little bit. My place is really tiny. With it being so small and somewhat modern, it's, as you can imagine, rigidly decorated. We have some family heirlooms that we do put up. We get a tiny little tree. I'm Jewish, and my partner is (lapsed) Catholic—so we do both. I think the holiday season is a great excuse to actually buy things you can collect and and not feel like you're buying something that you're never going to use. The golden rule in terms of design and collecting for the holidays is to actually use what you own.
"If you want to buy tabletop, there are incredible places to buy tabletop, including this brand that I work with, Collecto, which is really wonderful. But also, nowadays, you can go to an app like Invaluable, and you can buy porcelain table service for literally pennies on the dollar, sold in God knows where—Belgium, Poland, Italy, or here in the U.S.—and buy incredibly ornate, beautiful, one-of-a-kind things. And actually use them. That stuff does tend to collect in these auction houses. I feel like the holidays are a great time to buy a piece of ceramic, buy a piece of tabletop, buy great bits of silverware or linens or things like that. You're investing, but you don't have to go overboard if you don't want to.”
What's made the cut for you, then? What have you collected this time of year?
“When I entertain, mostly because our place is small, it's mostly for cocktails. I invest a lot in Ginori 1735. We worked on the season finale with Luke Edward Hall; his new collection [with Ginori 1735] is so much fun. I’m not someone who burns candles all year round, but I feel like candles are a good thing to use. Never use plastic. Collect tabletop [from brands like] Saint-Louis Crystal or Richard Ginori that is perhaps in a different shape or style that you can use for a holiday. I'm not a big believer in buying red and green plates with Christmas trees on them. I think that the holiday season doesn't necessarily entail decorating for the holidays. It doesn't necessarily mean theme or color, but refinement, because nowadays, when do you really pull out all the stops?”
When you are having a cocktail party, what is the cocktail you're serving? What music are you playing? Any elements you can share, we'd love to hear.
“I like quieter music. As much as I love Mariah Carey, I don't want to hear a ‘best-of’ Spotify playlist. I like to keep it a little bit jazzy. At Gabriel Hendifar's Apparatus party, they did a jazz club. The band [The Baylor Project] released the live music on Spotify—that's a great example of [party] music.
"Because I'm doing cocktails, I don't like [anything too] seasonal. I'm not an eggnog person. I like champagne and Negronis. Anything hard liquor. I do believe it should be the strongest strengths possible for a holiday event, especially in New York and in a small space, because people want to have a really good drink and go. It's not a beer kind of thing. But I feel like it's not about the drink, it’s about the time of year and what you're drinking them out of and the people. And the guest list. That's the hardest thing for me, because my space is so small. It's standing room only. I'm a big believer in inviting people in waves so that you have a certain crowd in the beginning. If you work in fashion or design, you have professional friends. You have other types of friends. They don't necessarily all mix together. You don't always want them to mix. You have family that might come. I feel like a staggered time allows you to invite three times as many people without things ever getting too crazy. You could even stagger drinks so you can have more traditional things for your family. Then, by the end of the night, it's just champagne."
During the season when you have a soiree like this, are there any certain items of clothing that you enjoy donning for the December season that you might not wear the rest of the year?
“It's not clothing specific, however, during the pandemic, I started collecting brooches. They're all vintage. They're all from auction houses all over the world. I have a trio of mid-century Lucite lovebirds. There's one in white, one in blue, and one in red. The red works for the holiday. I have a collection of vintage watches. I have an IWC dress watch from the early 1960’s. I don't wear it that often, but I wear it to black tie dinners and for the holidays. I feel like that's a great time to bring out those things. But you don't have to wear something really impressive. You can just wear something fun.”
Personally, are there any traditions that you keep going, whether that's from childhood growing up, things you've put into play more recently, that you like to do around this time of year?
“Panettone. I come from a half-Italian family by marriage. My mother spoke Italian fluently. Growing up, I was often the only person at the dinner table for certain family gatherings who didn't speak Italian. My particular love of panettone is strong. I can eat an entire panettone in two days. I know a lot of people get panettone for the holidays; I love getting them. It's a lot of carbs and sugar, but I love it. I found a panettone that was recommended online once, and I bought it. The chocolate one from Olivieri 1882 is the most delicious thing ever. It's called the Triple Chocolate Panettone.”
You're invited to an event, and you need a host or a hostess gift running out the door. Any go-tos?
“Always Veuve Clicquot champagne. I really do love Veuve Clicquot. For my entire professional life, if I ever want to go to a dinner party, I always bring a bottle. I would definitely suggest the new 2015 vintage just came out of La Grande Dame. It's named after Madame Clicquot. For the 2015 La Grande Dame, they partnered with Paola Paronetto. She's a ceramicist in the countryside in Italy. She makes them all herself. She signs every piece. They do make for really good gifts. I would say a great hostess gift is a bottle of La Grande Dame.”
Are there any specific things you're gifting loved ones or friends or family members this year, or even great ones in the past that you're really proud of?
“I feel like you go one of two ways. You either buy something extremely personal. You find out someone collects teapots. You buy them a very special teapot. You can buy them online. You can buy them from an auction and just save them for next year. Or you can find a gadget that you really like, and just buy 15 of them, and give them to everybody. It might be the efficiency [side of] me that likes that idea. I've never done it myself, but I saw someone at a store the other day buy some home speakers. Buying something that’s just expensive enough to make it a thoughtful gift without it being ridiculous. Also, it sounds a little bit cliche, but for a casual gift, I like to bring a gift for an entire party, like one of the new Polaroid cameras, and then bring a bunch of film. It's another way of bringing champagne. I don't like giving candles as gifts because it's too personal. You never really know what people will want to smell.”
"As a tabletop lover, I do think you can never go wrong with a gift from Alessi, especially if they're someone who drinks coffee. I feel like Americans still have not caught up to this. I like any gift that requires you to spend a little bit more time with [the receiver], or that requires a little bit of interaction, as long as it's not something that is a burden. It's like giving somebody a puppy.
"I am also always looking for excuses to use textiles. I made a custom shower curtain for myself. I've had pillows made. I'm about to have a jacket relined. If you want to make a tea cozy or a pillow or anything like that, you can buy fabric in bulk and have something made. You can buy throw blankets in bulk, but if you're going to spend that kind of money, why not make something only you could give because only you chose the fabric? It doesn't have to be red and green, obviously. Let's say if you're a country person, you can do a throw with shearling on one side, and then brown leather on the other. Make it double-sided so that it can work in multiple ways. And it doesn't actually require your own time outside of picking the fabric and having it sent directly to an upholsterer. You can even stitch a year into it, make it slightly personalized.”
Any movies you watch this time of year?
“I like watching more serious films during the holidays. Actually, it's the one time of year you have time. It might sound a little bit macabre, but Eyes Wide Shut is technically a Christmas film. If I want to turn my brain off, Batman Returns with Michelle Pfeiffer. People talk about Die Hard as the ultimate Christmas film—I tend to agree—but anything with Michelle Pfeiffer in it [also works]. Whenever I'm truly bored or just really depressed, or a little bit of both, I will watch Absolutely Fabulous, the original series. There are many Christmas episodes. It is my go-to. I can quote the show. It's like visiting old friends. It is also definitely a watermark of how I delineate certain gay friends of mine from people who are over 40 and people who are not—who look at me strangely about it. They drank constantly and behave badly. It's always very festive, and it always feels holiday adjacent. Ab Fab also is great for the background of any holiday party.”
Shop His Gift Recommendations:
Il Viaggio di Nettuno Teapot with Cover
“I invest a lot in Ginori 1735. We worked on The Grand Tourist season finale with Luke Edward Hall, [their recent collaborator]. His new collection is so much fun.”
Manhattan Coupe
“I like to invest in things like Saint-Louis Crystal. Never use plastic.”
Triple Chocolate Panettone
“My particular love of panettone is strong. I can eat an entire panettone in two days. I know a lot of people get panettone for the holidays; I love getting them. It's a lot of carbs and sugar, but I love it.”
La Grande Dame 2015
“Always Veuve Clicquot champagne. For my entire professional life, if I ever want to go to a dinner party, I always bring a bottle.”
Now Starter Set
“I sometimes like to bring a gift for an entire party, like one of the new Polaroid cameras, and then bring a bunch of film. It's another way of bringing champagne.”
Moka
“You can never go wrong with a gift from Alessi, especially if they're someone who drinks coffee. A gift like that will force them to interact with it. “
Heather Chontos La Toile Du Peintre
“I think making something like [a throw blanket or a pillow] is very personal, and it doesn't actually require your own time outside of picking the fabric and having it sent directly to an upholsterer. You can even stitch a year into it, make it slightly personalized.”
Vincent Darré Lasso
“Take advantage of all the incredible fabrics out there that are produced every year that, let's face it, you're not going to buy.”