The Journal

The last-minute gift problem
Everything that can be bought at the last minute looks like it was. What separates a rushed gift from a considered one is not time — it is specificity. Read more...
Romantic gifts that aren't flowers, chocolate or jewellery
The classics are not wrong. They are just unspecific — and unspecific is the one thing a romantic gift cannot afford to be. Read more...
What to get someone who already has everything
The problem is never that they own too much. It is that everything they want, they can buy on a Tuesday without telling anyone. Read more...
Anniversary gifts for him, ranked by how long they last
Not ranked by price. Ranked by how many months pass before it stops meaning anything — which is the only ranking that has ever mattered. Read more...
Long-distance gifts that survive the distance
Most long-distance gifts are objects posted a long way. The ones that land are the ones that do something the distance cannot undo. Read more...
The places that turn out to matter
It is almost never the holiday. On choosing the streets, corners and unremarkable rooms that a relationship actually happened in. Read more...
Choosing the photographs
Twenty-five chosen photographs beat two hundred uploaded ones, every time. How to cut, what to keep, and why the caption matters more than the picture. Read more...
How to write the letter
The hardest part of the whole thing, and the part people put off until last. Six rules that make it easier, none of which involve being a good writer. Read more...
Who this is for, and who it isn't
An honest attempt to talk some people out of buying. It suits five situations very well and two situations badly, and it is cheaper for everyone if you know which you are in. Read more...
What a gift is actually for
Nobody remembers the third-best present they were given. They remember being understood. A short argument about the difference between a present and a gesture. Read more...