Daily Skimm
But first: the most popular gifts of the year (so far) — Check out what we Skimm’d for you today
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But first: the most popular gifts of the year (so far)

We’re baaack. As promised, here’s another installment of our new newsletter: Weekend Non-Negotiables — a carefully skimmed list of what to watch, see, listen to, and do over the weekend. Think of it as a head start on the best part of the week. You’re welcome.

here's the plan

You worked hard enough this week. Let us plan your weekend…

  1. 1.

    A new holiday movie that actually holds a candle to The Family Stone? Rare. But Oh. What. Fun. (streaming on Prime Video) may be the exception. In the sort of reverse Home Alone, Michelle Pfeiffer stars as Claire, an underappreciated mom whose family (played by a ridiculously star-studded cast) leaves her behind on their Christmas Eve outing — basically, porn for exhausted mothers everywhere. That leads Claire to set off on her own adventure, embarking on a road trip that includes an unexpected friendship with a delivery driver (Danielle Brooks) and crashing a “holiday mom contest” (which, obviously, her kids forgot to enter her in). What a gift.

  2. 2.

    If your feeds are suddenly 99% cookies, welcome to Cookie Week — the internet’s annual holiday baking spiral. While making and packaging cookie boxes and cookie advent calendars may be projects better suited for Martha Stewart (or, literally, anyone but you), here are the two recipes you need this season: these outrageously cute Mini Christmas Cookies, and these Brown Butter Marshmallow Crispy Cookies. No need to thank us.

  3. 3.

    Got guests shuffling in and out this holiday season? This viral top lets you go bra-free while staying confidently covered. Cozy miracles do exist.*

  4. 4.

    This durable, intuitive AI-powered phone is the go-to companion for anyone who loves being in (and capturing) the great outdoors.*

    Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
  5. 5.

    Rachel Zoe Project hive, our time has come. After 12 long years, the celebrity stylist slash big personality is making her return to the Bravoverse as a...Real Housewife of Beverly Hills. Bananas, we know. Expect her to open up about the end of her 26-year marriage, wear no fewer than three pieces of chunky jewelry at all times, and — to borrow another Zoe-ism — shut it down.

  6. 6.

    Tracking down black-market cat meds, uncovering why there are so many Red Delicious apples — on the podcast Hyperfixed, no problem is too big, small, weird, or impossible to solve. In one standout episode, “The Lords Work,” that means helping a family recreate their favorite cake from their go-to bakery after it mysteriously shuts down. Host and “overconfident idiot” Alex Goldman calls in Dessert Royalty Claire Saffitz, and by the end, you’ll be surprisingly invested — and ready to make the cake yourself. Spoiler: You can.

  7. 7.

    Before the temps drop too low to function, pull that too-big beanie up from over your eyes and read this helpful guide to wearing a hat like a chic grown-up — something we’re only kind of ashamed to say we still don’t know how to do. 

Psst…For more dates worth knowing this week, check out the Skimm+ calendar.

the instigator

This week, Miley Cyrus debuted some very expensive, very questionable bling. For us, the question that naturally follows is: Which celebrity engagement ring is the most upsetting?

Vote below:

My Non-Negotiables

Happy (almost) weekend. As a reward for surviving the first year of motherhood, I’m treating myself to a staycation at either the trendy Greenwich Hotel (there’s no better spa in the world) or the Langham, which is within walking distance to the Rockefeller Christmas tree and the Fifth Avenue holiday windows. Also, the Langham has a bathtub I’d like to be buried in.

Regardless of where I end up, I plan on enjoying at least seven hours of uninterrupted streaming. Think: comfort watches, like Nurse Jackie and Younger, mixed with the zeitgeisty dramas everyone’s talking about (binging All Her Fault on a mom staycation feels…appropriate). And I’ll do lunch and errands in these Madewell track pants. I abandoned hard pants for good in 2020, but these give any outfit — no matter how casual — just enough polish to make me feel like I tried.

Post-staycation, I’ll put a little more effort into Sunday dinner, with Ina Garten’s Perfect Roast Chicken (it truly lives up to the name) and these disarmingly lifelike tapered carrot candles. Pro tip: If you’re in the midst of holiday shopping, I gave these to my mom at Thanksgiving, and she’s still texting about them.

— Amanda Duberman / VP, Multimedia / New York, NY

My Non-Negotiables: Amanda Duberman