Jean-Georges Vongerichten has always excelled at bringing the flavors of Europe to his many New York restaurants, but this holiday season he’s kicking it up a notch. Next to his eponymous restaurant within the Upper East Side’s Mark Hotel, the French chef has crafted an authentic Alsatian experience. The Mark Chalet, decked to the nines with the aesthetic’s quintessential wood paneling and gingham tablecloths, features a classic mountain menu, featuring the region’s favorites such as traditional Swiss fondue, veal zurichoise with spaetzle, and Sacher torte. If you’ve already booked a tropical getaway for the holidays, Jean-Georges at the Mark now offers the perfect opportunity to scratch that European winter itch before you depart. (themarkhotel.com) —Lucy Horowitz

There is girl math and then there is math. Similarly, there is traffic and then there is Holland Tunnel traffic on a holiday weekend. Getting from J.F.K. or Newark into New York City is no small feat. It can take hours and cost well over $100 for an Uber. Blade, however, has a solution—a year-long Airport Pass offering unlimited five-minute direct helicopter flights into the city for $95 each.($195 without the pass.) Invite a friend, who will get $50 off his or her seat. You’re losing money if you don’t do it. ($795, blade.com) —Clara Molot

Balenciaga’s Demna understands that it takes only one strategically placed piece of bling to make an outfit. Perhaps that’s why his costume jewelry is eternally cool and coveted. As party season roars into full swing, take the guesswork out of getting dressed and pair absolutely anything with these Club Earrings in antique silver. A long velvet sheath? Absolutely. A quirky tweed suit? Why not? Wide-leg jeans and an Argyle sweater? Most definitely. They’re high-impact and faintly vintage-y, but easily understood—costume but not costumey. They’re the kind of thing that jewelry-lovers keep in their drawers for decades and for good reason. (Related: they make an excellent gift for the hardest-to-shop-for person on your list.) ($1,650; balenciaga.com) —Ashley Baker

Has it really been 10 years since Max Mara’s fluffy and fabulous Teddy Bear Coat disrupted outerwear forever? Inspired by an 80s style from the house’s archive, it spawned an entire collection, and while we love every single belted cape and trim jacket, we are now enamored with another Max Mara marvel: the oversize alpaca-and-wool coat. A slightly dressier complement to the Teddy, it has a collarless crewneck, long, voluminous silhouette, dramatic sleeves, and patch pockets in the front. You can’t quite wear a blanket to the opera (yet!), but this is the next-best thing. Throw it over some sweats, and not a soul will notice what’s underneath. Bonus points for the beautiful tobacco shade, one of our favorite colors of the season. ($4,290; mytheresa.com) —Ashley Baker

In his latest documentary, the French philosopher and filmmaker Bernard-Henri Lévy reminds us that, nearly two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western support is needed now more than ever. Lévy, who has already released the films Why Ukraine and Slava Ukraini since the conflict began, zooms into the Russian destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, in June 2023, for his new documentary, Glory to the Heroes. Returning to Ukraine once more, the French intellectual conveys simultaneous mourning and resistance in discreet, unembellished fashion. While spending the summer in the eastern part of the country, Lévy collected personal accounts from civilians and military forces as well as images of demolished towns and active battle scenes. Showing on December 6 at the United Nations, this war diary offers a unique and intimate glimpse into the current condition of Ukraine. (bernard-henri-levy.com) —Jeanne Malle

Bilbo is back! Well, come to think of it, Mr. Baggins has never really been gone since 1937, when the story written byJ. R. R. Tolkien for his own children was first published. It was an instant hit, with several illustrations by the author. Now comes the most handsome edition yet, with many more illustrations by Tolkien and printed on exquisite paper, with a reading ribbon attached. Before the original publisher purchased the manuscript, he gave it to his 10-year-old son for vetting. “This book … is good and should appeal to all children between the ages of 5 and 9,” he wrote, missing the upper limit by about 90 years. A worthy companion is a revised and expanded edition of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, in which the author is bemused by his Oxford colleagues buying the book only so they could tease him about it and his very strong feelings that hobbits are monogamous. And has the boring task of correcting student papers ever had a more serendipitous result, since it was while doing exactly that in the 1920s that Tolkien scribbled, out of the blue, what became an immortal first sentence: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” ($75 for The Hobbit; $40 for The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien) —Jim Kelly