I started this gift guide in mid-October, and it was a tribute to six of my favorite TV friends, who I (and many of us) grew up with. I moved to New York in 1993, just a year before this show started. I was twenty-something and fresh in the city—and the show chronicled so much of what me and my friends were going through. The relationships, the ups, the downs—and a moment in NYC that today feels so nostalgically analog. Where IRL was de facto, where cell phones were clamshell, and when the central meeting place was a coffee shop, not Instagram. Almost ten years of getting to know this group—their likes, their dislikes, their foibles and their idiosyncrasies—we felt like we were the seventh friend. Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Joey, Phoebe and Ross. And us. And then in late October we all got the news of Matthew Perry’s untimely and tragic passing. I struggled with abandoning this gift guide concept—but ultimately decided to publish it. Did you root for Ross and Rachel, cry when Monica proposed to Chandler, cheer when Joey got a role on that soap opera, or chuckle when Pheobe sang ’Smelly Cat’ (and then had the song stuck in your head for weeks)? If you did, you’ll get it. And if you didn’t watch the show, you’ll still find some cool things for your loved ones.
So, is there some nice stuff in this gift guide? Yes. I thought about what these friends would like in 2023. But ultimately, this holiday guide is more of a tribute—to ones who are friends, but really family, to the ones we have loved, and to the ones we have lost. Hug your friends and family close this holiday season, cause love is truly the central perk to life in this crazy world.
xoPeter
The one who enjoys the finer things in life, is driven, and a Central Perk waitress turned fashionista.
Her signature locks demand only the best.
Like any style lover, of course she’d need this book on her coffee table.
She’d rather forget her stint as waitress, but thats how we first fell in love with her.
The one who is simple and honest with a heart of gold, a food-lover, and a bit of a ladies man.
He chucked the dining table for this, and we approve.
His soap star turn as a scandalous neurosurgeon? Maybe it’s in here.
His hugsy bedtime penguin pal, cause we all need a hug sometimes.
The one who is eccentric, bohemian, a sweet-natured positive thinker and a sometimes-guitar player.
Her tools of the trade.
She might get this for a certain smelly cat.
She loves that eclectic boho style, and so do we.
The one who is a smart, socially awkward divorcé, a father and a paleontologist.
This PhD knew how to keep it cozy and academic.
This’ll be at the top of the professor’s wish list, no doubt.
Holiday armadillo, anyone?
The one who’s a bit obessesive-compulsive, energetic, loves things tidy and is a dynamo in the kitchen.
Could she be any more organized and color coded?
Never without a throw for cozy vibes at the apartment.
Please don’t put this on your head like she did.
The one who is sarcastic, loving, energetically neurotic, and with a mysterious desk job.
He might have needed these when dating Janice.
He loves a bubble bath, but don’t tell anyone!
Let’s layer it, with his signature style.
