A display highlighting the US$630,000, 30-day ‘wellness’ holiday for four to India, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives at a New York preview of the fantasy gift ideas offered in Neiman Marcus ‘The Christmas Book 2018’. Photo: AP
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https://scmp.com/magazines/style/people-events/article/2170004/whats-your-fantasy-gift-all-i-want-christmas-us71 Celebrities
What’s your fantasy gift? All I want for Christmas is a US$7.1 million yacht
US department store Neiman Marcus annual list of lavish presents includes being a ‘secret agent’, ‘joining’ the Grand Slam tennis tour – and endless sweets
US department store Neiman Marcus annual list of lavish presents includes being a ‘secret agent’, ‘joining’ the Grand Slam tennis tour – and endless sweets
Do you need a US$7.1 million yacht?
How about jumping out of an aircraft on a “top secret” spy mission with a US$315,000 price tag? Perhaps a back garden luxury clubhouse sounds better, or a million sweets.
No matter your taste, if you have got big bucks, then this is your time of year.
Neiman Marcus, the American luxury department store group, based in Dallas, has just unveiled its The Christmas Book 2018, which includes some over-the-top fantasy gifts – with the emphasis on fantasy for those of us in the 99 per cent.
Its annual Christmas fantasy gift list always attracts plenty of attention, from those who covet the items and those who heap on scorn at its outrageousness.
A portion of the proceeds goes to The Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation for student arts support and other projects.
Here’s a look at some of those fantasy gifts:
Get set for tigers and the Taj Mahal ...
For US$630,000, the gift recipient and three guests can travel by private jet on a 30-day trip to India, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.
They will be able to stay at five-star hotels, secluded lodges and chic safari tents during the wellness trip, which will also include time with yoga masters, Hindu priests and monks.
The holiday will also feature island cruises on a yacht and a helicopter tour of the Himalayas.
... or set sail on solar-powered yacht
A model of the 74-foot solar-powered Neiman Marcus Serenity Solar Yacht on display during the preview of the store group’s ‘The Christmas Book 2018’ in New York. Photo: AP
The top fantasy gift among this year’s offerings is a US$7.1 million solar-powered, 74-foot (22-metre)-long bespoke yacht, which comfortably sleeps 12 people.
It has a fully functional kitchen, state-of-the-art music and entertainment system and – perhaps the best part – a Neiman Marcus shopping spree before heading out to explore the deep blue sea.
... Three days as a secret agent
A display of the ‘Secret Agent’ experience’ – where four people will be able to go on a three-day espionage adventure to Las Vegas, which includes racing in supercars and parachuting out of an aircraft – during the New York preview of Neiman Marcus ‘The Christmas Book 2018’. Photo: AP
Know any James Bond fanatics?
The undercover “Secret Agent” experience will satisfy armchair operatives and adrenaline junkies alike.
Recipients of the US$315,000 gift will fly to Las Vegas on a private jet for a three-day, two-night espionage adventure.
A mystery man in a tuxedo will greet a group of four with a top secret mission, including racing supercars and jumping out of an aircraft – all with the help of retired special operations forces.
Get your own bronze statue
A bronze hippo by Danish sculptor Bjorn Okholm Skaarup on show at the preview of this year’s Neiman Marcus fantasy gifts, which includes Skaarup making a cast of a family pet, or favourite creature at his foundry for about US$200,000. Photo: AP
New Yorkers and New York visitors may remember the 15-foot bronze hippo in the tutu that was once on display at Lincoln Center.
Well, the artist that made it, Danish sculptor Bjorn Okholm Skaarup, can cast a family pet or favourite creature as a gift for someone, complete with a trip to Florence, Italy, to spend time with Skaarup at his foundry.
The price starts from US$200,000, depending on the size of the bronze cast.
Sweet heaven for sugar ‘junkies’
Another display at the Neiman Marcus fantasy gifts preview featuring confectionery by the Italian company Sugarfina, which for US$325,000 will set up a customised candy bar in your home and take four people on a first-class trip to the Italian Riviera for a luxury hotel stay that includes a visit to the company’s factory in Genoa. Photo: AP
For US$325,000, the Italian confectionery company Sugarfina will set up a customised sweets bar in your home and take four people on a first-class trip to the Italian Riviera for a luxe hotel stay to visit its factory in Genoa. The visitors will spend the day with the company’s founders, take a behind-the-scenes tour and create some custom sweets of their own.
The sweetest part: the company will send confectionery shipments to the gift recipients’ homes for up to three years.
Day with Oscar-winning costume designer
Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood stands beside two of her designs created for the film, ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ at Neiman Marcus ‘The Christmas Book 2018’ fantasy gifts preview in New York. Photo: AP
Four-time Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood, who focuses on fantasy in such films as Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Alice Through the Looking Glass, will design a customised outfit and treat two people to a day featuring lunch, swag and a possible film set tour of whatever project she might be working on at the time.
The gift will cost US$300,000.
Join the Gran Slam tennis tour
The ‘Tennis Majors’ experience (previewed above) – costing US$555,000 – featured among the fantasy gifts in Neiman Marcus ‘The Christmas Book 2018’, will see you become a VIP guest of former women’s tennis singles US Open champion Sloane Stephens and spend a week at all four Grand Slam events. Photo: AP
You can also be the VIP guest of Sloane Stephens, winner of last year’s women’s singles US Open title last year, and bring a guest to all four tennis Grand Slam events.
That means trips to Paris, London, New York and Melbourne, Australia, for a week in each place.
Stephens will throw in a 45-minute match, too.
Price: US$555,000.
He shed, she shed
A sanctuary of self-care or a den of indulgence? You decide.
The staff at Studio Shed and Mark Ashby Design swing both ways in these custom-made back-garden spaces measuring 10-feet-by-12-feet.
A logistical team is provided for installation.
Price: US$250,000.