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  1. Gifts

A Gifting Guide For Weird and Wonderful Humans

Published
white planter on a white background with greenery
Brian Lam

By Brian Lam

The best gifts are often things that people wouldn’t get for themselves, because they’re too luxurious, too weird, too whimsical, too fun, too boring, too impractical or too practical.

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(This all sounds like a big contradictory statement, but it all depends on the type of person you’re shopping for. Ideally the person will be surprised with your gift, and not just because they don’t know what you’re getting them, but because the gift should feel as foreign and alien without freaking them out in a bad way.)

With that in mind I made this list.

But the truth is, a list of generic ideas can only be so thoughtful, no matter how hard anyone tries to make it great.

So, I'll Be Your Personal Shopper-- Just Ask Wirecutter.

Instead of spending more time on this list, I’ll take requests for gift ideas from you all by email.

Send me a note to ask @ thewirecutter.com or @wirecutter on twitter.

Let’s find some last minute gifts for the important people in your life, together.

Just tell me some things about the person you’re shopping for.

Drop me a link to their blog or facebook profile.

And give me a budget.

I'll go crazy and write you back with some gift ideas.

I won’t be able to answer everyone's questions, but if I find something useful, I’ll share it with the rest of the readers.

THE VERY SO-SO GUIDE

First off, start with last year’s Wirecutter Gift Guide It’s still better than this guide. Make sure you hit page 2.

THEN, PROCEED

Layer X Layer Table Clamp Tree Thingy -- $135

desk with clamp on tree rack shaped like a branch

The utility of a coat rack combined with the convenient location of a table lamp, meant to declutter a work space. Amazing.

Kangaroo Standing Desk -- $350

standing desk with computer against a white background
Sitting’s no good for you, but why buy someone a whole new desk just so they can stand at their computer?

Merkur Safety Razor -- $35

merkur metal razor on white background
This razor handle is all metal, and will last longer than most men who use it.

Cargo net -- $48

two cargo nets on the wall with plates

Toughen up the place by hanging stuff in corners and in closets.

Bookends of the Earth -- $179

wooden bookends with miniature forest scene with books on a white background

Available in snowscape and landscape, these wooden bookends remind me of train sets and basements in New Jersey. I don’t know. It kind of makes me want to stay inside and stare at bookshelves all night, so there’s an inherent danger in buying such an awesome present. I think they’re overpriced, so maybe you could make one of these yourself.

Dog House Sofa -- $IDK

sofa with built in dog beds with two dogs

I die. You probably can't buy this. But the idea is that you could probably can find a local furniture maker to help you make gifts for next year--the weirder the better.

Vintage arrows -- $56

assortment of vintage archery arrows

These would look nice mounted above a hearth or across door way.

Yellow Leaf Hammock -- $180


This hammock will hold two people. It might be a good challenge to buy one for someone and let them figure out how the F to mount it indoors in the winter without taking the walls down when they jump into it.

Vintage Model of a Jet Engine, $IDK

close up of red and blue model of jet engine

The jet age was a lot cooler than the internet age.

Mirror Ball Container -- $45

yellow round box open on a white background

A Japanese trinket box has a rotating mirror on top. No point to it that I can tell, except to be beautiful, hold coins and look up one’s nose. Sold!

Mechanical Wooden Sailboat Diorama -- $38

diorama of a sailboat

Available in pirate and not-pirate versions.

Vintage Luxo Lamps -- $IDK

close up of vintage luxo lamp

The best way to get incandescent light on a workspace. Search “Luxo lamp” or “articulating arm lamp” on ebay or etsy.

Vintage Tension Pole Lamps -- $150ish

vintage pole lamp illuminated in the corner of a room

Search ebay or etsy for “tension pole lamp”. I’m obsessed with these in livingrooms.

Leather Tripod Stool --  $165

three legged stool with brown leather top

Not cheap! But made of ash and leather and has its own carry strap. I’m into it.

Eames Beautiful Details Book -- $126

close up of Eames Beautiful Details book

A coffee table book about the details in Ray and Charles’ work.

Crayon Vases -- $12 each

flower vases in a group of various primary colors
It should be a crime to sell these in not-a-whole-set.

Click and Grow -- $60

white planter on a white background with greenery

I don’t quite understand people who can’t take care of plants. But I also feel bad for people who can take care of plants but travel a lot. These electronic boxes manage watering automatically, and even remind you to refill the water reservoir. Extra seed packs, which range from thyme and mini tomatoes to flowers, are $20.

Curtis Jere Golden Gate Bridge Wall Sculpture -- $850

wallhanging of the golden gate bridge

If you search Ebay, you can sometimes find the Brooklyn Bridge, too. But I prefer Jere’s seagulls.

Pendleton National Park Blankets -- $200

blue and grey woolen blanket
These national park blankets will go out of style when national parks go out of style. (Never.) My favorite is the Crater Lake. Equally suited for camp or couch.

Hansen Family Remix Trunk and Drunk (Hers and His) -- $IDK

furniture with clothing tree and bar

One Scandinavian-designed oak box hides a trunk with a tree to hang clothing from, the other hides a bar.

Patagonia nano puff jacket -- $200

blue puffer jacket on a white background
I have put this on gift guides for years straight. It’s basically a light, breathable jacket that is filled with ultralight, primaloft meaning it packs down into its own pocket and is warm enough for cold fall and spring days, or winters with layers. I’d rate it as warm as two sweaters together. They come with hoods or waterproof outers, but I like the classic pull over the best. This jacket has been with my in zero degree aspen, snowy joshua tree, sub-zero hokkaido (idiotically, even with lots of wool underneath) as well as many foggy california days year around. It’s not too fancy but it’ll last a decade with moderately hard use. This is a gift for the ages, and in mens and womens versions.

Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses, folding -- $100

folding RayBans and case

Regular wayfarers are nice but these folding ones remind me of transformers, and they pack well in carry on luggage in a little rectangular case. I have two sets.

Someone’s Favorite T-Shirt, x 7 -- $IDK

blue t-shirt with whale on the pocket

Last year I bought a really cool navy blue T-shirt with a whale on it from my friend John at Mollusk surf shop. It was always the first one I wore after laundry, so I bought seven more, in case I wanted to wear one for every day of the week, with one to spare. It made me happy enough that I figure that if you give anyone you love a few of their favorite shirts, they’ll love you for it. Plus, maybe they’ll let you borrow the extra shirt if you ever sleep over. P.S. Don’t buy 7 of these whale shirts. That’s MY uniform. Get your friend THEIR favorite shirt.

Maine Guide Boots with Strap in Brown Jacquard -- $IDK

close up of a pair of brown leather boots

I have two pairs of Yuketen shoes. You’re not supposed to give shoes to people as presents (it’s a bad omen for the living) but i’d gladly take a pair of these hand made boots made in California.

Horse Blanket Jacket? -- $387

person wearing woolen horse blanket jacket with leather fasteners
Sure, why not? Via @SamBiddle

Cat Earphone Charm -- $5

two views of smart phone with cat charm in headphone jack

Do you remember when cellphone charms were cool? No? At least in Japan? Here’s the least meaningful weirdo gift on this list--a earphone charm (because iPhones have no loops to hang things from) that looks like a cat. Five bucks. Order 5 of these for the fringe people on your list or those people who you forgot about.

Steven Alan Reigning Champ sweater thing (Or any weird sweater) -- $200

person wearing cashmere sweater

High neck, weird pockets, cozy material? LET’S DO THIS.

Steven Alan Canvas Tool Bag #11, (Or, any tote that will last a lifetime) -- $79

close up of canvas tool bag

Totes bags are unisex, of high utility and of simple enough construction that something of high quality in design material and build doesn’t cost a lot. I like this tote by Steven Alan.

Human Time Project Special Edition Watch -- $110

close up of watch

This is the most handsome watch for a hundred bucks I’ve seen in awhile, its chunky numbers and hands evoking bell and ross-ness. I don’t wear watches, but I’d wear this one.

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Next 9 Plus Stacking Kitchen bowls and measurers-- $40

nesting bowls of various sizes and colors

What if everything meant for mixing and measuring in a kitchen was made to fit together like a russian doll and look like a rainbow? This is what!

Soup and Tray Duo -- $30

plate with sandwich and soup bowl

There is no better lunch combination on a cool day than sandwich and soup. One might be tempted to dump the sandwich and fill the plate with Doritos, though, and that’s ok.

Lodge Hibachi -- $62

cast iron hibatchi on white background

Esquire said the made-in-the-USA Lodge cast-iron portable hibachi is one of the best. It might be winter, but that doesn’t mean people can’t be tempted to grill.

Big instant camera -- $60

black instant camera

This instant camera is my favorite, and you can’t argue with the price. Don’t forget to order some film.

Lytro, the magic Camera, $300

arrangement of three lytro magic cameras
Lytro is a weird camera that sucks all the mana and light out of a room so you play it back later and since the entire room's soul is embedded in the flash memory all you have to do is click on the photo to refocus it after the fact. Voodoo. Chances are the photographer in your life doesn't have one, because it's not the most practical 1st or second camera, but it is an amazing piece of tech that makes a neat gift.

Bluetooth headphones -- $50

bluetooth headphones

Why would anyone opt for headphones that need charging and sound less fine than wired ones? Freedom from snags, is the first and last answer. They’re just weird enough to make a good present for someone.

Deep water iPhone case -- $100

iphone case with blue wave design

Good to 130 feet, they say, available for iPhone 4/4S and now iPhone 5/5S

Battery Packs

external battery pack

Gadget chargers are great gifts because people tend to run out of batteries during the most interesting days and trips. The Hyperjuice is nice because it has a built in wall charger and can charge itself while charging gadgets. It also has enough energy to power an iPad for 9-14 extra hours and an iPhone 7 times, so it’s overkill for daily use. New Trent makes a littler models that can give you an extra hour or two and stash in a pocket or purse, no problem. I generally get a dozen of these as back up gifts. (We’re doing an extensive test on these battery packs soon but some initial research points to these are good ones.)

Kindle Paperwhite, w/o Ads -- $140

amazon kindle paperwhite e reader

The Kindle paperwhite, our favorite e-reader, is priced just right as a present for the bookworm in your life who likely hasn’t upraded their old kindle to the latest generation. The real gift is splurging on the ad-free model, which most people might feel guilty doing for themselves.

Bluetooth Shower Speaker -- $100

waterproof bluetooth speaker

Cult of Mac likes it and well, it has a clock on it. You’d never get one of these for yourself, and I’d never use one of these, but hey.

Philips Hue -- $200

smart lightblubs

Three LED lightbulbs for $200 is not a deal. But when those bulbs are color controlled by smartphone, ok, I’d buy that. My favorite modes are the softer white “relax” and hard edged “focus”, but Hue can shift its bulbs to most any combination, adroitly changing your lamps from mood and functional lighting. Only available at Apple stores for now.

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Waterproof keychain LED -- $7

waterproof keychain with LED light

I have this on my keychain. Unlike most, it feels as sturdy as a high quality full sized LED flashlight with its waterproof aluminum housing.

Maywa Denki Otamatone -- $30

four otamatone toys of various colors in a row

A little musical toy. It’s played by sliding your finger up and down the note to control pitch while opening and closing the mouth. That doesn’t sound fun at all, but really, its fun.

Electric Paper Airplane Conversion Kit -- $15

motorized paper airplanes

Motorize any paper airplane with this propeller kit. Each quick charge is good for 30 seconds of flight.

Credit Card Lock Picks -- $14

black lock pick set shaped like a credit card

I don’t know anything about picking locks. I know something about naughty presents that are fun to carry around in secret.

Leatherman New Wave and Clip-on Multitool -- $60/$18

silver leatherman multitool
My favorite two multitools, one big, which I lost at sea and one small, which I lost to airport security. The bigger one is better for outdoorsier, handier people, and the smaller one is better for sleek-living modern city folk.

Bark Box, a monthly dog treat delivery care package -- From $18 a month

barkbox open and filled with dog toys and treats

Dogs are better than cats. Just saying.

EMWave2, hippie-breathing trainer -- $173

breath training device in its box
This gadget will teach someone how to breathe deeply and thoroughly, affecting your heart rate and stress levels. A perfect gift for your favorite stressed out angry person!

Van road trip -- $100 a day and up

image of vw camper van in forest scene

Hotels suck for vacations. Take a trip to San Francisco or Maui and rent a camper van from California or Aloha campers for $100 a day and up. If you drive south after dinner from SF you can make it to Joshua Tree for sunrise. (I’ve done it solo but that was a mistake.) I’m sure these guys will do a gift certificate or something, but its even better if you just plan the trip and surprise someone by picking them up in a van and supplies for a week on the road. P.S. pooping is the hardest part of Van life. Bring a shovel or don’t wander far from McDonalds.

Cat/Small Dog Tee Pee -- $88

small tee pee

Don’t get this stupid thing. (You must get this thing!) P.S. Dogs are better than cats.

Terrapin Stationary -- $20 for 6

blue and white letter and envelope with designed interior

Ted is my stationary guy. The Tuna cards are my signature correspondence stock, which I use to send thank you notes and love letters.

Faux Fireplace -- $150

faux fireplace

Sometime the best gifts can be abominations.

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Meet your guide

Brian Lam

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