Gift Guide 2024
Welcome to The Atlantic’s 2024 gift guide. With the help of an eclectic group of writers and editors, we offer 65 ideas for bringing more merriment, adventure, and wonder to the ones you love. Some items may be available at a holiday discount.
The Person Who Has Everything
A Map of City Movement
Do you need the current status of cars running on the Boston T or London Underground? Or perhaps you’re curious whether the Washington Metro, or the New York or Chicago or San Francisco rapid transit systems, are running smoothly. You need to know all this, don’t you? Of course you don’t. But it would be cool to have that information flashing at you in twinkling lights. Traintrackr—which gets real-time information from these urban transit systems—is a great gift for someone who has everything, especially if they’ve lived in a city, used to live in a city, wish they did—or are glad they don’t. (“Oh, look, the Red Line to South Station is all jammed up again. Bummer.”)
— Tom Nichols, Staff Writer
Los Alamos Staff Mug
When my husband came home from a visit to Los Alamos a few years back, he bore a mug that featured a bewildering collage of grainy, black-and-white headshots. Only after close inspection did I realize: These were the identification badges of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project. If you’re a physics nerd or history buff, many of the faces are recognizable—Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman, Luis Alvarez, John von Neumann, and of course, J. Robert Oppenheimer. The mug has been discontinued at Los Alamos History Museum, but an enterprising science historian and blogger, Alex Wellerstein, sells one online. It’s a mesmerizing object, visually stimulating yet intensely sobering, which seems appropriate for morning coffee.
— Jennifer Senior, Staff Writer
Swiss Army Knife
No one needs another scarf or another sweater (even a great sweater), and we all have enough socks to last us from now until Armageddon. Don’t even talk to me about steak knives. Knives are all the same. Except for the Swiss Army knife, which is an entire tool chest contained in one beautifully designed red cover. You’ve got your blades, you’ve got your magnifying glass, you’ve got a fork that can be a spoon, a spoon that can be a fork, a hammer, tweezers, a toothpick, a corkscrew. I believe there’s even a fishing pole somewhere in there. What a gift! It looks beautiful just sitting there on the counter. It fits nicely in a drawer. And it gives you confidence in your pocket. Stepping on it could be a problem, but that’s true for any knife. It really is the perfect gift.
— Henry Winkler, Actor
A Future Classic
Watch collecting can be a brutal, unforgiving hobby, but not if you start out right with the Lorca Model No. 2. The musician and watch lover Jesse Marchant designed this future classic. It’s got 100 meters of water-resistance (go for a swim!), can time events with a chronograph, and even has a second time zone on the bezel for travel. Most important, it will make you look smart and attractive. Spend $2,650 for a watch way cooler than a Rolex. Tell them Gary sent you.
— Gary Shteyngart, Author
Handcrafted Copper Grater
No one you know needs to own a beautiful handcrafted grater in the shape of an animal. Everyone you know would be thrilled to receive one. These are made by the chef-adored Japanese brand Ooya Seisakusho using centuries-old techniques and can be used to grate lemon, ginger, garlic, cheese, or anything else. This is the rare kitchen tool that requires no technique and very little storage space but makes everything feel special.
— Ellen Cushing, Staff Writer
A Christmas Miracle
This holiday season my gift recommendation is the product known as Rogaine. Is this a gift? I believe it is a gift to the world, because it actually works. When I started taking it many years ago, I had a rapidly growing bald spot and receding hairline. Now I am proud to say that that bald spot is the exact same size. What product keeps its promises? I am just as bald as I was seven years ago. It’s a Christmas miracle that must be respected and honored.
— Judd Apatow, Writer, Comedian, and Director
A Speaker Built to Last
The perfect portable speaker is an essential item in any house, especially if more is less. And the Tivoli PAL BT radio is definitely giving both. It’s audio ambidextrous, doubling as both an analog radio and a Bluetooth speaker, with a crisp sound. And it’s fun! The retro-radio look comes in customizable popping colors. It’s also a sturdy workhorse that is weather-resistant and holds a charge for what seems like forever (okay, I think technically 12 hours). Reliable, stylish, functional, the PAL BT is a gift built to last in a time when our world is full of disposables.
— Claudine Ebeid, Executive Producer, Audio
A Subscription for the Soul
A subscription may be a small thing to unwrap; it is a wonderful thing to receive for the rest of the year. Pick a small literary journal from your mom’s hometown, or from where your father-in-law attended college. The muted response on Christmas morning will turn into a year’s worth of calls or texts as each issue delivers unexpected stories, poems, essays, and art that feel as though you picked them out personally.
— Evan McMurry, Senior Editor
$35 one-year subscription with auto renew on Whitefish Review
Password Peace of Mind
It won’t get you any points for romance or sentimentality, but a gift card to 1Password or another password manager can reduce the stress of being a human being online in 2024—and that’s perhaps the nicest thing you can do for a friend or loved one. These services are widely (and rightly) recommended for the security they can bring to your online accounts, but for me, the real benefit has been the relief of having to remember just one single password. I appreciate this every time I have to log in to order takeout, see my bank statement, or view a message sent to me by a doctor via some arcane medical portal. And it’s also taken the pain out of signing up for any other new service or site—no need to create a new password and keep track of it, ever again.
— Rebecca J. Rosen, Senior Editor
Two Tickets to a Show
For people who covet physical objects—to the point where they either cannot or should not keep collecting them—I like to go in the opposite direction, with something more experiential: two tickets to a show (ideally for the both of us to go together). Either I pick the show to surprise them, or I hand them my credit card and let them decide. Not only does this gift come with the built-in promise of making a memory; it also leaves no tangible trace behind—that is, unless they can’t help but swing by the merch stand.
— Allegra Frank, Senior Editor
One Good Scraper
A nice, sturdy bench scraper: Sure, you can (and will) use this for its intended purposes—scooping up chopped vegetables, slicing up bread dough, etc. But you’ll find yourself using it for so much more (in my case: scraping up the inevitable post-dinner mess from the splat mat under my kid’s high chair).
— Dan Fallon, Senior Editor
A Dollop of Luxury
I take my six-step beauty routine very seriously. My favorite part is always, always applying La Mer’s Moisturizing Soft Cream. I love using the tiny spatula to spread the cream all over my face, watching it melt into my skin. And honestly, when I apply these luxurious products, I feel like I’m the ultimate beauty snob.
— Jenisha Watts, Senior Editor
$100–$1,440 on Saks Fifth Avenue
Ceramic Sun Bowls
My husband and I received four of these bowls as a wedding gift last year, and they haven’t seen the inside of a cabinet yet: They’re in such constant rotation in our household, and so nice to look at, that as soon as we take them out of the dishwasher we just put them right back in a (very pretty) stack on the counter to be used again the next day. The handmade ceramic dishes come in dozens of colors and patterns—I recommend mixing and matching—and are the perfect size for your morning bowl of cereal or yogurt.
— Amy Weiss-Meyer, Senior Editor
A Morning Ritual
The coffee lovers in your life might swear by their French press or daily Starbucks, but that’s only because they haven’t experienced the sweet, sweet satisfaction of making themselves that perfect cappuccino in the morning. This gift isn’t just about better coffee (although trust me, it’s so much better). It’s about introducing a ritual of slowness, simplicity, and concerted attention in a world that too often pulls us toward the very opposite. Think: all the benefits of meditation but infinitely more delicious (and at a fraction of the price of most espresso machines!).
— Rogé Karma, Staff Writer
Adventurers
Shibumi Shade
Visit almost any beach in North Carolina, where I live, and you’ll see what looks like a Christo and Jeanne-Claude installation of two-tone blue flags stretching down the sand. They’re called Shibumi Shades, and they are the state’s best export since Rhiannon Giddens. Real talk: I found them dumb and gimmicky and doubted that they worked right up until we received one as a gift. They’re really light, much simpler to put up than any other beach shelter, and produce a surprisingly large shade area in even gentle breeze.
— David A. Graham, Staff Writer
A Speaker Fit for a Music Critic
In a world of junky wireless boom boxes with pointless flashing lights and walkie-talkie-level sound quality, this unassuming, palm-sized pellet is a quiet—but loud—miracle. For years, I’ve brought one along on beach trips, bike rides, and various other occasions that I suspected might suffer from a dearth of Charli XCX. Waterproof, sand-resistant, and capable of producing a rich roar of sound, the speaker has only one bit of filigree—a stretchy strap for fastening to tree branches. The durability is part of the fun: I love knowing that a potential party is always bumping around at the bottom of my backpack.
— Spencer Kornhaber, Staff Writer
Round Mini Shoulder Bag
Spend time walking around any city and you’ll likely see one of these so-called Millennial Birkin slung across the body of someone Out and About Doing Stuff. The Uniqlo round mini shoulder bag—reasonably priced, modestly designed, solidly constructed—is a handy gift for a person of any generation, a reminder that “fashion can be affordable without being disposable,” Gillian B. White wrote in 2019. Uniqlo made its founder, Tadashi Yanai, the richest man in Japan; its parent company is one of the largest apparel retailers in the world. Yet in the United States, the brick-and-mortars mostly exist in coastal cities. You may just have to order online.
— Shan Wang, Programming Director
Protein Bars You’ll Crave
Going to the grocery store and looking at the protein-added products is the equivalent of having a closet full of clothes and absolutely nothing to wear. Yes, there are about a million options, but at best, they don’t want to make you throw up, and at worst, well. I’d given up until a restaurateur I respect shared that he'd found a gem: Håkan Chocolatier protein bars, made by a chocolate company in upstate New York. At $73 for a box of 12, the bars do not come cheap. When I tried one of the biscoff-flavored ones, I was astonished. It truly did taste like a regular, craveable, eat-when-high chocolate; loaded with quinoa, it had the effect of a fancy Crunch Bar. They don’t feel “healthy,” per se, but they’re what I want to pack the next time I go on a hiking excursion.
— Serena Dai, Senior Editor
A Travel Companion
Okay, yes, I’m recommending an app. But I’m really recommending the gift of adventurous whimsy. Road-trippers, whether you give the standard app or a gift-friendly premium version, will delight any road-trip enthusiast in your life. Much more detailed and user-friendly than a standard map service (with routes and stops customizable by budget, vehicle type, and much more), the app is great for trip planning. But its real magic is its on-the-road serendipity. As you travel, route maps update with all of the attractions that beckon nearby, whether arts venues or natural wonders or quirky cultural spots. Wax museums? Waterfalls? A house made of newspapers? The app will keep finding new proof that, in road-tripping as in so much else, the journey is the destination.
— Megan Garber, Staff Writer
Free, $35.99–$59.99 a year for the annual plans on Roadtrippers
Osprey Skimmer
Traditionally, people think of the water-bladder backpack for long hikes and cycling rides. I think of my Osprey when I think of a road trip—quality time on an extended drive with my partner, my bestie, my ride-or-dies. Going on a road trip, enclosed with nothing to do but yap, is an underrated way to spend leisure time. The only issue is refreshing on water, which the backpack solves. The water reservoir holds more than double what the classic Stanley cup fits, and the long straw means even the driver can sip without much trouble. And maybe this is gauche, but I could also see hydration-obsessed Americans carrying one around their travels in European cities. Hiking backpacks: not just for hikers!
— Serena Dai, Senior Editor
A Wondrous Train Ride
If you’re hoping to see North America’s tallest mountain, there’s a roughly 70 percent chance you won’t; Denali is often shrouded in cloud cover partially or fully obfuscating the mammoth mountain. But even if you don’t join the “30 percent club,” as locals call it, you have a 100 percent surefire way to make the trip to the far-flung destination worth the journey. Alaska Railroad’s Denali Star Train runs daily in the summer, from Anchorage to Fairbanks, with a stop at Denali National Park. The glass-domed ceilings in parts of the train allow for panoramic views of the Alaskan countryside, and even an opportunity to glimpse the elusive peak.
— Andrea Valdez, Managing Editor
Price varies, on Alaska Railroad
Swinging in the Rain
I love backpacking but hate sleeping in a tent because I'm almost always too warm. A few years ago, I started experimenting with hammock camping but woke up to a midnight thunderstorm and had to duck into a tent where two other people were already sleeping. Never again! ENO sells a rain tarp and a bug net that both fit around its hammocks. I use them with my favorite old hammock to sleep outside while staying dry, itch-free, and, most important, cool.
— Rachel Gutman-Wei, Supervisory Senior Associate Editor
$84.95 on Eagles Nest Outfitters
Art Lovers
Brandon Bird Artwork
We live in a time of rich and varied mass-market decorative goods. They’re delightful but stamped out, assembly-line style. Generative AI is making things even weirder. All of that means now is a great time to give original art—pieces created uniquely by a human and sold as singular works or small editions. You can find these in local galleries, but you can also buy them online—on Etsy, on eBay, or directly from the artists. An example: Brandon Bird was one of the earliest painters creating fine-art mash-ups of pop-culture figures. He sells signed prints and original drawings and oil paintings of Law & Order characters, Transformers, the exteriors of Sears stores, and more at extremely affordable prices.
— Ian Bogost, Contributing Writer
The Story of Art Without Men
If, like me, you love museums, love coffee-table books, and loathe the systemic erasure of women from the Western cultural canon, then this gift is for you. In 2015, Katy Hessel went to an art fair, only to slowly realize that, “out of the thousands of artworks before me, not a single one was by a woman.” This was by no means unusual, given that approximately 87 percent of artworks in American museums were made by men, and most of us struggle to name even three female artists off the top of our head. And yet all this time, women have been making work quietly in the shadows. The Story of Art Without Men is Hessel’s attempt to give them their due, documenting the pioneers, Renaissance women, portraitists, and photographers whose work is only now starting to get the attention it’s long deserved.
— Sophie Gilbert, Staff Writer
Museum-Quality Prints
These prints from Aperture are perfect for someone with an interest in art and photography, a hobbyist, or a friend starting an art collection. Aperture’s limited-edition-print program offers museum-quality pieces from incredible photographers including Michael Wolf, Nico Krijno, and An-My Lê—ready to hang and impress fellow art lovers. Proceeds support both the artists and Aperture’s educational initiatives, exhibitions, and public programming. Whether your friend is into abstract or fashion-focused or documentary photography, you’ll find something for them here.
— Lucy Murray Willis, Photo Editor
Dreamy Artwork by Kim Mintz
A recommendation from my own personal wish list: Kim Mintz is one of my favorite working artists; her paintings remind me of fantasies I had as a little girl, delicate sweetness and magic. But there’s a striking, eerie edge to Mintz’s work that lends it an otherworldly aura (you’ll dream of celestial goddesses weeping starlight). If your style is dreamy and unabashedly feminine, you’ll appreciate her oeuvre.
— Elizabeth Bruenig, Staff Writer
Price varies, on Kim Mintz Art
Tiny, Whimsical Artwork
As the saying goes, sometimes good things come in small packages. Such is the case with Elisa Wikey’s Tiny Framed Things, a series of whimsical art prints that will, as promised, “woo and delight even the curmudgeoniest of mudgeons.” On offer are dozens of diminutive illustrations, such as a teeny tardigrade and an elfin elephant.
— Andrea Valdez, Managing Editor
Akari Light Sculptures
I’ve been trying to incorporate more functional art and objects into my home recently, and one thing that has really made a world of difference in my home office is my new Akari light-sculpture fixture, which immediately transformed the space. These lamps and fixtures are originally designed by the artist and architect Isamu Noguchi using Japanese Gifu lanterns as inspiration.
— Vann R. Newkirk II, Senior Editor
$175.00, $157.50 for members on Noguchi Shop
Comfort
A Raincoat
Cold rain is unpleasant. Cold rain on vacation is more unpleasant. Cold rain on vacation when you don’t have rain gear: more unpleasant still. Under these conditions, I convinced myself that spending a few hundred dollars on a Stutterheim raincoat was actually rational. And, actually, I don’t regret my purchase. It’s designed by Swedes, who I suppose have no choice but to know a thing or two about dressing for the weather. In this raincoat, precipitation means nothing to me. It’s long; it’s actually waterproof rather than merely water resistant; it makes me look and feel like a fisherman. Does someone in your life want to look and feel like a fisherman? This coat’s for them.
— Juliet Lapidos, Senior Editor
Pillow Slippers
I recently had a child, which means that my life is joyous and meaningful in one big way but inconvenient and painful in a million other ways. One thing that has helped: these pillowy slippers I bought off of Amazon. The brand I have is Joomra, but you can buy any of the similar ones that sound like someone threw some Scrabble tiles in the air. These puppies cradle your soles and massage your arches. They cushion your footfalls as you run up and down the stairs at 3 a.m. to get the other kind of bottle, because the baby doesn’t like that one kind. They will probably fall apart after a few months, just like your sleep-training plans, but they’re cheap, so it doesn’t really matter. Treat your feet and get these.
— Olga Khazan, Staff Writer
Marshmallow Pants
Apparently they are called “joggers.” I’ve jogged in them only once—down the driveway to get the Sunday paper. They are Sunday-paper sweatpants. You are not allowed to wear them anywhere but in your room. You are absolutely not allowed to take them off. They are not multipurpose; they do not belong on casual Fridays or work-from-home Tuesdays. If you try to work in them, they will disappear. They are skinny jeans made out of marshmallows. Their elastic is sourced from space materials and they will live forever, just like the avocado stain from your nine-month-old that has been firmly emblazoned on the butt.
— Walt Hunter, Contributing Editor
A Level-Up for Travelers
Packing efficiently makes travel so much less stressful. Although packing cubes might not be the most glamorous present, they certainly are one of the most useful. (For maximum compression, buy the kind with double zips.) If your gift recipient travels a lot for work, then a travel steamer will stop them from having to rely on hotel irons to remove creases from businesswear.
— Helen Lewis, Staff Writer
Stovetop Fryer
When my in-laws first gave my husband and me this pot, we thought it was silly. Then we used it to fry pork chops and spring rolls and sufganiyot and became true believers. This little workhorse is great for small spaces because it’s easy to store and easy to clean, and because it keeps oil from splattering all over undersize kitchens.
— Rachel Gutman-Wei, Supervisory Senior Associate Editor
Oofos Sandals
Do their knees hurt? Healing someone’s achy feet or knees is a high form of care. Please give your loved ones these Oofos sandals to wear around the house, or in public if their commitment to style is weaker than their commitment to comfort. Perhaps they look like they could spring someone into orbit, but bouncing around space isn’t hard on your knees, I bet. They’re called “recovery sandals” and are effective if you need to recover from things like walking or standing (but also useful after feats of fitness!). I recommend sizing down instead of sizing up.
— Bhumika Tharoor, Managing Editor
Delicious Prints
This is for the Great British Bake Off lover in your life, and if there isn’t one, get some friends who know how to eat treats and relax! Tom Hovey, the illustrator who cooks up the darling little illustrations that pop up on the show to whet your appetite, is selling them. Who doesn’t want to gaze at a hand-raised pie or a “kneadapolitan” sculpture forever? Import the show’s deliciously calm vibes onto your walls!
— Hanna Rosin, Senior Editor
How Italians Make Pasta
My mother, born and raised in Italy, bought me one of these while I was in college, and I’ve been using it ever since. The pot’s oval size can hold longer pasta shapes in their entirety, and the lid saves you the cabinet space needed to store a colander. Just remember to save some cooking water!
— Matteo Wong, Staff Writer
Socks
The purpose of a gift, in my view, is to give someone something they actually want. And everybody—everybody—always needs socks. Pick high-quality wool or even cashmere socks in sensible earth tones; maybe knee socks for women. Laugh all you want at this banal idea, but remember: No one will ever secretly take them back to the store or stuff them in the back of a closet.
— Anne Applebaum, Staff Writer
Bridging a Generation Gap
A Child’s Book of Art: Great Pictures, First Words
For me, a great way to bridge a generation gap when gift giving is to hunt down a used book, now out of print, that I’ve loved. I’m doubly happy if it’s one that I loved reading with my kids—a present for both young and old. In our family, we pored over A Child’s Book of Art: Great Pictures, First Words. Selected by Lucy Micklethwait, the art from museums around the world is stunning, and arranged with alluring beauty and wit. My kids still recall their delight over the 17th-century Dutch painting titled The Sense of Smell (one of several depictions of the “Five Senses”), showing a toddler’s bare rear end being wiped. And yes, looking at paintings still gives them real pleasure.
— Ann Hulbert, Literary Editor
La Mer Advent Calendar
“Skin-care, if you’re doing it right, means claiming a moment of tenderness in an abrasive world,” Paris Hilton wrote in her memoir last year. I’m constantly torn between my cynicism about the beauty-industrial complex and everything it does to women, and my gullible hope that a product out there will make me look and feel somehow … better. In the spirit of the season, I’m leaning toward the tenderness argument with this recommendation. Plus, if there’s one thing that brings even Zoomers and Boomers together right now, it’s the promise of overpriced face cream in an aesthetically pleasing box. This La Mer advent calendar has 12 days of antiaging gifts for either the seasoned beauty veteran in your life or the TikTok-tutored teenager with ludicrously expensive taste—or both.
— Sophie Gilbert, Staff Writer
A Fresh Squeeze
Here’s what you want from your citrus juicer: easily produced juice, the simplest cleanup imaginable, and styling that doesn’t look like a clunky collab between a wood chipper and a kitchen appliance. Smeg has delivered—quite beautifully (and it takes just 36 seconds to clean—I timed it). Should you give this to anyone with a toddler (speaking again from experience), you’re actually giving them two presents: juice and occupied little hands, because it’s so easy to use. What better way to show your loved ones how much you care than by helping them keep scurvy at bay with elegant Italian design?
— Bhumika Tharoor, Managing Editor
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
“The hard part for us avant-garde post-modern artists is deciding whether or not to embrace commercialism,” 6-year-old Calvin admits to his best friend (and stuffed tiger), Hobbes. As an adult, I laugh at the comic strip’s punch line: “Oh, what the heck. I’ll do it,” says the child artist who works mostly in snow sculpture and sidewalk chalk. As a kid, grabbing skinny Calvin and Hobbes compilations off my parents’ bookshelves, I laughed just as hard, probably because I had a firm grasp of only about two-thirds of the funny-sounding words in the panels. The marriage of high and low, young and old, is what makes Bill Watterson’s strip work. An elementary schooler and his imaginary friend protest unfair bedtimes, play outside, and try to avoid eating vegetables … by citing unfavorable poll numbers for the elected position of “Dad,” acting out noirish private-eye fantasies, and ranting verbosely about the contemporary art world. When it’s time for my kids to read these strips, they’ll be pulling these heftier versions off the shelf.
— Emma Sarappo, Associate Editor
$148.80 paperback or $209.25 hardcover on Bookshop
Field of Dreams Bourbon
Field of Dreams—it’s a movie about fathers and sons, men and their heroes, seeing ghosts, plowing under your corn and freaking everyone out. Now a bunch of current and former baseball players are selling whiskey that is supposedly made from that very corn. (Presumably this just means corn from that general area of Iowa.) The fun part is that opening each bottle is kind of like opening a pack of baseball cards—the wooden cap has a famous baseball player carved into it and which player it is will be a little surprise. The other fun part is that it’s whiskey.
— Kaitlyn Tiffany, Staff Writer
It Takes Two
I’ve always had fun playing board games and video games with my kids over the years, but so-called couch co-op video games have given us some of our best experiences. One recent game really stands out as far as creativity, gameplay, cooperative puzzle solving, and just plain fun: It Takes Two, available on several consoles and PC. You play as a mother and father trapped in a surreal world, trying to escape and rescue their relationship with each other and with their daughter. It was a real hit during one of our last family get-togethers—fun to both play and watch.
— Alan Taylor, Senior Editor
Subscription to the Criterion Channel
The Criterion Channel is the best streaming service for movies that are not only suitable for everyone but also genuinely timeless. Easy cross-generational entry points: PlayTime, The 400 Blows, The Graduate, and A Hard Day’s Night. Or, if no kids are around, you can go a little more adult—Frances Ha or A Woman Under the Influence, or try something wacky, such as House (Hausu).
— Allegra Frank, Senior Editor
$10.99 monthly, $99.99 annually on Criterion Channel
Readers
Hardcover Versions of Beloved Books
Not every book gets read more than once, but in my house, the ones that do begin to accumulate dog ears, marginalia, stains, and beaten corners until their spines finally crack and split. When a favorite title has earned that distinction, it’s worth purchasing in a beautiful, thoughtfully designed hardcover edition that can stand up to further wear—something like the Penguin Vitae series from Penguin Classics, or an omnibus from Library of America. This is an old-fashioned but flawless gift: More than a decade after I first ripped my paperback volume of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy in half, its Everyman’s Library hardcover successor, with a ribbon bookmark sewn in, awaits my next visit.
— Emma Sarappo, Associate Editor
The Warren Commission Report
Allen Dulles, the former CIA director who served on the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, thought it would be pointless to release to the public the 26 volumes of hearings and exhibits the commission compiled. “Nobody reads,” he said. “Don’t believe people read in this country.” But the government put them out anyway, in a set that weighs 54 pounds and contains more than 16,000 pages. New copies were mostly purchased by libraries and colleges; reportedly fewer than 6,000 sets were ever made. That means they’re rare. If you know someone who would be offended by Dulles’s characterization of the dull American public … maybe they would like one! They make for wild reading, and 54 pounds is a hilarious weight for a present.
— Kaitlyn Tiffany, Staff Writer
Vintage Letterpress Book
Although a vintage Hanuman book is sometimes hard to get your hands on, little is more inspiring than receiving one. It almost doesn’t matter whether the author was Patti Smith or Candy Darling—these letterpress books were the brainchild of the art critic Raymond Foye and the artist Francesco Clemente. Printed in India and distributed from the Chelsea Hotel for about $5 apiece in the ’80s, each volume was edited and designed by the pair. They are more than books; they are little objects of art that transport you back to the old world of analog, New York cool.
— Xochitl Gonzalez, Staff Writer
International Book Membership
This monthly membership is perfect for a friend who’s read everything, or a father-in-law who likes to talk with you about books. Archipelago Books publishes fiction, poetry, and other genres in translation, with a genuinely global outlook. One month you might get the Italian postmodernist Antonio Tabucchi’s little masterpiece For Isabel: A Mandala; the next month, a new translation of Aimé Césaire’s Return to My Native Land. And if the books start piling up, the gorgeous square covers will tempt you to take a mental-health day during a slow week in February to work through the backlog.
— Walt Hunter, Contributing Editor
$15 or $25 monthly/$150 or $250 annually on Archipelago Books
Little Free Library
Recently my block in Brooklyn wanted to honor the memory of one of our neighbors who died, and we got one of these little lending libraries. It’s been a wonderful addition to our street, and it would make a perfect gift for someone in your life who accumulates books and is looking to share. The libraries, which are available in different sizes and colors, come already built. You just need to stake them in the ground, which is not hard, and you have an instant focal point for your community—plus an endless source of free reading material.
— Gal Beckerman, Staff Writer
$189.95–$479.95 on Little Free Library
The Little Book Light
I like to read before bed, often much later than my wife does. A few years ago, this presented itself as a problem. See, I had to keep the lights on. She wanted the lights off. This is not the stuff of serious marital strife, but still, I needed a solution. Enter this wonderful little book light. It bends to different angles. It has a few brightness modes. It’s perfect for the reader in your life who doesn’t want to annoy their partner.
— Gal Beckerman, Staff Writer
The Essential Book Accessory
Everyone needs a book stand (though few know that they do). The High Tide book stand is beautiful, affordable, and impressively engineered to hold your books open so you can read hands-free (great for reading while you eat) or (and this is how I use mine) to sit your books upright, face-out on a shelf or bookcase, thereby transforming these books and their covers into artworks.
— Peter Mendelsund, Creative Director
Doomscrollers
Flip Phone
Buying a nice flip phone is a lot harder these days than most people might realize. The options at your local mall are likely to be flimsy, ugly, unsatisfying. The best flip phone you can buy right now for someone who might actually really enjoy (or be in dire need of) the throwback lifestyle is the CAT S22 Flip Phone, which was designed for construction workers and the like. It’s heavy in the hand; it has that satisfying “thwack” when you open it; you can drop it from six feet up; supposedly you can even drop it in bleach. And it looks cool—very “retro,” “Y2K,” etc.
— Kaitlyn Tiffany, Staff Writer
Say Cheese, Then Wait
The rise of smartphones ushered in a new camera age, a visually heady era when everyone became their own personal photographer. Predictably, though, people became disillusioned with their overflowing, memory-hogging camera rolls, sparking a trendy, retro-inspired instant-camera comeback in the 2010s. But both digital and instant cameras serve our modern-day impulse for immediate gratification. People looking to dampen their digital desires should consider the power of the disposable camera. Buy a Fujifilm QuickSnap Flash 400, take care in framing the limited number of exposures, and wait patiently for a local photo lab to develop the images.
— Andrea Valdez, Managing Editor
A Complex Candle
I know, I know. It really is harder to read books these days. My phone has done a number on my attention span, and there are always just countless distractions. But one thing I’ve found helpful in focusing and really making a pleasant reading experience is lighting candles. I love a unique candle, and one of my favorites these days is the Night Blooming Jasmine & Damask Rose candle from Flamingo Estate. It’s unique, it’s complex, it’s transportive—and, most important, it helps me relax into a good reading session.
— Vann R. Newkirk II, Senior Editor
Ideas to Go
After growing up immersed in my father’s stories of adventure, I’ve recently begun sifting through his old journals. Each page reveals delicate, hand-drawn maps and meticulous notes in fine ballpoint pen, capturing the beauty he witnessed. His ability to document the world with such care deeply influenced my own love for photography and storytelling. Today, I carry on that tradition, always traveling with a pen and notebook. For those who embrace exploration, it’s a way to document their journey—a notebook and pen are essential for capturing fleeting moments and reflections on the road.
— Lucy Murray Willis, Photo Editor
Blooming Bulbs
Present these beauties early in the gift-giving season to allow time for your lucky friends to plant them—because there’s nothing a hardcore scroller needs more than a trip outside.
— Elizabeth Bruenig, Staff Writer
Inspiration Seekers
A Whiff of Thoreau
I am a person who has been blessed (or cursed) with a strong nose, so scented candles are a mainstay in our house. For most rooms, we default to florals or occasional seasonal scents. But in my home office, where I read and write, I’ve long used this Threshold candle from Target. Technically, the scent is “leather and embers,” but it conjures so much more. It smells like tweed and chunky wool cardigans and the color burgundy; like reading Thoreau by firelight; like a celebratory cigar after a quail hunt. It is sophisticated and musky and, dare I say, writerly? And best of all, it costs 12 bucks.
— McKay Coppins, Staff Writer
The Rainbow Maker
This vase from the MoMA Design Store is created to refract beauty from its surroundings (it also has the perfect name—who wouldn’t want to receive an “irregular” gift?). It’s built to catch the light of what’s within it, but also the light below and around it. You can put a candle in, or a single-stem flower. Focus on a different bit of glass each day and you’ll be surprised that something relatively small can seem to open up new worlds.
— Isabel Fattal, Senior Editor
$112.50 for members, $125 for nonmembers on MoMA
To Soothe Humanity
Sipping a cup of chai can be a social act or a quiet and contemplative one; it’s the perfect accomplice to the human condition. So thankfully, Kolkata Chai Co.’s delicious masala-chai mix is simple to use (and also can be dairy-free!). Just the aroma makes obvious how this venerable beverage—its milky ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, black-tea goodness—has awoken and soothed approximately a quarter of humanity across many divides. Sometimes life stirs and strains us, but in those moments, at least there is chai. Give this hug in a cup—but never say “chai tea.”
— Bhumika Tharoor, Managing Editor
A Better Popper
Once you get a hot-air popcorn maker, microwaveable popcorn will seem unnecessarily demure, shrouding its wondrous transformations in starchy brown paper. A popcorn maker is a pre-movie show of its own: In an elaborate trick, you can watch each kernel molt into its new white, fluffy body to the soundtrack of a private firework show. You can also dress your treat up in a bespoke seasoning, with none of microwavable popcorn’s random ingredients. Go wild! Throw some sesame oil or oregano into that mix.
— Valerie Trapp, Assistant Editor
Forest Axe
I know, I know: The idea of giving someone you love an axe could seem a little … worryingly ambiguous. Shades of Jack Nicholson going through the door in The Shining. Or freighted with passive aggression: Darling, let’s bury the hatchet—in your head! But hear me out. A nice axe is a highly practical yet quintessentially American tool that no household should be without. Kindling? No problem. Camping trip? You’ve got it. And you’ll never wear it out, so think of an axe as down payment on a family heirloom.
— Matt Seaton, Senior Editor
The Human Being Journal
For all its good PR, journaling can be surprisingly opaque—where do you actually begin? Many guided journals emphasize one core value, such as gratitude. But journaling doesn’t have to be a record of what already is. The Human Being Journal by Mahara Mindfulness, a company founded in the chaos of early 2020, takes a more expansive approach to its structure: Low-commitment monthly prompts tied to categories such as “relationships” and “creativity and passion” give journalers the tools to capture fuller versions of themselves—as they are now and as they want to be.
— Hannah Giorgis, Staff Writer
$48 - $50 on Mahara Mindfulness
The Everywhere Boombox
The best thing I’ve purchased in the past few years—and maybe ever?—is my JBL Xtreme wireless speaker. It’s roughly the size of a football and just as durable. The audio quality is phenomenal. It’s waterproof. And it gets loud enough to either disturb your neighbors or helpfully signal to them that it’s time to come over and hang out. I bought a strap for mine and have been known to carry it with me everywhere—to the playground, pool, beach, backyard, and any other occasion that demands a great playlist and some dancing, which is basically every occasion, as far as I’m concerned.
— Adrienne LaFrance, Executive Editor
The Perfect Pencil Sharpener
For all artists, doodlers, planners, to-do listers, and anybody who might ever use a pencil, this is the perfect sharpener: The first hole shaves the wood, and the second sharpens the graphite, leading to razor-sharp tips that never break. (If you’re looking for something more substantial, consider the Blackwing Rustic Box, which contains a two-step sharpener and 12 Blackwing pencils—themselves perhaps the perfect drawing pencil—in a lovely wooden box.)
— Matteo Wong, Staff Writer
Incense Match Sticks
Perfume stirs the mind.
— Elizabeth Bruenig, Staff Writer