Back when I worked at Pittsburgh City Paper, I made a few gift guides for Christmas and Valentine’s day, which I always liked because I got to comb through products from small businesses and local artists. Most gift guides you see now are at least partially reliant on affiliate links (publication gets money if you click link and buy) but I am affiliated with no one! I’m a free thinker!
Everything in this list is something I’ve actually bought or received as a gift (including gifts to myself!) so they are tried and true.
Books and other reading materials
If you and the person you’re buying a gift for are both readers, I think it’s a very nice to gift them a book you read and enjoyed. It’s a sweet thing to say “I liked this and I think you’ll like it too.” There was a year when I gave Jenny Offill’s “Department of Speculation” to like three people. I’ve also given Bill Bryson’s “At Home,” which is great for anyone who loves houses.
A subsection of gifting books is cookbooks, which I think are always a fun treat. If I were giving someone a cookbook this year, it would be Sohla El-Waylly’s “Start Here,” from which I’ve already cooked three tasty recipes, or Snacking Cakes, which I got from the library once.
Giving someone a Substack subscription is like giving them a magazine subscription in that it provides them with recurring reading material for a year, but it’s also like supporting a small business in that money goes directly to a writer and not a publishing magnate with questionable morals. I pay for four Substack subscriptions: Mess Hall (food culture + recipes), Fran Magazine (film + culture), Hot Dish (recipes, from Sohla again), and You’ve Got Lipstick on Your Chin (beauty culture + history). I’d recommend all of them to someone interested in those topics.
Museum subscription
I grew up going to the Smithsonian museums in D.C., which are always free and spoiled me for future museums, most of which cost money. I love giving and receiving subscriptions to anything, but especially museums because anytime you’re bored throughout the year, you can just be like “oh wait I can go look at some paintings.” Since I live in Pittsburgh, the best options are obviously the Carnegie Museums but also Phipps Conservatory. Whatever city you live in, there’s probably a botanical garden/conservatory where you could buy someone a membership so they can traipse around plants.
Locally made gifts
As I mentioned above, I loved making gifts guides for the local paper because I could include locally made gifts, which are always better than supporting a big corporation with unknown labor practices. Some of my favorite local (Pittsburgh) businesses to browse are Part-Time Poodle (my favorite clothing!), Flux Bene (zero waste!), Yeahyelhsa (stickers!), Conversations Over Chai (jewelry!), Sol Patch Garden (flowers!), Jenna Vanden Brink Ceramics (pottery!) Milo Berezin Ceramics (pottery!), Weird Little Earrings (earrings!)
Donations
Ok I’m not just putting this here to make myself look better or to offset spending money on material goods. I genuinely think giving a donation in someone’s honor as a gift is a meaningful idea, especially if you choose a specific organization close to their heart. One year, for Lindsay, I symbolically adopted a wolf from the Wolf Sanctuary of PA and gave her a framed photo of the wolf (her name was Jake). A few times on Mother’s Day, I’ve given a donation to National Bail Out’s fund to free Black moms in time for the holiday, which my mom appreciated.
If someone were giving me a donation as a gift this year, I would want it to be somewhere like Medical Aid for Palestinians or the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Another good one is to buy some gifts through Transanta or Operation Santa.
Ugg slippers
I owned Uggs in middle school and wore them for years until I left home and moved to a colder place and wore regular Target slippers, which simply do not do the job for a cold-footed gal like me. I have Ugg slippers now and I can never go back. I have to own Ugg slippers for my whole life now. Whoops! I clomp around the house in them and Shawn calls them my “hooves.” These are the ones I have. (The Nordstrom Rack website is the best place to get a good deal on Ugg Slippers.)
Vintage clothing from eBay
Some of my favorite and most frequent eBay searches include: vintage LL Bean, Vintage Patagonia fleece, vintage novelty sweatshirts, vintage Mets t-shirt, vintage cotton sweater, vintage promotional movie merchandise, and vintage Eileen Fisher.
Susan Alexandra
I have two sets of Susan Alexandra fruit earrings, which I love because then I can mix and match them (oranges and lemons). I love her Judaica pieces (and love that dirty martinis fall under Judaica). If I was rich I would obviously get myself a custom beaded pet portrait bag with my dog on it. I have almost bought these earrings several times but there’s too many options to choose!
I feel like a star!! 🥹