39 Things: Gifting Guide 2024

A truly epic extravaganza

Hello My Sweet Friends,

I’m not immune to a gift guide, and I don’t even feel too embarrassed about that. Every year I put one out, and this year, I’ve put new stuff towards the top, classics right below, and of course there’s shameless plugging for my own shop, where everything is 15% off until Monday. (I have not yet quite broken even on how much I’ve spent on production costs this year, but I’m coming close! I’m hopeful!)

To that end, a flash sale on the paid tier of this newsletter:

More on what that gets you further down.

Onward!

The Best Stuff:

The best stuff shouldn’t cost you a thing.

1. Write a letter.

One of my favorite gifts from last year was given to me by my close friend whose name is not Leonard. He did give me an actual object (the object was an ornament, which, by the way, is a gift I always like to receive, because ornaments are small and non-cumbersome and require no work on the recipient’s part, and mostly are stored in the basement for 11 months of the year where they take up virtually no space but remind you that you are loved, and this is not about ornaments, but I guess it ended up being a lot about ornaments), but he also wrote a long letter in a card. Not Leonard had recently lived with us for a short amount of time, and the card was about that. He took time writing it. He filled both sides of the card and the letter spilled on to the back. In era of doing-more-faster, a hand-written letter says that a person stopped, sat down, and thought about you.

2. Send a voice memo.

Your phone almost certainly has a Voice Memo feature. Open it up. Think about a person you love. Close your eyes. What do you love about them? Hit record. Say something like, “Do you remember when we met? I do. I didn’t like you at first, which I think you know by now. But then you were the only one in class who ever said anything that made me think. And that second month, when I was having a hard day, you noticed. You told me that my tusks looked shiny. I had recently shined them, so this meant a lot to me.” (In this scenario, you are a walrus and you go to school with other sea animals.)

3. Spend time.

In 2019, sociologist Jeff Hall published a paper showing that it takes between 40 and 60 hours for an acquaintance to become a casual friend, between 80 to 100 hours for a casual friendship to become a sturdy friendship, and over 200 hours of time together before someone is considered a “best friend.” Last year, a person I met through the internet, Lindsay Pugh, offered to come visit. I had met her in real life twice, and both times were smashing. And we also had a phone call? Because she initiated a phone call? Because she is good at quality time!?!? And so anyway, she bought plane tickets (!) and came and stayed in my unruly house with my loud, non-sleeping child and my cat with no boundaries. And here is a text exchange we had before she came:

Lindsay gave me the gift of her time, and it was epic; incredibly meaningful for me. Most importantly, we watched almost all of “No One Wants This” together. Least importantly, Lindsay found actual bones in her banh mi.

In conclusion: put something on the calendar. This is a big gift, so choose whom you give it to wisely.

4. Recommend something.

We live in a time of endless internet recommendations. Not to blow your mind, but you’re reading one right now. And while I know you a little tiny bit, I can’t personalize these recommendations to your specific quirks the way that you might be able to for a friend. Was there a book you liked? A movie? An album? Write the name of it on an index card and on the back, explain what about it made you think of your person. Let them pursue the thing on their own time, without feeling guilty about letting a book gather dust. A rock-solid, shiny recommendation from someone you trust is worth its weight in GoodReads stars.

The New Kids.

Here few things I’ve fallen in love with this year and feel excited to give.

5. Thinking putty (from $4)

This appeals to me because it won’t last that long, and I’m a fan of a gift that doesn’t take up a ton of space, is joyful, and doesn’t sit on a shelf. You open this, you fidget with it, you put it in your backpack, you invite other people to fidget with it, eventually you throw it away, and then you use the nice metal box to store your paperclips.

6. Vintage novelty plates (From $4)

Here’s the link to this one — $12.95 atm.

Ideally, you thrift these. You go to the thrift store and you brave the stoneware aisle and you see what the plates are commemorating that day. I have personally found wheat field, chickadees, Princess Diana. As Luke often says to me, you can’t have too many medium-sized plates. Bake some cookies to put on it, wrap it in saran wrap, and make someone’s life infinitely quirkier. (eBay works too. See image.)

7. An avocado masher and a guacamole recipe (From $5)

This is the one I have.

My favorite thing that I have in my whole kitchen is a small, metal avocado masher. It is the size of masher I need most often, not just for mashing avocados, but for mashing one banana — a thing I do almost every day when making my daughter a one-banana-one-egg-one-scoop-of-oatmeal pancake. I also use it to mash chickpeas in a stir fry, or little potatoes in a salad. Give this with your favorite recipe for guacamole (here’s mine) and, if you’re brave enough, a bag of avocados.

8. Starface lip balm ($7)

I bought this at Walgreens when I needed new lip balm, and do you know what? It smells like starfruit and when you open it, the balm has a little happy face etched into it. It’s cute.

9. Blackwing pencils ($30 for 12)

I don’t know anything about cars, truly, but this is the car-that-everyone-is-like-”what-he-compensating-for?” of pencils. They’re so expensive that I took my sweet time investing in one for myself, but now that I’ve gone Balckwing, I can’t go back. Give a pretty box set to a crossword enthusiast in your life.

10. A visual timer ($25)

No, it doesn’t make a ticking sound; yes, it’s quite useful for a toddler who wants just five more minutes of Magna Tile time; indeed, you can throw it across the room and it won’t break. Give it to your friend who is writing a novel and raising a three-year-old.

11. A framed picture of a precious object (various)

There are lots of things that I think are fun to frame. I think it is fun to frame a meme. I think it is fun to frame a screen shot of a text message. I think it is fun to frame a concert ticket. But my favorite thing to frame is a nice photograph taken of a tattered object — someone’s over-loved stuffed animal, a jersey that doesn’t fit anymore, a worn-to-the-bone pair of shoes — with the background removed. This is the permission a person might need to let go of the object itself. If a person really needs help with a lot of these, then a photo book might be in order. (See below, under Classics.)

12. A garlic grating ceramic dish (from $15)

This lovely one is from AlfarTierraCocida on Etsy for $37.

Rarely does an Instagram Suggested Post really turn me, but I watched someone make a salad in a ceramic bowl that had a poky thing on the bottom so the person could grate a clove of garlic DIRECTLY INTO THE BOTTOM OF THE BOWL and then pour olive oil on top and damn if I wasn’t like, “I need twelve.”

13. Dates (various)

These are $20 at My Panier.

There are some fancy dates that come in wooden boxes. Give them to your friend who is single and sad about it. (Is this mean? I don’t think so. Dates are great.)

14. A bud vase and this book about tiny flower bouquets

Yes, yes, I am here to brag again that my current art form is, indeed, tiny bouquets. In order to make tiny bouquets, you need tiny vases. My favorites are bud vases Kat bought me from her friend, an actual factual ceramicist (see above). Bud vases are relatively inexpensive, and paired with this irresistible book about making the smallest bouquets, you can’t really go wrong.

15. Travel watercolors (from $15)

This set is usually $35 but is also usually on sale. As I type this it is $16 at Jerry’s Artmania.

I think a travel watercolor kit is a perfect object, even for a person who isn’t going to use it. It can just sit on a shelf looking beautiful and like it’s from France. This would be a great gift to pair with a cool Zoom watercolor class taught by Sophie Lucido Johnson.

16. Rechargeable hand warmers ($11)

Don’t overthink it. These ones look like avocados.

The Classics.

Here are the things I recommend every year. All of these are still good recommendations. I’m not going to not tell you about them just because I’ve already told you. You may have forgotten!

17. A photo book from a specific outing or day or trip. (From $7.99.)

Do you to that thing where you take waaaay too many pictures all at once? Like, the day you went to the sculpture garden with your friends, you took 350 photos that are basically very similar? And now they’re clogging up your phone? Print THEM ALL OUT in one relatively inexpensive book. (I use Chatbooks, but there are tons of places that are itching to be in the business of doing this for you.) Give a copy to each of the friends you went on the outing with, keep one for yourself, and delete the pictures. A thoughtful gift and a helpful phone-clearing task, rolled into one. Voila.

18. A spice and a recipe. (From $5.)

Print out a copy of a recipe you enjoyed making this year, and then buy a high-end version of one of the spices required for the recipe. I always buy from Burlap and Barrel because I’m obsessed with their cinnamon, so I have to buy a bunch of that every year anyway.

19. Dried fruit, a poem, and $5.

This is my favorite “whenever” present, and it has been since my mom mailed me this gift when I was in college. She sent a bag of dried mangos, a printed-out Wallace Stevens poem, and a $5 bill in a manilla envelope, and I thought, “This ticks every box.” It felt thoughtful without feeling overly sentimental; it felt useful without feeling extravagant; it felt pleasurable without feeling unhealthy. I’ve done this multiple times when it’s someone’s birthday and I don’t know what else to do. Everyone always loves it.

20. Your personal favorite pen. (From $1.)

When in doubt, a pen and a blank card (with a stamp on the envelope for bonus points) it is a great gift. Include a handwritten letter folded neatly in the card, explaining what you love about the person who you’re giving the gift to, and then tell them to pass the love along to someone else — you’ve included all the supplies they need to do so! I have linked to the Energel Clena, the best pen I know.

21. Truffle salt and popcorn. (From $10.)

Is anything better than truffle salt on popcorn? No. If you’re feeling fancy, you can also get them a silicon microwave popcorn maker. It feels like no one believes that this is the best way to make popcorn in the known universe (how COULD it be?), but it REALLY TRULY IS.

22. Byrd Baylor books. (From $5.)

These books are a perfect gift for every person of every age (I recommend “I’m In Charge of Celebrations,” “Everybody Needs A Rock,” “The Table Where Rich People Sit,” and “The Way To Start A Day”). The only problem is that they’re all slim paperbacks, which sometimes doesn’t feel fancy enough for a gift. You can add a set of colored pencils to this gift to make it a little more deluxe. After you read a Byrd Baylor book illustrated by Peter Parnall, you’re going to want to color.

23. A ceramic pie dish. (From $15.)

This pie dish is from Jessica, and I love it!

I have been given three of these in my life, and they’re some of my favorite things that I own. You can give them with a pie recipe, or with a jar of Burlap and Barrel royal cinnamon (see above), or filled with shiny wrapped chocolates. But if you want this to be THE BEST GIFT EVER, bake a pie in the pie dish. I’m already jealous of whomever you are giving this to.

24. Comic strips. (From $20 or so.)

Collections of newspaper comic strips are my favorite. You can read them non-linearly, and they bring everyone joy. I recommend “Cul de Sac,” “Moomin,” “Krazy Kat,” and “Calvin and Hobbes.”

25. A homemade clock. ($3.50.)

I keep a drawer full of these clock movements from American Science and Surplus for any time I need a quick art project; they’re so easy it feels like a trick. You can put this clock movement on anything you can punch a hole in: I like to use corrugated cardboard that I’ve collaged and Mod Podged. You can literally use a crushed pop can if you want. The possibilities are endless.

26. A loaded thumb drive. (From $5.)

Fill a thumb drive with digital ephemera that reminds you of your person. You can put mp3s, photos, short videos, or text files with URLs for websites that you like. You could load up a shareware game or two, or build a PPT. Put everything in cutely-titled folders. This gift is a project, but it’s also a great way to give something small that’s actually enormous.

27. Your favorite peanut butter and a peanut butter stirrer. (From $15.)

Isn’t it annoying how you have to stir natural peanut butter, but otherwise there is sugar in the peanut butter? YES. IT IS. Last year, I discovered that there is a simple tool that you screw on to a regular peanut butter container, and then you turn it, and then the peanut butter is stirred. No mess, no fuss, no dried-out-chunks on the bottom of the jar. Get a nice jar of PB to go with this, and you have found a perfect gift.

28. A Passion Planner and stickers. (From $35.)

This is the object in my life I cannot live without THE MOST. In fact — it would make sense if you just wanted to buy this for YOURSELF and call it a day. This goes really well with Just Any Old Stickers.

29. A whimsical spreader and some jam. (From $15.)

If you’re feeling crafty, you can make your own jam (or marmalade, to keep things seasonal). My friends and I used to make a whole day out of crafting a huge batch of Meyer lemon curd every December. Canning can be tricky, so either do this with someone who knows how, or strap in for a difficult time, or choose not to do it at all and tell people they have to eat your jam by New Years, because IT ISN’T SEALED! That’s fine. Give it along with a cute spreader. Listen: no one has enough of these, and then when you have one, and people come over, you’re so glad you have it. Butter? Spreadable cheese? All much cuter with a spreader.

30. Great markers. (From $10.)

In a massive search for some stamper markers, I found this website that has a ton of really cool marker creations. They have stampers, and markers that change colors when you mix them, and brush pens, and markers shaped inexplicably like cats.

31. Make Caramels. (From $10.)

Making caramels is easy and fun and fills your kitchen with really lovely smells. It’s trickier when you’re trying to make them vegan (and I usually am), but this is the best recipe for that, and if you have a vegan friend, imagine how thrilled they’ll be to get a cute little box filled with caramels YOU MADE without any dairy. (Coconut cream works well, too.)

32. Thrift Shop With Someone In Mind.

I dated someone once whose mom always gave gifts from treasure hunts at thrift stores. I was shocked to see how much more meaningful these gifts were than brand-new purchases — and how much more surprising and cool they were, too! Since then, I’ve done this for my husband several times, and it’s really great. I can fill a box with 15 shirts I think he’ll like for the price of one of those shirts brand new — plus, he knows I went out and hunted for him, and he doesn’t have to feel bad if he doesn’t like the shirt and wants to re-donate it. The mom who gave thrifted gifts always put a little extra effort into cleaning up whatever she bought, or painting her kids’ names on things in careful fonts.

33. My favorite hat (Madewell, from $20 on sale)

These hats are perpetually on sale, and they’re great. They’re really big and warm and they’re the only hats that we wear in the Chicago winter.

The Sophie-Branded.

Here’s a bunch of stuff that I make / made, all 15% off for the rest of this weekend.

34. A live Zoom bird watercolor class.

I am offering two bird classes this January.

• Friday afternoons

• Tuesday evenings

There’s an option to add on a gift card and stickers so your friend will get some very exciting mail! As an aside, these are a pure delight.

35. A shirt that speaks to pigeons

36. Cards

I have two card sets! You can use these cards to write letters to your friends, per item one! Here’s one card set, AND here’s the other one!

37. A gift subscription to this newsletter, which you can also just buy for yourself, because like I said at the top of this newsletter, it’s 50% off forever somehow.

A paid subscription to this newsletter gets you:

• More recommendations like these every week! Paid subscribers get an additional seven recommendations per week.

• A Monday email with a lot of weird, wonderful photos.

• A comments-section message board with a Monday question. I reply to all comments in the Monday emails.

• Access to our quarterly book club Zoom meet-ups.

• Access to all the video links for previous and future bird painting classes.

• Little electronic gifts. (Like last week I made a downloadable PDF booklet of all our favorite poems.)

• Access to our monthly Music League, with fabulous prizes and excellent playlists.

• A small, thoughtful community of people who genuinely seem to care about one another? I can’t be credited for this, but it is a truly special thing.

• Early access to everything in my shop, including special discount codes no one else gets.

  • Sometimes I put limited runs of things in the shop and the only people who get the things are the paid subscribers because they sell out quickly!

38. Original Art that is truly one-of-a-kind.

I only have sixteen of these, $45 each, signed, matted, backed, and plastic-sheathed. Buy one!

39. The You Are Doing A Good Enough Job Celebration Calendar

This is selling out fast! I’m not doing an additional run of these, so when they’re gone they’re gone. Unusual holidays and druidic weeklong celebrations. Each order comes with fairy dust. (Truly.)

You made it to the bottom of this email somehow! Wow! Good job!

I hope you enjoy your gift-giving holiday; and to those who don’t observe, I hope you get the kindness your beautiful heart deserves.