Friday, December 20, 2019

Holiday Post 2019: Gifts, Strange Things, and Other Shopping

Welcome to the second of my Holiday Posts series for 2019. Today we look at gifts, strange things, and other shopping. A lot of this is where I just poke fun and share some snark at some of the the suggestions out there for holiday gifts. Gift lists are basically everywhere this time of year, but it does not mean they are any good nor practical. Still, if you need a last minute gift idea (what? you are not done with your Christmas shopping yet?), maybe you can find an idea or two here. Just make sure you hurry up if you are still shopping. If you do the Big A Prime, it still is only so fast.



General gift lists 

  • If you have "style icons" in your life, whatever the heck that means. Via The Advocate. Apparently it means, among other things, you can get the man in your life $28 Dutch boxer briefs among other things. I am more than happy with some Fruit of the Loom. 
  • Is the budget a wee bit tight? Well, Boing Boing has "15 gift ideas  under $100 for everyone on your list?" By the way, why is $100 considered a "good" standard? $100 is still a lot of money when the budget is tight, especially if it is a gift for one person. I am sorry but $125 retail for a pair of headphones (they are on sale for $99.99) is a bit much in my humble opinion.
  • If you are too lazy or too tired or too whatever to find that one gift,  you can always get a curator to make you a gift basket or bundle. Via Incredible Things.



Stocking stuffers 

  •  Daily Beast claims they have the best stocking stuffers for anyone. So, that should mean we should not need any other lists? Yet, there are other lists, so maybe not the absolute best. I am not too sure how I feel about $18 lip balm. I guess ChapStick is a bit too blah for some people. For something different, they have a box of incense matches for $36. You may wonder what good are fancy smelling matches until you find yourself in a bathroom and someone left a chemical spill right before you (seriously, they are advertising them for you to keep in your bathroom for your guests to use). 
  • Esquire has some nice ideas if you are willing and able to spend some moolah. Seriously? a $460 wallet for the man's "buddy"? That buddy better be willing to come up with bail money as needed as well as help said man bury a body if it comes down to that. Then there is a $430 scarf as a gift for the boss. Not only is that some serious brown nosing, it is also not exactly good etiquette. Even Ask A Manager states pretty clearly that one should not be getting gifts for bosses: "Nope. Etiquette says that gifts in a workplace should flow downward, not upward -- meaning that gifts from bosses to employees are fine, but employees shouldn't give gifts to those above them." Now if my boss wants to get me a fancy gift (LMAO, I know, right?), I Am not stopping them though I would prefer something practical instead of a $400 scarf or boondoggle. The magazine definitely failed on that one. 
  • The Advocate has a "holiday gift guide for queers" which I am honestly questioning what they were thinking. The Trump steam diverter (a doohickey to put on an Instapot) is kind of meh, but I will add that the George Takei fortune telling button looks like fun. Other than that, list is pretty basic for its audience. 
  • Art of Manliness offers 50 stocking stuffer ideas. Much of this list contains traditionally masculine gifts such as drugstore colognes (which by the way, I personally like), pocket knives, and beard oil. Some nice ideas here for the guy in your life. I also like this list because it does have ideas that can be affordable when compared to other lists out there. 
    • They also made a list a while back of 50 stocking stuffers for women. I find interesting to see the contrast between the lists because, to be honest, I think a few items labeled as "for the men" would be very appreciated by some women. From this list, Goody Hair Ties, which are not pricey, would be good at our home where the ladies of the house often have to keep their hair up and need them by the handful.


Bookish and stationery

  •  Book Riot has their holiday gift guide. Among the highlights is the $240 card catalog drawers. Every since libraries moved to online catalogs and took out their card catalogs, those storage units have become serious hipster commodities. Libraries I think mostly discarded them, so smart people picked them up (and often then resold them at high prices to said hipsters). Another highlight is the Harry Potter socks advent calendar. I personally could not care less about Harry Potter, but my daughter would probably love it. There is also a LEGO Harry Potter calendar highlighted (she got that for herself already).
    • They also have a list of eco-friendly gifts for readers. Tote bags are a highlight but I would bet that is something you do not need to give a librarian; librarians usually have an abundance of tote bags, especially if they go to library conferences where tote bags practically rain on them. 
  •  Smart Bitches Trashy Books has a somewhat interesting gift guide. I do not really want to know about that taxidermy mouse in a toilet, but to each their own. 
  • ArabLit has a gift guide.  It is mainly books but some do look interesting. 
  • Via Writing Forward, some holiday gifts for writers. Some of these are fairly predictable. 
  • Want to get something fancy for the writer in your life? The Goulet Pen blog has a fountain pen gift guide. They claim the guide's price range is $35 to $100 but nothing listed is lower than $50, so I am guessing someone was not proofreading.


Specific and niche

 Gifts for specific folks and niches


Alcohol and spirits gifts



I have always been a fan of wine. After we completed the Kentucky Bourbon Tour this past summer, I've been learning and exploring whiskey, especially bourbon and American whiskey. So hey, want to send me a bottle or two (or a gift card to get one since KY is not too friendly about mailing spirits), let me know. In the meantime, here are some gift ideas for the spirits enthusiast. 

  • Drinkhacker has their 2019 Holiday Gift Guide for spirits. From this list, I'd be interested to try the George Dickel 13 years old bottled in bond (at $50 it is touching out of my price range. $40 is about my limit most of the time. What can I say? I am a simple man on a librarian salary, but I am glad to say there are still plenty of good options at $40 and under), the New Riff Distilling Kentucky Straight Rye ($45 or so. I should note prices may vary at your location; I am using numbers from the article). This list at least tries to account for different budgets.
  • Maxim has their list of 20 bottles or so that they claim make great gifts. Except for one vodka they list, the bottles listed here are on the expensive side. 
    • They also have a list of "boozy" gifts (i.e. related items and accessories) to go with those expensive bottles they are promoting. Yes, they are pricey too. 
  • A new blog I recently discovered in my whiskey learning journey is Whiskeyfellow. He has selected his "whiskey of the year" list considering the average whiskey drinker. He basically makes a pick in different categories and then out of those reveals his one pick. 
  • I've also discovered that there are "whiskey tubers" on YouTube, including some pretty good channels (I may have to make a post listing some of my favorites down the road). Two of them have some nice gift guides for 2019 that may be of interest (links to YouTube): 
    • The Whiskey Dictionary (Whiskey Dic. Video is almost ten minutes, focuses on bourbon). This guy is informative and interesting. He reviews bottles as well as makes videos on different topics related to whiskey including how to taste whiskey, glassware, and other educational topics. Though the video I am linking now focuses on bourbon, he does pretty much any type of whiskey, so you get to learn about different types.
    • It's Bourbon Night. (video is almost 30 minutes, focuses on bourbon). These folks are a recently (as of this post) married couple who enjoy and review whiskey. A bit too peppy at times but often interesting and informative.


Uber fancy/rich gifts



Got money to burn? Here are some gift ideas for folks who believe in flaunting it if they have it. 
  • Via Departures, which I discovered this year as a great source of amusement for what the uber rich like and do with their idle money:
    • A gift guide for stylish men, i.e. for the fancy pants guy who may already have it all. Among the highlights $180 cashmere lined gloves, a $395 leather belt with reversible buckle (because you got to spend some cash to really hold your pants up), and a set of silk pajamas for $895. I will keep sleeping with my cheap pajama pants and the old comfy tee shirt. 
    • These days people like gadgets and tech, so naturally they have a list of best tech gifts. 
    • For the lady of your life, you could have gotten them the latest Tiffany advent calendar. It's only a little pocket change for the uber rich at $112,000. 
    • Still not finding ideas? Here is their ultimate luxury guide. Among the highlights are a backgammon set for $3495 (because a basic Parker Brothers set from Walmart is just not enough), a Swiss made coffee maker for $4399 (because Mr. Coffee is just way too plebeian), and a $127,000 Mercedes Benz roadster. 
    • And if all of the above is just not luxurious enough, this should do the trick: a private jet gift box bundle for $110,000. No, you are not buying the jet. You are renting it along with a bundle that features the following: "Well, the gift box includes a bottle of Macallan 25, The Breitling Aviator 8 Curtiss Warhaw watch, and Master & Dynamic custom active noise-canceling wireless over-ear headphones or earphones with a custom pouch. Of course, private air travel is part of the gift as well, with a 10-hour Challenger 300 card included. " That definitely should impress someone. 
  •  If nothing else, a nice writing instrument can make a good impression, especially if it is a fountain pen valued at $500 or more. Via Goulet Pens blog.


Adult/sexy gift ideas 

 

Finally, this is the NSFW part of the post where I look at a few adult/sexy gift ideas.. If this is not your cup of tea, feel free to move along to stop reading here. If you happen to enjoy sex, toys, and erotica, check these out.




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