Gift Guide Part 1: Boyfriends, Husbands, Kids, and Pickleball Parents

Part 1 of our gift guide is here! We have an abundance of recs for stocking stuffers, boyfriends, husbands, moms, sons, and kids! 

Share any gift ideas with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva!

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YAY.

Stocking Stuffers

“We are only doing stockings for adults this year - all the fun stocking stuffers, please.”

• Opinel key chains
• Noso patches
• Scout Regalia sticky hooks
• Favorite musician merch - Olivia Rodrigo Perfect All-American Bitch hat
• Custom family matchbooks
• Nutscene Colorful Tiddler Twine
• Rose Los Angeles x Gossamer CBD Rosin Delights
• Redecker Hedgehog Table Brush
• Silk Daisy Chain Kit
• Nata Concept Store Farfalle Candle
• Hinoki Drawer Bag
• Lisa Angel bottle stoppers / Annie Raysee wine stopper
• TheWhiteStreetMarket wick trimmer
• Kahawa 1893 Single Serve Coffee Packs
• Brightland Olive Oil minis
• Sqwigl Straws
• Curaprox toothbrushes

Boyfriends/Husbands

My husband, 34. Senior web developer manager. Likes home projects, sci-fi books/tv, awesome dad to our 4 year old and 8 month old. He hates spending money and “doesn’t want gifts” but wants gifts. It’s historically been a damned if you do, damned if you don’t type situation. His favorite gifts from me ever have been a car washing kit, a woobles crochet kit, and a Dyson vacuum. Wtf do I get him now?!

• Sven-Saw
• Hoto Brushless Drill - .like the Dyson hairdryer of drills!
• Yuns Hardware gift certificate
• Singer Heavy Duty 4423 
• Open Studio: Do-It-Yourself Art Projects by Contemporary Artists by ​​Sharon Coplan Hurowitz and Amanda Benchley
• Harvest Label Sling Bag
• Slate Flosser
• Camper wool Wabi slippers
• Signed Ursula Le Guin or Octavia Butler

My graphic designer husband who likes quality over quantity, is picky and lives in fear I might buy him clothes as a gift.

• An architecture or design book from a city you visited over the last year—make it an annual thing?
• A piece of art or a study from an artist he likes (for something more accessibly priced, depending)
• Marjolein Delhaas 2024/366 Planner
• Higonokami Knife
• Rose Gold wrench
• Balmuda toaster 
• Bruno Munari Pencil Holder (with a set of Blackwing or Pineider pencils)
• Saint Olio body oil

Husband - new dad, hates buying himself anything. He's bookish and British, and his interests include cycling, cooking, video games, F1 and the Tottenham Hot Spurs. Everything nice he wears is because I bought it for him. Want to get him something good this year because he's been so underslept and overworked, juggling baby and a new job.

• Lewis Hamilton Almave
• Tottenham Hotspurs vintage gear
• Book repair (as recommended by Lauren in our Geneva last year)
• WhiteSpacePress on Etsy for vintage Penguin Classics, etc.
• Fog Linen Brass Cookbook stand or Puebco Cookbook Stand
• Persol 714 - Original (foldable) sunglasses
• Blackstock & Weber Loafers

Asked for gift ideas for a quar romance a few years ago. We bought a house together this year. He's wonderful. His favorite drink is espresso. He loves Guy Fieri. He plays an Irish sport called hurling. We go on bike rides together and love exploring new places. We both lost our grandmothers this year. 

• Air Fieri crewneck sweatshirt
• PillowsPostersPapers Guy Fieri Fan Sequin Pillowcase -we all just need to know this exists
• Ivo Angel Italian splatterware espresso cups
• Oaxacan espresso cup
• Baba Tree bike basket
• Nocs Provisions Binoculars
• Wren Off-Road Growler
• Safety Pizzeta
• The Expert
• Grounded Gift Card
• Kabin Bonfire Builder
• A custom print of something meaningful to him of his grandmother’s from The Heirloomist

Sons

Help! I'm desperate for gift ideas for my 22-year-old son. He's a new grad; job hunting, close to securing his first job, just moved home from Montreal. Uni girlfriend relocated from overseas to our hometown Toronto. He's very private. Hates receiving gifts (?!!?). Is gracious at the time he receives but they always find their way to the return pile. Loves a good bargain, and hates that we spend $ on him. Sooooo hard to buy for. Best gift ever was 3 month cheese subscription sent to school last year. Makes fun of the various prints I've bought him. Lots of friends, but very introverted; sporty; foodie; funny; middle child; does not share info, let alone gift ideas; nothing to see here folks, just move-on kinda guy. Help!!!!!!

• Gift cert for an Island Creek Oysters party with friends (plus a couple of shucking knives) or tinned fish. 
• Hawkins New York cheese knife set - under $40, looks fancier
• Ricki's Cheese Making Kits
• Sowaca Ceramic Cooking Pan
• The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji López-Alt
• Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook: A Cookbook by Sohla El-Waylly
• Restaurant gift certs—something fancy he and the GF would never do on their own like Prime Seafood Palace or just a favorite spot of two of theirs that feels like a treat
• Luggage! Like the Wallybags Travel Garment Bag, Patagonia Black Hole Duffle Bag, and Alex Mill Perfect Weekday Tote. 

Moms/Mother in Laws 

Quintessential Midwest mom of 3 adult kids who loves baking, reading, watching PBS shows, musicals, traveling, and getting her steps in walking her two black labs. Has been referred to as the "mommiest mom" in the past. Puts up with a lot of BS from her curmudgeonly husband (my dad). I've given her many kitchen items and books over the years. Favorite brands are things like Emma Bridgewater, Hanna Anderson, and Talbots. I recently moved to NYC, so I'm hoping to get her something that will make her feel less "abandoned" and more cared for. Thank you for any suggestions!! 

• Met Opera on Demand
• TEKLA bathrobe
• Lake Pajamas
• 50 States, 50 Pies by Stacey Mei Yan Fong 
• Fresh Midwest: Modern Recipes from the Heartland by Maren Ellingboe King
• Haden electric tea kettle
• Galley & Fen oven mitt
• Vintage PBS shirts

Mom, in her mid-50s, a new grandma. Had a really hard year mental health-wise but making positive changes. Goes to therapy but new at it. Loves to be social, have dinners, see movies and Broadway shows. Loves 80s pop music and Jason Isbell. Enjoys trying new things but tends to move on to something else quickly.

• Molly Mahon block-printing kits
• Martha Mae How to Paint a Cloud Bundle
• Nora McInerny's “Don’t honk I’m already crying” bumper magnet - if she has the sense of humor for it!
• Semikolon 5-Year Diary / Midori 5-year Diary
• Loftie clock - because of sleep hygiene!
• Subscription to Mubi or Criterion Collection
• Subscription to Saipua TV…paired with Saipua Garden Tea that’s made by Deborah Needleman

My Mom! She's 70. A former elementary art teacher...retired and living on a budget. We completely mis-gift each other every year. I try to give her nice (not overly luxurious, but nice) scarves, sweaters, earrings, etc and they always flop. My brother and his girlfriend gave her a plastic porch goose and it's her favorite thing ever. She doesn't read. She's crafty but her medium is always changing and usually something very specific like needle felting.

• Pink Picasso paint-by-numbers custom kits or non-custom ones by Paint Anywhere
• Art Life Practice Kit
• Melanie Abrantes DIY Wood Carving Kits
• Friendly Loom Black and White Potholder Loom Kit 
• Pattern and supplies to DIY her own porch goose outfits—there’s even a crochet one for making hair for them?!
• A duck candleholder to go with her porch goose

Ok, how about my mom? I'll let you describe her though 😂.. something that's not a cookbook and also maybe not clothes because she buys those for herself anyway… In exchange, I'm sharing a brilliant gift idea (or at least I think so) for someone who likes to cook/bake a lot: mudaustralia.com. They have a line that you can not only bake on but then serve on because it's beautiful ceramic! Mom is a fancy Bay Area retired real estate lawyer w/ incredible taste, loves to cook and bake and is not intimidated by complicated recipes (has cooked basically everything from the Pok Pok cookbook), loves to entertain, has a fondness for cute animals and cute things in general. A good storyteller and letter writer, feels very strongly about thank you notes. A grandmother to two boys and a dog named Steve who dressed up as a martini for Halloween. Fashion sense errs towards high-end FUN— a think: Dries Van Noten, Commes des Garcons, etc. Is a very talented crafter with a whole room very chicly dedicated to it, has been very into needlepoint lately. Also a voracious reader.  

• Escali Primo Digital Scale 
• Masienda gift kit
• Laetitia Rouget Butterfingers Butter Dish
• Michelle Kim Chicken Mitt
• Helle Mardahl Espresso Cups
• TheMagic5 Swim Goggles gift cert 
• Julia Morgan: An Intimate Biography of the Trailblazing Architect
• Lena Rewell Throw

I need holiday gift help for my boyfriend's mother. A few details about her: She's a professor in the Boston area and an immigrant from a Scandinavian country. She has great taste (homewares, design) and a Scandinavian sense of restrained style -- she's a woman of a certain age after all, not a Copenhagen TikTok girlie. And she has nice-things disease. You know, the stuff in her house is nice. For a general sense of her style, she's always worn Birkenstock Bostons, carries an Everlane backpack to campus, and has functional and pretty cookware (like a beautiful espresso machine). I've struck out on all the gifts I've given her, and I thought I was good at gifting! They include a handmade and hand-painted pottery vase, artisan granola, and Lauren Groff's Fates and Furies (She said she liked her NYer stories, but alas the book didn't work, per her son) She has a dog she's obsessed with, and a beach house, though it's pretty outfitted. Maybe I could try something there? Food and wine/bev gifts are out because of health issues.

• Message Slides + Socks, for an alt to her Birkenstock Bostons
• Deiji Flannel Pajamas
• The Sleep Shirt
• Malaika x Kneeland Co. Seashell Towel
• Saint Olio Aromatic Dog Refresher
• Verloop dog sweater
• Pogo Pet Bowl

Very Christian mother-in-law who writes historical fiction

• Judy Kim Gingerbread Cookie Wreath
• Flowers of Provence by Jamie Beck
• Powder Puff Pullover
• Bridie Hall Intaglio Soaps

In search of gift ideas for my 83-year-old fancyish, but not fussy mother-in-law. Born and raised in DC, still rocks a blond bob, loves hydrangeas, obsessed with bunnies. Raised 5 kids and is over cooking but loves anything with cranberries, nuts and raisins. Hobbies include bowling, Irish dancing, shopping at Aldi, and finding a bargain. Very tech-challenged.

• Coral & Tusk Bunny Hydrangea Tea Towel
• Juliet Wine
• Block Shop Italian Cashmere Wrap
• Italian marquetry pieces from Litten Tree Antiques
• Mother Shrub in Cranberry
• Capital City Mambo Sauce Gift Set

Mother-in-law, early 70s, notoriously difficult and anxious, prefers austere things, drinks a lot of black, understated-but-fancy tea, secretly addicted to watching Teen Mom

• Lea & Nicholas beautifully austere mugs
• Hot Cool Tokyo Tea Storage Container or Kinto canister
• Umezawa Hinoki Tissue Box
• Naoto Fukasawa for Onao Co. Siwa Carryall Bag
• Bare Hands Dry Gloss Manicure Kit
• Annie Ernaux books

Mother-in-law has a big heart and a big personality. Is from Colombia. Likes blue, good food, and excellent tequila. Plays tennis and has picked up pickleball.

• Masienda mezcal cups / Kneeland Co. Rarities mezcal cups / Viski Himalayan salt shot glasses
• Verve Culture Mezcal and Tequila Infusion and Tasting Set
• Mi Cocina’s denim placemats/potholders/table runners
• Mark & Graham customizable pickleball bags
• Chefanie Tennis ball cocktail napkins
• Picnic Time Parisian Picnic Basket 
• Junedays cooler
• Tanchen Wine Bag
• Laines London tequila slippers

Kids

Impressing a 5-year-old on Christmas morning without a massive plastic Barbie house

• Haus or Follies playhouses
• SMOL bounce houses
• Wonder & Wise Theater Setup
• Gathre trampoline
• Lip Smacker Crayola 24-Piece Lip Balm Vault
• Eames Giant House of Cards Deck (and create-your-own ones)
• Ban.Do four in a row

All my friends just started having kids. Best gifts for babies under 1 year

• Nothing - donate in their name to the National Diaper Bank Network
• Bath crayons
• Stapelsteins
• Custom name tags from Label Weavers or Name Bubbles

A toddler whose parent wants "less stuff" in the house

• Consumables!
• Tattly x Richard Scarry 
• Twee sidewalk chalk name sets
• Soap Dough Co (℅ Kyra on IG)
• Supernatural sprinkles/baking sets
• The Dough Project Make Your Own Playdough Kit

Two nephews, 2nd grade and 4th grade. Live in the Midwest. They both like video games. My sister-in-law and brother are recently teaching them that "expensive college isn't worth it" (even though my brother went to two expensive colleges and is a successful lawyer). I adamantly disagree. They play soccer, and violin (I also play violin). They don't seem to like sweets or treats unless it's pure sugar. They visit us and my parents in the mountains in Colorado often so they appreciate the outdoors but try not to go into it very much unless my parents force them to go backpacking. I don't want to buy them anything they expect, or that my SiL might throw away or think is too expensive. This is also kind of a gift guide request for my SIL if you're catching on to what she's like, too…

• Anyway Mag Subscription 
• Junior HappyMe Journal, for ages 6-12
• Bo and Mei Lunar New Year Celebration Boxes
• Custom Chuck Taylors
• Stylophone S1 Pocket Synthesizer and e-Blox Circuit Blox 120 Build Your Own Sound Machine and Radio 
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
• Flik Flak Watches
• MMX Marshmallow Crossbow
• Who’s She? Board Game

See you next week for part 2!