A staycation is all she ever wanted. Pair a Sophomore Locals Only T-shirt with a gift certificate for a one-night stay somewhere in town.
Available at sophomorenyc.com, $60.
A bottle of Revel Stoke’s 90-proof spiced whisky is a treat by itself, but brown liquor aficionados will appreciate an extra-personal greeting label from the distiller. The perfect companion gift? A cigar, of course.
Available at shopmerwins.com, $15-$25.
A six pack of Fruit of the Loom tube socks is easy, but thigh-highs, striped Woolrich tights, and knee-highs decorated with houses from Hansel from Basel’s Sock of the Month Club are more charming. Get the intimates drawer ready with scented papers or sachets.
Available at hanselfrombasel.com, $5-$12.
Wrap up a thrift store picture frame. Just don’t forget to tuck a gift certificate to an affordable art site like 20x200, Tiny Showcase, or Paperwork in with it.
Available at 20x200.com, $100; tinyshowcase.com, starting at $5; ugallery.com, $20.
Skip the market and go straight for the cow. Rent a dairy queen from the hillsides of Vermont and have fresh Brie or cheddar (made from its milk) delivered to his door. Until then, gift a chunk of no-frills cheese with a ribbon.
Available at rentmothernature.com, $60.
A rubber ducky runs interference till the first Ugly Duckling Presse package arrives. A Full Presse subscription promises one of each title created during the year.
Available at uglyducklingpresse.org, $150.
NY Pet-I-Care saves stray animals from mean city streets, nurses them back to health, and finds them loving homes. If that’s not enough to melt hearts, donating also gets your recipient pictures and updates on the well-being of her adoptive furry friend. Tuck a plush version into her stocking while she waits for the first photo.
Available at abchomeandplanet.org, $100.
She won’t have to get her hands dirty to enjoy the bounty of Home Grow Micro Farms holiday gift boxes. The gardening gloves ($20) are just for looks.
Available at homegrowmicrofarms.com, $16o for two boxes, a four-month growing season.
A holiday card from Hello Kirby can mean a lot of things: season’s greetings; you like colorful hand-cut fashion illustrations; artist Jane Kirby is working on a custom portrait of you, and it will be ready any day now.
Available at etsy.com, $25-$1,200.
A corkscrew ($7) proves useful once Whitney Adams’s new Bottle Stock home sommelier service sorts out a month’s worth of wine according to her preferences.
Available at brunelloshavemorefun.com, $90-$170.
Meet Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, and Casey Affleck on the set of Tower Heist or jet to Hilton Head Island and spend a week in a three-bedroom villa. These are just a couple of the over-the-top packages Charity Folks is auctioning off to ultimate gift givers. With a gift that extravagant, your loved one can wait.
Available at charityfolks.com.
Tie a ribbon around any old spoon and hand it over before six flavors of Zingerman’s Creamery gelato arrive — because we’d be tempted to eat the dulce de leche without any utensil at all.
Available at zingermans.com, $75.
Pick up a (sacrificial) sapling from the local nursery. By the time he completes the Best Made ax kit, he’ll have something to practice his best Paul Bunyan on.
Available at bestmadeco.com, $140.
Fact: It’s really hard to wrap a puppy. Precede the gift of a new furry four-legged friend with an All Quarters dog collar or jacket and a coupon for a lift to the neighborhood pound.
Available at creaturesofcomfort.us, $60-$78.
Scott Urban cuts no corners when it comes to crafting frames. Shoppers choose from a variety of wood (Chechen, koa, ironwood) and in a few weeks, a solid chunk of bark is crafted into a chic pair of spectacles. A large-print book will have the giftee drooling until they’re complete.
Available at urbanspectacles.com, from $750.
A box of nasal strips ($4) makes sure her olfactory sense is in working order. She’ll want to make every one of her 21 Drops custom aromatherapy blend count.
Available at 21drops.com, $415.
Original art really says something about a person. Custom heraldry takes that sentiment to a whole new level. E-mail Happy Menocal, and she’ll create a personalized crest in a matter of weeks. Monogrammed stationery will tide your recipient over in the meantime.
Available at happymenocal.com, $400.
Keep the cellar stocked and the buzz going with Silver Lake Wine’s wine-of-the-month club. Two bottles of vino are delivered every 30 days (note the three-month minimum). Wrap a couple of wine glasses to whet the giftee’s whistle.
Available at silverlakewine.com, $25-$75.
Not everyone was a Girl Scout. A magnesium fire starter from Kaufmann Mercantile comes in handy when camping in soggy conditions; a journal for those spooky nights by the campfire is the perfect gift in the meantime.
Available at store.kaufmann-mercantile.com, $39.
The design fiend will appreciate a subscription to Apartamento. Let a nearly invincible mini cactus hold her attention until the first issue arrives.
Available at apartamentomagazine.com, $39.
The limited-edition, silk-screened watercolor calendar is worth the wait, but if friends and family members get antsy, a set of pens to mark important dates will do.
Available at thewildunknown.com, $60.
Hand over a bookmark (a portrait of the reader, perhaps), and let him know that a year’s subscription to the New York Review Books classic club is on its way.
Available at nybooks.com, $150.
A bottle of something smooth never did no wrong. Just make sure he saves a jigger for the inevitable rounds of spit when the NYC-themed Shipley & Halmos playing cards show up.
Available at shipley-halmos.com, $55.
A drugstore nameplate key chain will have to do until she customizes an Opening Ceremony build-a-tote with insanely cute trinkets (boxing glove, whistle, floss?).
Available at openingceremony.us, $50.
Give a plant whisperer an immediate friend to talk to, like a Homer Simpson Chia Pet, while she awaits the arrival of a stunning geometric glass terrarium.
Available at assemblynewyork.com, $134-$340.
Annie Larson’s ALL dishtowels instantly please. Make it to the next round with a coupon for a culinary class at local cooking school.
Available at allforeveryone.com, $35.
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