Gifts for the Extremely Analog
End the tyranny of screens! (For a minute.)
It’s our final gift guide of the year! Sorry for sending you email three days in a row, I want you to be able to get ahead of the looming shipping deadlines.
I don’t know about you, but I’m f*cking sick of staring at screens. If I were on Santa’s lap right now, I’d ask him to chuck my iPhone into the Hudson. Come December 20, I’m going offline for a good, long break. If you have someone in your life (even yourself) who feels the same, may I suggest something highly analog to occupy their mind, instead?
Here’s a highly considered list of stylish offline things, kicked off with my primary suggestion, a basket-weaving kit from our friend Erin at Underwater Weaving.
I am live in chat all day to answer gifting questions, use me as your secret shopper!
A swanky speaker that easily pairs to a modern turntable for their vinyl collection. A memento for the yearners and film buffs. The plainest game for your fanciest friend. For the city mouse with a country house, a gentle reminder to get some dirt under their nails. For women in STEM. A heated excuse to completely disassociate with The Paris Review. A cheerful, travel-friendly riff on a classic game. Chocolates destined for sharing with girls over gossip. For the solver, 1000 pieces and a spinning puzzle board, or a NYT Games subscription. Niche colored pencils for the meditative sketcher. A pantry starter kit for the kitchen-curious.
For that one friend who has named her sourdough starter. Pastels for someone who likes to smudge, or a smudge stick for someone who needs to cleanse the energy. Standout pencils for notes on paper. A clever device to give them the social media self-control they don’t have. A fancy lighter for the chichi pot head. An amaryllis kit. Uno, but make it artsy. A no-nonsense bottle opener for the pragmatic oenophile. A twenty minute trip to Aman. Something to finish with. Frogs, but not the kind that ribbit. The chicest wok you’ve ever seen. A handsome chess set to keep their game sharp. An on-trend Parisian day planner for the girl about town.
Tea for two, but make it personal. A guided sketchbook that pairs perfectly with a copy of The Artist’s Way. A retro video camera with digital proclivities. For the fashion lover with an inner child. Something for the one who always hoofs it. A letter opener for the recipient who writes thank you notes by hand. For the design snob with coffee table real estate. For the mother in law with a rose garden. For painting your feelings instead of eating them. For the tidiest man you know.
Convincing myself I can’t live w out a carbon steel wok
The pantry starter kit is genius for the friend who keeps saying they want to cook more but only owns salt and olive oil.