12 of my “favorite things” to gift to your favorite people

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We've already done all the shopping, so you don't have to.
We’ve already done all the shopping, so you don’t have to.

It’s that time of year again — the holiday season is ramping up, which means it’s time to think about gifts! For those that don’t know, I’m an enthusiastic gift giver — giving the perfect gift is more exciting to me than receiving a gift. I also like to spread my excitement around and help YOU ALL find the perfect gift for everyone on your lists. So here starts the latest round of Offbeat Home & Life gift guides.

For this one, we’re going through the “my favorite things” archive AND re-visiting some of the things I’ve featured on Offbeat Home & Life that are STILL my favorite things… and may soon be your [parent/friend/partner/child]’s favorite thing.

Get your shopping fingers ready, because there’s a BIG chance that you’ll find something you need for someone you love…

Cover Blubber is going to kill your plastic wrap and save your food
Cover Blubber is going to kill your plastic wrap and save your food

Cover Blubber is this awesome reusable, super-stretchy rubber wrapping material, intended to cover food and keep it fresh inside your refrigerator or freezer. In short: It’s the eco-friendly alternative to plastic wrap. Also, food condom jokes are fun. For reals, I ordered these for myself and they are awesome. Everyone who makes food will love these.
 

The most bad-ass, super-personalized Father's Day gift of all time
The most bad-ass, super-personalized Father’s Day gift of all time

First you start with a $5 Mug Boss. Then you load the pockets with useful objects, which could be just about any small-but-useful object. My dad’s a tool-loving, Mr Fixit type, who lives in Texas. So I filled his with special carabiners, a Fisher Space .338 Bullet Cartridge Pen, and a pocket knife. I basically ransacked Think Geek’s tool section.
 

The late night noms: how popcorn changed my life
The late night noms: how popcorn changed my life

How cool are these microwave popcorn poppers!? I have one, and I use it all the damn time. Get them the entire Sur La Table Popcorn Gift Set and you have one very happy gift receiver.
 

It grinds, it brews, it also helps store my beans: My new coffee maker is the shit
It grinds, it brews, it also helps store my beans: My new coffee maker is the shit

It’s important to me to have a coffee maker that grinds and brews because I always buy my favorite coffee beans in a big ol’ bag, and I really don’t want to grind them all myself. So I asked my father, the patron saint of Consumer Reports, to do some research for me, and his results told him that by far the best grind and brew was this guy: Cuisinart DGB-700BC Grind-and-Brew.
 

Check out these Unicorns in Space leggings!
Check out these Unicorns in Space leggings!

In years past Offbeat Empire overlord Ariel and I have been silently participating in “cute gift off.” I’ve given her adorable and often Empire-related things like Mason Jar wine glasses, and a pillow shaped like a log. But the bitch totally topped my gift-giving one year with the “Unicorns in Space” leggings!
 

Home decor that's kitty cat chic
Home decor that’s kitty cat chic

This is a linen tea towel with a picture of a cat with a ‘stache, wearing a suit and an eyepatch. I don’t feel like I need to say more than that.
 

“Hack things better” with Sugru air-curing rubber

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite products ever made: Sugru air-curing rubber. Sugru is hand-formable, sticks to almost anything, air-cures at room temperature, forming a strong, flexible silicone rubber seal overnight. And once it’s cured, it’s totally waterproof! It’s perfect for repairing things, or hacking non-broken things to make them even better.
 

Whales, ships, tentacles, and mermaids! My new shower curtain rules
Whales, ships, tentacles, and mermaids! My new shower curtain rules

I got this shower curtain and I LOOOOOVE it. I’ve had my eye on ModCloth’s Swell Acquainted Shower Curtain for months, but it’s always been sold out. (For obvious reasons of fucking awesomeness.) But now it’s available and even cheaper on Amazon.
 

Confessions of a fitness gadget whore
Confessions of a fitness gadget whore

Just about all the ladies of the Empire have, live, and die by their Fitbit Ones. Fitbit also has a range of other useful trackers to fit the needs and lifestyles of your favorite active (or need-to-be-more-active) loved ones.
 

I love my frying panda
I love my frying panda

How cute is this freaking frying pan? I’m sorry, I mean, frying panda. Apparently it’s not just a pretty face — this pan can handle whatever you can cook up, and has been handling my poor cooking for a couple years now. Plus she fits in perfectly with my animals-as-kitchen-utensils collection.
 

Stop everything and look at these planet plates
Stop everything and look at these planet plates

The Unemployed Philosophers Guild (best biz name ever) makes this set of eight melamine plates featuring freaking watercolor portraits of the planets in our solar system. These plates are also lightweight so that means you can bring them on your nerdy picnics this summer, or just use ’em at home to impress your guests. (Dibs on Uranus!)
 

Graphic novel home decor to add some BOOM! POW! to your room
Graphic novel home decor to add some BOOM! POW! to your room

I’m going to end this on my most favorite thing that I ever bought/featured: The Fuck Everything Comic Art Throw Pillow was made for me — she even looks like me! So I purchased it. It’s my spirit pillow.

Do y’all have a favorite finds from Offbeat Home & Life? What did ya get? What do you recommend?

Comments on 12 of my “favorite things” to gift to your favorite people

  1. To be totally honest, a lot of the OBH shopping posts are a little too far out (HA, offbeat) for my taste. Which, no complaints! Different strokes, y’all.

    But Megan, DAMN, this list kills. If all your roundups are this good, I’ll be set for Christmas. Major XOXO for the mostly under $50 and wide range of gift-receivers covered.

        • No worries, Carolyn! You’re totally spot on — my usual roundups get WEIRD like WHOA. But I know that… you know… your mother-in-law probably doesn’t want a barfing dragon in ANY capacity. And your little sister isn’t going to find that the stripper sloth shower curtain matches her Ralph Lauren bathroom. So the holiday gift guides are my attempt to reach less dragon-obsessed, sloth stripper-loving peeps.

          (Aaaaaaand THAT was possibly my favorite comment I’ve ever written on Offbeat Home.)

  2. Geez, I try to be good around the holidays & resist my love to tchotchkes & goofy stuff. But I totally want a log pillow now. The fuck everything pillow would have been great for my BFF (were it not sold out), but the log pillow is so me. Bonus point in that I could use it as a prop & be the Log Lady from Twin Peaks next Halloween.

  3. As a reader, commenter, and contributor, I’m a bit disappointed that you are doing holiday/Christmas posts this early. Today’s ornament post really did it for me, but I don’t want to do a negative comment on a sponsored post, because I know that isn’t good for business. I’d think OBE, of all brands, would “get” the “holiday season” bloat and know to save this stuff for December.

    • Aw, thanks for speaking up, Rebecca! I get what you’re saying — holiday bloat is a THING. The reason I started featuring these earlier this year was based on feedback from last year where-in people were disappointed that they were posted “too late” to be able to get things ordered/shipped in time. So I thought I’d bump up the timeline on these bad boys.

      In regards to the ornament post (thanks for leaving the comment over here, respect 😉 ), that sponsor custom makes all her pieces, so she requested to have her post run ASAP in order to give her time to get everything made for customers.

      In other news: Not everyone has (or wants) all their holiday shopping done by the second week of November!??? Aaaaaand I just realized that my chronic earliness may apply to gifting too.

      • Megan,
        Thanks for the reply. Perhaps there is a way to be self-effacing and post before thanksgiving thus triggering less of the holiday bloat sensation. But I get that you have a business to run and I don’t have to LOVE everything you do (and I do love most of it). I appreciate your thinking it through!

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