Holiday

Gifts for Your Impossible-to-Buy-For List

December  3, 2014

Remember that feeling of panic when Christmas is days away and you have no gifts wrapped? Not this year! We're introducing our 2014 holiday gift guides -- with ideas for everyone on your list, arranged by personality and price.

Today: If ideas for some people on your list elude you, you’ll need to think outside the box. We went ahead and did that for you -- read on for ways to gift better for the trickiest people to buy for.

Wearable Gifts

Shop the Story

Perfect For: Your best friend who collects funny bumper stickers, can pull off a hat with confidence, and sends you temporary tattoos on your birthday. 

Our Picks: A t-shirt proclaiming her love for noodles in a cool font; a brass necklace in the shape of a pretzel; or a shirt that reads “Thyme To Turnip the Beet” -- because eating your vegetables is the new black.

  


DIY Gifts

Perfect For: Your college roommates who can light a fire in five minutes flat, listen to Car Talk, and brew their own beer.

Our Picks: A kit to make their own bitters; a hot sauce making set so they can bottle their own blend; or a Pullman loaf bundle -- complete with yeast, flour, and a pan -- because nothing is as satisfyingly hands-on as baking your own bread.

  


Unique Gifts

Perfect For: Your boss who can rattle off the Michelin-starred restaurants in any city, went deep-sea fishing on his last vacation, and has a weakness for a very good steak.

Our Picks: A monthly subscription of letters and recipes from notable chefs; a smart digital thermometer that connects to his iPhone, because it’s a fun party trick to show off; or a pair of hand-crafted oyster and clam knives nestled in a butter-soft leather wrap.

  


Handmade Gifts

Perfect For: Your cousin whose kitchen looks like a page from an Anthropologie catalog, knits you a scarf every Christmas, and makes a perfect rum punch.

Our Picks: A stunningly cool handblown decanter that she doesn’t need but secretly wants; a set of linen bowl covers to use instead of plastic wrap; or blue-tinged Moroccan tumblers to brighten up the breakfast table.

  

See all the gift guides here!

Photos by James Ransom and Mark Weinberg

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See what other Food52 readers are saying.

I like warm homemade bread slathered with fresh raw milk butter, ice cream in all seasons, the smell of garlic in olive oil, and sugar snap peas fresh off the vine.

1 Comment

Rhonda35 December 3, 2014
The Moroccan tumblers - swoon!