Lille Allen/Jordan Moss
Twenty five of our favorite things — from fancy ice molds, to celebrity cheese, to a single chicken slipper — without sweating the budget.
I find gift giving extremely stressful because I am constantly overthinking it. I want to find things that my friends and family will cherish forever, that they realize they’ve needed all along, that will make them gush to their friends about what an amazing person I am. That’s too much to ask of a sweater!
What I’ve found helps quell the anxiety of finding The Best Gift Ever is realizing that most people are perfectly capable of buying the sweater they want themselves. What they won’t think of buying is something weird and small and totally delightful. And the great part is gifts that will make your friends bark with laughter or bring a flicker of happiness to their days tend to not be pearl necklaces or appliances that cost hundreds of dollars.
These food-related gifts are sometimes practical, sometimes goofy, and always charming. They are for parents, siblings, lovers, and friends, people who love to cook and people who just love to eat. And they’re all under $25, so you don’t have to sweat the budget.
Olivewood salad servers
These salad servers are elegant enough to display on the table all the time, but versatile enough to work with any aesthetic.
A set of six chicken slippers
Friends don’t let friends eat Buffalo Wild Wings takeout unprotected.
Chocolate sardines
For the relative who wants to get in on the tinned fish craze, but actually hates fish.
A restaurant OPEN sign
Wouldn’t this be fun to have in your kitchen? Like you’re a halal truck? Beep beep kitchen coming through!
A teeny bowl with a house in it
The gift for the woman who has it all, except for a place to discard her pistachio shells.
Hydrogel burn pads
For that one friend who is always making caramel and is also the clumsiest person you know.
A tomato vine candle
Tomato has become a wildly popular scent, so make sure your family’s home smells on trend.
The Pasta Tarot
This beautifully illustrated, unabashedly queer tarot deck replaces the classic imagery of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck with scenes of pasta making and eating. It’s the perfect gift for your witchy friend who knows the musical power of good gnocchi.
A Jonathan Adler mug
Impress your friends by giving them the only Jonathan Adler thing any of you can afford.
A pickle ornament
A classic for any home, except the homes of those who don’t like pickles.
A good bread scorer
For the person in your life who got really into making sourdough, because there is always someone who just got really into making sourdough.
15 bags of ready-to-make dashi
Essentially dashi tea bags, these make the broth base essential to so much Japanese cooking. Give them to your friend who just got back from Japan and will not shut up about it.
99 Schnapps party bucket
Is it a fun gift for someone who enjoys a campy, tacky good time, or is it a prank? Yes.
The Physiology of Taste
First published in 1825 by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, this is the classic tome on the art of eating that has inspired just about every chef and gourmand on the planet, whether they know it or not.
An egg spoon rest
Who couldn’t use a spoon rest? And one shaped like an egg!
Hot dog hair clips
Do not, under any circumstances, sell your egg spoon rest to buy these for your friend who just sold their hair to buy you a spoon.
Family size Nerds Gummy Clusters
Give the candy that has taken America by storm. “Family size” is merely a suggestion here.
Sphere ice molds
Tired: Giving every man whiskey rocks. Wired: Giving spherical ice molds that will actually keep drinks cold.
Olive socks
For the person who loves martinis, or the person who loves novelty socks. Often these are the same person.
Apple earrings
A pair of cute apple earrings handmade in clay. Surely you know someone who likes apples.
Wine charms that look like cheese
Keep track of your drinks while offering pairing suggestions.
Scratch n’ sniff strawberry stickers
For the person in your life who is really into bullet journaling and also wants to smell artificial strawberry all day.
A cold butter-spreading knife
The holes mean even rock hard butter can spread easily. For your brother who always forgets to leave the butter out before breakfast.
A set of ceramic spice bowls
An endlessly useful item for measuring spices and grabbing pinches of salt.
Sarah Jessica Parker’s cheese
Do you have a sister who is obsessed with Sex and the City? Get her Sarah Jessica Parker’s cheese, Cobblestone, which is made with Sarah Jessica Parker’s wine. And marvel that all of those products exist.
