An Audacious Gift Guide

Some holiday giving ideas

First and foremost, I want to say that I, personally, have enough stuff. Most of us have enough stuff. I love to give experiential gifts whenever possible that are flexible enough for the recipient to choose when they avail themselves of the opportunity, but don’t require a lot of energy and planning on their part. And if it’s for an event on a specific date, I always check to see if they’re available before making the purchase. Easy peasy.

The gift of travel is timeless. Pack Up and Go will plan a trip, within the United States, and surprise you with the where of it all. If you want to surprise someone with international travel, perhaps get them a gift card for Journee!

For my Angelenos, if you want to send someone you really love a stunning floral arrangement, look no further than Empty Vase, my own go-to florist.

I’ve long enjoyed Lady & Larder, and especially if you are in Los Angeles (though they do some shipping for some things), they offer gift cards and gorgeous, lush gift baskets and charcuterie boards that look like artworks and so really, you could get all your gifting done with one purveyor.

If there’s a movie lover in your life, the Criterion Collection 40th Anniversary box set might be just the thing they need.

X Artists’ Books makes beautiful books and they also offer subscriptions. I particularly like the Itinéraires Fantômes oracle deck from Alexandra Grant and Hélène Cixous.

I rarely give books as gifts. It feels too presumptuous. Reading is so personal. But a gift card from Reparations Club allows your recipient to get whatever books they want!

For the pizza aficionado, a Gozney/Hedley & Bennett pizza oven. This is pricey but it’s also pretty.

King Arthur baking supplies are always reliable and excellent in quality and I know the baker in your life would appreciate most any of their wares. They also have an excellent recipe archive. I am also a fan of Wilton baking products. They have absolutely everything and nice YouTube videos I watch in my ongoing, lengthy and arduous quest to become a cake decorator.

For excellent coffee and tea, I recommend McNulty’s. They ship but if you’re in New York, you must visit their store in the Village. It feels like stepping back into ye olde times.

These notepads from fictional hotels are quite charming and one can never have too many notepads. Or how about a vintage menu?

During the pandemic, like many others, I was reminded of my love of puzzles. I even have my own puzzle case. It’s pretty serious business. Anyway, Apostrophe Puzzles makes beautiful puzzles. They’re Black-owned but more importantly, they feature the work of incredible artists. Get some! This is my fav.

How about a pharmacy comb? For a beautiful comb for someone who loves to comb their hair, look no further. Or, how about some virginal ointment? LOLWUT?

A cute outfit from size-inclusive Big Bud Press. I have some wild pants from them that I am just so excited to sport out and about.

For the backyard bird lover in your life, a Bird Buddy is just the thing. Now, I bought Debbie a bird buddy for our place in L.A., and it was easy to set up. The challenge is that the very greedy squirrel who lives in our backyard, and who torments Max all the time, eats all the bird food when we fill it. I’ve tried all kinds of things to ward him off, to no avail. Also, I have about 1,333 shots of this squirrel on my phone now. Caveat emptor.

One thing about me is that I collect Monopoly sets from around the world. I recently learned about the Haitian Monopoly set, which is in three languages! All the uncles and aunts are getting a set this year!

For your favorite home cook, the Smitten Kitchen x Staub braiser. It’s great for braising! I use mine all the time. Also, it comes with three recipes.

King Kennedy sells rugs and items made out of rugs. I have a pair of their shoes and, well, sometimes, you just want to wear a very unique looking shoe and maybe someone in your life does, too.

Haptic Labs makes the loveliest, most charming quilts and if the crafty person in your life wants to make a quilt themselves, Haptic has a kit for that!

I love these candles as candelabras from Joya Studio and sold via Helen Levi who also makes gorgeous pottery you can gift a loved one and/or yourself. We have a set of her plates that we use for everyday meals. They’re great.

One of the first things I learned about Debbie is that she is an enthusiastic collector of Miranda Thomas pottery. Now that I’ve gotten to know Thomas’s work, I am a fan, too. You can also get some pieces customized for the special person in your life or some pieces from her regular collections.

The women behind Blk Mkt Vintage have exceptional taste. I use their wrapping paper and you should, too. You will have the most beautiful wrapping under the tree or wherever you keep your holiday gifts and we all know that’s one of the most important parts of embracing the holiday spirit. Their online store also offers some really interesting vintage items that make excellent gifts.

I love love love very good wine and my go-to is Brown Estate in Napa. They have a warm and welcoming tasting room in Napa but you can also buy their wares online, whether a bottle or two, or a membership where you get wine every quarter. We’re on their Library plan and all I can say is that we are never thirsty.

Butter is delicious so get you a butter necklace or a butter ornament or a butter club subscription.

Do you ever look at a clock and wish you could read the time as words? Well…. have I got a treat for you!

Yael et Valerie is a Haitian company that makes beautiful print textiles. Many of their wares would make beautiful gifts. And they can personalize many of their wares with embroidery to add a little something extra to the gift. Give them some extra time right now for shipping because the airports in Haiti are closed which means no goods are getting in or out. It will be worth the wait.

One of Debbie and my favorite things to do on vacation is sit somewhere with cocktails and snacks and play our Travel Scrabble game. We take it almost everywhere, just in case. For the Scrabble lover in your life, get this set! If you know someone who plays competitive Scrabble, SamTimer is your one-stop shop.

I love to give the gift of a pretty, interesting candle and HAY candles fit that bill. But I also highly recommend Candlestock up in Woodstock. It’s a small little store on a quaint street in a quaint old house. I got some scrabble tile candles there that are a lot of fun and they sell them in all the letters. They also have many other candles in all kinds of shapes, designs, and sizes, so let your gift wick burn bright!

What Goes With What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilities, a cookbook by Julia Turshen and/or a gift certificate for her wonderful cooking classes.

For the baker in your life, Bake Club by Christina Tosi and Shannon Salzano is well-written, beautifully photographed, and full of useful ideas and resources. The recipes are easy to follow and wildly creative.

Some vanity gift ideas: The Draft Writing Journal and the Draft Writing Pen. An Untamed State. Bad Feminist. Hunger: A Memoir of My Body. Not That Bad: Dispatches From Rape Culture. Difficult Women. Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business. The Sacrifice of Darkness with Tracy Lynne Oliver. Do the Work: A Guide to Understanding Power and Creating Change with Meg Pillow. Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter. Lush Lives by J. Vanessa Lyon. Frighten the Horses by Oliver Radclyffe. And Then He Sang a Lullaby by Ani Kayode Somtochukwu.

Until the end of the year, annual subscriptions to The Audacity are 25% off!

Gifted by FreeFrom is an online store featuring wares made by survivors of gender-based violence. They sell holiday cards, soaps, skin care products, and more! And 100% of the purchase price goes directly into the hands of the survivor entrepreneurs and Gifted staff.

Since the pandemic, I’ve tried to support Mutual Aid organizations when I can. You can find them in most communities. Sometimes, giving the gift of community support is as satisfying as any material thing.

Lastly, contributions to a nonprofit doing good work in someone’s name is never a bad gift idea. Here are some nonprofits I work with and/or believe are doing important work. Fonkoze | Hope for Haiti | The National Domestic Workers Alliance | Madre | Fountain House | Soho Rep | Smack Mellon | Hammer & Hope | Bookforum |

Please share your own gift ideas, favorite nonprofits, books you’ve written, art you’ve made, or anything people might find interesting, in the comments!