The holidays are here, which means the single, childless women in your life are baking cookies, hosting dinner parties, and snuggling on their couches with a chic, on-brand blanket. These gifts — for your ambitious loved ones who’ve just deleted Hinge again — are thoughtful and specific. Many of them are also made by good folks. I love supporting kind people, and I’ll be honest: I also like things. So sue me! Or — hop in and join me. The water’s fine.
The following are gift ideas for that sister who takes ceramics classes, daughter who volunteers at a community garden, or ex-girlfriend (please don’t text her!!!) who has one of those Bonne Maman advent calendars for jam. She can use them while she’s holding space for the lyrics of defying gravity, taking care of her pets, babysitting her nieces and nephews, and trying to save the world. It’s been a tough year for the archetype our soon-to-be vice president has repeatedly called “miserable” and “psychotic.” To be fair, my Spotify wrapped (Apple, actually, but you get it—) did have a truly psychotic number of songs from Taylor Swift’s most emotional, wordy, and rage-filled album, so I think I’m an expert on this particular subject.
Anyway, these might help.
Undiagnosed But I’m Pretty Sure Baseball Cap
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I love a good baseball cap and a good therapy joke. I bought a “pro-roe” hat from this Denison-based business last year, and I get compliments on it constantly. Another favorite? “Aspiring retiree.”
Homemade Coffee Table
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Millennial pink would have already gone out of style, but after the Barbie movie came Galinda — and thank goodness. This interchangeable, space-friendly furniture purveyor uses recycled materials and is based in Dallas. I have one of their desks. It’s easy to put together, and it’s chic. If you can’t splurge on their serious furniture, they also make side tables and even coasters.
Matching Pet Owner Sweater Set
I don’t have a cat, which I know makes me an outlier among our subsect of the population. That said, I do love my small dog. Her name is Edith, and even though she hates wearing sweaters, she hates being cold even more. These are perfect for your friend who sends out holiday cards featuring a family portrait of herself and her pet.
DRINKBOMB® GIFT BOXES
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I love a cocktail, but I don’t like keeping 18 different kinds of juice, soda, and sweetener in stock at home. These drink bombs are fun, single-use little treats. If she’s the kind of person who likes a bath bomb, she will very likely enjoy these. Using them feels like an occasion. Simply drop one into a glass of Prosecco or Champagne, then watch the magic unfold. They make perfect stocking stuffers. Bulk sets are also great for holiday parties!
Seashell Pipe
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For the stoners in your life, consider a gorgeous, handmade pipe. It’s 2024, and Seth Rogen has a gorgeous company selling home goods tailored to weed consumers, vinyl records, flower, and furniture. If you imagine that adult marijuana smokers are only using those glass pipes sold in seedy shops where synthetic drugs get pawned, think again. Some are glass, ceramic, or made from crystals. But this Texas-based seller steps it up a notch with authentic, biologically natural seashells she hand crafts into “smooth-hitting” smoking devices. As a bonus, it’s mermaid-themed without being too kitschy, which is tough to accomplish.
Dallas artist Courtney Collier runs WildKind Prints, where she sells t-shirts, posters, stickers, totes, and more based on the weirdest and wildest things in the west. I’m a pop girlie, so I appreciate that her shop is littered with references to Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Kacey Musgraves. But I think everyone likes sapphic cowgirl art. …No?
I may not be a parent, but I am an aunt. And I buy stupidly expensive toys for the spare room at my house — where my nephew sleeps once a week — almost as often as I post videos of him to my Close Friends stories. Johnny Was makes teal and cobalt embroidered toy bears with beautiful details of the night sky. Proceeds from the sales of their bears last year were donated to the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Five Acres, which connects children to safe, permanent, and loving families. Kids love playing with them, and you’ll like looking at them. Also very cute floral blankets, dog beds, pajamas and robes.
I like a good candle, obviously. But I love an absurdly specific scent even more. Get out of here with your basic one- or two-scent lavender or mint. I want “an earthy, spicy fragrance imbued with the alchemy of the ancient desert” that its creators call “primordial and alluring,” like this one from Little Torch. I’m also a real fan of the candles made by Strange Gent, like “Library,” which smells like leather, tobacco, and “musty pages” — or “Winona,” which smells like eucalyptus, rosemary, juniper berry, and an “old love letter.”
Sage Studio is a non-profit art studio & gallery for artists with intellectual & developmental disabilities based in Austin. They have really awesome merch, wall art, and even some small sculptures. Personally, I love the “Rick’s Goals” sweatshirt and the “my other car is a limo” sticker.
Your girl has sore knees, and she is tired. She’s also kind of witchy. Those things may seem unrelated, but a few years ago, my sister-in-law gave me a gift card for a massage at a place that also reads tarot. Austin-based Ace of Cups is that place. They also sell spell candles and crystals. Tell me the single woman you’re shopping for hasn’t at least had her cards read at a bachelorette party. On her latest album, Sabrina Carpenter properly identified that we’re all “the girl outside the strip club getting her tarot cards read.” Hitting two interests at once is a special gifting skill, and as a bonus, it makes the gift-recipient feel seen.
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