THE ULTIMATE FRIENDS GIFT GUIDE
What about your friends, will they let you down? If the answer to TLC’s question is an emphatic no, then it’s time to crack the wallet and show the members of your crew that they’re appreciated this season. We’ve rounded up a bunch of terrific presents for all kinds of friends and associates, the personalities we adore in all their unique ways, the homebodies and the party animals, the nerds and the new office buddies. Really we couldn’t do this thing called life without them. How many of these can you call friends?
FOR THE COFFEE ADDICT
Always hopped up, they can’t start, get through, or handle a day without their swigs of the good stuff. Caffeine fuels them, and while we can kinda relate, this friend takes things to big, extreme, heart thumping, sweaty palms levels of coffee intake. Support the habit like a good friend, but encourage some chill alternatives too, like lots of water.
THE NEW TRADITIONALIST
Well bred and mannered with fancy degrees to prove it, this friend grew up sailing and summering, but also surrounded by a bit more day drinking and conservatism than they’d like to admit. Shower them with exciting, modern goods that don’t stray too far from the old straight and narrow. Sometimes tradition is a good thing, and like that 4pm cocktail, it’s hard to let go of something that feels so right.
THE DESIGN SNOB
It’s exhausting to hear them prattle on about De Stijl, The Bauhaus, Brutalism or any number of lesser known contributors to the canon, sure, but you can’t knock someone for their passion. They’ve grown past their parents’ tacky roots, and passion has led to expertise, so feed their design addiction with presents they’ll approve of. But never, ever, let them take themselves too seriously.
FOR THE HONEYMOON PHASERS
Just Married! And loving every minute of it. This successful couple isn’t as much fun as they used to be, but blame it on the nights (every night) watching Netflix together on the couch. Snooze. Lean into the romance of it all and let them have their moment. Give them a treat for their big new house, and make it a nice one since you forgot to get them a wedding present.
FOR THE LIFE OF THE PARTY
Unlike your Honeymoon Phaser friends, the party begins and ends at this one’s house and when they’re around, it’s going to be a wild night. Like the Energizer Bunny, their appetite for dancing with abandon, drinking ‘til the sun comes up, swanning about, and socializing seems unabating. You don’t know how they do it, but it sure is fun to try. Give them the gifts that will keep you on their VIP list.
FOR THE FAVORITE CO-WORKER
While it sometimes feels like they’re your only friend, you don’t even know where this colleague lives. Work relationships are weird like that. All you know is that you couldn’t make it through the Zooming, Slacking, rounds of approvals, and never ending email chains without them to lean on and to keep you in stitches. Show them how much you appreciate them, even if you have no idea what colors they like.
THE RECENT COUNTRY TRANSPLANT
The city’s not for everyone and this friend fled to more bucolic pastures during the pandemic (and surprisingly, they want to stay there). Now they’ve got a big old farmhouse of the fixer-upper kind, and have traded nights of bar hopping for days spent refinishing, refurbishing, and decorating. Make sure you’re welcome on long weekends by picking the perfect holiday present.
FOR THE BOOKISH BEAUTY
Never not with a nose in a book, your poetic friend is unpublished but always thinking about words. They can string together thoughts like no one else and are happiest with a hardcover. While we can’t offer Proust or Plato (at time of writing) we can offer shelving, stands, desk accessories, and book friendly objects that will have them swooning, plus coffee table tomes aplenty.