Brooklyn On a Budget: The 10 Best Gifts for Under $10
We’ll be honest here: We love reading gift guides. It’s just a degree or two away from porn for us. Only, you know, where many things in porn could theoretically become a reality in our lives, most of the things we see listed in gift guides will never be a reality in our lives, or in the lives of the ones we love. Why? Because most of the stuff in gift guides is prohibitively expensive. We can’t afford to spend $100 or more per gift on each person in our lives! (Though if we could, here’s what we’d buy.) However, we absolutely still want to spoil all of our loved ones despite the fact that we’re cripplingly broke. And maybe you feel the same way? Of course you do! But where in Brooklyn can you find anything for less than $10, let alone anything worth giving as a gift? Well, right here, in our 10 for $10 gift guide. Don’t worry Brooklyn, we’ve got you covered.
1) New York Doughnut Map, $8: Let’s not fool ourselves, this gift is essential for any and all New Yorkers who have both a sweet tooth and a love for design. This has to be, what, 80% of us? Give this awesome map by Brooklyn’s own independent All-You-Can-Eat-Press to anyone who wants to live out Homer Simpsons’s deepest fantasy, namely, contemplating all 35 of New York’s best doughnut shops in one beautifully composed map.
New York Doughnut Map, modernanthology.com
2) Scandinavian Star Ornament from Leif, $6: What’s cooler than Nordic design right now? Absolutely nothing. That was a completely rhetorical question. Obviously. Anyway, forget Ikea and check out Brooklyn home goods online shop Leif. Beautifully designed pieces abound at all different price points, and the budget conscious among us can rejoice at the many excellent deals to be had, including this lovely star ornament, perfect for any Christmas tree.
Scandinavian Star Ornament, leifshop.com
3) “Witches” Patch and “I’m a Witch” Stickers, $7 and $2: So here’s the thing: The most important holiday of this season isn’t Christmas or Chanukah, at least not to us. No, to us, this time of year is all about the winter solstice and letting our pagan freak flag fly. So what better thing to give as a gift to our loved ones than literal badges of pagan honor? Nothing. There is no better thing.
Witches stickers and patch, witches.bigcartel.com
4) No Regrets and What We Should Have Known, $6/each: Easily one of our favorite things we read last year, n+1’s pamphlet No Regrets, edited by Dayna Tortorici, is a must-read collection of conversations between incredible writers like Tortorici, Kristin Dombek, Elif Batuman, Emily Gould (and more!) in which they discuss the books that changed their lives. The conversations are profound, but also hilarious, and, as Tortorici recently explained, beautifully “capture something of the way women talk to each other when men aren’t around.” Buy it now with What We Should Have Known, the n+1 pamphlet that inspired Tortorici to put together No Regrets. Plus, use the code holidaybooks and get 20% off. What. Are. You. Doing. Go. Buy. These. Now.
No Regrets and What We Should Have Known, nplusonemag.com
5) Guadalupe Matches and Egg Candle, $5 and $3: Oh, what’s that? You want to give a friend the gift of not burning their thumb on the screaming hot metal of a typical shitty Bic lighter when lighting a candle or really anything else that needs to be lighted? Well, good for you! That’s very thoughtful and considerate. So here’s what you do: Get them a box of these beautiful matches, which will look much nicer sitting on a coffee table than a lighter does. And, for good measure, throw in a little candle shaped like an egg because why not? It’s ONLY THREE DOLLARS.
Guadalupe Matches and Egg Candle, aandgmerch.com
6) Mini Dinosaur Creamer, $3.99: Are you kidding that we need to explain to you why to buy this mini dinosaur creamer? Just look at it! Buy some nice (enough) tea with it as well and give it to a friend who appreciates awesome, adorable, prehistoric things.
Mini Dinosaur Creamer, brooklynkitchen.com
7) Subscription to The New Inquiry, $2/month: Simply put, some of the best writing happening right now is courtesy of The New Inquiry and thus giving someone the gift of a monthly subscription is kind of the best thing you can do if you care at all about the recipient. Plus, check out the cover art (past covers can be purchased as prints here, and are totally worth the $25, uh, splurge).
The New Inquiry, thenewinquiry.com
8) Coral and Tusk Anatomical Heart Card, $8: We don’t know about you, but the gifts that have moved us the most had no monetary value at all, or, well, if they did have a monetary value, what was really important was the sentiment behind them. Which, you know, skip spending money on something and just stick with the sentiment—write out your truest thoughts and feelings and give that to your loved one. But write those things on this gorgeous card, which is a work of art unto itself.
Coral and Tusk Anatomical Heart Card, stillhousenyc.com
9) Ovenly Old Bay Bacon Peanuts, $6: Sometimes we feel like a nut, sometime we… no! We always feel like nuts. Especially when the nuts are flavor bombs, roasted in bacon fat and doused with Old Bay seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. We’re drooling just thinking about it. These are the perfect gift for all those nut-lovers out there. And they’re locally made in Greenpoint by beloved bakery Ovenly. Win-win!
Old Bay Bacon Peanuts, mouth.com
10) Crescent Moon Lollipop, $8: So part of the problem with shopping for gifts on a budget is that it just doesn’t feel very decadent, you know? And part of the fun of buying things is splurging, even if only a little bit. Well, what’s more decadent and splurge-y (ew, that shouldn’t be a word!) than blowing eight bucks on a lollipop? Nothing! Especially when that lollipop is studded with gold leaf and tastes like marshmallows. Which is just what the moon tastes like, right? Right.
Crescent Moon Lollipop, catbirdnyc.com
Follow Kristin Iversen on twitter @kmiversen