Gifts For Every Sense and Sensibility
Gifts your loved ones can smell, touch, taste, see, and hear, all under $50.
Hey! Though it diverges slightly from my usual fashion M.O., I love gift giving and find that, with a few notable exceptions, clothing is one of the more boring and/or iffy things to try to pick out for someone. This gift guide focuses on physical objects, each sub-$50, that engage the five senses in turn: your giftee will listen to a Joe Hisaishi concert record, taste butter from a sweet vintage crock, smell a grassy pick-me-up spray, touch a Takara pocket critters thingamajig, and see the glory that is Juliette Collet’s work, plus dozens more ideas that you can use as a jumping-off point for your holiday gifting. No Amazon links are to be found below, and about 75% of the wares are either vintage or from a small business or indie artist, all replete with my commentary and reasoning for choosing each special item.
I’m feeling a lot more hopeful than I have for the past few years thanks to Zohran Mamdani’s glorious win and the other victories of last Tuesday, which as Margaret Killjoy astutely put it, were not the goal of our work but simply byproducts of our caring for one another. I don’t deal in “deserve”s because they inevitably seem to undermine an anticapitalist understanding of commodity seeking, but I do believe that rejoicing in a season of gift giving and receiving is in order. Sending a lot of love to you all and endless thanks to those of you who worked on any of the leftist campaigns that ran this past season. On with the show!
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Smell
I’ve smelled a few of this brand’s candles in person at Secret Room in PDX, and I’ve liked them all, but on two separate occasions, months apart, the candle I took a photo of to remember the brand was this chamomile scent. Both times, its herbaceous sweetness, a gothy take on a grandmotherly flower, has impressed itself on me as distinctly special and certainly gift-worthy. The adorable labels, which I’m assuming are risograph printed, are a plus.
I mentioned this discovery set last week and have since had the opportunity to smell the Santal & Vetiver deodorant on my partner—it’s absolutely intoxicating when mixed with the correct body chemistry. The glorious thing about this kit is that you can find which of the five “flavors” jibes with your loved one’s particular sweatiness the best before committing to buying them a full tube. I can personally attest that, though aluminum-free, a few swipes of this stuff transmutes foul stench into feral pheromone enhancement.
The agar olfactory sample set is for the fragrance freaks in your life—five artistic compositions pondering speculative apocalypses past and future, including y2k, a grain plague, and human extinction. My favorite is Cereale, a yeasty number that somehow makes even the smell of bread and butter feel maudlin.
I trust with my life Snif’s holiday candles ever since my transcendent experience with its Half Baked Pumpkin Smash (still for sale and I am currently fighting myself not to buy one but might gift my sister one in exchange for her sure-to-be-incredible meal on the fake turkey holiday), and the prospect of a candle that’s equal parts invigorating with its minty zing and tantalizing with its salted caramel chocolate swirl has me close to drooling.
I own this spray, and be warned: it’s very much a cologne and will only last for thirty minutes or so after application (which should be expected at this friendly price point). That being said, I actually prefer that for scents like this, which careen between hyperrealism and surreal intensity in their depiction of such quotidian scents as that of freshly-shorn grass. Basically, it would be too much if this scent went beast mode and lasted 24 hours—its ephemerality is a feature, not a bug. Grass is great for the winter as it injects into your nostrils a moment of that sun-baked, almost narcotic green that we’re sorely missing at this time of year, but other Demeters I recommend include Thunderstorm, Kitten Fur, and Tomato (I’m curious to try Funeral Home, have any of you?).
Another incredible sample set for gifting is this one from gothic Pacific Northwest label Olympic Orchids, which you can tailor to your loved one’s specs, but for a start, I recommend the beloved Tropic of Capricorn, a fecund storm of mango and jasmine, and Night Flyer, a dank cave filled with musky secretions and overripe fruit, the precursor to Zoologist’s Bat (and a lot sexier than it sounds!).
Touch
I also saw these in person at Secret Room and was taken by their brilliantly-printed riso covers, which look if anything more vibrant and cohesive in person. Pairing these with a candle would create such a perfect gift, my heart leaps imagining being on the receiving end. I especially love the lit candle graphic.
Vintage Takara Pocket Critters - $20-50
I had never heard of these until this year, but now I’m kind of obsessed with them—tiny tableaux of tinier animals that buzz and jiggle around animatronically when their case is popped open. Probably the coolest novelty keychain possible, and if your beloved does psychedelics, fodder for mind-blowing entertainment if deployed strategically.
I hate to say it, but this goddamn $18 tube of goo is still the thing that keeps my skin the happiest, especially in the winter. All I do at night is apply Vanicream face cream, then tretinoin, then seal the deal with a big schmear of this oily paste, and voila: barely any acne or dry patches since the seasons turned. It might seem a little presumptuous or boring to buy someone skincare, but since this is on the pricier end, it falls into the category of “life-changing things you wouldn’t think to buy for yourself.” I, for one, would love to receive a new stock. Once I got three free bottles that were leaking at a small gift shop in PDX and I felt like I’d won the lottery.
I was recently diagnosed with POTS and am on the hunt for a good compression sock—for home, this one looks unbeatable, with medical-grade compression disguised as fuzzy socks disguised as non-slip grippy socks you can wear as slippers around the house. The perfectly elven color scheme is quite appropriate for the season, but check out the brand’s other stripes, ombres, and solids for day-to-day options.
This Etsy, though small, makes up for its size by the fact that most all 26 of its items are straight banger novelty lighters for great prices—that way, the recipient can carry them without feeling paranoid about beating up a valuable antique (though buying them a little carry pouch could be cool, too!). I am also in love with this $28 vintage Alice in Wonderland lighter, featuring the smoking-est character in the series, of course. Tons of amazing lighters, both pocket and table, can be found on Etsy and eBay, and if you want lighter inspo (or a real-life store to check out), look no further than this NYC vintage lighter dealer who shows off some of the most singular, sick items I’ve ever seen in my life on their TikTok.
I got the chance to try a dollop of this stuff on my hands at a local “clean beauty” store and was duly impressed with how thoroughly brightened my digits appeared after just a 20-second scrub. The color is a beauty in person and would be a welcome addition to perk up any shower shelf.
Taste
If your friend isn’t a water-bottle-everywhere person (if they are, I recommend to my chagrin, an Owala), get them a water bottle that will work just fine on the occasions they do deign to use it—it’s basically a glorified novelty cup, but one that is so beautifully illustrated and mysteriously inscribed it becomes an accessory in its own right, even if the most far-flung it gets is your friend’s office desk.
I have recently become obsessed with the butter bell as I am tired of trying desperately to scrape rock-hard slices of butter over scalding toast, watching it barely even soften as I desperately cut it into little pieces to be eaten whole. I want my butter to be ROOM TEMP from now on, and a butter bell seems like the most sanitary way to do that (correct me if I’m wrong!). This charming one is so unique, it’s signed on the bottom by the artist!
This one is random, but for an outdoorsy loved one, obviously appropriate—however, I think it could be appropriate for city mice as well, given the amount of times I drank water out of a Dunkin bathroom sink in my time thus far in NYC. In my understanding, this is basically like having a portable mini Brita, which sounds luxurious whether you use it to make grody airport water taste “cleaner” (probably placebo, but eh well) or use it in a genuine life-or-death situation stranded out by some murky oasis.
This is in “taste” because my actual recommendation isn’t this specific hat, it’s to find out your loved one’s favorite liquor, grab them a bottle of it, and plop a piece of the liquor brand’s merch, preferably a cap, on top so it’s like the bottle is wearing it. You can even put googly eyes on the bottle, hahahahaha. Ok or you don’t have to. This vintage Schlitz cap rocks—there’s a ton of cool alcohol merch out there.
My white whale is this goddamn Fernet beanie which the owner of a local bar proudly wears every winter and can only be acquired, it seems, through wholesale dealings with the company, but if anyone ever finds one for sale, let me know!
This might seem like a cliché, but it’s a well-earned one, as I still have never tasted a single fruit that’s anywhere near as good as the extra-special Harry and David pears. My family used to receive some each year and it was one of the few highlights of being in my family, lol. I cannot tell you how tender yet firm, luscious yet wholesome, and sweet yet balanced these expensive little green things are. The ultimate “I wouldn’t buy it for myself but oh man I want it” gift.
Search “your friend’s brand-name prescription drug of choice” + “merch” and enjoy the waning-but-still-there selection of gloriously sinister medication merch. This isn’t only for psych meds, either—for the mentally well among us (? anybody out there? actually, wait, don’t tell me) there are stomach meds baseball caps, allergy med water bottles, painkiller tees, and more (though the psych meds have the best merch, obviously).
Speaking of meds, I had to include a pill box, which I believe is one of those things you don’t realize how much you needed until you get a good one. I like this one’s shape and inscription, though I think it would be even cooler if it simply read “pharmakon.” Fill the box with anything from tiny candies to molly depending on how generous you’re feeling toward your loved one.
See
I am in awe of Juliette Collet’s art, and anyone with taste will appreciate this incredibly-priced, full-color, 100-page delirium full of perverted sketches, mind-warping comics, insights deeply poignant and deeply disturbing in equal measure, and more. This might be my holiday present to myself if no one else wants to pony up. One of the most talented artists of our generation, no doubt, with an eye for wit and nerves of steel rivaled only by a deep, genuine reverence for the grotesque, especially as it’s tied up with femininity and sex. John Waters would LOVE Juliette Collet.
These eight gorgeous cards by artist Anna Degnbol can be used by your loved one to write notes or just hang up on their wall, either straightforwardly with washi tape or frames OR they can be strung into a glorious garland to hang across a wall. Each illustration is brilliantly colored and invariably magical. Looks like they come with a big chrome sticker and riso print wrapping paper, making the gifting itself easy as pie.
Another incredible artist, Natalie Andrewson makes riso prints of original illustrations of beloved media properties ranging from Lord of the Rings to Akira. With tons of different sizes and designs (stickers, too!), there’s definitely something for every flavor of nerd on her website—look at the Howl’s Moving Castle print!!!
I’ve written about this artist before, but Justin Brown Durand’s original work, which he sells for $44-54 on Etsy, never fails to stagger me with its coolness. These are investment pieces—even if they don’t end up costing a billion dollars one day (which they might!), they’re still investments into a collection of original art pieces that are accessible to the hoi polloi (eg me).
I’ve also shouted out Posteroni previously on here, but I still maintain that any film buff would be brought to their knees by a sub-$50 mini poster from one of their freakiest favorite movies (mine include a bunch of Wong Kar-Wai titles and Belladonna of Sadness). Tip: Posteroni has frequent sales, so bookmark something and check on it once a week for the next month to see if you can get a better price on it!
I’ve used my 2025 Slingshot planner to almost its last breath—I do recommend getting the spiral-bound type instead of the regular binding, but otherwise, this planner is perfect Each page has different, delightful illustrations according to that month’s delicious theme, and each day notates dates of radical occurrences throughout history. A great reminder of the realities of leftist progress (and stagnation), and a motivator to contribute to the trajectory of leftism going forward—also, just a solid planner with more than enough space to list your daily doings and tons of handy references in back. I’ll be purchasing a new one for 2026!
Hear
I mentioned last week that I’ve been obsessed with my radio (89.1 FM forever!), and this one on sale is an incredible way to give a loved one the gift of dipping their toe into radio life. The color is great, and the external antenna probably means that this radio gets surprisingly decent signal. I find that Crosley stuff is better than its price might indicate, so I’m crossing my fingers for this one. It’s even a great present for a younger person—I think radio will come up in the teen world soon, following vinyl’s resurgence.
If your loved one has a chronic illness or disability, an adorable vintage bell could be a perfect way for them to call for help or comfort to their partner in the next room or their dad upstairs. It’s also just an adorable accessory for a bedside table or desk corner.
This is a shockingly good price for four sides of vinyl, and I can’t imagine how I’d feel hearing all of my favorite songs from Porco Rosso (I know ball) on a slightly fuzzy, intimately-presented medium.
As per Juno, this hamburger phone adds some much-needed delight to the quotidian phone call—can you imagine how much less nightmarish (or at least, funnier) calling your insurance would be if you were brring brringing on one of these bad boys?
Lastly, a music box is a perfectly nostalgic, sentimental way for your loved one to store their bits ‘n bobs. I would personally have a mental breakdown if someone gifted me a box that played Edelweiss (out of budget but amazing) because my grandma used to sing it to me before bed when I slept over at her place, but it would be a breakdown I’d be thankful for. :-)
I hope you’re all holding on okay following the infamous October Slide (which I infamously only learned about this year after being diagnosed with a brimming handful of autoimmune illnesses). I am so heartened by the support shown by the many communities I’m part of—Portland’s, New York’s, and even Substack’s (special shout-out to the
and mutual aid fund which is the only reason I’ll be able to afford groceries this holiday season. Incredible work, everyone—this is one of the first times in a long while I’ve felt proud to be an American.<3 ESK