This year’s gift guide is intended to inspire connection, creativity, and growth within the context of our times.
When I think about a good gift this year, it’s less about sending something pretty and more about enriching life itself. In a world where we find ourselves more isolated and limited in what we can do, encouraging meaningful connection, deeper learning, moments of appreciation, creative outlets, and self-reflection can counterbalance the heavier moments of this year. Gifts this year ought to go beyond mailing stuff, but rather sending things that also cultivate experiences.
This curated selection of gifts is intended to fit a range of budgets and ages while remaining deeply relevant to our current moment in time. And these aren’t limited to Channukah and Christmas! They would make great birthday and just-because gifts throughout the year, too. Though many of these items can be purchased on Amazon, we always encourage supporting small, local businesses when possible.
And just so you know, any item marked with a star is one that was made or sold by a person of color. Our dollars are powerful tools for radical social change and spending mindfully can have a massive impact on opportunities for equality.
We hope that these spark some ideas for you! And Pursuit members, let us know if we can get any of these items ordered on your behalf for yourself or a loved one. If these sparked an idea for you that we can help find elsewhere, we’re here to help with that too!
Happy gifting!
Enhance the Morning Coffee Routine
Working from home may be wildly convenient in many ways but it has definitely interrupted the luxury of a delicious espresso drink from the neighboring coffee shop. Stepping up the in-home cafe game is a great way to create a moment of bliss each morning. Here are a few ways to reinvigorate the homebrew situation.
Gift a monthly coffee subscription: Bean Box offers exclusive small-batch microlots, award-winning roasters, endless variety: Bean Box is your all-access pass to the world’s best artisan coffee. $24-$248
Brew a beautiful cup of espresso: The Breville Barista Express is a grinder, steamer, and espresso maker all in one. $699.95
A functional accessory with form: The Maple Knockbox is the perfect add-on to the home cafe as it makes you totally feel like a professional barista while making the clean up a breeze. $70
Get Cookin’!
Supporting your neighborhood restaurants with takeout is a must! But for those evenings when you’re cooking at home, a little inspiration goes a long way. Encourage learning, creativity, and a sense of adventure with these recipe-loaded options.
Gift a monthly Bon Appetit magazine subscription for a year of recipes and ideas $15
Some of my favorite recipes and kitchen tools have been introduced by this monthly magazine. I am genuinely excited to see what goodies they include each month. And who wouldn’t want a drip of inspiration throughout the year?
Cooking Solo: The Joy of Cooking for Yourself $19.99*
100 delicious recipes to make meals for yourself with style, sophistication, and the occasional indulgence.
Decolonize Your Diet: Plant-Based Mexican-American Recipes for Health and Healing $29.95*
This vegetarian cookbook features over 100 colorful, recipes based on Mesoamerican cuisine and also includes contributions from indigenous cultures throughout the Americas
Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails $29.95*
Tiki is the endless summer, an instant vacation, a sweet and colorful ticket to paradise with no baggage fees.
Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed 27.50*
With more than 100 modern and delicious dishes that draw on Terry’s personal memories as well as the history of food that has traveled from the African continent, Afro-Vegan takes you on an international food journey. Accompanying the recipes are Terry’s insights about building community around food, along with suggested music tracks from around the world and book recommendations.
Use Your Noodle!
Monthly Science Kits & STEM Subscription Boxes for ages 3+ $19.95 – $204*
KiwiCo was created to celebrate kids’ natural creativity and curiosity, while helping parents who want to bring enriching experiences to their children. They want to make it fun, easy, and delightful for families to spend time building, exploring and creating together. Individual kits also available for $14.95 – $49.95*
Inspire Connection and Reflection
Holstee offers a variety of tools for a more meaningful life.
Their Reflection Cards include 100+ thought-provoking questions centered around mindful themes like adventure, creativity, and resilience. Perfect to use with friends, family, coworkers, or alone with a journal. $18
The Ritual Life Planner is a guidebook and annual planner to help you identify, organize, and embrace your ritual life so you can deepen your experience of joyful belonging. $30
Or gift their monthly subscription of art and inspiration. The membership provides access to a range of tools and resources for reflecting and exploring new perspectives. From their monthly guides, to their curated resources, to their member community, they surface the best nuggets from ancient philosophy and modern science and make them actionable. $36 – $211
Cleo Wade has a small selection of poetry, artwork, and prompted journals that bring light on dark days.
Where To Begin: A Small Book About Your Power to Create Big Change in Our Crazy World is full of heartfelt poetry and prose, encouraging you to remain hopeful and harness your personal power to bring positive change into our world. $23.99*
Heart Talk The Journal: 52 Weeks of Self-Love, Self-Care, and Self-Discovery strings together gentle prompts, words of encouragement, and inquiries into the body, mind, and soul. $17.99*
What The Road Said features illustrations by Lucie de Moyencourt alongside Cleo’s poetry and encourages us to lead with kindness and curiosity, remembering that the most important thing we can do in life is to keep going. $18.99*
Gift empowering art with the We Are the Builders Print. $39*
Keep Up the Good Fight with Uplifting Racial Justice Books
March (The Trilogy Slipcase Set) shares the inside story of the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of one of its most iconic figures, Congressman John Lewis and is co-written by him. This award-winning, #1 bestselling graphic novel trilogy recounts his life in the movement in an exciting format. $49.99*
The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness by Rhonda V. Magee incorporates mindfulness exercises, research, and Magee’s hard-won insights, offering a road map to a more peaceful world. $27*
The Antiracist Baby Board Book by Ibram X. Kendi and Ashley Lukashevsky is filled with bold art and thoughtful yet playful text. The Antiracist Baby introduces the youngest readers and the grown-ups in their lives to the concept and power of antiracism. Providing the language necessary to begin critical conversations at the earliest age, Antiracist Baby is the perfect gift for readers of all ages dedicated to forming a just society. $8.27*
Sondra (she/her)
Founder + CEO
Lover of cats, breakfast, and the ocean. Dreams of sailing the world.
Self-care go-to is sleeping.
