When I find myself with time to kill and goop for brains, do you know what I like to do? I like to browse museum gift shops online, because in addition to being an inveterate consumer of goods I am also? A big nerd. And a museum gift shop, it just activates every part of my brain. Things are beautiful, unique, vaguely educational! One of the most important things I’ve accepted about myself as an adult, is that if it’s not cute? I simply won’t use it. And do you know who gets that? Museum gift shops, that’s who. So. for this week’s subscriber issue, I combed through the offerings at the MoMA New York’s gift shop to find a wide array of delightful items that I hope will provide some gifting inspiration.

• Why is this wire mesh fruit basket so perfect and enchanting? At $50, it’s reasonably priced, and in four colors (red, yellow, green, and blue), I can imagine it looking great in a lot of different homes. The only hard thing would be picking WHICH color.

• Last month, my boyfriend got an extremely cute Hay electric tea kettle in their Black Friday sale and I’ve been devoured by jealousy every time I see it despite the fact that he bought it largely for me to use. I have so far resisted placating myself with this equally cute, yellow-green-and-lavender Bodum electric kettle, but it’s been a struggle. You, dear reader, need have no such struggle– you could even get both.

• Or you could choose to get the Bodum tea kettle in the blue-green-red colorway and also treat your gift recipient to a matching Bodum toaster, complete with a croissant toasting rack?

• And then, honestly, you’d be remiss if you didn’t also get the Bodum Assam Brew Teapot so that your gift recipient can brew their loose leaf tea in style.

• Should any plastic reusable tote cost $40 when you can get one of IKEA’s monster blue totes for $0.99? Arguably, no. But the print on this one is so great that… I kind of think it’s justified? It would make such a dreamy beach bag.

• As a kid, I genuinely spent hours playing with this Charles Eames-designed deck of notched building cards. They are a Proustian memory for me and would make a great stocking stuffer for someone of any age. 

• Another great stocking-stuffer: this pretty compact comb-and-mirror combo in confetti acetate. Like a little slice of funfetti for your purse!

• And these high-quality and beautiful band-aids, in a reusable tin? Every human with a mom purse in your life deserves a kit.

  

• Jellycat makes the cutest stuffed animals in the world, hand’s down, and this stuffed Bigfoot? It’s simply next-level. It’s safe for anyone 1+ and think how fun it would be to grow up with Bigfoot as your lovie. Squishmellows WHO?

• These cute painted knobs are the ultimate museum gift shop gift: they’re unique, you’d never conceive they existed until you saw them, and they’re actually useful. Popped onto the wall by your front door, you could hang umbrellas or reusable bags or car-keys, and look cool while doing it. Isn’t that the dream? 

• This Porthole Infuser isn’t cheap, at $125, but it is so cool and distinctive and such a next-level gift for the cocktail enthusiast or experimental cook in your life. And think about the dividends you’d receive back in delicious, home-infused alcohols, olive oils, and more. 

• Surely you know someone whose home would be enhanced by a translucent ice bucket shaped like the Death Star? People like that are a dime a dozen.

• And speaking of Star Wars, I bet many of you know a cool teen who’s heading off to college soon, and I think they deserve the distinction of a neon tube light that looks a bit like a lightsaber to make their dorm room vibe-y and distinct.  

  

• Or this extremely cool vase, which can be turned 3-4 different ways to work with flowers of 3-4 different heights and sizes. 

• The Sofia Coppolo stan in your life? They simply deserve these bright blue and red slippers that look perfectly modern today but are in fact original to the court of Louis XIV. 

• For your nibbling who’s just gotten old enough to enjoy having fine jewelry with a real yen for Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York”? You want this adorable Haricot Vert New York charm bracelet.

• And for the loved one who finally bought themselves the Selkie dress of their dreams? These pearl-bow earrings would be the perfect compliment to their high-femme style. 

• I believe that few things in this world are a better gift than a really delightful umbrella. It’s not the kind of thing you’d buy for yourself, but having a bright striped umbrella (or a fun abstractly patterned one) on a rainy day? It is an instant mood boost. Especially when said umbrella doesn’t sacrifice functionality to obtain its cuteness– these Dusen-Dusen umbrellas are auto open and close, a must for the public transit commuter. 

• And look– would it even be a museum gift shop gift guide if I didn’t recommend at least one scarf? I’m making a quick jump to Boston’s ICA gift shop for this one, because their array of striped merino wool scarves are the best in show. They come in a dozen color combinations, but this one, a collaboration between the British knitwear company Wallace Sewell and the artist Florence Hutchings, is my favorite.