In this edition of The Gift, our gifts editor shares a few animal-themed presents that make her swoon. Plus: a chic hair pin and what to get a too-online kid.
I play a lot of important roles in my family, but perhaps my most consistent is enthusiastic group-chat participant and cheerleader. That is, unless my sister sends a picture of a backyard fox or a sunning vacation iguana. Then I’m at a loss for words. What’s one to say? Heart emoji? Thumbs up? Eyes welled with tears? Suffice it to say, I’m not a major wild animal person.
Animal-themed items, however, are a different story. After receiving my first grown-up paycheck, I went straight to a Brooklyn boutique and splurged on a silk dress screenprinted with an elegant penguin family. (Oh, to be young.) And I was recently reminded of that sartorial stretch when my colleague, head of social Julia Bush, shared this sinuous, understated, and affordable swan bag—one of the best gifts Wirecutter journalists received last year.
As a gifts editor, I’m always on the hunt for fish and fowl, bird and beast to surprise and delight. A few of my best catches:
- This ceramic pitcher shaped like a fish sounds like a lovely babbling brook when you pour from it. (The mini version is great, too.) It comes in a dozen colors—I got my mom a coral one years ago that she still treasures, even after downsizing into a senior-living apartment. Another aquatic delight: these mama fish dishes, which are great for holding salty snacks, candies, or jewelry. Equally as charming? The baby ones.
- My colleague and fellow gifts expert Mari Uyehara introduced me to these handmade, lampworked glass animal tumblers. I’m particularly partial to the mallard duck, which I’d like to fill with lemonade and sip on a dock this summer, with my hair twisted up in this birdie hair clip.
- Animal embroidery is a sub-genre of my infatuation. This chickadee hat is so detailed; I love the beach birds one, too. And while they’re technically sold as cards, these cheeky predators and honey bear prints are truly works of art. I framed the one a friend sent me nearly a decade ago and it still hangs, vibrant and eye-catching, in my son’s bedroom.
- This brings me to animal gifts for the kids. There’s no better tribute to charming critter personalities than Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm, a beloved picture book I’ve gifted many times over. I also love giving this Calico Critters hedgehog family to dollhouse kiddos, and Schleich animals to future zoologists who are sticklers for realism. And kids of almost any age would go wild for this jellyfish LED table lamp.
As for my own love of animals: Well, a funny thing happens as life rolls on—our hard edges soften, whether we like it or not. This summer, a wild turkey roosted on our garage in Portland, Maine. A lone wild turkey! In my little city! This time it was me blowing up the group chat. (Speaking of: I’m on the eBay hunt for one of these beaded turkey pillows, which are harder to find than the actual birds!)
