Uh oh. Whether you have supply chain issues or just good old fashioned laziness to blame, you’re staring down December 25 with several gaps remaining in your holiday shopping list. Sure, you could always just pick up a Target gift card and call it a day, but we’ve got some more creative suggestions for digital gifts and experiences, personalized to every (read: ten highly specific) type of gift recipient.
For the Sims 4 addict
Chances are, someone in your life reacted to last year’s lockdown by going deep into a Sims 4 hole and never coming out. I have a group text right now that is exclusively devoted to sharing screenshots of what we’re doing in the town of Willow Creek that day. The seven-year-old game has been extending its shelf life with the release of kits, small bundles of clothes or decor that bring a new vibe to your game. The Incheon Arrivals Kit is a kpop-inspired streetwear pack, full of the clothes celebs don to get pap’d at the airport. Made in partnership with Miss Korea USA 2016 Jazzy Cho, the kit contains k-fashions inspired by airport style and traditional hanbok. You’re going to want to crawl into your computer and wear all these clothes. Dag dag! —Bethy Squires
For the cinephile (aged 15-20 and/or 60+)
If you need something to talk about with old people or young people, I highly suggest buying them the Criterion Channel’s yearlong subscription. Old people have seen a lot of the Criterion movies already, so it’s a built-in way to start a conversation, like, “Grandpa, would you like to rewatch together and then discuss Woman in the Dunes, your favorite three-hour Japanese arthouse film about a woman who is condemned to a life of shoveling sand out of her house?†Young people haven’t seen any of the Criterion movies because they are too busy making TikTok rice, so it’s a great way to make them respect you for being a genius who taught them about the Criterion Channel. If you want to buy something for someone your own age, please see my entry about Ariana Grande’s makeup. —Rachel Handler
For the person who has an appointment with Bravo every night of the week
Give the gift of treating someone you love like they’re Real Housewife of Salt Lake City Lisa Barlow. It’s simple, and only requires a few cheap errands. To make someone feel like the Supreme of SLC, fill a box with various items off the Taco Bell and KFC menus. Throw in some cans of Diet Coke, and, if you can find it at your local liquor store, some Vida tequila. If there’s a combination Taco Bell/KFC near you, you don’t even have to make the extra stop, baby gorgeous! —Carrie Wittmer
For the person still dutifully organizing Zoom game nights
You’ve probably played one of the seven editions of Jackbox Party Pack with friends over Zoom during the past year (and maybe lost a few friends playing “Trivia Murder Partyâ€). The Jackbox Games team has released the eighth installation in the Jackbox Party Pack franchise and it includes all new games such as “Drawful Animate†and “The Wheel of Enormous Proportionsâ€. “Drawful Animate†is a new spin on the party classic where players create animations based on “absurd promptsâ€. (If you’re not willing to drop $30 on the latest edition, Jackbox is always having sales on its older games so you and your friends can always find something to play together.) —Alejandra Gularte
For the Sex and the City fan who is also a Peloton owner
If someone you know and love owns a Peloton and has been traumatized by a certain development on the Sex and the City revival And Just Like That…, do them a favor and sell their Peloton before it kills them. Take a few pics of it and post it on Craigslist. You’re basically giving them their money back in addition to saving their life. (Necessary reminder that Pelotons do not kill people, this is a joke. But at the same time, getting rid of a Peloton can clear up space in the living room or bedroom or wherever you keep your Peloton, so this is actually a good idea.) —CW
For the meme-poisoned brain
Imagine having a personalized message from your favorite celebrity. Ok, now imagine having a personalized message from your favorite celebrity baby, who is also a boss. Boss Baby is now on Cameo, so you can get a holiday message for yourself or your loved ones from the little Capitalist himself. (Of course, Cameo has a wide array of other media personalities to choose from, like Succession daddy Brian Cox or Tiger mommy Carole Baskin.) —AG
For the person who’s been spending their pandemic watching Broadway TikToks
Experiences are the best gifts, and nothing is more experience-y than a theater ticket in New York. Do you have a musicals lover in your family? Buy him tickets to the revival of Caroline, or Change (closing January 9) or the buzzy genderswap of Sondheim’s Company or the opera-ization of Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel. Does your best friend like to lord her downtown experiences over others at cocktail parties? Send her to Sandra Bernhard at Joe’s Pub for that tricky week post-Christmas (and tell her to get the fries). If your pockets can handle it, purchase some lucky someone a whole darn season package: the up-to-date culture vulture should see everything at Playwrights Horizons and the Signature Theatre, since between them, they represent every single 2019 Pulitzer theatrical nominee and winner. —Helen Shaw
For the person who is always rooting for Ben Affleck
We all have that one person in our lives who has supported Ben Affleck through thick and thin: from Reindeer Games to his back tattoo. You know, the person who thinks Argo did deserve to win Best Picture but would follow that with “but you know what really should have won Best Picture? Gone Baby Gone.†To honor Ben Affleck’s number one fan, treat them to a Ben Affleck day, starting with a Dunkin’ Donuts shower. This means just get a bunch of stuff from Dunkin’ and consume it while you wear clothing or accessories with Boston sports teams on it. Then you can sit through the best of Ben Affleck’s early 2000s filmography including Pearl Harbor and Surviving Christmas. To make the day even more special, make sure a plethora of packages arrives at the same time as the Dunkin’. To make the gift even more Ben (and really weird), coordinate a reunion between your loved one and their ex from 20 years ago. —CW
For the frustrated Lego hunter
Lego has been an IP-apalooza for decades now, with characters and settings from franchises such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Minecraft all represented in the company’s ever-expanding stable of licensed worlds. Recently the brickmaker introduced a more specific “Ideas†line of nostalgia-tinged sets that have, as intended, become catnip for TV and movie fans: there’s Jerry’s apartment from Seinfeld, and Central Perk, and the season’s hard-to-find hit, the Home Alone house.
If you had your heart set on buying or giving as a gift one of the many sets that are currently sold out — or just want to throw some new entertainment-themed options to a longtime builder — consider Lego’s online instructions database. It allows you to keyword search for PDFs detailing how to build thousands of sets, including that coveted Home Alone one. They’re all free and easy to email or print if you’re under the gun (though if you take the latter approach, maybe spring for a few sheets of fancy paper). —Neil Janowitz
For the Twilight stan
Scour the used car lots near you for this piece of herstory, an Orange 1963 Chevy StepSide C-10 Pickup a.k.a. the truck that Bella Swan drove in the critically-acclaimed 2008 film Twilight. Give the vampire fan in your life (me) this truck for free so I — I mean they — can drive it for like, one day, and also feel stalked by a super hot blood-sucker maybe, hopefully named Edward. —Wolfgang Ruth
For the dad who watches nothing but Succession
Let your dad know you stan him (and his taste in television) by serenading him with a performance of “L to the OG.†Personalize it, if you want, by changing the lyrics to something that is more specific to your dad, like his name which may not be Logan. Or, keep it weird and just sing Kendall Roy’s awkward song. Baseball tee with your dad’s name on it encouraged, but not required. —CW
More From Vulture's 2021 Gift Guides
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- Vulture’s 2021 Advent-Calendar Gift Guide