The Hustle’s 2016 Gift Guide

Here's our holiday gift guide of the best 40 suggestions along with a link to the product page presented in no particular order. Hope it helps.

A couple weeks ago we asked our readers to send over their absolutely, positively, hands down, no questions asked best gift suggestion for this holiday season. And there were a lot of responses. Mostly great, some strange, others downright terrible (you know who you are).

The Hustle’s 2016 Gift Guide

Here’s our list of the best 40 suggestions along with a link to the product page presented in no particular order. Hope this helps.

Allbirds shoes

$95 from Allbirds

For reasons unknown to us these shoes are all the rage at the moment. We’re talking a Beanie Babies late 90s level. They’re made from wool, super light, look great, and surprisingly affordable.




OneZips

$100 from OneZip Wear

Channel that inner child from Where The Wild Things Are with the perfect blend of pajamas and a Snuggie that doesn’t make the wearer look like a weirdo who poked arm holes in a blanket.




Amazon Echo Dot

$40 from Amazon

Shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Everyone who gets one of these things swears that it’s life changing. If you’re feeling adventurous you can go with the larger, more expensive Echo.




WeMo Switch Smart Plug

$40 from WeMo

This nifty thing works with the Amazon Echo and let’s you turn a dumb home into a smart home. Want to control a lamp wirelessly? Just buy one of these things, plug it in, and boom, magic.




Aeropress coffee and espresso maker

$30 from Aerobie

This is clearly for that coffee snob who only likes beans from some remote mountain in Argentina that gets the perfect amount of rain (or something like that). A new way to make a solid cup of coffee.




Whiskey peaks rocks glasses

$70 from Huckberry

Two things here: 1) they look awesome, 2) there come in 4 different “peaks”, 3) no one is going to recognize the mountains but it’s still a good conversation piece.




Nintendo mini preloaded with 30 games

$60 from Nintendo

Ain’t nothing but a throwback with this one. It’s super small, plugs into your TV, and has the games preloaded on there. Perfect for reliving the glory days with the original Donkey Kong or Super Mario Bros. 3.




Love Your Melon hat

Baby, it’s cold outside so keep that special someone’s melon warm with a stylish hat with a little pom pom on top. Plus, half of the profits go to non-profit partners to fight pediatric cancer. Look good, feel good.




Gift membership to a museum

$100ish? from a museum

Roll your eyes if you want but this is the perfect gift. Even if the person never goes, you still look like a cultured, thoughtful person. Plus, it’s something to do on a rainy day and Dan Brown might write a book about it.




JayBird sports wireless headphones

$130 from JayBird

Apart from Samsung’s phones exploding, the big smartphone news of 2016 was Apple’s headphone-jack-gate and their “bold” decision. Well, the future is here so people better get up to speed.




Swell water bottle

$21 from Swell

This one only works as an addition to something else. Like, if you get them hiking stuff throw in a water bottle too so they can stay hydrated on the grueling trail or work/life balance.




Personalized children’s book

$30 from Lost My Name

Absolute no brainer if someone in your family has a young kid. You upload the rascal’s name and customize the book so that they’re in the story, not just reading about Jack and Jill going up some hill.




Cashmere crew

$100 from Everlane

Soft, stylish, affordable. Check, check, check. Everyone loves cashmere and Everlane makes the best stuff. You can tell it’s quality based on the model’s stern look in the photo.




Fujifilm Instax Mini 7s

$79 from Fujifilm

Another throwback but one that’s perfect for families getting together. They’ll open this up, wonder if they’ve time traveled back 30 years, and then start snapping pictures left and right. Memories for days.




The Gastronomo (box of spices, etc)

Food. Delicious food. For all those carnivores out there look no further. This is a tasting kit that comes with some snacks, spice, and everything nice.




Traveling Spoon gift card

$100 from Traveling Spoon

Stay with me here. Traveling Spoon lets you cook with a stranger while you’re out traveling in Thailand, for example. Like Airbnb meets a cooking class. Perfect for that world traveler with a passion for trying new things.




Spikeball Road to Victory kit

$99 from Spikeball

Hands down the best lawn game since horseshoes and hand grenades. Or something like that. Maybe it’s too cold to play this month but come springtime, Spikeball is perfect for getting friends together outside.




Betrayal at House on the Hill (board game)

$99 from Avalon Hill

Never heard of it, never played it, so this one’s kind of a Risk (board game pun). The holidays are perfect for playing a fun game and at least one person couldn’t recommend Betrayal enough. Ready to roll the dice?




Camping gift card

??? from Hipcamp

Finding the perfect place to camp is a headache in a half and Hipcamp makes it super easy. You can browse a ton of places in the US, see pictures, filter results, and book your spot. Outdoorsy cousin Susan would love this.




DryBar gift card

??? from DryBar

DryBar is a layup because for some unknown reason girls love getting their hair blow dried. Something about it being faster and easier than using shampoo and conditioner, you’ll have to ask them.




Pretty much anything from here

$65 from Bow & Drape

Never heard of this company before but glad someone knows someone who knows someone. All of their stuff is pretty sweet and you can even customize things for that inside joke that nobody gets yet everyone loves.




Wake-up light

$70 from Philips

Animals use the sunrise to know when to wake up, not some annoying beeping alarm, so here’s taking a page from their book. This thing slowly gets brighter to warmly get people up which is a whole lot nicer than the cold slap of reality.




Kindle Paperwhite

$100 from Amazon

Reading actual books is so 2016. The Paperwhite is backlit so the screen actually looks like black text on a white piece of paper. Plus, you can preload it with all sorts of goodies. Win win.




Title of Baron/Baroness

Long story here but totally worth a read. The gist is someone started their own country called Sealand in international waters and sells titles for $40 a pop. Official certificate and everything.




Hammock

A neat idea for anyone who happens to have a couple of trees about 8 feet apart and enjoys the act of reclining. These guys make ones for 2 people if you’re feeling extra generous.




Precision cooker

$149 from Anova Culinary

The sous-vide method of cooking is basically putting food in slightly warm water for a long period of time. Apparently it makes things taste better and this precision cooker is a great way to get started.




Framebridge gift card

??? from Framebridge

People love pictures and it’s a pain in the you know what to get something framed. Framebridge sponsored our email a while back and, since then, our office walls have never looked better.




Solar charger for phone

$60 from Anker

I was out on a week-long rafting trip and one of the guys had this thing to charge his phone (safety), his camera (pictures, and his Bluetooth speakers (music). Total game changer.




Yoga mat

$84 from Bikini Luxe

Nothing screams inner peace like a badass yoga mat. If someone you know gets their yogi on then this is a nice change of pace from their boring, old, smelly mat from 2006.




Uber gift card

??? from Uber

Alright, alright. I’ll admit this one’s kind of lame. But you can’t deny that people would use the heck out of an Uber gift card compared to, say, The Container Store.




Gourmet grilling box set

Manly manliness alert. Meat, beer, whiskey, tucked in flannel, grill, facial hair, and tasteful puns. If you know someone matching any of those descriptions this box set is perfect.




1Password year subscription

$36 from 1Password

Everyone and their mom got hacked this year so help someone out with a gift of secure passwords. Seriously. This thing is a life saver for anyone who reuses the same password except sometimes with a “1” at the end.




Google Home

$129 from Google

Google’s newest toy and an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa if you more into a white, slightly slanted pear shape instead of a black tube.




Thermoball jacket or vest

$200 from North Face

Not sure what Thermoball is exactly but I like it. Seems like it keeps the wearer warm and resembles colorful bubble wrap. They run a little pricey but something like this will last years.




Horween leather Timex watch

$73 from Huckberry

For those who still aren’t on board the smartwatch train and want to know what time it is, here’s a classic, simple, inexpensive watch from our friends at Huckberry. Warning: it won’t display text messages.




A mysterious experience

Nothing to say here other than if someone you know likes mysteries and surprises, look no further. I’m not even sure what they can expect but you better believe I signed up to get on the list.




The Five Minute Journal

This falls in on the thoughtful side of things. The journal is for exactly what it sounds like– writing for 5 minutes a day about what you want to accomplish, what you’re thankful for, and other feel-goody things.




Awesome outdoorsy gear

The folks at Mountain Standard sent our whole office some samples to try out and, no joke, at least one of us wears the jacket every single day. Their stuff is great quality, simple without massive logos everywhere, and affordable.




Toothbrush

$25 from Quip

Quip advertised with us a few times and, after the first one, half of us got one to see what it’s like. Basically, it’s an sweet toothbrush that keeps you honest so you go for a whole 2 minutes. Dentist approved.




Headspace + chocolate

$95 from Headspace

Another one in the thoughtful category. Headspace provides daily mindfulness training straight from a smartphone. And, for some unknown reason, they’re throwing in some chocolate for the holiday season.




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