The greatest gift guide of 2024 was inside you the whole time
Mach 3+ gems of affection & friendship for everyone in your life
Mamma mia! Today we have an abbondanza of gifts for you & yours… for the mind and the body … and, ah yes, for the heart and the soul.
Because here at Blackbird Spyplane, we aren’t just earth’s greatest style & culture sletter. We’re also students of humanity. And if there’s one thing we’ve come to realize over the years, it’s that we as a species are at our worst when we fall prey to scarcity mindset, retreat into crouch positions, build walls and lose ourselves within them, and let the spirit of competition corrode us…
In a beautiful & blessed contrast? We’re at our very best when we’re at our most giving, our most empathic, our most expansive, and our most collaborative. We guess you could say that Generosity is Fundamental to Swag a.k.a. G.I.F.T.S.!!
The members of Spy Nation doubtless exchange tokens of fellowship and affection with loved ones year round. But that kind of behavior really ramps up at year’s end… O yes! We’re entering “Generosity Season.”
And today we’re unveiling our second annual G.I.F.T.S. List, designed expressly for bestowing serenity and drip upon cool people you love and respect.
As I (Erin) said in last year’s inaugural G.I.F.T.S. List (which remains relevant, so give it a look): My rule of thumb giftwise is that something should be immediately beautiful or otherwise visually appealing… failing that it should have an element of surprise to it … or at the very least be diabolically useful. On some O. Henry sh*t, I’m especially happy when I receive something homemade: a hand-drawn card, maybe some hand-massaged persimmons a.k.a. hoshigaki. These are the broad organizing principles this year, too. I’ve also woven in some handy new concepts — like buying everyone on your list variations on a theme, or turning a singular gift into a exponentially doper harmonious “duet.”
Put simply, the G.I.F.T.S. List is a FRESH round-up of beautiful / surprising / useful / handmade gems, including:
rare bangers for the kitchen,
including an ingenious $15 midcentury spoon like none other on the planet that we are personally giving to several people this year and it’s gonna blow their minds,
all manner of unlikely top-notch slappers for the home,
excellent handcrafted soaps,
and other artisan health & beauty goods that someone might never dare buy for themselves so they will be overjoyed that you did it for them and think of you every time they catch themselves SHINING in a mirror,
various “dope organizing tools” and other creativity-unlockers for enswaggening the home office,
cool s**t that no one can buy so when you give it as a gift? you announce that you operate on an exalted plane of generosity that commerce can’t touch
assorted powerful quasi-mystical soul expanders,
beautiful simple unisex organic-cotton pajama sets from Brooklyn for under $100 — slept in with panache firsthand at Spyplane HQ and real talk they make you feel so on point it’s tempting to rock them out the d*mn house,
yanking vibey gadgets,
… and so much more.
Access the G.I.F.T.S. List here:
Also? It’s a great time to give the people whose happiness and well-being you care about most a Classified Tier BBSP Subscription. We remain a two-person subscriber-supported miracle, dropping profound mind gems, unbeatable recon and travel intel week in, week out. And since we don’t run ads or use affiliate links for any of the new clothes we cover, none of that would be possible without our readers.
24/7/365, Spy Nation can also find elite & funky ideas for home goods, records, incense and candles, socks, ceramics, hats, and so much more in our Master Jawn Index, & Home Goods Index and Beautiful Life-Improving Spyplane Staples. You can browse books we f**k with in our SpyBookshop. Of course you can & should do some elite-tier copping via the world’s 35 slappiest shops and our roundup of the world’s coolest museum shops — a great gift resource in its own right.
Also, if you’re on a specific Generosity-Based recon mission, let us know in the comments of The G.I.F.T.S. List, and let’s see if, between me, Jonah, and your fellow Mach 3+ SpyFriends, we can’t come through with Solutions.