Andrej Urem Collection Candles ($35)

These 60-hour soy candles are definitely not your usual Yankee-branded holiday novelties. They're weird, but that's exactly why they're worthy of gifting. Designed by sculptor and poet Andrej Urem, the shapes are so fascinating, they might spark some inner illumination even while unlit. Give one of these to your friend whose interests walk the line between art and science; the person with an appreciation for formations of slime molds and an affinity for artist Matthew Barney's The CREMASTER Cycle. Just don't be surprised if these candles never see the end of a lit match and instead stand cherished as a sculptural keepsake too beautiful to melt away.

—GH



Lino Letter Knife ($60) and 3Doodler ($100)

All the way through my mid-20s, I had pen pals. Appropriately, my last pen pal became my wife. Although over the course of our courtship we graduated to more technologically advanced modes of communication, I still remember that first snail-mail correspondence as the most magical. It's where we coded our affections into every carefully penned missive, and in turn, we learned to read between each other's lines. I remember opening each envelope she sent with surgical care using a letter opener left to me by my father, a tool that allowed me to keep the entirety of her correspondence intact. Give the Lino to your dearest pen pal, the friend (or more) whose handwritten letters are similarly anticipated and deserving of special attention. Sending this stainless-steel letter opener says you'll continue to return the favor with many more letters of your own. Include with it a 3Doodler—the world's first 3D plastic-filament-printing pen—along with an explanation that you want to take their penmanship into a whole new dimension.

—GH



Nubbin of the Month Club artwork subscription ($450)

Talk about recycled culture. It's junk mail, newspapers, and old bank statements, all shredded, stewed into a pulp soup, and then compressed and shaped into a collection of hand-painted imaginary horticulture, adorned in retina-burning hues. If Pee-wee's Playhouse had a succulent garden growing out back—embellished with chrome, flocking, glow-in-the-dark paint, and micaceous iron oxide—this is what it would look like. Your friend with the red shoes, blue hair, and orange-painted nails will be delighted that you've gifted them not just one but half a dozen of these "Nubbins"—an imaginary garden they can keep without worries about soil, sunlight, or watering.

—GH



T-Lab wooden animals ($11–$55)

Certain toys are not just loved in childhood but also remembered long afterward. Mine was a small stuffed gray elephant that I carried around everywhere throughout my lil' folk years (and kept bedside for longer than I'd normally admit openly)—an elephantine Hobbes to my bowl-cut Calvin. Even decades later I can still picture the mute face and remember the plush hug of my toy animal companion. Though this menagerie of carved wooden toys isn't as soft to the touch, they're still heart-achingly touching in appearance, each one with a distinct personality that will undoubtedly spark the childhood adventures that, as adults, we shouldn't be so foolish as to ignore.

—GH



Oxford Pennants ($20–$25) and Georgia Perry Pins ($14)

Pins and pennants—there's probably some store in Williamsburg that goes by that name. That said, these gifts offer an opportunity to create some fun and frivolous combinations for a hometown friend (whatever their hometown), pairing local history with the cult of celebrity: a Brooklyn wool-felt pennant with a pin fashioned after the likeness of Hova, say, or a Chi-town banner with an Oprah pin, or the City of Angels pennant with a Kim K pin. These are gifts for the family members and friends who perpetually and proudly remind you which city is the "best"—the one they call home.

—GH



Negative Collection ($100–$200)

If you've ever gone to a flea market or perused vintage shops, you've undoubtedly run into a few trays or boxes of Kodachrome slides. These forgotten images of strangers can evoke surprisingly powerful emotions and memories of our own, intimate moments that we recognize as universal and cyclical, costumed in the fashion of bygone eras. An item from Negative Collection—limited-edition prints produced from vintage negatives and slides of notables and nobodies alike—is for that person who has insisted on numerous occasions that they were born in the wrong era, whose wardrobe could pass as the selection for a costume drama, and whose sentimental hopes lie in the belief that tomorrow might one day be as special as yesterday.

—GH



Dario 2 villain gloves ($55) and Triumph & Disaster Stash Box ($150)

These gifts are for your friend who is comfortable with being labeled the "bad guy," the one with a penchant for imagery of the dark, macabre, and villainous. For these aren't just regular leather gloves but leather gloves inspired by the wickedly stylish characters strewn throughout the canon of Italian arthouse-horror filmmaker Dario Argento. Get them with the red cotton lining for an extra detail of killer attitude. A complementary accompaniment: a gift set of shaving and skincare products with grotesque anatomy illustrations and luridly named products, wrapped in packaging that doubles as a stash box for all of your giftee's deepest secrets (bad angsty poetry, love letters better left forgotten, awkward high school photos).

—GH



Cooking for Geeks ($25) and Hinged Iron Utensil Sculptures ($70)

Wirecutter's pick for flatware should please the majority of folks looking for a balance between ergonomics and design in their knives, forks, and spoons. But for the relative or friend who follows the beat of their own drum, "different" or "unique" might be a better choice than "best." I'd give these hand-forged iron utensils to my geeky-cool friend with a steampunk streak, the type whose eyes and touch drift to the unfinished, raw, and primitive in everything they do, use, and make. Give a set with the science-oriented cookbook by Jeff Potter (a Science Friday regular guest), and you've established the menu for many future meals where rough meets refined.

—GH



Catchitecture Octacat ($30)

Writer and fellow cat lover Jean Cocteau once professed: "I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul." How such a small and particular creature can come to represent everything beloved under one roof can be hard to describe, but it's harder to deny. Recognizing this connection, how appropriate that you gift your cat-loving friend something that will provide a home within the home for their purring pal, a geometric hideout made of folded corrugated cardboard where kitty will feel safe to observe and pass judgment. Unlike typical cat furniture covered in carpet (and the tears of designers everywhere), these forms are modern and architectural, likely to please both the four- and two-legged occupants of the home. You'll be telling your friend that their crazed love for felines is okay in your book—even if it might be parasitically induced.

—GH



Michelangelo's David poseable action figure ($50)

One has to wonder what Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni—aka Michelangelo—would make of this curious reproduction of one of his most imposing and towering works. The great sculptor's 14 feet of marble gets miniaturized into a 6-inch plastic facsimile with anatomically correct detailing, and its articulated arms, wrists, knees, neck, torso, and ankles liberate the Biblical hero from his usual tense pose. This Mini-Me David is for the Renaissance art lover or aspiring artist—its poseable nature makes it an ideal alternative to the usual wooden manikin for figure-drawing duty. But let's not kid ourselves: All artistic intentions aside, David will likely be called upon for sheer amusement, at least if my own inclinations are any indicator. If your friend is more bookish and pondering in nature, you might also consider this brooding alternative.

—GH



Paweł Jońca 2016 wall calendar ($60) and The School of Life: 100 Questions ($30)

In theory the wall calendar has become obsolete in the age of Google Calendar and its app ilk. Yet the wall calendar endures, partially because people still appreciate it as an opportunity for adornment and expression throughout the year. Every flip of the calendar also brings an element of pleasant surprise, each month a singular artistic or photographic event. This limited-edition calendar—200 copies, with only 100 available for public sale—illustrated by the gifted Polish artist Paweł Jońca, is for a friend you've drifted apart from, the once-close pal you're always promising to get together with soon. Have them circle a date on their new 2016 calendar and promise to reconnect that day with a meaningful conversation using one of The School of Life's Toolkits for Conversations to break the ice and thaw out a frozen friendship, one interesting question at a time.

—GH



Arckit ($70–$400) and The Furniture Bible ($25)Maybe you can't buy your architecture-obsessed friend their dream house—but you can gift them one of these model kits from Arckit so they can explore all of their home-design fantasies in miniature. Here, LEGO modularity meets Dwell-magazine aesthetics: The sets consist of interlocking components suitable for anyone, Regular Joe and Joseph Eichler alike, who wants to design their perfect modernist home in 1:48 scale. Adhesive sheets printed with surface textures sourced from real building companies offer an additional layer of detail for exteriors, and 3D-modeling software compatibility allows more serious planners to use SketchUp to build their homes on screen before "construction" begins in earnest.

The encyclopedic The Furniture Bible, penned by professional antique-furniture restorer Christophe Pourny, is a fitting accompaniment, a 304-page instructional tome dedicated to the identification and care of furnishings, whether antique, modern, or anything in between. Think of it as a Haynes or Chilton's auto-repair guide, but for home furniture. Giving these two gifts together tells the recipient you hope they realize all of their domestic design dreams, inside and out.

—GH



Hauscraft Spell Kits ($45–$55) and Obsidian Pyramid ($10)

The free spirit. The hippie. The slightly loopy, lovable friend who believes in the powers of the celestial and the geological. Instead of trying to reason with them—again—stop citing science just for a moment and embrace their "inner vision" during the holidays, and give them something from the heart (even if your brain says otherwise). How surprised will they be to receive this pair of spiritual tools from a nonbeliever? They'll know that you care and that you respect them for who they are, juice-cleanse delirium and all.

—GH



ROOST barrett leather toolbag ($400)

This is the sort of expensive but thoughtfully utilitarian gift you give someone who: 1) regularly enjoys fixing things in and around the house (perhaps the same person you call when something needs to be repaired) and 2) harbors an appreciation for things that become more beautiful with time. The heavy-gauge burnt-caramel leather of this large strapped bag should patina beautifully and deeply like a baseball mitt, in time reflecting all the hours it has been handled, hauled, and tossed around from one project to another. Nine interior pockets and a front divider keep tool time in orderly fashion, and fashionable in its order.

—GH



Western Honey Bee Ring ($90)

Mathematician Jan Brożek believed that bees' hexagonal honeycombs were the efficient eventuality of insects evolving the least amount of material to generate a cell. Biologist D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson guessed that the cell's six-sided shape was the by-product of surface tension among the winged occupants' building in relation to one another. Whatever the reason, the geometric architecture of beehives is captivating. This detailed ring is for your most entomologically minded friend who appreciates the builder and the building, the one enamored with the charms of the six-legged, winged, and compound-eyed. They might be a backyard beekeeper or simply have an affinity for a bug's life, but you know them because they always stop to admire the pollinators. They'll consider you the bee's knees for giving them this 3D-printed polished brass shaped ring fashioned after the industrious Apis mellifera, aka the western honey bee.

—GH



'The Thinker' Ferrofluid Display ($50) and Page Thirty Three Tripod Oil Burner ($190)

Maybe you know an amateur scientist with a compulsive urge to ask, "What would happen if ____?" Give your citizen scientist this pairing and tell them you admire their experimental approach to life, no matter how wild or strange: a vial of mysterious magnetic liquid nanoparticles to tease their sense of sight, and a lab-style oil burner to please their sense of smell. In tandem, these laboratory-equipment-shaped objects will reflect the mind of someone always in pursuit of answers—and the next great mystery.

—GH



Industry Collection Art Deco water tower vases ($230)

For nearly 50 years, photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher staked their claim to artistic fame by capturing a typological series of photographs of the industrial landscape of Western Europe: water towers, kilns, smokestacks, coal mines, silos, and blast furnaces, all carefully cataloged with the taxonomic obsession of an orchid hunter. And that leads me to believe that these handmade ceramic and gold-plated metal-base vases designed in homage to the photos will not only please those already aware of the Bechers' artistic legacy but also suit anyone with a penchant for unusual vessels to display flora within the home. Include a card and tell the recipient you think their friendship towers over all else.

—GH



Lava Trays ($155 for two, $275 for three) and Meteorite Fragment 3 Pack Collection ($30)

So many goods sold today are mass produced, consistently and exactingly reproduced. That's why I tend to appreciate those objects made with materials inherently unrefined, their inconsistencies making each object truly individual. Take for example these Lava Trays, sourced from the volcanic rock of Querétaro, Mexico. One of five artisans works the magma-formed igneous rock into beautifully pitch-black serving trays, the sort of accent piece that not only looks beautiful but also feels tempting to touch over and over again, each rough edge and porous nook an inscription in geologic Braille. Similarly, a collection of meteorites gathered from around the globe—fragments from the Sahara Desert, the Campo Del Cielo crater field in Argentina, and Canyon Diablo in Arizona—offers similar visual and tactile appeal. Displayed atop one of the volcanic rock trays, it's a miniature tableau of the history of Earth and the celestial bodies that occasionally cross our planet's path.

—GH



Momofuku Home Run Ssäm Sauce Gift Pack ($40) and TOOOLS Banchan ceramic set ($150–$225)

Bossam is to pork-loving Koreans as brisket is to beef-smitten Texans, a tender pork-belly dish served sliced and unadorned, accompanied with various fixings on the side to customize each mouthful. Alongside thinly sliced garlic, fermented shrimp paste, kimchi, and greens, Koreans traditionally like to spice things up with an umami-laden red-pepper paste and then wrap all the contents up in a piece of Napa cabbage to consume in its in entirety like a megalodon. The taste is an orgasmic pleasure: Fat, heat, and garlic's pungent kick all get busy with each chipmunk-cheeked chew. It's the sort of meal best enjoyed with good beer and better friends, and a worthy alternative holiday-gathering menu proposition for those sick of turkey and honey-baked ham. This gift pack from David Chang's Momofuku Market is a new-school variation on the traditional hot red-pepper paste; the same sauce is served with Chang's slow-roasted interpretation of bossam. This set should make any spicy-food-loving friend grow bored with that ubiquitous red-rooster-adorned bottle—they'll be thrilled to introduce their taste buds to something new. But why the two-bottle set? So you can gift yourself a bottle too, of course!

If you've had Korean food you've undoubtedly been surprised and impressed by the array of small dishes—banchan—that parade forth onto the table before the main course. Artist Caroline Hwang and designer Joel Speasmaker's one-of-a-kind ceramic sets stand as sculptures when stacked, then split to reveal the perfect vessels for a banchan, tapas, or any other small-dish meal to share among friends you love dining with.

—GH



Technology Will Save Us DIY Speaker Kit ($40)

If nurtured and fed, a certain type of child's precocious inquisitiveness can blossom into something greater, as questions about "why" evolve to actions exploring "how." Give this DIY Speaker Kit, which turns any object into a most unusual audio device, to that gifted child who is already taking things apart and putting them back together. By presenting these tools you'll amplify their young curiosity, making it loud and clear that you believe that although necessity may be the mother of invention, creativity is the father of reinvention.

—GH



Slowtide Beach Towels ($50)

This pick comes by way of our head honcho and avid wave rider, Brian Lam, who calls Slowtide's Hawaii-and-California collaborative efforts in partnership with artists and designers "the best beach towels ever." Pick one for a friend who is always checking the tide charts, who lives for the sunrise and sunset swells, and who achieves their best body of work while in a body of water.

—GH