We’ve all had to make a panicked dash to the store to pick up a gift that we forgot we needed until the last minute. That doesn’t have to happen! This tip will save you hours of frustration: Pre-purchase a variety of gifts, and have them ready for whenever the need arises. If you cover a few different bases, you’ll have something perfect on hand whether someone gets married, promoted, or has one of those, ahem, “significant” birthdays. No idea where to start? Here are some suggestions that are easy to obtain, and would brighten almost anyone’s day.
Cord Tacos
Everybody has a jungle of tangled-ass cords that could use some organization. That’s where the “cord taco” ($20) comes in. It does a great job of keeping your earbuds, phone charger, or any similar type of cord in a tidy, compact state — and it looks good, too. And, just like real tacos, if you want to stock up, you can buy a five-pack ($29) of them at a significantly reduced per-taco price.
Acoustic Speakers
The Walnut Pivot wooden iPhone speaker ($79) from Koostik amplifies a phone’s sound by about 10 to 20 decibels — without the use of electricity. It’s all done using the natural acoustic properties of a specially sculpted wooden slab. It instantly makes any genre of music, not to mention the desk it’s sitting on, seem classier.
Beautiful Books
When you give a book that you love, it’s like giving a little part of yourself, and highly meaningful. So pick up some extra copies of your faves, in nice, gift-worthy editions. Don’t handle these copies — instead, use them as pristine “bookshelf candy” until the time is right to bestow them upon those who deserve your literary treasures.
Cool Coasters
Flimsy disposable cardboard coasters are for dive bars and dorm rooms. A real home needs real coasters. This six-pack of leather ones ($60) will do nicely. These have so much personality, it almost feels wrong to cover them up with drinks. Almost.
Dewar’s 12 Year Old
This blended Scotch whisky (about $30) is the result of a time-honored distilling process. Sumptuous, fruity, and smooth, DEWAR’S 12 is aged in oak casks for 12 years (you could probably tell that from the name). It will automatically earn you points for being the classiest party guest who knows the most about adulting. The question on everybody’s lips will be, “Who brought the good liquor?” The answer will be you.
That should get you started. You can probably come up with some additional stockpile gift ideas (share your go-to option in the comments!) and, if you do the legwork now, you’ll spare yourself a lot of trouble in the future.
Tony Carnevale is a senior writer for Studio@Gawker.
Photos by Jake Inferrera.
This post is a sponsored collaboration between Dewar’s and Studio@Gawker.