We at The SunBreak are going to re-use, re-cycle, and re-gift some of the tried and true ideas from our 2009 and 2010 gift guides, along with some new items crowdsourced just for this holiday season. Happy Shopping!
Jeremy Barker: Plenty of films are made in the Great Northwest these days, and plenty of them suck. The easiest way to become familiar with what’s worthwhile and what’s best forgotten in terms of local (and non-local) cinema is by becoming a member of the Northwest Film Forum. NWFF is a member driven collective that does more than pretty much anyone else to support film in the Northwest, as well as bringing the best independent films to town. Membership starts at $40 a person (or $70 for a couple), and gets you great discounts to shows, as well as lets you help support the cinematic arts in the region.
Josh Bis cosigns: Memberships to local arts organizations like Northwest Film Forum, the Seattle International Film Festival, or SAM make for eco-friendly gifts that keep giving all year.
Jeremy: Seattle has lots of great performing arts to offer. And lots that aren’t great. When it comes to choosing a subscription, it’s always risky and spendy. My recommendation is pretty much always On the Boards. Some of it will be bad, some of it will be unforgettable, and some of it will involve someone sticking their privates somewhere they shouldn’t go. But it’s always surprising and gives you something to talk about afterward. It’s also one of the most affordable subscriptions in town: their pick-six subscription runs just $120.
Rachael Coyle: Holmquist Hazelnuts are absolutely delicious hazelnuts grown in Lynden, Washington. Available at the Pike Place Market and several Farmers’ Markets.
Donte: It’s hot chocolate. On a stick. Let me repeat that. Hot chocolate. On a stick. Seriously, why are you still reading this? Just go buy some! It’s hot chocolate on a stick!
Jay Friedman: I’m about the chocolate, and the Double Chocolate Figs at Fran’s Chocolates are amazing. At Chocolopolis, the Cluizel Macarolats are gorgeous—they’re chocolate versions of macarons.
Josh: For the more ecologically conscious sweet tooth, look no further than Theo the country’s only organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory. They have single origin bars, inspired artistic truffles, chipotle sipping chocolate, and even a vegan option or two. Order online or sample the goods in their Fremont factory.
Michael van Baker: I will append to Jay’s foodie list WOOLY PIGS! They’re edible! Purchase parts of pig from Heath Putnam Farms, online or at the U-District Farmer’s Market. Your bacon-loving friends will thank you once they regain the power of speech.
Jay: Anyone interested in the local restaurant scene should pick up a copy of the Fearless Critic Seattle Restaurant Guide, as it includes reviews and rankings of 250 area restaurants in a fun format (full disclosure: I was co-editor of this project).
Donte: Subscriptions are still a safe bet (the gift that keeps on giving), but instead of going with something widely known, go with something smaller. Meatpaper is a quarterly journal about meat culture. It doesn’t glamorize meat or put down vegetarians, but is instead a thoughtful exercise discussing topics from deer hunting to rabbit farming. Put a Egg On It is a celebration of the human side of food, how it brings us together and the culture around it, with recipes and photos. Both are publications with heart.
And check out this bible of kitchen science, On Food and Cooking, which belongs in the library for every aspiring chef. This isn’t just a cookbook, it’s an encyclopedia of the whys and hows of food preparation. How do you make meat tender? Why is flour such a universal baking ingredient? Food is about much more than flavor, and this book’s approach to discussing that is refreshing in a world where glossy food porn rules the day.
Rachael: Cougar Gold Cheese, a delicious, tangy cheddar-style cheese made by the Creamery at WSU. Forgive the fact that it’s in a can, the WSU website explains that the packaging was chosen when the cheese was first made in the ’30s, before plastic packaging materials had been invented. $18 a can, order online or pick up at a WSU store.
Donte: A friend told me about the ingenuiTEA teapot and I was initially unimpressed. Then I read the product description and the reviews. This is apparently the best tea-maker in the history of mankind. All histrionics aside, it’s a very cleverly-designed product that does what it does very well. What more could you want? Couple this with some nice loose leafs from Remedy (or a custom blend from Sugarpill if you’re in Seattle) and you’re all set for the tea drinker in your life.
Ronald Holden Anything from Magnificent Wine Company. Wrote about the winery last year. Since then, they’ve come up with great wines at all price points. Everyday House Wine, similarly priced Fish House and Steak House, a line of better, single-variety wines and some fancier stuff. But that’s just the beginning. There’s also a line of Charles Smith wines. And of course, K Vintners (“K syrah syrah”).
Geoff Kaiser Full Sail Wreck the Halls (PDF). This 6.5% holiday release is the perfect gift for the hop-head in your life. Nothing in this beer clues you in that it is a winter holiday release, but it’s a great West coast IPA. Available in 22oz bottles into January.
Big Al Winter Warmer. You can’t get this in a bottle, but it is worth a trip to the brewery in White Center to get a growler filled. How awesome would it be to get a wrapped growler under the tree? Big Al’s version is exactly what I think of when I hear the term “winter warmer.” It thrives on a big nutty, caramel base with some dark fruit. Significant, but not overwhelming, alcohol warmth will help you forget about the cold in a pinch. It manages to be big and bold, but it is still incredibly drinkable at 6.5% ABV.
Russian River Beers. Seattle beer shops just got a fresh batch of several beers in from this outstanding CA brewery. Whether you go with the immensely popular Pliny the Elder IPA, the barrel-aged sour Consecration, or the Damnation Belgian-syle strong ale, you can’t go wrong. You’d better hurry up, though. These will disappear quickly.
Audrey Hendrickson: For the aspiring mixologist/cocktail lover/alcoholic in your life, locally made Scrappy’s Bitters are a must. You can buy the full-size bottles at plenty of places, like DeLaurenti and Bottlehouse, but there’s also the mini-bottle four-packs to let you sample a bunch of flavors (orange, chocolate, cardamom, and grapefruit in one; lime, lavender, celery, and orange in the other). And the packaging is small enough that it can totally act as a stocking stuffer. Pretty sure the only store in town where you can get the mini gift sets is the good people at 12th and Olive Wine Company.
Seth Kolloen Hit Safeway or a Mariners Team Store for Mariner gift cards your M’s fan friend can buy tickets and gear with; or go balls out and put a deposit down on a 16-game plan.
There’s also the Mariners Holiday Gift Packs! Give the gift of a summer night at the ballpark. $50 will get you 4 view level seats for a weekday Mariners game, plus a $20 gift card to buy concessions. That’d cost you at least $100 bucks if you wait ’till the season. Or, go big and get the same deal with four field level seats plus the gift card for $150.
And remember the Voice of the Mariners with Essential Games of the Seattle Mariners: Four of the Mariners’ greatest games, three of which are called partially by dearly departed voice of the franchise Dave Niehaus.
Finally, Donte‘s got three decor items sure to be conversation-starters: I’d never even considered the terrarium as an object of interest until I came across Twig. Based in Brooklyn, they make terrariums that have both wonder and humor, augmenting their small worlds with tiny characters. Look through the gallery for some examples, but these low-care pockets of life give character to any desk.
For some gifts, the fact that there’s assembly required is precisely the point. The works of Terada Mokei and Sam Buxton represent two versions of taking something flat (paper for the former, steel for the latter), and making three-dimensional sculptures. Mokei’s works have a softer, more organic result, where Buxton’s creations leave the engineering at the forefront. In both cases you’re rewarded for a steady hand and patience.
This poster hits an intersection of a few different circles of the Venn diagram of potential recipients. For your poster junkies, this is a nice design that’s well-executed. For the designer in your life, each line uses a different sans serif typeface. For the glasses nerd in your life (hi Alithea!), this is a nice reminder of buying new frames without the cost. Plus, Paper Hammer makes and sells great products, so they’re worth supporting.
