Slate Hosts' Favorite Pop-Culture Holiday Gifts & The History of Gift Guides

The Evolution and Ambivalence of Gift Guides

• 🎁 Gift guides are a cherished holiday tradition, but also evoke feelings of dread and anxiety due to their association with capitalist consumption.
• 💡 While often driven by affiliate links, a good gift guide is distinguished by the genuine love and thoughtfulness put into the recommendations.
• 🛍️ Many people use gift guides for self-gifting rather than finding presents for others, which can feel antithetical to the holiday spirit.
• 📜 Historically, gift guides originated as advertisements for department stores over 100 years ago, with early examples from the early 1900s featuring items like a $3.95 robe and a child's fur set with animal heads.

Modern Takes on Historical Gift Guides

• 📺 A 1961 Esquire gift guide is noted for its surprisingly modern aesthetic, featuring items like a portable tape player, showcasing how technology and design have evolved.
• 📚 The concept of book gift guides, once popular for coffee tables or bathrooms, highlights a past era before the internet when print media dominated content consumption.
• 📦 Modern equivalents include thick catalogs like Restoration Hardware's and Amazon's toy catalog, which effectively revive the advertorial practice of early gift guides.

Chris Molanphy's Hit Parade-Inspired Gifts

• 🎧 The Beatles' Revolver CD box set is recommended for its remastered audio and revelatory outtakes, offering new insights into the band's creative process.
• 📺 The Mad Men Blu-ray box set is praised for its deep dive into 1960s culture and advertising, providing extensive commentaries and mini-documentaries.
• 📚 "Can't Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop's Blockbuster Year" by Michaelangelo Matos is highlighted for its insightful exploration of 1984's cultural landscape, including music, the Olympics, and legal precedents.

Dana Stevens' Cozy Movie Night Gifts

• 🍿 The Salbree Collapsible Silicone Microwave Popcorn Popper is a practical and inexpensive gift for easy, oil-free popcorn, paired with Amish Country Popcorn for a gourmet experience.
• 🛋️ A L'agraty Chunky Knit Blanket Throw is suggested for its cozy, cotton material and large knit, perfect for snuggling on the couch during movie nights.
• 🎬 The Adventures of Antoine Doinel Criterion Collection Box Set offers four films following a character over two decades, featuring extensive extras and commentaries, ideal for cinephiles.

Willa Paskin's Whimsical & Fruit-Themed Gifts

• 🍊 Cantaloupe-shaped bowls in the style of Bordallo Pinheiro are celebrated for their trompe-l'œil aesthetic, bringing playful, fruit-themed charm to tableware.
• 🕯️ Orange-shaped candles are a delightful stocking stuffer, visually resembling fruit while serving as functional decor, fitting the theme of items that look like other things.
• 🪠 A cherry-shaped toilet cleaner is presented as an unexpectedly joyful and aesthetically pleasing bathroom accessory, transforming a mundane item into a piece of pop art.