Gift Guide Part #7: Your Awesome Brother Who Can Handle Any Hot Sauce, No Problem, and Never Refuses Your Toddler's Requests for Shoulder Rides.

Simon memory game, $32, the cult classic from the 1980s. We loved this growing up!
Cozy wool socks, $32, made in Maine.
Flask for hikes, picnics and rooftop parties. $24.
Tattly subscription, $60, where he'll get 8 temporary tattoos in the mail every month for six months. (Needless to say: Kids would love this, too.)
3-D space cookie cutters, $12, since he would get a kick out of them.
The Best American Infographics, $13.66. They're always such fun to read.
T-shirt describing his ideal day, $28.
Habanero Extra Virgin Olive Oil, $24, for salads and cooking. Not for the faint of heart!
A straight-razor shave at Fellow Barber Shop, $40, or a face massage with hot towels and essential oils called The Hangover Treatment, $25.
Stinky cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, $60, plus this funny card.
Awesome patches to show off his skills, for his backpack or jacket, $5.
Man Candle that smells like New York style pizza, to remind him of home. $15.

And, always and forever, the Icelandic Beard Cap, $79.

P.S. More gifts for brothers, and the complete 2013 gift guide...

(Barber shop photo by Robert Wright for The New York Times)

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Gift Guide Part #6: Your Best Friend Who Is Always Up for Adventures and Looks Gorgeous in Red Lipstick.

Stylists' pomade to give the greatest gift of all: a sleek ponytails without frizz, $22.
An encouraging pot for her trembling houseplants. 19 euro.
The Most of Nora Ephron, $22.47, a collection of essays, books and screenplays of the late, great writer. From the glowing NYTimes review: "The real Nora Ephron was the person every­body wanted to hang out with, in part because she was funny and charming but more critically because she made the people she was with feel funny and charming.....She was never the life of the party in the classic center-of-the-crowd sense. She was the one who listened and then finally tossed in the one fabulous line that brought every­thing together. Her best writing was exactly the same."
A $100 gift certificate to Kitchen Surfing, the awesome service that lets normal people hire private chefs. It's totally customizable, so you can choose to learn to make dumplings, have stiff cocktails or host an Italian dinner party. Available in New York, the Hamptons, Berlin, LA, Chicago and Boston. How cool is that?
Instagram marshmallows (!) with photos of your favorite times together. $20 for nine.
A perfectly fitting cashmere sweater, $120, to keep her warm all winter. (And you can get sweaters, pjs and bags monogrammed with her initials here, too. Would make a lovely gift.)
Glow-in-the-dark Ouija board, $20, to ask all your most pressing questions, along with a bottle of wine.
A cheeky tote to make her laugh, $12.
Plumberry lipstick because it's one of those rare and magical colors that makes everyone look amazing, $26.
Fancy candle, $60. The kind of thing you don't buy for yourself but you LOVE when someone gives to you. Sixty burning hours. (This one smells like a cozy warm fire.)
A yearlong membership to the Museum of Modern Art, $85, because it's inspiring, romantic and a little nuts.
Jeni's ice cream package, $29, with two flavors of ice cream and one bag of gravel (flavors include French Toast and Everything Bagel!)

P.S. More gifts for friends, and the 2013 gift guide so far...

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Gift Guide Part #5: Your Bearded Husband Who Wrestles Your Toddler, Kisses Your Baby, Smells Like Musk and Gives the Best Advice.

Ampersand sweatshirt, $62, because you belong as a pair.
A calendar with your favorite photos over the years, for his office desk, $29.99.
Krave jerky, $7 each, with the most incredible flavors (think: basil citrus turkey and chili lime beef). I don't even usually like jerky, but these are ridiculously delicious.
NATO straps, $12.50. The fastest way to give his watch a makeover. Alex is obsessed. "If you're into watches, you can't help fantasizing about buying new ones," he says. "The next best thing is to buy a new strap. They're cheap and colorful and totally change the watch every time you put one on."
A fun local class to take together, like a blind wine tasting, $75, or an always fantastic Murray's cheese class, $60-$75.
Revolution in the Head, $14.62, which tells the real story behind every Beatles song. Written by a genius music critic, the book gives a sociological and musical analysis of how the Beatles achieved the effect they did.
Army green Marshall headphones, $100. As Alex says, "Marshall is the most storied name in guitar amplifiers, going back to Hendrix. You can't fit a giant Marshall amp in your apartment, but you can get these Marshall headphones and keep the spirit alive."
Cards Against Humanity, $25, to play when friends come over. It's like Apples to Apples...but racy/crazy/inappropriate.
The World's Softest Faux Fur Throw, $79, for cold winter days. We tried it at our friends' cabin, and it's insanely cozy.
Bike light, $13.09. This tiny lamp fits onto the spokes of your wheel, so that once you're pedaling at a steady speed it blurs into a solid ring of light that cycles through the color spectrum as you ride. For fun nighttime bike rides.

P.S. More gifts for husbands, and the 2013 gift guide so far...

(Wine illustration by Gemma Correll for this post)

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Gift Guide Part #4: Your Twin Sister Who Makes Wacky Jokes And Lives 3,000 Miles Too Far Away.

Pumpkin cheesecake, $55, for obvious reasons.
Bay leaf wreath from California, $29.95, which is "exquisitely aromatic" and will look pretty in her home. Bonus: The leaves will dry naturally and can be used in cooking throughout the year.
Bear address stamp, $65.
Western wool coasters, $26 for four, plus a bottle of wine to drink together.
Zig zag cuff, $110.
Put an Egg on It, which proves that everything—from salad to buttered toast to leftover pizza—is more delicious with an egg cracked on top. $13.98.
United States cheese board (of her favorite state) plus cheese, crackers, honey, salami and chutney, $90. Party in a box!
Fair Isle leggings, $98, or socks, $16.50, to keep her cute and cozy all winter.
Ear acupressure massage, which targets the ear's "minefield of pressure points" and "sends the entire body into Gumby mode." How awesome does that sound? $35 for 15 minutes.
Jacks, $6.50, "just for funsies," as she would say.
A $25 microloan in her name to someone who needs it—such as a Kenyan farmer who wants to double grain production or a young Bolivian woman who needs school tuition. The coolest part: When the borrower repays the loan, the money returns to your account, and you can loan it out again to someone else.

P.S. More gifts for sisters, and the 2013 gift guide so far...

(Ear acupressure via NYMag; photo from Stay.com. Egg cookbook photo by Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)

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Gift Guide Part #3: Your Hilarious Dad Who Taught You How to Drive a Stick-Shift and Calls Everything—Even Grocery-Store Runs—an "Adventure."

180 Degrees South, $11.49, a gripping documentary about adventurer Jeff Johnson, who sets out to retrace the footsteps of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins' 1968 excursion into Patagonia. Sailing! Surfing! Shipwrecks! Plot twists!
Big Sur Backpacker's Cologne, $55, made with real plants, bark, moss, mushrooms and tree trimmings found hiking the backcountry. Their motto? "We put the mountains in a bottle." Right on.
Herb Lester's super cool illustrated city maps, chock full of insider recommendations. Four pounds each.
Grippy pad, $11.49, so he can stick his phone onto the dashboard for GPS and tunes.
Monogrammed cocktail muddler for mixing up stiff drinks for friends. $18.
Simon Pearce whiskey glasses, $58, handblown in Vermont, and with a wide-ish rim so he can smell the peat.
Humans of New York with funny and poignant interviews of people around NYC, $14.99. (Here's the amazing blog of the same name.)
A donation in his name to World Bicycle Relief, which provides simple, sustainable bikes for people in the developing world, where the power of bicycles can change lives and transform communities. $25 for a set of wheels, $50 for a mechanics toolkit, $134 for one bike, $670 for five bikes and $1340 for ten bikes. (So inspiring!)
Musical Christmas crackers! $21.20. Each of the eight crackers contains a tiny whistle pitched to a different note, and you follow the song sheets to play carols together. Would be funny to attempt around a tipsy dinner table.
A heartfelt card saying how much you love him.

P.S. More gifts for dads...

(Documentary via Momfilter, second photo from top by Glen Denny)

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