The Twelfth Annual Mindless Diversions Unsolicited Shopping Guide

Holy cow! Once again, it’s that time of year! Again! (Jeez!)

Last year’s Christmas was the Christmas where we got back to normal after a year of isolation. Everybody was vaxxed, everybody was boosted, a good time was had by all. We did the Great Big Family Gathering at the sister’s, we did the little small one at mom’s where we ate spaghetti and watched Scrooge.

Those Christmases are pretty much the best ones, anymore. The kiddos are now mostly grown up and so they don’t really scream in excitement over opening a particular present. (I still cherish the Christmas where one nephew got the Handy Manny Workbench and screamed, at the top of his lungs, “EMMY AMMY!”)

As such, all of the grownups agreed “we’re not going to get each other presents… we’ll just make a donation in your name.” (We’re still gonna get stuff for the boys, of course. But we’re not going to do the thing where we all trade Amazon gift cards.)

So, some charities that we like are The Innocence Project, World Central Kitchen, and Project Mercy.

And after you’ve given to charity and you realize that, hey, you still want to give your friends and family something nice but, jeez, you don’t have any ideas? Well, it’s good that you’re reading this post. We’ve got a handful.

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Our Mad Rocket Scientist suggests the gift of safety:
14 Pieces Car Rearview Mirror Film Rainproof Waterproof Mirror Film Anti Fog HD Clear Nano Coating Car Film for Car Mirrors and Side Windows

Protect your loved ones by making sure that they have a clear rearview mirror. A great gift for mom or dad and, get this, they probably haven’t got one already. Go over there, after they open it, put it on together! “Drive Safe”, you can say as you give them a squeeze after you’re done.

James K recommends these Bodum Pavina Double Wall Insulated Glasses. Perfect for hot drinks, perfect for cold drinks, microwave and dishwasher safe! Seriously, you’ve had those glasses from the 1970’s in your cabinet since mom offloaded them onto you when you got married. Isn’t it time for an upgrade?

Em Carpenter recommends this Heated Electric Boots Foot Warmer that’ll be perfect for the person in your life who suffers from cold feet.

If you gotta run to the bathroom, you should have a pair of Mama Bear dearfoams sitting nearby.

Rufus recommends the book Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq. The book has won multiple awards and Rufus says that it is “one of the best things I’ve read in years. I read it a few years ago and never wrote about it for OT because I’m not even sure how to describe it. Pretty amazing book though.”

Last year, Michael Siegel showed us the Lego Titanic set. This year, he points out the Eiffel Tower.

And John David Duke Jr. recommends this simple and elegant egg timer. (Less annoying than the timer on the microwave!)

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You know what? I’m going to bring up this showerhead again. If you shower every day, why not make it a nice one?

And after you take a nice shower, why not dry off with an even nicer towel? I gave some friends somet of these 40″ by 90″ towels and, after laughing that I must be critiquing their bath towels, they told me about a week later that those towels are *AMAZING* and they can’t believe that they were still using the stuff that they brought into the marriage from the back of mom&dad’s towel castoffs.

I will again sing the praises of Comfort Colors t-shirts. Literally dozens of colors in sizes from small to 4X. You will feel comfy the moment you put it on.

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When it comes to the big movies of the year, I understand that “streaming” has replaced the Blu-Ray but you may have some Gen-Xers or Boomers in your life and they still love having the physical media.

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once has no shortage of accolades.

Top Gun: Maverick is the perfect gift for the guy who told you “I saw the original in the theater!”

Elvis is in talks for multiple academy awards but if you want something from a couple decades later, Moonage Daydream was sanctioned (in the good sense of the word) by the Bowie estate.

If you’ve got someone who demands the cutting edge of Superhero films, we’ve got The Batman, Black Adam, and Thor: Love and Thunder.

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If the avid reader in your life bought about five hundred books during the pandemic, the big thing you can get them is “time to read”. Well, one of the ways you can do that is to get them a high-quality book light. Maribou got one of these by backing it years and years and years ago and it finally showed up a month ago and she’s tickled pink by it. (Being able to read in the dark is like having more time to read, right?)

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As for Playstation 5s, I found mine in-store at Best Buy and I recommend just showing up and seeing if they have one on the shelf. It’s not impossible that they would (and there’s a new Ragnarök bundle available out there in the wild). If you’re lucky enough to already have one, I wholeheartedly recommend Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarök. (And if you’re an XBox household, Elden Ring is just as good on that console.)

If you’re more into board games, Ticket to Ride is a great one for the whole family and Stone Age is great for after the 12-and-unders go to bed (both of these are easy enough to play for people who are only familiar with Monopoly). If you’ve got a hardcore gaming group looking for an updated classic, both Betrayal at The House on The Hill and Stop Thief have updated versions.

And if you’ve got someone just starting out and thinking about D&D? The D&D Starter Set will get them going. If they don’t need the basics, just the core rulebooks, you can get them the three core rulebooks, a slipcase, and a DM screen.

And if you’re just thinking “All I need is a simple and elegant huggable teddy bear”, Gund has a great chocolate brown foot-tall bear for you.

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And I will repeat what I said last year:

Of course, the reason for the holidays has little (if anything) to do with giving (or getting) presents but it’s always nice to give a loved one a gift that says “hey, I was thinking about you.”

And with that in mind… hey. I’ve been thinking about you. From us and ours to you and yours, Happy Holidays, Season’s Greetings, Non-Denominational Generic Good Wishes, Happy Hanukkah, Good Festivus, Joyous Kwanzaa, and, of course, Merry Christmas.

I hope that you found something above that you’d want to give to a loved one. In addition to all of the above, I still recommend everything we recommended in Unsolicited Shopping Guides of the past and we want you (yes, you!) to put your recommendations in comments. The gifts that you’d most want to give your loved ones and the gifts that you’d most want to receive? We want to hear about them because you never know who is currently pulling their hair out looking for the perfect gift that you (yes, you!) already know all about.

We want to hear from you!