clipboard gift guide 2024

Kia ora, and welcome to clipboard, an occasional email newsletter by me, Reilly Hodson. It's festive season, so I'm doing a gift guide for all of you who do your shopping in the last two weeks instead of during the multiple weeks of Black Friday like the system wants you to.

'Tis the season, and my god, do we all need a bit of joy and a break after this year! Although, it feels like we say that every year nowadays. 

Even at the end of a good year, I love the Christmas season. It's cheesy, but having an excuse to connect with friends "before the end of the year," spend quality time with whānau and unplug from the daily grind is the true reason for the season. 

The secondary reason for the season is demonstrating your love and care for the people in your life through gifts. I love to give and receive great gifts, so here is the perhaps a bit late clipboard gift guide for 2024. Enjoy!

some evergreen gifting philosophies

It's easy to forget amongst all the gift guide content churned out by brands and newsletter writers at this time of year what buying a gift is even for. For me, it's all about showing aroha to the people in your life, and that doesn't necessarily require a massive spend or getting something right on trend. Before we get into the recs, here are a few core philosophies of the clipboard gifting experience.

• Shop in person. A tenet of all my recommendations all the time, if you can buy in person, you should. It's a more pleasant experience (as long as you avoid the malls), you don't have to stress about courier timings, and some of the best gifts I've ever given have come from perusing the shelves or asking an informed member of staff at a great store. It's a much better approach than scrolling endless, undifferentiated pages of online stores.

• Buy local. A build on point 1. It's been a very tough time for local businesses these past few years, and you should try to use your Christmas budget to help businesses you like continue to operate. In particular this year, if you have a loved one who's a reader, support local media and buy a gift subscription or membership.

• Thought > price. It's not quite just the thought that counts, but I often see recommendations in gift guides for items that are multiple hundreds of dollars. You don't need to spend that much to show someone you care! A thoughtful book choice or nice hand soap can be a better gift than those $1,000 headphones. 

• When in doubt, buy a voucher. There's a potential that some might see a voucher as a cop out gift, but I think the right voucher can be a fantastic gift when you know their taste but not what they need. Some great vouchers I've been gifted in the past include Tony Sly (we're building a collection of Tony's crockery), clothes stores like Checks or Thom Morison, and local book stores vouchers.

Now, let's get into recs. I've broken these out into some of the most common people you might be buying for. If you end up getting one of these for someone in your life, let me know - I'd love to hear.

what to buy for:

romantic partner

Perhaps the most important person you'll buy for, and the one you know best. To build out this list, I asked my real life wife Liv Stewart to make some recommendations, which are in amongst some of my favourites too.

• Buddy Tees. I have gifted and been gifted Buddy's excellent tees and socks a few times, and they are always well received. Buy in a fun colour, and bonus points for the matching shorts or pants.

• Curionoir Fragrances. We bought fragrances from curio noir for all of our wedding party, as well as a beautiful candle for our big day. It's a Māori owned business, and their Ponsonby store isn't nearly as intimidating as it looks from the outside - they're really quite lovely. The little fragrances are a great price for an add on to any other slightly bigger gift, too. I wear Tobacco Night, and Liv wears Ngutu Pā, if you want a recommendation.

• Contemporary jewellery. If they like a bit of adornment, buy them some art they can wear. Liv (who works in a gallery that features a lot of jewellery) recommends heading down to Fingers to pick out a great piece: her favourite artists there are Frances Stachl, Neke Moa, and Zoe Brand.

• Yu Mei Belts. Everyone needs a good belt, and Aotearoa's best leather goods brand has just released some beautiful ones. A forever purchase that they'll wear every day.

• E-reader. You'll know if this is a good gift for your partner, but Liv got me one last Christmas and it has changed my reading life immediately. I've read so many more and varied books this year than I have since I was at school, and it's down to having something pocketable which only does book reading - no distractions.

secret santa (work or whānau)

Secret Santa is an interesting challenge, where you need to pick up one item, on budget, that will make an impact. I now do some version of it at both work and on both sides of my family, so have a few good suggestions, but to be honest, it's got to be a personal pick.

• Cookbook. If they're always talking about their home cooking go-tos, or have started a food Instagram, a cookbook is a great gift. People aren't always very good at using them, but I find that if a cookbook gives you three meals that you make regularly, it's a good investment. Some recommendations include: Alison Roman's classic Nothing Fancy, Salt Fat Acid Heat for the real nerds, and Molly Baz's More is More. 

• A great mug. Everyone's life would be improved by a great mug, no matter their hot beverage of choice, and we're spoilt for great options in Aotearoa. Some favourites: Richard Beauchamp x Thom Morison, Coffee Outdoors x Dinex, Coffee Supreme, Taus.

• Good stationery. For the person that can't bring themselves to use the stationery in the work cupboard (read: me), a bit of fancy stationery will never go amiss. Infinite Definite's range of Penco products is a great place to start, and I live by my MD Paper notebooks and Clipen from Kiosk.

• Candle sticks. When we moved house last year I decided that I wanted to light more candles in the evenings, and since then we've gone through a succession of coloured candlesticks from National Candles. A bunch of these in your person's favourite colours, wrapped in a nice ribbon, would be incredibly well received. Bonus if you wanted to add a nice candlestick holder!

• Nalgene. I love an emotional support water bottle, but I find the aluminium ones with the straws that everyone has to be a bit overkill. My favourite is a Nalgene in a fun colour - I like the narrow neck one, or you can get a nifty insert for the wide neck if you prefer the symmetry.

parents

I find my parents quite tricky to buy for, because they've already got all the stuff they want, so I often find myself asking for a list so that I nail it. That said, there are a few great things that hit every time.

• Nice drinks. Whether they're a drinker or not, a fancy bottle of something is almost always something that will be well received, particularly when nicely wrapped. My recommendation if you're in Tāmaki: head to By The Bottle and get a recommendation. Some favourites are L'Opera for spritzes, Non for non-drinkers, or just pick a bottle of wine with a cool label.

• Dinner out. Your parents really want to spend quality time with you, so the gift of a night out is a lovely, thoughtful one. Pick your favourite restaurant and take them out for a full meal - do the ordering yourself and pick up the bill. (Cue my dad saying that I should do this every once in a while anyway!)

• Metro subscription. A subscription to a magazine is a great ongoing present, and Metro is the best magazine in the country, for my money. You're not just gifting a magazine, you're giving them the ability to have informed opinions on everything from the best cafes to the issues of the day.

• Good socks. Once derided as a gift, I actually think that good socks are a fantastic thing to give and receive at the holidays. Would you feel comfortable buying yourself $40 socks? Maybe not. But would you be happy to buy two gifts for a parent for $80? Probably! The best socks I own are from Mauna Kea and Rototo. 

• Coffee table book. Much like a good cookbook, a great coffee table book is a great conversation starter, even if the only time they read it is on Christmas day, between meals. You can find great coffee books on every topic you can imagine, and the best place to get them is Lamplight Books in Parnell.

best friends

Because you might not be sharing Christmas day with them, you might not always think of a gift for a friend. But I think that, while they're not an obligation, they can be a lovely gesture, and an excuse to make time to see them before everyone hits the beach.

• A book you've already read. I love gifting books that I've read and enjoyed, it's such a thoughtful move and shows that you really think and care deeply about the person you're giving that book to. Plus, it's free if you already own it! Or, you could buy a few copies of your favourite book for a selection of friends.

• Get the weekend away out of the group chat. If you've been chatting idly about a trip away, why not commit to it at Christmas? Book that Airbnb and start planning! 

• Coffee gear. If they're a coffee snob, get them a nice bit of kit to make their brew at home. I'm personally a fan of a ceramic V60, and an Aeropress. Buy them some filter papers and a bag of your favourite beans to make it a set.

• Merch for their favourite restaurant. Still on the hospo vibe, get them a memento for their favourite spot to eat or drink. If it's one of those cool spots that does good merch, they'll get a great way to rep their local.

That’s all for clipboard this time around, thanks for reading! Have a great holiday period and I’ll catch you closer to New Year’s. If you’d like to get in touch, flick me an email by replying to this one, or hit me up on Instagram. See ya later!