Gifts say a lot about the person who gives them. This year, say that you're completely awesome.
Whether your friend wants to be the next Hemingway or Larry David, this pen that fits in the spine of a wallet allows anyone to jot down a brilliant note at a moment's notice. Now you just need a little paper to go with it, otherwise he might be trying to read "bus ride = world war II" from a 20-dollar bill.
Mom's cooking is the stuff of legend (and the occasional soft-rock ballad), but a copy of Barbara Lynch's first cookbook will ensure it gets a bit more of a Southie edge. The recipes cover favorite dishes from several of Lynch's own restaurants, so now Mom's kitchen can be a makeshift No. 9 Park. In theory, anyway.
Anyone under 50 who smokes a pipe is either a serious tobacconist, or Finch from American Pie. Both of them will find this handsome pouch useful for carting around their favorite smoke stuff. It's covered in heavyweight cotton and features a silk-screen print from designer Thomas Paul. Good for fans of hand-rolled cigarettes as well.
Dinner parties are good, but when someone else throws one, it's even better. Give the gift of Andy Husbands (of Tremont 647), who comes to your friend's house and demonstrates how to make (and more importantly, makes) a four-course meal for 10 people, with farm-to-table ingredients and paired organic wines. Teach a man to fish…
Stuffing a burrito inside a stocking can get a bit messy, so Taza Chocolate gives you Mexican faves like blue-corn grits and Oaxaca-style black mole, paired with stone-ground chocolate. And it's all wrapped up in a gift basket straight out of Somerville. Which is closer than Mexico.
You don't have to be close friends with a lumberjack to know some people enjoy a good blade in their pocket, and Spyderco makes some of the better flip knives around. Here, they've teamed with street-wear boutique Bodega to create a line of sharp-looking blades, so this is for the buddy who enjoys defending himself with a touch of style.
