Created in partnership with The Prisoner Wine Company.
We all have that friend who loves to talk about their stuff. These shoes? Hermes thrifted for $5, never before worn. This painting? Done by the one-time US Ambassador to Iran. Nothing they have is ordinary, and so it’s near impossible to shop for them. Where it might be fine to toss mom and dad or a friend a gift card to a place they like and call it a day, you know that just won’t do here. You need to give them the gift of story. Well, don’t worry. Because we’re here with solutions. What follows are some rare, quirky, uncommon gifts for the special someone on your shopping list who needs the gift of the unordinary.
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A game too cool to play
Game Gear Mickey Mouse (opens in a new window)
Hardcore video game collectors constantly take trips to Tokyo so they may skulk the hall of Akhihabara, buying up all of the weird little Nintendo, Sony, and Sega curios that never made it across the Pacific. (Even if that requires owning, say, a Japanese Playstation to power the software.) This copy of Mickey Mouse Legend of Illusion is a perfect example. You aren’t going to find a vintage, Kanji-inscribed Disney platformer—released on the Game Gear, no less—at your local Target or Game Stop. Thankfully the internet allows any amateur collector to buttress their video game index with some colorful imports.
An out-of-this world film
Did you know there’s a whole economy built around NASA relics? The detritus from the Apollo missions always carry a ton of interest in the auction circuit; the closer the pieces came to the surface of the moon, the higher the price tag tends to be. This piece of film isn’t quite as rare as, say, an interstellar rock. But it did touch down in the Sea of Tranquility in 1969, and is highly coveted among collectors, which is why it’ll cost you a pretty penny. That alone makes it a hot commodity for anyone that grows wistful on a crisp starry night.
A cult wine with a rich backstory
Prisoner Wine (opens in a new window)
Prisoner Wine prides itself on its network of grape growers across California. Since 2000 the company has redefined the red blend, and today theirs is the most recognized and respected. But that’s not all! Today Prisoner Wine is bottling off-kilter Chardonnay, Charbono, and Pinot Noir that continue to subvert the wine hegemony. We at VICE love the stuff—we took a trip to their winery in early 2019, and have been fanatical members of its growing cult ever since! For this special friend who has everything, you can pick up one bottle or a few, and sit back as they tell the story of how Prisoner is inspired by the wines first made by the Italian immigrants who originally settled in Napa Valley. If a bottle or three won’t do, there’s a Prisoner Club subscription that sends out three unique bottles, four times a year, which promises to keep even the most seasoned sommelier on their toes. What’s more, if you buy now through 12:59AM PDT on December 31 via their website, you can get 15% off by using code THIRSTY15 at checkout! Shipping included!
Tell the legend of a legend
Original drawing (opens in a new window)
Ramona Fradon is one of the first women to ever work in comic books, and it’s honestly a steal that you can still purchase her pencil drawings of, say, Batgirl for $80 on a website she works with to sell her wares. It’s rare to simultaneously own a great piece of art and an indelible piece of history at a bargain. Fradon, now in her 90s, is also available for commission, if you think the dilettantes on your shopping list want something a bit more personalized (and you know they do).
A classic album that’s now classic rock
Nirvana 'Nevermind' (opens in a new window)
Nevermind is officially in its golden years. After 30 years, Nirvana has transformed from an insurgent pop-cultural force to the preferred soundtrack of aging Gen X dads—so honestly, it’s a testament to the record’s timelessness that it still sounds just as weighty and raw multiple generations later. This anniversary box set is the definitive love letter to the grunge era, complete with eight LPs, including multiple complete concerts from the legendary Nevermind tour, and a 40-page hardcover book. Nirvana is finally getting the Beatles treatment. Pulling out all the albums and recounting stories of when music changed will keep your special friend talking for quite some time.
A reason to really nerd out
Krayt Dragon (opens in a new window)
In A New Hope, C-3PO wanders the sweltering dunes of Tatooine with the skeleton of a foreboding, ancient behemoth in the background. It was immaculate worldbuilding—one of the many, many reasons the Star Wars universe seduced so many kids in the late ’70s—and today you can purchase a fragment of the set dressing for a modest fee. The Lucas estate never packed up the remains of the Krayt dragon when they filmed the movie in Tunisia, so the locals started sifting through the dust and selling the pieces to eager tourists. One man’s trash, another man’s treasure. What a story!
My coffee > your coffee
Coffee from Around the World Subscription (opens in a new window)
An Atlas Coffee Club membership promises fresh roasts from all around the world delivered directly to your doorstep. Are you tired of the same Trader Joe’s curation over and over again? Wake up with an import from Kenya, put on your best barista hat, and wax poetic on all the flavor notes and complex tannins in your mug. We all deserve a little pretension, every once in a while.
The future meets the past
José Delbo NFT (opens in a new window)
Like Ramona Fradon, José Delbo is a legendary comic book artist who’s breathed life into some of DC’s most iconic characters. Today, at the age of 87, he’s pivoted to NFTs—proof the auteur is still just as curious about new horizons as he was in his prime years. The digital realm has allowed Delbo to experiment with a vast array of styles and animations that would never be possible in physical pages. With an NFT bearing his watermark, you own an artifact from an artist’s unprecedented late-career renaissance. An opportunity to talk a legend and NFTs? You just gave the best gift ever to your friend who likes to spin a yarn.
