33 Best Secret Santa Gifts of 2025
With unparalleled opacity, pigment, and gloss, these watercolors are the best we’ve found for all manner of amateur artists.
Anyone with an interest in making their own art — like Samantha — might appreciate the Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors set, made by a 117-year-old sumi-ink manufacturer in Nara, Japan. For the novice painter, watercolor is a great medium: Abstract prints and washes are relatively easy to do, and the aspiring artist can master more-difficult techniques as their ambitions allow. Plus, this set is reasonably priced, compact, and nontoxic. The paint, with colors inspired by nature, easily alights on paper with a buttery-smooth glide, and it dries with a slightly shiny finish.
We love finding gifts that are unusual, thoughtful, and well vetted. See even more gift ideas we recommend.
Dorie Chevlen contributed reporting. This article was edited by Hannah Morrill and Jennifer Hunter.
