8 Very Practical Gifts That Are Unexpectedly Great
In this edition of The Gift, we’re talking about the very best practical gifts — that are anything but boring, actually.
I am not what one might call a “practical” person. I live in a fifth-floor walk-up apartment — with a dog. (It gets great light, okay?) When I decided I wanted to run my first race, I signed up not for a 5K, but for a half-marathon. I own not one, but three, of Wirecutter’s most opulent gifts and have gifted many more. I relish in life’s decidedly unpractical, at times irresponsible, delights with abandon. (I am, obviously, a Sagittarius.)
Gift-giving is a space we’ve collectively carved out to say, “Hello, this is beautiful. Please have it for no other reason than being born.” And sullying that with something practical (a six-pack of white socks, a gas-station gift card, an extra charger) has always seemed sacrilegious to me.
But after a weekslong informal survey of Wirecutter’s most practical gift givers and receivers, I’m realizing I’ve perhaps had this all wrong. A practical gift may be the highest form of gifting there is.
My colleagues were quick to gush about all the useful things they’ve received from loved ones — many of which they’ve kept and used for years. It might be unassuming: A screwdriver, for example, does not elicit the oohs and ahhs that something sparkly might. But a practical gift done right is something so functional, so durable, so perfectly suited to your recipient’s life, they find themselves using it and exalting it time and time again. “Oh, this? It was actually a gift, believe it or not.”
Here are a few of the best practical gifts my colleagues have ever received:
