November 25, 2024

Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers

If you’re stuck on what to get the tween in your life, contributor Youngna Park talked to over a dozen tween boys and tween girls about the things they actually wanted. Sam, 11, from New Orleans, recommends some Ouai pomade to add some texture and hold to your hair. “It’s a hard-hold gel, but it’s really soft and it smells good.” Meanwhile, Nell, 10, based in San Francisco, recommends the “crème de la crème” of slime” — it contains a tiny baby axolotl.  

Also on the site: Singer-songwriter/New Pornographer Neko Case told us about the archaeology pen she learned about from her archaeologist parents (“there’s no flow that’s nicer than that of a Rapidograph pen”), and I’m delighted by the fact she still uses an iPod; tech writer Jordan McMahon wrote about how he can’t put down the new Meta Quest 3S; and here are some of the best secret Santa gifts under $25. 

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Illustration: Brian Scagnelli

“At its worst, and most often,” Erin Schwartz writes, a gag gift “is funny for the five seconds after you open it, then you spend half a year evaluating whether your annoyance outweighs the guilt you’d feel throwing it out.”