Morning Brew - ☕️Wrap it up

TOGETHER WITH

Good afternoon, and welcome back to your regular Sidekick programming. I hope you took the weekend to recover from your Thanksgiving food coma, the overflow of Black Friday emails, and the disappearance of the Utah monolith.

— Rachel Cantor

P.S. Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Hot Topic

Giphy

If you’re the type of person who never forgets a friend’s birthday, then you’ve likely finished all your holiday shopping already and made it to level two of the gift game: wrapping. There’s an art and science to it, or so I’ve learned from watching origami gift wrapping videos on Instagram. Since many of us won’t be able to give gifts in person this holiday season, here’s how to make your gift stand out:

Transform an ordinary gifting experience into something special with UNWRP—a Black and female-owned business that offers sustainable gift wrapping options in striking prints, designed by artists all over the world.
You know when you’re in the middle of wrapping a gift and it doesn’t look like you have enough wrapping paper? Heartbreaking. Instead of grabbing more wrapping paper, try this life-changing trick.
The best ways to wrap any and all gifts, according to a professional gift wrapper.

Or you can put your gift in a shopping bag and call it a day—no judgment.

Brain Food

Read

For all the cruciverbalists (cool word, huh?) who live for that hit of dopamine from completing the NYT Daily Mini, take a look at representation in crossword puzzles.
Whether or not you know how to properly hold chopsticks, you should be aware that they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
When you find yourself using The Joy of Cooking as a laptop stand instead of as a cookbook, you’re experiencing cooking burnout.
The tradition of sharing something you’re grateful for at the Thanksgiving dinner table can sometimes feel forced and cheesy, but it’s a good practice. Here are some expert-approved methods to find the positives when life just sucks.

Listen

Caity Krone’s playlist is great for a long workday or for a long thought-provoking drive. Think Taylor Swift meets Simon & Garfunkel meets Fleetwood Mac.
Miley’s new album might be the best one yet.
Just when you thought 2020 couldn’t get any weirder, Rashida Jones and Bill Gates now have a podcast together answering life’s big questions. They’re my new favorite duo.

Watch

Try Nyesha Arrington’s grown-up version of chicken tenders with crispy “shatter batter.”
These mesmerizing time-lapses show how much your houseplants grow in a day.
How to With John Wilson is a wonderfully hilarious masterpiece. We need a season 2 stat.

Good Eats

Arx0nt / Getty Images

Spread a double layer of this vegan nutella on some toast for a sweet start to your morning.

Or, better yet, just spoon it out of the jar.

Sponsored by Market House™

You’re bacon us crazy.

Lol, we’re pretty proud to be the first person to make that joke. Feels good to be on the cutting edge of language.

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Hoof it over to this here website to get 20% off your order (and remember FREE BACON).

Try It, Buy It

Try It

Reflect: Make your 2021 better than 2020 with a personal annual review blueprint.
Play: Go down a rabbit hole of optical illusions.
Burn: This is the most cathartic thing on the internet right now.

Buy It

Donate: Press pause on your holiday shopping. Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, and here are a few organizations to consider supporting.
A guide to nonprofits helping out during the coronavirus crisis.

Ways to help fight food insecurity and support local restaurants.
Purchase the Serving New York cookbook—a collection of recipes from NYC’s best restaurants with 100% of the profits supporting a restaurant relief fund.
Make a contribution to one of your favorite local nonprofits.

“A clue a clue”: Blue’s Clues host Steve Burns is selling his open concept Williamsburg home.
Cyber Monday: You can use this Thanksgiving season to support and strengthen Native American communities. If you’re shopping online today, be sure to check out these seven Native-owned brands.

Sidekick's 2020 Gift Guide

Will Varner

While you’re spending your Sunday afternoon catching up on The Bachelor, the budding chef in your life is reorganizing their spice drawer.

In the 2020 Sidekick Holiday Gift Guide, I hand-selected the best gifts for an ambitious home cook. You can check them out here.

P.S. In the extremely rare case that none of these gifts interest you (it won’t happen), email sidekick@morningbrew.com with some deets about your giftee, and I will hand-select a few gift options.

Eye Candy

Minjin Kang

Minjin Kang’s collection, Somewhere in the World, is a meditation on light, darkness, and all the hues in between.

Giveaway

You're almost at the bottom of today’s edition of Sidekick. Enjoying yourself? About to tell your friends they should sign up?

Before you share the newsletter, wait. There could be some pretty sweet gear in it for you.

Last chance to enter the Sidekick launch giveaway

When you share Sidekick using your unique link, you’ll be entered to win one of 10 pairs of Bose QuietComfort® Earbuds. And 1 referral = 1 ticket, so the more you share, the greater chance you have of securing audio bliss.

This (U.S. only) giveaway ends tonight (11/30) at 11pm ET.

Share to win.

I’m currently on page 75 (of 205) of the Shopbop Cyber Monday sale. What’s in your shopping cart today? I’ll see you on Thursday, hopefully with some snazzy acrylic hoop earrings.

Your internet Sidekick,
Rachel

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Morning Brew - ☕️Wrap it up

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