Gear Up for Virtual Holiday Games with Creative Gifts
Welcome to Part 2 of our 2021 museum gift guide, full of ideas for holiday gifts or fun prizes for virtual holiday games. Part 1 of the guide featured adorable games and outrageous art.
Now, the ideal gift for fans of fun is a Watson Adventures gift card. They’re good toward any of our virtual scavenger hunts and trivia games, either for the public or for private groups, as well as in-person hunts where available! For those who prefer stuff, your friendly Watson Adventures museum experts have scoured museum gift shops around the country for these 11 weird and wonderful gift ideas.
Just Guts and Stuff
When you want to straddle the line between morbid and amusing, the Mutter Museum is always a good bet. The famed museum of medical oddities offers an adorable I Heart Guts! and Giant Microbes line of plushes. The kindey, lungs, and eyeball are especially cute—but if you gift someone a stuffed brain cell, be prepared for them to take it the wrong way. Mütter Museum at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, prices vary
Hang Up Some History
Give a gift of history with these Historymakers Ornaments. Now you can deck the halls with such pioneers as actress Anna May Wong, world traveler Nellie Bly, and Vice President Kamala Harris. Fortunately for the Alexander Hamilton ornament, there is no Aaron Burr ornament to ruin his holidays. New-York Historical Society, $16 to $20
No. Just…No.
Make a statement with this Seattle Art Museum exclusive “NO” tote bag. Are you ready for 2022? Are you excited for yet another Covid variant? Wanna grab a drink sometime? The answer is right there on the bag. SAM, $19
Optical Spill-usion
For the beverage minder in your life, consider this set of six optical illusion coasters. Because what you really want when setting down a glass of wine is a coaster that does its best to trick your eye and break your brain. (Maybe pair this gift with a roll of paper towels.) Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, $18
Handy to Have Around
Now here’s a handsome gift! This handmade wooden Pinch Clip will help you get a handle on just about anything you need clipped. Unruly papers, a bag of potato chips, whatever! Brooklyn Museum, $30
Schlep, Jane, Schlep
See Dick schmooze. See Jane schlep. Learn Yiddish with Dick and Jane. In this parody of the classic Dick and Jane series, the iconic pair are all grown up and have jobs, family, and plenty more to kvetch about. Who can’t relate to that around the holidays? Tenement Museum, $16
Pants-Impressionism
Let us con-Vincent you to purchase these Starry Night satin pajama pants. They’re snazzy, comfy, and just the thing to help you Van Gogh to sleep and dream sweet, sweet dreams of not being very successful until after you’re dead. Cleveland Museum of Art, $55
Deck the Halls
Speaking of that wacky one-eared ginger, let him and 49 other artists guide your life with this Art Oracles tarot deck. Each card features distinctive art, biographical info, and wisdom inspired by such artists as Frida Kahlo and Paul Gauguin. Perez Art Museum Miami, $17
Mobbed-Up Moonshine
For the adults on your shopping list, or to enjoy a sneaky tipple yourself, the Las Vegas Mob Museum boasts its own line of moonshine. Because of course it does! These speakeasy specials come in cinnamon, ginger-infused, and classic corn whiskey varieties. Mob Museum, $7 to $25
What Is It With Hands Today?
Whether or not you get everyone liquored up, they’ll get a kick out of this delightfully crass Middle Finger Candle. As the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s website says, this hyper-detailed wax hand expresses it all: “your mood, your opinion, or even your view of life.” And if that middle finger is a bit much, opt for the friendlier Victory / Peace Candle Hand. MCA Chicago, $40
LEGO My Statue
And last but not least, the award for most shockingly priced item on this list goes to…this $500 LEGO Oscar set! Designed by famed LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya, this 14-inch-high Oscar recreation is available only through the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. How did roughly 350 yellow and black LEGO bricks come to be worth half a grand? That’s movie magic, bay-beee! Academy Museum, FIVE HUNDRED AMERICAN DOLLARS!
Join Virtual Holiday Games
Contact us to learn more about our virtual holiday games: the new Puzzled for the Holidays Virtual Mystery Game, the Joy Around the World Virtual Scavenger Hunt, and the trivia-filled ‘Tis the Season for a Fun Virtual Holiday Game.
~
Image credits: Lead image Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash; all gift images via their respective museums