The 2025 Museum Gift Guide Is Here!
The holidays are here, which means the gift-giving season is upon us. Beyond giving the gift of a Watson Adventures gift card (to turn their favorite museums into a game board), our annual holiday gift guide offers awesome options for the museum lovers on your list.
While running in-person scavenger hunts and virtual games at museums all over the U.S., we’ve scoured museum gift shops to find unique, and occasionally absurd, museum gift ideas. And each purchase supports a beloved cultural institution, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York or the Getty Center in Los Angeles. So take a look at these 20 fun and unusual gift ideas from museum gift shops.
Come On, Barbie, Let’s Go Art-y
As if you she wasn’t already a star, here comes the Museum of Modern Art’s Barbie x Vincent Van Gogh doll. Draped in a gown featuring The Starry Night, this Barbie is even more of a work of art than usual. Amazing to think that the famously destitute Van Gogh couldn’t have come close to being able to afford this Barbie in his lifetime. MoMA Design Store, $160
Dino Duds
Don’t even think about calling this Cretaceous Cardigan an ugly sweater! It’s soft, it’s warm, and most importantly, it’s paleo-accurate. Or as paleo-accurate as a cardigan depicting cartoony dinosaur fossils can be, and that’s good enough for us. Science Museum of Minnesota, $70
Poppin’ Bubbles on the Tree
No big deal, just the Greek goddess of love chillin’ with some bubble gum on your Christmas tree. This bubble gum classical bust ornament is one in a series of quirky, artsy ornaments from Cody Foster. They’re all pretty cool…except maybe that creepy star one… Minneapolis Institute of Art, $20
Tasty Insects
Got an adventurous eater on your gifting list? Then these Roasted Cricket Snacks are just the thing to tickle their taste buds. Flavors are selling fast, but as of this posting you can still choose from sundried tomato basil, Indian Curry, and mango habanero. Open wide! Houston Museum of Natural Science, $8
Ear Today, Gone Tomorrow
Hey, listen! We heard you like fun stocking stuffers. So ‘ere’s an idea: the Earaser! We could wax poetic about how much we lobe it, or you could just buy it already. Newark Museum of Art, $6
Shine a Little Light
Light up our life with this happy little Cordless Smiley Lightbulb. It’s cordless, rechargeable, portable, and beyond cute. What else do you need? ICA Boston, $40
We Love Lamp
Inspired by the New York Historical’s astounding gallery of Tiffany Lamps, one of the largest such collections in the world, this Louis C. Tiffany peony mini lamp would be a bright spot on anyone’s Christmas tree. If peony isn’t your favorite, the museum offers a handful of other miniature lamp ornaments to choose from. NY History Store, $65
Is It Fashion?
It’s whimsical! It’s cheeky! It’s…literally just a hat that says “Butter” on it! Brought to you by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, this madcap cap is guaranteed to amuse your friends and mildly confuse everyone else who so much as glances at you. Alternatively, if a Butter Hat seems a tad too peculiar, you might consider a much more staid French Fries Hat. SFMoMA, $34
For the Clumsy Chef
Yes, Chef! Ow, Chef! If someone in your life has a habit of chopping veggies a little too carelessly or forgetting to don oven mitts before grabbing hot pots and pans, then this Kitchen Accidents dish towel might just save their lives. Or at least help them deal with their endless parade of boo-boos, anyway. The Exploratorium, $13
What’s On Your Wallet?
No animals or Fruits of the Loom were harmed in the making of this vegan-leather “Home of the World’s Largest Underwear” wallet. Brought to you by the weirdly wonderful City Museum in St. Louis, this tighty-whitie wallet pays homage to its (much) bigger namesake, on display at the museum. City Museum, $17
Part of Your World
If onesies are your thing, you’ll love this Manta Ray adult onesie from the Georgia Aquarium. Sure, onesies are usually reserved for costume parties, but we dare you to actually wear this thing to an aquarium or beach near you. We double dogfsh dare you! Georgia Aquarium, $85
I Don’t Feel So Great
True to the museum’s reputation as a repository for bizarre and grotesque medical oddities, the Mütter Museum’s gift shop always offers an array of truly out-there gifts for the not-so-faint of heart. This year, gift a unsuspecting friend, loved one, or White Elephant recipient such dreadful (and huggable?) ailments as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Lyme Disease! Mütter Museum, $12
Caffeinated Kitty
On the off-chance the cat lover in your life doesn’t already own a lifetime supply of cat-themed knickknacks, mostly supplied by friends and loved ones for whom cat-themed knickknacks are always convenient and easy fallback gifts, consider this adorable Orange Tabby Cat Mug. It’s like the cat is coming alive! And the restraint it took the designer to not make the tail a mug handle is really something. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, $22
Pillow Talk
Sass a friend or loved one, or adorn your couch with a soft self-own, with this “Mama Tried” hook pillow. Mama dun tried to raise y’all right. But did she succeed? Country Museum Hall of Fame and Museum, $60
Jaws Up
Do you, or does someone you know, like cute sharks and being dry? If so, this HMNS Sharks! umbrella will make a fine addition to the ol’ bumbershoot collection. Look at it, it’s just so darn happy to get rained on for you! Houston Museum of Natural Science, $17
No Ketchup!
If the umbrella wasn’t cute enough for you, chew on this Amuseables Hot Dog Plush from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Note that in compliance with Chicago law, this adorable dog comes adorned with mustard, and nary a drop of sugary red tomato slop in sight. MCA Store, $35
Dreidel? More Like Slay-del!
Brought together by New York Times bestselling author Tod Goldberg, Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir features 11 twisted tales of Hanukkah gone wrong. Available from the Jewish Museum in New Yok City, Eight Very Bad Nights features sinister tattoo artists, murderous children, mysterious murders, and one perilous Hanukkah dinner. Jewish Museum, $28
Time Is a Melting Circle
You know how it would be unnecessarily difficult to tell time based on those melting clocks in Salvador Dalí’s paintings? Now’s your chance to find out the hard way, thanks to this Salvador Dalí Melting Wall Clock. Move over, Doctor Who, because this thing truly is wibbly-wobbly and timey-wimey. Salvador Dalí Museum Official U.S. Store, $40
Feel Frida Take a Seat
If you know someone who really, really, really loves Frida Kahlo and, er, vibrant furniture, then this is your lucky day! This hand-embellished Frida chair embodies the artist’s distinctive style and bright colors in a riot of velvety comfort. It definitely earns the eye-watering price tag and the sizeable shipping fee. National Gallery of Art, $2,000
Relatable Man
Y’know, we used to think this sour puss was a little much. A wee bit over the top. But these days? *Gestures broadly at everything* Honestly, we get it now, The Vexed Man sculpture reproduction. We feel your pain. You are all of us.
Also, wouldn’t he be hilarious to put in the bathroom? Anyway, happy holidays! Getty Museum Store, $85
Find More Fun
Contact us to learn more about our in-person and virtual holiday games, including the Ho-Ho-Ho for the Holidays Scavenger Hunt, the Puzzled for the Holidays Virtual Mystery Game, the Joy Around the World Virtual Scavenger Hunt, and more.
Image credits: All product images via their respective museums