Stress less, smile more. It just so happens we’ve got the gift you’re looking for. Whether it’s Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Last-Minute Gift-Giving Panic Time, Watson Adventures scavenger hunt gift certificates are the perfect, memory-making gift for Grandpa Joe, Niece Susie, and everyone in between.
In the meantime, we spend so much time in museums—and museum gift shops—we can’t help but notice their bizarre, amazing, sometimes even useful gifts. Check out nine of our favorite (or least favorite) gift0shop gifts of 2016.
Dining in the Surreal World
You ever see a Dali painting full of melting clocks and stilt-legged monstrosities and think, “I bet that guy can cook”? Here’s your chance to find out, with the first-ever reprint of Salvador Dali’s appropriately outrageous 1973 cookbook, Les Diners de Gala. As you can imagine, things get weird…and that’s before you reach the chapter devoted entirely to aphrodisiacs. Les Diners de Gala, de Young and Legion of Honor museums, $60
Watch Out
We love us an artful timepiece, and the High Museum of Art offers a doozy of a watch this year. Meet the Bradley Watch, or as we like to call it, the Darth Vader Pinball Watch. See, the little ball bearing in the middle goes around to tell you the time, and…and then another on the, uh, outside of the watch does the same. So if you admire the watch from several angles, and also figure out which is the minute ball and which the hour ball, you can eventually tell the time. On second thought, maybe using this watch is why Darth Vader was so mad all the time. Bradley Watch, High Museum, $335
Spectacular Spectacles
For anyone who has ever wanted to look like Thomas Jefferson but with more of a hipstery, toolish vibe, Colonial Williamsburg brings you the Jefferson Sunglasses. And for anyone who has ever wanted to drive themselves insane trying to function in a light-refracted funhouse nightmare world, the New Museum presents Holes Kaleidoscope Glasses. Jefferson Sunglasses, Colonial Williamsburg, $15; Kaleidoscope Glasses, New Museum, $100
Kid Stuff
Uh, so these are a thing. They’re called Zolo Beanstax, an appropriately gibberish name, and they’re toys, apparently. For children. Children stack them. We don’t understand them, and we’re a little scared of them, which means children will probably love them. Zolo Beanstax, Met Museum, $40
Very Punny, Guys
If you or a loved one likes sheep-based puns—or just the one pun, really—then the Art Institute of Chicago has you covered. They have gone all-in on this “Baah, Humbug” sheep character. It’s on ornaments, pillows, and a throw. If someone in your life seems like the sort to spend the holidays snuggled up with a $100+ depiction of a non-plussed farm animal in a weird bell-covered choke collar, then don’t feel sheepish about giving this gift. See? That’s another one. Feel free to use it next year, Art Institute. Baah Humbug pillow & throw set, AIC, $150
Mind Your Manners
Anyone who has ever used the New York City subway, or any public transit, or a sidewalk, or even just been in public before, can relate to pretty much anything in the New York Transit Museum’s Etiquette Store. In today’s fractious world, we could all do with helpful reminders to be kinder to each other, and also to not spit wherever we want like disgusting animals. Ahem.
I’m Sorry, You Want How Much for That?
Not content to send you home with culture and a $5 magnet, museum gift shops aim for the high end where they can. LACMA takes the cake this year with their Ultra-Explosion Cuff with Madeira Citrines, by designer Lisa Eisner. This glorious metal pincushion thing comes studded with tiny little gems that boast the color and roughly equivalent visual appeal of burned oranges. And all for the unassailably reasonable price of $3,940. Happy holidays! Ultra-Explosion Cuff, LACMA, many dollars…so, so many dollars
Honorable Mention
The early contender for coolest art gift in 2017 comes not from a museum gift shop, but a Japanese toy company. This super-poseable action figure version of Munch’s The Scream is available now to preorder, so get a terrifying early jump on next year’s shopping!
Give the Gift of Adventure…or Treat Yourself
Learn more about Watson Adventures scavenger hunt gift certificates, good for public scavenger hunts in seven cities and for private group scavenger hunts anywhere.
Visit the Public Scavenger Hunt schedule to find upcoming scavenger hunts in seven cities around the country. To ask us about arranging a team building activity, such as a corporate scavenger hunt, contact us online or at 877-946-4868, extension 111.
More Fun and Where to Find It
Check out the rest of the blog for fun stuff (like a look at mythological Fantastic Beasts and where we found them) and useful tips for planning private and corporate events. And while you’re at it, find us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@watsonhunts)!