In this edition of The Gift, we have a little fun with gifts for grown-ups who maybe … don’t want to grow up. Plus: a very cheeky ceramic, perfume that looks like candy, and what to give a long-distance bestie.

A few months ago, my boyfriend’s niece made a confession to me about her upcoming birthday. “I don’t want to turn 11,” she said softly.

She was anxious, her grandmom later told me, that getting older might mean she could no longer play with dolls. Her grandmom, however, had a living rejoinder. “Well, look at your uncle, he always wanted to stay being a kid, and he still has toys.”

To be fair, her uncle (that would be my boyfriend) is a fully functioning adult. He owns a house, pays taxes, wears pants when it’s cold, and makes sure his daughter gets to school on time. But that house, tidy as it is, is also adorned with many toy figurines—on the fireplace mantle, credenzas, and almost any other flat surface.

My boyfriend is what I call an “adult kid.” I’m sure you know a few, too—the folks who haven’t let the dreary grind of grown-up jobs and responsibilities suppress their unbridled joie de vivre.

For his last birthday, I got him the ultimate adult-kid gift: custom Funko Pop figurines in the likeness of him, his daughter, and me. I was cracking up the whole time I designed those bobbleheads on their website, choosing hair styles and accessories for each of us. There’s just something inherently funny about creating a toy version of you and your loved ones, which is perhaps why it’s one of Wirecutter’s most popular gifts.

After they unwrapped them, I’m not sure who was more thrilled: the 47-year-old man or his 9-year-old daughter.

When it comes to gifting for grown-ups, we often forget that silly can be more exhilarating than serious. A really nice sweater or handsome housewares are, of course, unassailable, but it’s pretty hard to beat connecting with the pure joy of someone’s inner kid.

Here are some of my favorite gifts that do just that:

• Help your loved ones rediscover a childlike wonder for the natural world with the wildlife-tracking Fahlo journey bracelets. Staff writer Hannah Frye and her mother both adore theirs. Fahlo partners with conservation groups that tag animals, like sea turtles and red wolves with transmitters, and each bracelet comes with a QR code to follow one via its app. Some even send photos along the way.
• My niece is insistent that my youngest brother is actually a kid (even though he’s a 39-year-old data analyst). He loves building Rolife miniature craft kits, and when he was working on this adorable but labor-intensive greenhouse, my tween cousin was totally enthralled. The more beginner-friendly coffee shop would also be a fun project for anyone who once enjoyed Lego sets, dollhouses, or both.
• For a Halloween-esque chowdown with much better chocolate, this powder-blue cooler packed with Japanese Kit Kats is a literal bundle of fun. It features 60 colorfully wrapped mini bars in 20 unique flavors, like Amaou strawberry.
• On a more aromatic note, this fragrance discovery set from Maison Matine looks like candies wrapped in twists of boldly colorful, patterned paper. It evokes the fun fashion anarchy of kids dressing themselves (purple rainboots and a rainbow tulle skirt on a trike—why not?), but with chic perfumes made in Paris and Chartres. Editorial director Lauren Sullivan says she’s obsessed with their mild-but-intoxicating scents and riotous designs.

Your loved one need not be a goof to enjoy any of these gifts. Those custom Funko Pop figurines are a reader favorite across our site. As for my boyfriend’s niece, her 11th birthday came and went, and she discovered that she doesn’t have to give up her toys—just like her uncle.

All the best gifts for grown-ups that don’t want to grow up→

In this edition of The Gift, we have a little fun with gifts for grown-ups who maybe … don’t want to grow up. Plus: a very cheeky ceramic, perfume that looks like candy, and what to give a long-distance bestie.

A few months ago, my boyfriend’s niece made a confession to me about her upcoming birthday. “I don’t want to turn 11,” she said softly.

She was anxious, her grandmom later told me, that getting older might mean she could no longer play with dolls. Her grandmom, however, had a living rejoinder. “Well, look at your uncle, he always wanted to stay being a kid, and he still has toys.”

To be fair, her uncle (that would be my boyfriend) is a fully functioning adult. He owns a house, pays taxes, wears pants when it’s cold, and makes sure his daughter gets to school on time. But that house, tidy as it is, is also adorned with many toy figurines—on the fireplace mantle, credenzas, and almost any other flat surface.

My boyfriend is what I call an “adult kid.” I’m sure you know a few, too—the folks who haven’t let the dreary grind of grown-up jobs and responsibilities suppress their unbridled joie de vivre.

For his last birthday, I got him the ultimate adult-kid gift: custom Funko Pop figurines in the likeness of him, his daughter, and me. I was cracking up the whole time I designed those bobbleheads on their website, choosing hair styles and accessories for each of us. There’s just something inherently funny about creating a toy version of you and your loved ones, which is perhaps why it’s one of Wirecutter’s most popular gifts.

After they unwrapped them, I’m not sure who was more thrilled: the 47-year-old man or his 9-year-old daughter.

When it comes to gifting for grown-ups, we often forget that silly can be more exhilarating than serious. A really nice sweater or handsome housewares are, of course, unassailable, but it’s pretty hard to beat connecting with the pure joy of someone’s inner kid.

Here are some of my favorite gifts that do just that:

• Help your loved ones rediscover a childlike wonder for the natural world with the wildlife-tracking Fahlo journey bracelets. Staff writer Hannah Frye and her mother both adore theirs. Fahlo partners with conservation groups that tag animals, like sea turtles and red wolves with transmitters, and each bracelet comes with a QR code to follow one via its app. Some even send photos along the way.
• My niece is insistent that my youngest brother is actually a kid (even though he’s a 39-year-old data analyst). He loves building Rolife miniature craft kits, and when he was working on this adorable but labor-intensive greenhouse, my tween cousin was totally enthralled. The more beginner-friendly coffee shop would also be a fun project for anyone who once enjoyed Lego sets, dollhouses, or both.
• For a Halloween-esque chowdown with much better chocolate, this powder-blue cooler packed with Japanese Kit Kats is a literal bundle of fun. It features 60 colorfully wrapped mini bars in 20 unique flavors, like Amaou strawberry.
• On a more aromatic note, this fragrance discovery set from Maison Matine looks like candies wrapped in twists of boldly colorful, patterned paper. It evokes the fun fashion anarchy of kids dressing themselves (purple rainboots and a rainbow tulle skirt on a trike—why not?), but with chic perfumes made in Paris and Chartres. Editorial director Lauren Sullivan says she’s obsessed with their mild-but-intoxicating scents and riotous designs.

Your loved one need not be a goof to enjoy any of these gifts. Those custom Funko Pop figurines are a reader favorite across our site. As for my boyfriend’s niece, her 11th birthday came and went, and she discovered that she doesn’t have to give up her toys—just like her uncle.

All the best gifts for grown-ups that don’t want to grow up→