If Jesus is your homeboy, you can share a bit of religious flair this holiday season without offending any Christian on your list. The Minimal Nativity Set is a contemporary take on the bible-based scene, employing beech wood or brass blocks inscribed with each scene member’s name (Donkey, Joseph, Baby Jesus, etc.) to stand in for the traditional figurines. Created by French artist and designer Émilie Voirin, the blocks still represent the story and take place around the crib, but the characters have no skin color or features, leaving it up to people’s imagination and personal beliefs.

More on the Minimal Nativity Set

There’s nothing worse than grabbing your favorite necklace just to realize that its chain is in a knot that would take you all day to detangle. Or when you reach for your favorite earrings to find one has gone missing. Know an absent-minded jewelry lover like this? Get them the Arbor Jewelry Stand this holiday season. Not only is it functional, but we love the avian inspiration that designer Zoë Mowat infused into the piece.

Read more

Here’s a gift that both parents and children will get a kick out of. The Chalk Ware Metropolis chalk set contains eight custom-carved chalk pieces shaped like houses, skyscrapers, and everything in between. They don’t resemble the buildings of a particular city, so they’re perfect for your cousin in NYC or your aunt in Chattanooga. The fun pieces can be used as decorative objects on a mantle, and if mom or dad is feeling generous, the youngsters can take them and create their own works of art on the sidewalk or the chalkboard wall.

More on Chalk Ware

Do you have a friend who, year after year, promises that they’ll work harder and exercise more? Pedal Power‘s kick-ass Big Rig exer-desk might be exactly what they need to stick with those new year’s resolutions. This cool desk is totally “off-grid” and has the potential to generate up to 100 watts of electricity for one motivated user. And because it’s modeled off an actual high-performance bike, it features an ergonomic seat for comfort, quick adjustments for different riders, a flywheel to smooth pedaling, and a wide range of gearing—meaning your giftee could easily go from tubby to Tour de France cyclist before the new year’s close.

Find out more about the bike here

There are fewer things more annoying than waiting for a friend or family member as they frantically search for their keys. Help them in their hunt (and preserve your sanity) by gifting them a Tile this holiday. This simple but brilliant device takes the mystery out of finding one’s most important belongings and takes advantage of something we all have: a smartphone.

How it works

We were recently introduced to the term “lumbersexual,” used to describe a rising trend among males who, though they may spend no time outdoors at all, prefer to dress like upscale lumberjacks (think red flannels, stylish lace-up boots, and jeans) and buy woodsy, handcrafted goods. Does this sound like a guy you know who lives in Williamsburg or Bushwick? Well then we have the perfect rustic holiday gift for him–or anyone on your list who likes locally-made goods and cool kitchen supplies.

Made by Brooklyn Butcher Blocks, iBlock serves double duty as a cutting board and tablet holder, so you can read your recipe (or watch Netflix) while chopping veggies. It’s also reversible; the raised back that holds the tablet keeps the board flush to the edge of the counter.

Learn more about iBlock

If you’ve got someone on your gift list that’s overworked, under-caffeinated and looking for a better way to get their fix (this is New York, after all), look no further than Wacaco’s Minipresso as the perfect present. This portable hand-held device is a godsend for those who frequently need a boost but don’t have the time to wait in long coffee shop lines—or simply for those with a more discerning taste for the finer grounds in life.

More on this cool high-caf design here

Candles are probably the easiest, most common holiday gift when you just don’t have a clue what to get someone. But after several years of giving the same old candle, it gets a little boring. So we’ve found the perfect outside-the-box candle for architecture buffs, tech nerds, or anyone who will love an attractive eco-candle.

The AU Collection by artist and designer Andrej Urem is a series of 3D-printed candles inspired by architectural forms. And they’re made right here in Brooklyn.

More on the AU Collection

Sure, we’d all love to be able to give our fungus-loving friends a nice, big truffle for the holidays (or even this $1 million beauty), but that’s not really the most economical gift idea. So to cure our mushroom cravings, we’ve found the next best thing.

The Oyster Mushroom Log from Williams-Sonoma is a hardwood log pre-inoculated with oyster mushroom spores. Just keep it damp and stored in a dark place, and the delicious mushrooms will sprout every two months for up to three years.

More on the culinary gift here