an analog, low-tech gift guide
not without an internal debate on gift guide culture
I’ve never been a gift guide girly, but I’ve been searching high and low for some low-tech, analog gift ideas to send to my family for inspiration this year. Instead of letting my research go to waste, I rounded up all my finds for you friendly folks.
Before I dive in, I want to have a quick aside on “gift guide culture.”
I’ve been following along with some of the recent gift guide discourse that’s been happening. I can truly see both sides of the argument. The fact is social media is making us poor. We see more things, then we want more things. Monkey see, monkey want. It’s human nature. There have been seasons of my life that neither I, nor my bank account, could truly handle seeing another gift guide, another sponsored post, another "swipe up” or “link in bio.”
Yet, when I do really take a minute to look at gift guides, specifically, I find them a little more innocuous.
Gift guides are typically thoughtfully curated, feature small businesses, and actually help people find very unique and specific gifts. Gift giving can be hard! You want to show your friends and family that you care about them, but in today’s world, anyone can buy whatever they need/want. It’s become a bit more complicated to find something “special.”
And who has the time? While I’d absolutely love to go to local stores and shop small for everyone, I frankly just don’t have the bandwidth in this season of life. I’m grateful to the gift guides I used so far this year. The folks who curated them spent the time to help me find something unique so I didn’t have to just Google “gift for dads” and “gifts for sporty teens.”
So, do I lament kicking an influencer a teeny tiny commission for a product that I actually find useful? No. They worked hard! I’m happy to support small businesses (influencers are business owners too) in this economy.
Do I have this perspective because I made a gift guide? Who knows. Maybe. Full disclosure, maybe half of my gift guide items do have affiliate links. The rest do not, they are just plain ole URLs. Double full disclosure, I’ve made a whopping $17.49 total from affiliate links in the past year.
All of this to say, if you’re anti-gift guide this year (and you’ve gotten this far), I get it. If you’re having a low-spend holiday this year, I totally respect it, and I’ve been there too. This essay isn’t for you, but here’s one from Reject Niche that is more up your alley.
An analog, low-tech gift guide
I do love the word analog, but, let’s be honest, we overuse it. I also love luddite, but really, if you’re reading this on Substack, you’re not a luddite. At the rate tech is progressing though, I may fully be one by 2045. Actually, I might just put that on my vision board.
While year one of “breaking free from the internet” was more about quitting social media and scrolling less, year two is squarely about filling my life with more things offline. Last year, I read a lot, but I’ve also been flirting with needlepoint and daydreaming about learning to quilt (says the woman who doesn’t know how to sew a button).
Beyond my hobbies, I’ve really been focusing on our family life having better supports to be low-tech, as my children start to grow. They’re not yet at the “can I get a phone?” stage, but the richer our home life is, I’m hoping the further that question gets pushed.
So, that’s what you’ll see here. The things on my wish list that are helping me to build the life I’m dreaming of. Maybe they’ll help you too.
Music, without the distractions
How badly are you yearning for an old school iPod? I, for one, dream about it constantly. My kids are also starting to really get into discovering music and the sweetest nighttime dance parties. For me, I’ve been eyeing the pricey, but classic 1. Sony Walkman or the more affordable 2. Be Mighty Screenless Spotify Player— tiny and cute, perfect to take along on walks or around the house when my phone is tucked away.
For our family, I love the idea of a 3. Portable CD player and 4. Boombox. My local library still has CDs we can check out (plus, CDs are having a comeback!). My brother-in-law is Gen-Z (who according to WSJ is into retro tech), and I think he’d love the 5. Syltren Desktop/Portable CD player that I’ve been seeing everywhere.
The 90’s are calling. Landlines baby.
We’re about to have a big change in our family — we’re getting a landline baby! 2012 me would get a good kick out of my utter excitement. My kids are about to be at an age where they’ll be yearning to connect with their friends outside of school, and I want to give them that ability without opening them up to the risks of having a smartphone. It’s also due time that they learn to call 911.
We’ve been on the waitlist for a 1. Tin Can for a couple months and it finally arrives in December. We’re lucky to go to a school that is a part of Wait until 8th, and we’ve been encouraging our community to get Tin Cans for their families too.
Tin Can isn’t your only option. You can get a simple WiFi landline (just do a quick online search to find the best provider) and get a 2. basic landline or 3. go retro.
Hobby starter kits
When you quit scrolling, you absolutely have to have something else to fill your time or you will regress. As I mentioned, I’ve gotten really into needlepoint, but there are so many fun ways to learn a hobby (without YouTube). Personally, I think the best gift would be an in-person community class if that’s an option where you live, but if not you can find great hobby kits online like these: 1. Knit Kit, 2. Needlepoint Kit (this is the kit I got to start, and I can’t say enough great things about it), 3. Painting Kit, and 4. Pottery Kit.
Cameras don’t require screens!
I love taking iPhone photos. I actually don’t want to know how many pictures are saved in the cloud because I’m certain it’s an exorbitant amount. The tech keeps getting better, and I’m so grateful to not only have these memories for myself, but to send to family members that live far away so they can stay connected to our family.
That being said, I’m often in places or at events where I simply want to tuck my phone away, but I’d still love to take a few quick snaps. Top of my wish list this year is a new, screen-free camera option. I’m still weighing what will work best. Should I get the newest 1. Instax so I can print the pictures out (my kids would love this)? Or try out the screen-free 3. Camp Snap Pro (and its partner 2. Camp Snap Digital Video Camera). I’ve also been eyeing the simplicity of the 4. Analog Disposable Camera, which sends the pictures straight to your phone.
Wake up without the temptation to scroll
One of the worst phone habits you can have is reaching for your phone first thing in the morning. The second worst phone habit you can have is scrolling to fall asleep. Kill two birds with one stone — leave your phone in another room and replace your phone alarm with an actual alarm clock. I’m a little eager for this 1. Habity one to launch next year, but in the meantime I have my eye on 2. Loftie (the lamp is tempting too!) Want to keep it extra simple? All you need is the 3. alarm.
IRL Gaming
My in-laws are gaming people, and by gaming people I mean we play every board game and card game known to man when we go to their house. We play games I never knew existed and some games I’m pretty sure they just made up. The best part? No one even notices that we aren’t on our phones. I’m working to instill that same spirit in my family, so we’ve got lots of new board games coming our way this holiday. My favorites are the classics: Clue, Scrabble, and Sorry. My in-laws are big fans of Catan. I heard great things about Ticket to Ride for the kids, and you can never, ever go wrong with a pack of cards.
Ad-free entertainment
As Shelby so aptly put it, there’s no better entertainment option out there right now than ad-free books. Books are always on the top of my list for holiday shopping, and 2025 has been a banner year for fiction publishing. Some of my favorites this year? The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, How About Now, Wreck, and my god, Heart the Lover. My husband devoured the new Dan Brown, The Secret of Secrets and reread Project Hail Mary in anticipation of its upcoming Ryan Gosling film. Non-fiction more your style? The Let Them Theory is making its rounds. My favorite non-fiction books to gift are The Anxious Generation and Stolen Focus — two books that totally changed my life.
You know how it goes this time of year, the Black Friday sales are starting earlier and earlier and a lot of these things are already on sale or will be soon. This year, for the first time ever, I am actually already 90% done with my shopping and saving the rest for next week’s sales. Essentially, I’m manifesting a relaxing and cheerful December.
I hope this can help you take one more thing off your to-do list this year. Cheers to less scrolling and more embracing the joys that come with the holidays.
Love these ideas! I want to get a landline now haha