Every single year since we started Overthinking It in 2008, I have struggled to write a dependent clause with the exact number of words necessary to link to all the previous year’s holiday gift guides and struggled, too, to find a new angle with which to introduce this one.

In my ninth anniversary (!) post at the start of this year, I introduced our newest motto: “We have smarter fun together.” And in my mind, our annual holiday gift guides—ignoring entirely other sites’ gift guides, which are cynical cash-grabs and desparate attempts by the sputtering publishing industry to diversify its revenue streams—our holiday gift guides actually are “smarter fun together.” We hope the toys and such are delightful, that our recommendations are enjoyable and diverting, and that you can share some cool stuff with the smart, funny friends in your life, and support us through the magic of affiliate marketing.

For what it’s worth, we have a blast writing these—we toss around ideas in our Slack, and we try to outdo each other with outlandish recommendations and lavish descriptions. We hope you like them too! Thanks so much for another year of reading, listening, watching, and supporting (you can use our Amazon Link all year). It’s the greatest holiday gift I can imagine to have a community like ours.

The Guides