What do you get the Houstonian who has everything? If your friend or family member isn’t being cooperative with a wish list and you hate the impersonality of gift cards, here are a few outside-the-box suggestions to help wrap up your holiday shopping.
We all know Houston is a great food town—one finally getting respect from the culinary intelligentsia. A gift card to one of the city’s hot new restaurants is always an option. But if you want something a little more fun to unwrap, consider a cookbook from local celebrity chefs Hugo Ortega (Street Food of Mexico) or Chris Shepherd (Cook Like a Local with co-author Kaitlyn Goalen). For the meat lovers, the beloved couple behind Feges BBQ, Patrick Feges and Erin Smith, have packaged up multiple rubs and sauces to help spice up your next cookout.
A lot of folks are more about experiences these days than something that arrives from Amazon. Lucky for us, Houston is not short on experiential spots, and many offer annual memberships. The animal lover on your list might love a membership to the Houston Zoo, home to more than 6,000 animals and preparing to open the Galapagos Islands immersive exhibit in early 2023. The zoo also offers incredible up-close animal encounters. Thousands of works of art stretching from antiquity to the modern era are on display across the three-building Sarofim Campus of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (it would take several visits to see the complete permanent collection, not including the always changing temporary exhibits). The Houston Museum of Natural Science, Space Center Houston and Holocaust Museum Houston are just a few other museums that offer memberships.
That superfan on your list still high on the Astros’ World Series win? Head to the Astros Team Store at Minute Maid Park for ballcaps, t-shirts, jerseys and other paraphernalia for the hometown team. If you can’t get downtown, Academy, Dick’s Sporting Goods and other sports stores also have you covered. But it’s a big year for a lot of fans so get there before supplies run out! You can also purchase a tour of Minute Maid Park to get a behind-the-scenes look at where the Astros won the title. Toyota Center and NRG Park also offer stadium tours.
All the world’s a stage, but theater tickets can easily fit in a stocking. Consider gifting an upcoming show staged by one of the city’s many performing arts organizations. Broadway at the Hobby Center is bringing Jesus Christ Superstar and Moulin Rouge! The Musical to Houston early next year. Theater Under the Stars is staging Chicago, Legally Blonde and Rent in coming months and Main Street Theater is producing avant garde plays such as Permanent Collection and The Oldest Boy. Be sure to check out upcoming shows at The Alley Theatre and Stages as well.
How well do the gift recipients on your list really know Houston? Would they like to understand the city and its history a bit more? The team at Architecture Center Houston offers weekend walking and bicycle tours of some of the city’s most interesting neighborhoods, from Montrose to the Heights. Other tours offer insight on public art, downtown skyscrapers and more. Different operators offer Segway tours of the city as well as a double-decker bus tour and don’t forget about the Buffalo Bayou Cistern which regularly features dynamic site-specific art installations.
Houston has no shortage extremely talented people and some of the best hawk their wares at ultra-local shops and craft markets. You’ll find unique handmade gifts such as jewelry, candles and Houston-centric screen-prints at Space Montrose. Kuhl-Linscomb has books by local authors and other merchandise for the H-Town lover like the pillow below. Keep your eyes peeled as well for the many craft markets popping up around town this season stocked with goodies from local vendors.
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