2022 Holiday Gift Guide

For some people, the “holiday season” begins as soon as the Halloween candy leaves store shelves. Others hold out for Thanksgiving or December 1, or maybe they don’t subscribe to the idea at all (no judgement). But no matter where you fall on that spectrum, I think we can all agree that holiday shopping is firmly underway — the hundreds of Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber weekend/Cyber Monday emails clogging all of our inboxes make that pretty clear. And so as we all try to find the perfect gift for everyone on our lists, we present to you our third annual Preservationist Gift Guide, a non-sponsored list of a few things we think would make excellent gifts for all the history nerds, old house lovers, and preservation people in your life.

Become a League VIP: Did you know memberships to your favorite nonprofits make great gifts? Of course you did. Buy a gift membership or make a tribute gift in someone’s name (just leave a note letting us know who it’s for!). We also encourage you to find your local preservation nonprofit and support them as well. Your support really does make preservation possible!

Cheap Old Houses "American Tour" Limited Edition Tee: 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this t-shirt go to support the Kingston City Land Bank, which helps rehab vacant or distressed historic homes into affordable housing. Supply on this style is limited, so be sure to browse the full Cheap Old Houses shop!

Monument Lab’s Audit Bundle: The National Monument Audit, produced by Monument Lab in partnership with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, “assesses the current monument landscape across the United States.” The bundle includes a tote bag along with the Audit, which includes data collected from every US state and territory and focuses on a study set of approximately 50,000 conventional monuments.

Carnegie Mansion Plush: A good gift should be a little bit whimsical, something that a person wouldn’t necessarily buy for themselves, but would nevertheless be delighted to own. We think this pillow in the shape of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum fits the bill.

Wildlife Garden Birdhouse and Feeder: From the MoMa Design Store, “Designed in Sweden through a collaboration with ornithological experts, the Wildlife Garden Bird House and Feeder houses hungry chicks in the spring, feeds flighted birds through the autumn and winter, and pleases people all year round with its rustic-yet-minimalist look.”

Saguaro Cactus Paint by Number Kit: Who doesn’t love Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic designs? Now you can recreate his Saguaro Forms and Cactus Flowers design with this paint by numbers kit from Buffalo’s Martin House museum store.

Tenement Museum Tea Towel: We firmly believe that a nice tea towel is always a good gift, and the Tenement Museum has one of our favorite gift shops. How can you go wrong?

No Condos shirt by HEAVYSLIME: A t-shirt emblazoned with a sentiment I think all preservationists can agree on. Created by Philadelphia-based artist Eric Kenney.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore gift certificate: Find your local ReStore and see if they offer gift certificates — shopping at a ReStore is a great way to support a good cause, and a perfect place to pick up all sorts of vintage furniture, fixtures, and other decor that is sure to be a hit with all of the historic homeowners in your life.

Coffee Table Books: A few suggestions for books that will look good sitting on display and be worth picking up to read: Walk with Me: New York by Susan Kaufman; Architectural Styles: A Visual Guide by Margaret Fletcher and Robbie Polley; The Women Who Changed Architecture by Jan Cigliano Hartman and Amale Andraos; Black Lives 1900: W.E.B. Du Bois at the Paris Exposition with a foreword by David Adjaye and introductions by Jacqueline Francis and Stephen G Hall.

And other books to read: To get ahead on a few upcoming Preservation Book Club selections, pick up Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange; Gentrification Is Inevitable and Other Lies by Leslie Kern; The World We Make by N. K. Jemisin; and Mid-Century Modernism and the American Body: Race, Gender, and the Politics of Power in Design by Kristina Wilson. And for all of our book recommendations, you can visit our Bookshop.org page!

Need more suggestions? Check out our 2020 and 2021 gift guides!