Pandemic-perfect presents for Olympia area procrastinators

There’s a meme out there that illustrates an appropriate gift for 2020:

The photo shows rolls and rolls of toilet paper, each neatly and individually wrapped. The caption proclaims, “I finished wrapping the Christmas presents for this year.”

Of course, even this year — when you have plenty of other things to worry about and are presumably seeing a lot fewer people — buying the right gift is never that easy, especially if you’ve waited this long to start shopping.

Here are some more or less local gift ideas to help hasten the hunt:

• Kits for kids. Hands On Children’s Museum’s Curiosity Kits — art and science projects to go — might be just the thing for young ones who are tired of staring at screens. Gnome in Your Home and Holiday Science are among the offerings, which include options suitable for ages 3-12.

You can buy the kits ($30-$45) online and pick them up between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily through Dec. 23 at the museum store, 414 Jefferson St. NE, Olympia. (The store is open for browsing, too, even though the museum is closed.) Shipping and local delivery are available, too.

• Kits for grown-ups. For adults who are getting sick of staying home, how about a cocktail kit from the Gig Harbor-based Heritage Distilling Co.? Sadly, the Santa, Please Bring Mimosas kit is sold out, but you can choose from loads of other options, including the Winter White kit, which includes vanilla vodka, cocoa mix and a snowman tea towel. Kits cost $14.50-$155. It’s too late for delivery by Christmas, but if someone knows there’s a Drunken Pumpkin kit — based on the cocktail that’s a TikTok sensation — on the way, you might get away with the late arrival.

If you need it by the Dec. 25 and you’re up for a road trip, some kits can be purchased at the distillery’s waterfront store, 3118 Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor; call 253-300-5179 for details. If you’re looking for a safe and sober gift, the distillery’s hand sanitizer is also available both online and in the store.

• Elf slippers. The Olympian has mentioned these fun and cozy slippers by Shari Trnka in previous gift guides. They’re practical, they’re environmentally conscious (because they’re upcycled from old sweaters) and they let you dress like an elf. And this year, they might be more essential than ever, because your slippers might be wearing out given how much time you’ve been wearing them. (You have been staying home, right? Santa knows if you’ve been bad or good.)

You may be able to get them at the Olympia Farmers Market, 700 Capitol Way N., where vendors will be selling gifts and more from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 22-24 for last-minute shopping. Or order them at http://sharitrnka.com.

• Commemorative 2020 dumpster fire ornaments. This one is at the end of the article, because once you learn that you can buy a 2020 dumpster-fire ornament, are you going to get anyone on your list anything else?

Lisa Dyvig of Olympia is selling the ornaments — and a couple of music-themed ones, too — through her online shop, Alto Clef Gifts. A violist with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra, Dyvig started the business to sell swag designed for her fellow viola players and has since expanded her offerings to appeal to other classical musicians, who read their music on other clefs.

She didn’t design the dumpster-fire ornament ($11) herself, she told The Olympian. But she gets credit for recognizing that the image would make a very funny ornament for a very strange year and for adapting the design to work with a laser cutter. Locals aren’t guaranteed to get their ornaments by Dec. 25, but honestly, isn’t it going to be even more fun to put this on your tree next year?

This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 5:45 AM.