I have three things to recommend:
1. The Barbie movie. Perhaps you have heard of it! If it seems like it could remotely be your thing (I did not like Barbie as a child, and yet the movie was still very much my thing), I suggest seeing it in a theater, because I think it is fun to have been part of a huge cultural event/reference, and this seems like a huge cultural event/reference, and I think you will be glad to be able to say you saw it in the theater.
2. Trader Joe’s dried mandarin oranges. They don’t look as good as they taste. I need to mention, though, that although I went absolutely wild for them and am going to buy like six bags the next time I’m there (our Trader Joe’s is about 40 minutes away, so it’s a rare visit), I made three family members try them, and none of those family members liked them at all. It was baffling to me. I also love the Trader Joe’s dried orange slices, which are a different flavor: bitter along with the sweet, because you eat the peel. But the mandarins are so tart and sweet, and not as pithy as they look like they’d be! Why didn’t anyone else like them?
3. The book Shark Heart, by Emily Habeck (Target link, Amazon link—but I recommend getting it from the library).
(image from Target.com)
It’s an ODD BOOK, and it is the kind of odd that sometimes I like and sometimes I can’t tolerate. This time it was the kind I really liked. I think it would make a fun gift, because the recipient would read aloud the flap description and everyone would say “whaaaaaaaaaa,” and that would be some Gift Value right there, even if they didn’t end up liking the book!
Yes! I loved Shark Heart so much that I bought a copy and can’t stop thinking about it, I will read it again.
I remember you also liked Little Weirds by Jenny Slate which I also loved and I feel like (although the books are very different) that if you liked Little Weirds you will likely like Shark Heart too, I had a similar feeling reading them.
Little Weirds is: I was talking to (dude) who was going on and on about me too and how his secret is that he listens to woman and while I was listening my head fell off and rolled away and he is probably still talking now?
I liked little weirds. And I use that imperfect paraphrase A LOT.
I was just bulking up my library hold list! Added.
I expected to love the Barbie movie, and I ended up loving it even MORE than I expected. I’ve been recommending it to pretty much everyone I know.
I’m adding the dried mandarins to my list of things to buy next time I’m in the US.
My teenage daughter REALLY REALLY wanted to see Barbie, and I thought it looked fun so we went, and we both loved it. Seeing it with a teenage daughter (I actually have two of those – the other wasn’t bothered) seemed like the optimal experience, to be honest. I laughed and I cried and most of all I felt SEEN. I don’t think a film has ever made me feel so seen.
I went to Barbie with expectations of enjoying it a decent amount and I LOVED IT. I laughed and cried the entire time. I took my almost13 and almost16 year old children who are both very Aware of gender equality and identity issues (one is gay and gender fluid and the other is pansexual) and they also both LOVED it. It is doing so many magical things we all talk about it regularly. It’s just perfect. Sigh. Might go watch it again.
I should add none of us are big Barbie People. Definitely not a requirement.
Love dried mandarins! Sometimes they have them at Costco, too.
I thought of your recommendations today, because I was in World Market and they had the Bonne Maman advent calendar! I had set a reminder to get that for my mother this year, and now it’s all taken care of.
Pink lady from Grease?
We loved the quality of the mouse ears and tails we got through this site: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NaomiPlattDesigns?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=595594958&search_query=Costume
You could be a storybook mouse (Country Mouse? City Mouse?) with the gingham dress, ears and tail, and maybe an apron.
Since you work in a library, how about dressing up as a character from a (children’s) book? I’m thinking along the lines of Alice in Wonderland, Pippi Longstocking, Little Red Ridinghood, Laura Ingalls, Harry Potter/Hermione Granger, the Very Hungry Caterpillar etc.
oh, so sorry, I commented on the wrong post! This should have gone under your Halloween-post. Sigh.
Lots to love about the Barbie movie! America Ferrera’s monologue about what it’s like to be a woman, FOR ONE! And, THE COSTUMES, were so fun and on point.