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DECEMBER 2, 2024|RETAIL & ECOMMERCE


The Non-Obvious 2024 Holiday Gift Guide: Ideas 1 - 3


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This week in my blog posts, I’m following an annual tradition of sharing some ideas for non-obvious gifts this holiday season. These are a combination of products introduced this year and previously launched products that I felt had some relevance for right now. The things we buy often reflect the times in which we live, and so I hope you find my picks below to be both useful and insightful.

This holiday season, enjoy your time with family and friends and amidst the temptation to indulge in buying things you may or may not “need,” remember to be kind to one another and take time to appreciate the most human gift of time with those you love.

  1. The Book - A Guide to Rebuilding Civilization
The Non-Obvious 2024 Holiday Gift Guide: Rebuild civilization

If the world ended tomorrow, how would we rebuild society? This book has the answer across 400 painstakingly illustrated pages compiled by a group of scientists and experts who spent over 5000 hours creating this book. At a time when doomsday scenarios are all around us, perhaps it’s no surprise that the book described as a “beautiful encyclopedia of incredible inventions and discoveries throughout human history“ has sold more than 80,000 units in under a year.

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2. Firefly Petunia Glow-in-the-Dark Houseplants

Genetically engineered plants are here and this is one of the most popular and fun early entrants into the field … glow in the dark petunias. “Their subtle glow offers a backdrop for meditation, reflection, or simply a moment of tranquility,” as the website promises. They aren’t quite shipping yet, but now’s the perfect time to get your order in so you’ll be among the first to get one in the Spring when they ship.

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3. Ciselier Fennek Kitchen Scissors

The Non-Obvious 2024 Holiday Gift Guide: Ideas 1

It may seem odd to describe scissors as legendary, but in this case the tagline definitely applies. Luxury scissormakers Ciselier partnered with Fennek, “a little-known, but highly respected Premanese scissormaking shop.” The scissors include a bone notch, bottle opener and high-quality construction that will quickly make it your favorite kitchen tool and a memorable gift this holiday season too.

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How It All Started

A Short Backstory Of This Blog

This is a blog about non-obvious ideas. Originally launched on the Typepad platform in 2005 as the Influential Marketing blog, the stories at first focused mainly on digital marketing while Rohit worked at Ogilvy Advertising. In 2015 Rohit officially rebranded to the Non-Obvious Insights Blog and published his WSJ bestseller Non-Obvious. For the past twenty one years, this blog has coined new terms, introduced future marketing practices and inspired the next generation of non-obvious thinkers and marketers.

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