Mini Gift Guide

Humorous Gifts For Your Funniest Friends

Shopping for the various people in our lives can be overwhelming. Everyone is different and there are just so many potentially great gifts to choose from. We've got most of your buying covered in our Holiday Gift Guides, and for what we didn't cover: mini gift guides like this one! These minis will be targeted lists specific to all the unique people in our lives. From the dad-type jokesters to the zany daredevils to the witty intellectuals, here are some suggestions for all your funny friends.

Goofy and Good-Natured

You don't have to be a dad to love a good corny joke. If you're buying for someone (maybe it is your dad) whose wisecracks generally elicit groans along with laughs, here are some gifts to consider:

• Dear Luke We Need to Talk: What if Darth Vader had made his big revelation to Luke in a handwritten note? John Moe's riotously funny collection imagines what it might have said along with all the other imagined correspondences from your favorite pop culture icons.
• Complete Peanuts Collection Vol. 1, 1950–1952: Schroeder, Lucy, and Linus as infants? And Snoopy as a puppy? Even diehard fans of Charles M. Schultz's seminal comic strip might not have seen these early installments.
• Wacky Waving Inflatable Tube Guy: Finally, the joyous dancing tube man—who's been featured everywhere from Ricky Martin's stage to Broad City—is available in a tiny, desk-friendly size.
• Happy Little Accidents: Bob Ross is known for painting happy clouds, mountains, and trees. This delightful package culls his wit and wisdom into a guide to help you relax, unwind, and get inspired.
• Airplane!: "I am serious . . . and don't call me Shirley." This is dumb humor at its cleverest. Over forty years after it hit theaters, the ultimate disaster parody doesn't disappoint.

Literary Wit

Who said cerebral types couldn't be funny? These humorous gifts will appeal to your high-brow, bookish buddies.

• Shakespeare Insult Generator: From apish bald-pated abomination to obscene rump-fed hornbeast, this entertaining flip book will provide the perfect insult for any literary smackdown.
• What Would Jane Do?: Give your favorite Jane Austen fan the gift of her wit and wisdom. This pocket-sized collection of quotes offers the perfect quip for every situation.
• Harry Potter Screaming Mandrake: Perfect for fans of the Wizarding World, this replica of the unforgettable mandrake root squawks just like the one in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
• Hark! A Vagrant: An uproarious romp through history and literature seen through the sharp, contemporary lens of New Yorker cartoonist and comics sensation Kate Beaton. No era or tome emerges unscathed.
• Groundhog Day: Okay, this movie isn't directly tied to literature, but the uproarious film about a cynical TV weatherman who's stuck repeating the same day over and over again gets our vote for its literary qualities.

Sly and Sardonic

You know those people who are just too clever for their own good? They're quick-witted and sharp. Here are a few smartly funny things they just might like.

• The Onion Book of Known Knowledge: Just in time for the death of the print industry, comes the final book ever published, and the only one you will ever need: The Onion's compendium of all things known.
• Live from New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests: When young Lorne Michaels talked NBC executives into taking a chance on a new weekend late-night comedy series, nobody really knew what to expect. Here's what happened.
• Golden Girls Finger Puppets: Fans of the groundbreaking 80s sitcom about four South Florida seniors sharing a house will enjoy reenacting favorite scenes with these stylized finger puppets.
• Me Talk Pretty One Day: Humorist David Sedaris has published more than a dozen hilarious essay collections and we love them all, but this one is still our favorite.
• This is Spinal Tap: Rob Reiner's side-splitting mockumentary about a British Rock Group's disastrous U.S. concert tour spawned an entire genre.

Wild and Crazy

Our most irreverent and outrageous friends specialize in humor that shocks us even as it cracks us up. Here are some suggestions for those life-of-the party types.

• The Swear Word Coloring Book: Immerse yourself in the calming activity of coloring, while embracing the therapeutic experience of swearing like a sailor.
• Where the Wild Moms Are: In Katie Blackburn's hilarious, touching homage to Maurice Sendak's beloved classic, a frazzled mom finds herself transported to a magical realm where she reconnects with her inner party girl.
• Mini Air Horn: Ready to get the party started? Emphasize the genius point you just made? Cheer someone on? Bring the party anywhere with the Mini Air Horn!
• The Complete Far Side: Gary Larson's twisted, irreverent genius is on full display in this collection of every Far Side cartoon ever syndicated (over 4,000!). Complaints, fan letters, and queries from readers appear alongside some of the more provocative panels.
• The Jerk: We're still crowing at Steve Martin's rollicking 1979 portrayal of a naive fool who's surprised when he learns he was adopted by his Black parents.

Oddball Eccentrics

These quirky gift suggestions are perfect for people whose humor runs a little left of center.

• Priestdaddy: Patricia Lockwood's laugh-out-loud memoir depicts her family's zany household, headed up by her father, a singularly unusual Catholic priest.
• Hyperbole and a Half: From stories about her cognitively impaired dog to surprisingly hilarious accounts of depressive episodes, Allie Brosh's graphic memoir is like nothing else.
• Talking Pickle Rick: Fans of the odd animated series, Rick and Morty, will delight in this talking collectible figure from season three of the series. For other fan fave items, check out our recent post about the show.
• Let's Pretend This Never Happened: Jenny Lawson's youthful dreams of fitting in were undercut by a morbidly eccentric childhood. But her gaspingly funny memoir is the silver lining.
• Raising Arizona: Several of the Coen Brothers' peculiar comedies would fit the bill for this category, but we're partial to their third movie about an odd couple—a career criminal and a policewoman—who decide to kidnap a baby when they can't have one of their own.

Budding Comedians

Do you know someone with dreams of becoming a standup comedian? These accounts from successful comedy stars could offer insights (or at the very least, a lot of laughs).

• Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life: In the mid-1970s, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up. In 1981 he quit forever. Here's his story about how he got started and why he stopped.
• Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life: In a series of heartfelt and hilarious letters penned to her young daughters, Ali Wong covers everything they need to know in life.
• Born a Crime: Trevor Noah's searingly funny memoir mines the depths of growing up in South Africa as the outcome of an illicit union between a Black mother and white father.
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns): Mindy Kaling invites readers on a riotous tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood.
• A Very Punchable Face: In this collection of comedic essays, SNL head writer Colin Jost shares a wide range of his life experiences that may surprise and confuse you.
• Bossypants: Spirited and whip-smart, Tina Fey shares laugh-out-loud anecdotes from her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her life as a mother eating things off the floor.

The holiday season is upon us. And if you're already feeling overwhelmed about gift shopping, never fear. This is just the first in a series of gift guides to help you find the perfect thing for everyone on your list. Let us know in the comments who you're still shopping for.

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Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon