SUPERPPOD 2021 – The new word game in town – Extremely last minute gift ideas
...and other recs this week
Kia ora and congratulations on making it to the final Rec Room of 2021.
We are now a mere three sleeps from Christmas Day itself, and if you still haven’t fulfilled all your gift-buying obligations you may be feeling a little bit under the pump. All the thoughtful gift guides published in the last couple of months are of little use now you have to do all your shopping in your half hour lunch break on Christmas Eve Eve. Now is the time for extremely last minute gift ideas – at least, that’s what I’ve asked the room for this week. Scroll down if you’re in need of some inspiration.
Meri Kirihimete, thanks for reading and see you in 2022.
–Cal
New this week on The Spinoff Podcast Network
Hosted by Gone By Lunchtime’s Toby Manhire and featuring representatives from The Real Pod, The Fold, Nē? and Dietary Requirements, SUPERPOD 2021 is the crossover podcast event we’ve been waiting all year for. Relive the highs and lows and heroes and villains of the longest, shortest year in living memory.
On a similar but more specific note, The Real Pod [Apple | Spotify] this week looked back on all the reality TV we’ve watched in 2021 – and there’s been a lot!
On When the Facts Change [Apple | Spotify], Bernard Hickey looked at the social discount rate, an obscure but important figure the government has been calculating wrong for decades.
And cricket podcast The Offspin [Apple | Spotify] returned for the podcast equivalent of a testimonial match for the Black Caps’ historically good year.
Follow wherever you get your pods – thanks for listening!
Wordle
We need to talk about Wordle, aka probably the most Rec Roomable thing that’s happened all year. If you’re not already addicted, it’s a daily word puzzle where you get six goes at guessing a five-letter word. If you get a letter right the tile goes yellow, and if that letter is in the right spot the tile goes green. It’s very fun and satisfying and there’s only one puzzle a day, which at first seemed annoying but I now think is actually a huge part of the appeal. Make it daily activity this holidays.
Sentimental in the City
Charlotte says: “In celebration of the chaotic return of Sex and the City, I recommend listening to Sentimental in the City, which was released earlier this year as a mini series within Dolly Alderton and Caroline O'Donaghue’s podcast Sentimental Garbage. Each episode takes an enthusiastic deep dive into a different season of the original series, with the hosts (both of whom are writers and Carrie Bradshaw superfans) providing a funny, clever and at times intensely profound expression of love for the show. Though Sex and the City is often belittled, and has attracted plenty of deserved criticism, the podcast is an argument for the importance of devoted and adoring fandom.”
A summer playlist
Chris says: “I recommend going through Metacritic’s best albums of the year list and putting all the music that sounds like it might be for you into a brand new summer playlist to listen to over the holidays. Some of it might not land but at least you can feel smug in the knowledge that you gave everything the critics recommended at least one decent spin. (You can also do the same for movies and TV shows that you missed but that is probably too many lists and it's the holidays so this shouldn't feel like homework.)”
🎁 A summer read
Sam says: “If you have a reader or semi-reader in your life, I can recommend no book higher than Rebecca Reilly’s Greta & Valdin. Reilly captures a modern, urban New Zealand perfectly, and her writing has a breezy lightness without sacrificing any complexity or intelligence. It’s the sort of book I can’t imagine a single person disliking. (Read Anna Rawhiti-Connell’s review of it on The Spinoff here.)”
🎁 A scented candle
Sam says: “I wholeheartedly recommend the gift of a simple scented candle. Unfairly stigmatised as a thoughtless last-minute gift, a scented candle improves pretty much every indoor situation by at least 30%. While you should absolutely buy locally-made if you can (Kokomo, Miller Road, Aroha Candles), you also can’t go wrong with a good Glass House, Jo Malone or Ashley & Co candle as well.
🎁 Fly spray
Jane says: “Last-minute is the only way I know how to buy for our family Secret Santa. Last year I got the budget's worth of Instant Kiwi scratchies and they were the hottest property in the Stealing Santa game. This year I've gone less moonshot and more killshot with an automated fly spray dispenser, an extra can of spray and an analogue fly swat (for those rogue flies seemingly immune to spray). You can pick them up in your grocery shop so no need to make an extra trip to the mall.”
[A note to non-Aucklanders: Not sure what the fly situation is where you live but they are absolutely out of control in Auckland at the moment. I would be happy to receive this gift.]
🎁 The art of regifting
Sophie says: “I think regifting is an extremely underrated practice. It’s a great way to get rid of things you aren’t using and give them new life in a (maybe) new home, and it’s very freeing financially and mentally – as long as you avoid accidentally regifting to the original gifter.”
One last thing… Wear sunscreen
Mad says: “I recommend wearing sunscreen every day. If you are an adult who doesn’t at the very least wear face sunscreen every day, you are actually not an adult. The sun in this country is some of the harshest in the world and there’s no such thing as being someone who “just doesn’t burn”. If you’re going to the beach or out for activities, sunscreen everywhere. If not, still protect your precious face. Don’t make the same mistake every year and think it’ll be different this time. The sun is everyone’s bad ex: it will never change, and thinking it will only leads to you getting burned.”
[I’ll just shoehorn this in here: The story behind Baz Luhrmann’s viral hit ‘Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)’ is one of my favourite podcast episodes of all time.]
OK, that’s all we’ve got time for this year. Please reply to get in touch and share with anyone else who might like to subscribe too. See you in 2022 👋
