We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. A beginner's guide to calligraphy that is far more thorough and specific about technique and ink types than other versions, and will have you writing inspirational messages to your friends and drafting fancy invitations to your dog's birthday party in NO time.
Promising review: "I’ve tried several instructional books on hand lettering. This book is the best by far. I won’t say the names of the other books but suffice it to say they are all at the top of the list when you search for hand lettering. It is the only book that gives practice for the base strokes and also discusses posture and how to hold the pen and at what angle to the paper. It is also a lovely book to work with; nice art work/illustrations. I recommend this book to other beginners out there!" —Karen Rorick
Get it from Amazon for $19.99.
2. A beginner's sushi-making kit to let you take the fate of your rolls into your own hands by working with whatever ingredients you have on hand, so you can have hours of delicious sushi experimentation.
I'm definitely going to sushi jail for this, but I've started putting peanut butter in my avocado rolls. Don't knock it until you try it. Anyway, each kit comes with two sushi rolling mats, five pairs of chopsticks, a paddle, a spreader, and a PDF of instructions, including recipes for six popular rolls.
Promising review: "The entire Bamboo Sushi Kit is absolutely well made, easy to use, easy to clean, high-end restaurant quality, and durable. it was very nicely packaged, and instructions clear, in-depth and very easy to follow. No one (myself included) in my household has ever made sushi before but (thanks to the enclosed instructions), there were no issues making it. My daughter did an awesome job utilizing these products to make 'FISH-FREE SUSHI' with Pickled Ginger on top, was delectable! Loooooove it!" —Liza
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
3. The Reverse Coloring Book, a cult-favorite for anyone whose coloring book nights need a delightful shake up. Instead of adding the color to these, this teaches you to shake things up and free your artistic brain — sort of like a Rorschach test, but make it whimsical. Reviewers love the "mindlessness" of it allowing them to get into a stress-free flow.
Each book includes 50 pages of watercolor art for you to add lines, along with suggestions for what to add if you want a jumping off point. Bonus: the pages are perforated so you can easily tear them out and frame them!
Promising review: "Changed my life. So I get anxious doing the adult coloring books. This was so much fun and made me really think outside of the box. I'm not the best at drawing but I felt like I was when I was a kid doodling in my textbooks in school." —Carley C.
Get it from Amazon for $9.90.
(Psst — check out these cult-fave black fine point pens for $8.99 on Amazon for a good doodling option!)
4. A beginner's embroidery kit for adults, so you can have something soothing to do with your hands while you binge yet another podcast full of murder, murder, and a side of...well, murder. (At least now your stitching will be tighter than the main suspect's alibi!)
Each kit comes with a simple design, a cotton cloth, a bamboo embroidery hoop, a little scissor, colored threads, embroidery needles, and instructions, so you should be raring to go when it arrives!
Promising review: "I’ve never done anything like this before ... but I like to try new things, and I’ve just recently moved and wanted to decorate my house with some handmade decor. This kit is a great value for the price! It came with the hoop, more than enough thread, and two needles! The printed pattern is very clear and easy to follow, and the little sheet of instructions on what stitch to use and how to do it is clear enough (and anything I don’t understand I just watch a tutorial on YouTube). I’m about three hours into the project already and I didn’t want to put it down last night" —Abby
Get it from Amazon for $7.99 (available in three different patterns).
5. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, a classic cookbook so trusted and time-honored that it's now in its 30th anniversary edition. This features beloved standard and unique twists to Italian recipes designed for any reader to enjoy, whether they're a cooking newbie living alone or a seasoned chef feeding a full family. This book is truly an investment both in learning new cooking skills *and* delighting your palate for years to come.
Promising review: "Twenty-six years ago I bought a tiny paperback for my mother called Classic Italian Cooking. I thought to replace it with a new copy, only to learn it is out of print. So I looked a little further and discovered Essentials Of Classic Italian Cooking. This book has only been with me a couple of weeks, but already I have made six of the recipes and have dozens of others I want to try. Hazan doesn't just give you recipes — she gives us the spirit of Italian cooking. She shows us how to love the ingredients we are using and teaches us how to understand that putting them together as she does, we don't create a 'dish,' but rather, something we have put a bit of ourselves into, to share with those we care about. This is probably the best book we will ever have on Italian cooking. It sits on my shelf right next to The Joy Of Cooking. Don't buy this book, treasure it. It's that good." —Laura Anne Scaife
Get it from Amazon for $25.88.
6. Or an unofficial Disney Parks cookbook so you can learn to live your best Mickey Pretzel life without it costing an arm and a mouse ear to book plane flights and park tickets.
Promising review: "Beautiful hardcover cookbook with so many yummy Disney recipes from the parks! There is lots of Disney foodie history in it, plus recipes that look easy to follow with high quality ingredients. There are fun maps of each of the parks inside where the food is located from, which makes it fun. As an avid Disney fan I have never seen a cookbook like this." —Nicole
Get it from Amazon for $13.57.
7. Plus a magnetic air fryer cheat sheet to give you the confidence and know-how to experiment with juuuuust the right amount of reckless abandon, while knowing everything you stick in there will still come out safe to eat.
Promising review: "Bought an air fryer several months ago which I haven't used a whole lot because it came with only a few recipes but not enough info on other items to cook. The Lotteli cheat sheet gives you cooking times and temperatures for a lot of your common everyday foods in a magnetized easy-to-read, two-sheet combo that fills in where air fryer pamphlet that came with the unit leaves out. I also bought an air fryer cook book but this only comes with specific recipes, whereas the cheat sheet fills in the void for quick basic needs. Very happy with this purchase! 😁" —B. Frank Smith
Get it from Amazon for $7.99 (available in two colors).
8. A set of cat-themed tarot cards purrrfect for first-timers, complete with a guide on how to pull the cards and how to interpret them. You'll be doing readings for everyone from yourself to your BFF to your actual cat by the end of the week.
Promising review: "I'm new to tarot, so I grabbed some cute looking cards that promised a guidebook. I love the artwork that the artist has done and I like their take on some of the cards. Helps the meaning stick a bit more (at least in my semi cat obsessed mind). All the cards have a lot of detail to them. I've shown three major arcana and four minor arcana cards that have come up in my readings and the cards made it easy to 'get it' when I read the meanings and have studied the card meanings outside of this guide book. Would definitely recommend for the artwork alone and as a good starter deck for anyone interested in learning tarot." —Averey
Get it from Amazon for $17.90.
9. A mushroom growing kit for beginners that teaches you how to grow right there in the packaging, so you can add some sweet, sweet umami flavors to new dishes by sautéing, roasting, or air frying them up.
Back To The Roots is a California-based small business founded by two college friends that specializes in indoor gardening kits with a mission to reconnect families to food.
Psst — if you have not put mushrooms in your air fryer, my friend, you have not yet lived the full human experience. Also this growing kit comes with some recipes to get you started!
Promising review: "This product has been so much fun to watch! I followed the directions, exactly as written, and the mushrooms began growing within 3–4 days. I will say that I did soak them for close to 10 hours before putting them back in the box to grow and I believe this helped a ton. I also kept the box inside by a window with the blinds closed in order for them to get indirect sunlight. The mushrooms grew tremendously for almost a week before they started to shrink so I clipped them to cook with and they were DELICIOUS!" —Steph A
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in two varieties).
10. Or a beginner-friendly Click & Grow Indoor Herb Garden Kit, which is basically a ~smart garden~ you can grow right in your kitchen window, thanks to the handy LED grow lights that keep your plants thriving no matter how gloomy outside gets. Plus, this is truly choose-your-own-adventure — you can select grow pods for cilantro, basil, lavender, wild strawberries, thyme, chili peppers, and more.
Each Click & Grow kit comes with three basil pods to start you off, and you can check out the full selection of grow pods for more options!
Promising review: "The Click & Grow Smart Garden is very easy to set up and has fairly minimal upkeep. Place pods in, fill up with water and turn on light. The lettuce has grown exceptionally well. My grandkids love to check it out when they come to visit. I am considering gifting Click and Grow Smart Gardens to them. It is straightforward and sets you up to be a successful gardener no matter your experience level. I wanted to grow some herbs and vegetables in the winter. I love the Click & Grow!" —Kbaumg
Get it from Amazon for $80.55+ (available in three colors).
11. Plus a bonsai starter kit to help you grow not one, but *four* bonsai trees, so they can create their own squad goals when you perch them in every corner of your bedroom.
Each kit includes four types of organic seeds (Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine, Black Poui, Norway Spruce, and Flame Tree), four biodegradable growing pots, four expanding-soil discs, four bamboo plant markers, one bonsai clipper, and an instruction booklet.
Promising review: "I love this. My bonsai has already sprouted and it's coming along nicely. The best thing about this product is the customer service. They actually take an interest in how things are going and are willing to help you through anything. They respond personally, no form letters, and they give heartfelt responses to your questions and comments. This is definitely one of my best purchases." —G Eckberg
Get it from Amazon for $19.99.
12. Cocktail Codex: Fundamentals, Formulas, Evolutions, a bartender-beloved book for beginner- to intermediate-level cocktail enthusiasts that breaks down six iconic "root" cocktails — the old-fashioned, martini, daiquiri, sidecar, whisky highball, and flip — to show you how to improvise and riff your own creations based on what combos work with the ingredients you have.
Check out a TikTok of the cocktail book in action.
Promising review: "This book has easily become one of my favorites. Great base knowledge and would recommend to anyone seeking to further educate themselves on spirits and cocktails. Even the first few pages is full of useful information. Purchase this for yourself or even as a gift. I cannot say enough good things about this book." —Adriana
Get it from Amazon for $22.49.
13. Or an at-home alcohol infusion kit that comes with everything you need to become a cocktail wizard from the comfort of your own couch — I'm talking spicy pineapple tequila, blueberry lavender gin, spiced orange whiskey, the whole shebang. Your bar cart is salivating.
Each kit comes with one 16-ounce infuser bottle and a set of dehydrated fruits and spices to infuse, depending on what flavor you choose. Once you've done the kit's infusion, you can use the bottle over and over for creative infusions of your own design.
Promising review: "We really love these infusion kits. We have purchased them for our bar cart at home and have also used them alongside other bourbon-related items to make gift baskets for friends around the holidays. This is an awesome, unique gift whether you're buying for a friend, family member, or yourself!" —Alanna
Get it from UncommonGoods for $25 (available in five flavors: Navel Gazer, Blue Sunday, Parrot Head, Island Time, and Rose Ceremony).
14. "We're Not Really Strangers," a revolutionary new card game to help you open up and learn more about your friends, family, or significant others and form stronger bonds with them. It involves three levels of cards with questions you use to get to know each other, with each level a little deeper than the last, plus "wild cards" and "dig deeper" cards to really break the surface. There are also two modes — "play safe" and "play to grow" — depending on how deep you want to dig with certain people or groups.
Check out a TikTok of "We're Not Really Strangers" in action.
We're Not Really Strangers is a US-based small business specializing in purpose-driven, relationship building card games to help foster human connection. You can check out the family edition, the couples edition, and the friendship edition for more specific options!
Promising review: "If you want a stronger bond with someone please play this game with them. You will get to know them on another level. I love how there’s levels to how deep you want to get with one another. Mostly every question is really interesting and can bring out one hell of a conversation, laughter, or even tears." —Khoa Tran
Get it from Amazon for $24.99 (and check out all the other editions of the game on their Amazon storefront).
15. A teensy DIY cheese kit with everything you need to learn to make four batches of farmer's cheese and live your most delicious life in a half hour.
UrbanCheesecraft is an Oregon-based Etsy shop established in 2009 that specializes in make-your-own cheese kits in a variety of cheeses, including vegan options. Each kit comes with a cheesecloth, citric acid, flake salt, instructions, and "email support for life" — all you need is milk (and a mouth to consume it all).
Promising review: "These kits are great gifts for the cheese lover and the person 'who's already got it all.' The packaging looks nice and gift-worthy and it's a perfect price range. I love that the recipient gets an experience as well as a tangible product and I can personally attest that the actual process is easy." —amyleannbohner
Get it from Urban Cheesecraft on Etsy for $15.
16. A shea butter lip balm DIY kit so you can create a customized one for every single day of the week *and* gift a few of them to your friends to match.
Urban Kangaroo is a small California-based, woman-owned business that specializes in DIY kits with all-natural ingredients.
Each kit includes materials to make ten lip balms, including beeswax, shea butter, grapeseed oil, peach flavor oil, vitamin E capsule, eight lip balm tubes, two aluminum tins, filling pipettes, stirring sticks, 48 stickers, and instructions.
Promising review: "I was interested because of the clean ingredients. My daughter and I have very sensitive skin so most lip balm doesn't work or is unreasonably expensive. This seemed like a good way to control the ingredients at a great price. The product exceeded my expectations for sure and the kids had fun doing the parts they could do (ages 7 and 9). Probably better for kids over 10 or who have long attention spans and good fine motor skills. Lip balm turned out smooth and silky. Love it!." —UKjane
Get it from Amazon for $39.95.
17. A Gaiam starter set for yoga complete with all the basics, including a yoga mat, a yoga block, and a stretching strap, so you can tune into free yoga classes you gain access to with the set. Achieving mindfulness and flow in a chaotic world? Bring it om.
Promising review: "I am not very limber and I have chronic spine issues, so having a block and strap was essential for me to do yoga. Before using this, I always ended up hurting myself or feeling bad about myself because I couldn't complete the stretches and would just give up. This kit made everything go so smoothly; I can adjust the block or the strap to help me stretch without hurting myself (or falling over). And I highly recommend the sitting techniques in the DVD as well as the meditation." —blightheavy
Get it from Amazon for $30.53.
18. A unicorn slime making kit, because truly the most universal human experience is that deep down inside we all just want to stretch out a big ole glop of bright pink glittery slime.
Each kit comes with clear written instructions and access to video tutorials to make over 100 different kinds of slime, from unicorn slime to glitter slime to fluffy cloud slime to floam putty. You can personalize the colors, textures, add-ins, *and* the smell — the box comes with beads, scents, glitter, ink, foam balls, the ingredients needed to make the slime, and containers to keep it in.
Promising review: "Purchased for daughter's birthday. She loves it. I was very apprehensive about letting her use slime but it has everything a parent could dream of to keep it all in one place and organized without the mess!" —Jay
Get it from Amazon for $26.99.
19. A beginner's butter churner complete with a recipe book so you can finally become the captain of your own condiment ship. Your fridge will be full of so many butters (raspberry butter! truffle butter! CHOCOLATE BUTTER!) that there won't be enough bread in the world to satisfy you.
Promising review: "I am delighted with this product. The accompanying instructions were very helpful. I made my first hand-churned butter, which I consider being a homage to my grandparents, who were dairy farmers. The process is really surprising when the butter seizes up — I think it was very important to me to see and experience that moment. Subtle, but crucial... At any rate, I used it, cleaned it, so have experienced both. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this little yet sophisticated butter churn." —Nanci Hamilton
Get it from Amazon for $43.50.
20. A string art kit so you can create art with a genuine pop! of dimension in your bedroom that'll have everyone on FaceTime going, "Oooh, where'd you get that?"
Or at the very least, get "WHO LIVES IN A PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEA????" stuck in your head until the end of time.
The kit comes with a crafting board, small hammer, a holder, nails, glue, screws, cotton string, a frame, a pattern, and a detailed instruction manual, so there's no need to buy other supplies.
Promising review: "These instructions are easy to follow — I finished it in two hours. This was so much fun and I love my finished results! It looks so beautiful. It was a gift for my friend. I would buy it again and recommend it to others." —yuyantan
Get it from Amazon for $29.99 (available in ten styles).
21. A DIY hot sauce making kit with guided instructions to help you start tailoring your *chef's kiss* perfect sauce, letting you experiment with spice levels and flavors with guided recipes so later you can go forth and make hot sauces all by your spicy self.
Each kit comes with ingredients and instructions to make six different hot sauces based on guided recipes, and includes the bottles and cute lil' stickers to put on them when you're done.
Promising review: "Lifetime of hot sauce. The very informative instructions not only guide you through making a few (very delicious!) hot sauces for now, they also teach you how to make them with your own ingredients in the future." —Gigi
Get it from UncommonGoods for $48.
22. A friendship bracelet making kit so you can live your best Babysitter's Club life and start sending them in personalized colors to everyone you know.
Choose Friendship is a small business that specializes in friendship bracelet makers.
Each set comes with the holder mount and 20 pre-cut threads in 10 colors as well as access to an online instruction manual for all kinds of different designs.
Promising review: "I bought this for my daughter for a craft night. I made friendship bracelets when I was a kid but could not remember how to make them. This helped so much! I had to buy another one for me so we can work on them at the same time. Love this product!" —hollyhock
Get it from Amazon for $22.99+ (available in six colors).
23. A kombucha starter kit that comes with everything you need to perfect a basic version of the brew and set you on the path to making the baddest 'booch in town.
Each set includes instructions, sugar, a tea blend, pH test strips, a kombucha culture starter, a dropper, a gallon jar, and a cloth covering for it. Plus, you can customize flavors like orange, ginger, strawberry, and ~more~.
Promising review: "Bought this for my daughter for Christmas and she finally had time to get started during the quarantine and she LOVES it! The instructions were clear, everything was included, and she had success from the very first try." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $49.99 (also available in a deluxe kit).
24. A starter's weaving kit to make gorgeous pastel tapestries and help il-loom-inate you to what just might be your coziest hobby yet.
Wool Couture Company is a UK-based Etsy shop established in 2014 that specializes in knitting, crochet, weaving, and macrame craft kits.
You can get one of three kinds of kits: a Basic Kit, which comes with a loom and instructions; a Starter Kit, which comes with a loom, two weaving needles, instructions, a mounting bar for hanging, and a cotton ball of warp to hold your work; and a Quintessential Kit, which comes with everything in the Starter Kit, plus the merino wool for weaving.
Promising review: "It’s simple to use, the wool I received in the set is of a high quality and the service was smooth and communicative. Can not recommend this highly enough from a first-time weaver." —DivineDerbyshire
Get it from Wool Couture Company on Etsy for $39.31+ (available in 10 styles and three different kinds of kits).
25. And a beeswax candle kit so you can finally live out your "Serenity By Jan" destiny and create an entire shelf full of scented goodness.
Each set comes with materials to make six candles, including a melting pot, four bags of beeswax, six candle tins with lids, six scents, 10 cotton wicks, six dye blocks, 10 glue dots, six labels, six stirring sticks, two wick clips, a storage bag, a thermometer, and a user manual.
Promising review: "I purchased this kit because I always wanted to make my own candles. This candle making kit looked like it had everything I needed and it definitely does. I am so pleased with it that I will be buying more scented oils and wax so that I can make candles as gifts this holiday season. It's a very nice kit." —Tracie Craig
Get it from Amazon for $39.99 (available in two set styles).
Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.