Relationships with in-laws can be tenuous at the best of times. Add on some holiday stress and the potential for things to go sideways is way too real. In the service of providing some adulting flex, and a way to tip the scales from your in-laws being impressed by your thoughtfulness to being depressed by your sophistication and largesse, always go for art and home decor. When they thank you, give them your warmest smile and let them know that you really thought of them when you picked out their gifts.
Daniel Arsham Future Relic 03 Clock White
Ah, time. There’s never enough. What better way to highlight the fact that our time on Earth is so fleeting than gifting Daniel Arsham Future Relic 03 Clock White? Arsham’s “Future Relic” series imagined everyday objects as archeological discoveries made during some distant future dystopia. This is the gift that says: “We are insignificant, everything you have done and will do does not matter.” And, “Happy Holidays.”
KAWS Companion Flayed Open Edition Vinyl Figure Black/Blush/Brown/Grey Set
Passive aggression can be a great interpersonal tool, unless it’s your in-laws’ favored sport and you’re the target. Take a page from their emotionally abusive playbook and gift them the KAWS Companion Open Edition Vinyl Figure Black/Blush/Brown/Grey Set. Let them wonder why you would send such an expensive anatomy kit. Hopefully, they’ll be too disturbed to keep the gift and give it back to you. That’s a true passive-aggressive “W.”
Banksy Bomb Hugger Figure White/Red
The world is a mess and we all know who got us here, Boomers. What better way to thank them for the social, political, and ecological disasters they’ve left for their children and grandchildren than this whimsical Banksy Bomb Hugger Figure White/Red? The figure of a young girl hugging a red bomb is the perfect objet d’art symbolizing a future of limited and lethal options. Ok, Boomer?
Supreme Director’s Chair Red
One of the most frustrating aspects of the holiday season is never having enough seating for all the guests. This year, make sure your in-laws have enough seating for the whole family. When they run out of faux mid-century modern sofas, chairs, and stools, it’s time to unfold the ol’ director’s chair. Your in-laws will think you’re joking when you tell them to be careful because it’s one of the most expensive chairs they now own. 
Virgil Abloh x IKEA “KEEP OFF” Rug 133×195 CM Black/White
Nothing sets the room off like a nice floor rug. And nothing says you’re a fully functioning, well-educated adult with refined taste and style than the Virgil Abloh x IKEA “KEEP OFF” Rug 133×195 CM Black/White. What better way to demonstrate to your in-laws that you enjoy sensible price points and thoughtful design with a soupçon of post-modern irony? And when they overstay their welcome, politely point to the rug and show them to the door. As the Dude says, “it really ties the room together.”
