jennifuchs:

13 December 2011

Only just over a week to go until Christmas. Have you done all your Christmas shopping yet? If you are still short of a few presents, why not check out some of these museum-y gift suggestions (all suggestions run top left to right, top to bottom):

For Museum Lovers

1. The most obvious gift for museum lovers is a museum membership. You’ll be making someone happy AND supporting a museum of your choice, so really you’ll be giving the gift of Christmas twice. Different museums have different offers as part of their membership packages, so check out what would suit the recipient of your gift best (image source: Natural History Museum).
2. In a similar vain, some museums offer ‘adoptions’ (as the founder of Adopt-a-Museum I obviously highly support this idea), such as the Natural History Museum in Berlin which is looking for ‘godparents’ to sponsor new drawers for their insect collection, or the British Library’s Adopt A Book scheme (image source: photo taken at Museum für Naturkunde by Jenni Fuchs).
3. How about a subscription to a museum related magazine? I’ve always fancied a subscription to Smithsonian Magazine myself (image source: Smithsonian Magazine).
4. Or why not give someone a voucher for a visit to their favourite museum, or a new museum for them to discover. If the museums don’t offer gift vouchers for this occasion, then you can always make your own. (image source: photo by Jenni Fuchs).

For Movie Buffs

1. Yes, Night at the Museum is a bit cheesy, but it’s also a bit of good fun and I really enjoyed it against my expectations. Chances are it will actually be showing over the Christmas holidays on TV, but I got myself the DVD anyway so I can watch it whenever I feel like some museum-y escapism and the 2 disc special comes with some nice extras (image source: Amazon).
2. The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) is not only my favourite museum movie, but also one of my top 10 favourite movies of all time. Not one to watch with the kids, mind you, as there are a few scenes where Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo get a bit up close and personal, but it’s worth watching for the genius finale alone (image source: Amazon).
3. If you love a classic 60s caper, then you’ll love How to Steal a Million, with Audrey Hepburn in one of her best comedy roles paired with a dashing Peter O’Toole (image source: Amazon).
4. Ok, so Bringing up Baby doesn’t actually feature a museum until the very last scene, but the underlying story is there all along and with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in the leading roles, who’s complaining? (image source: Amazon).

(You can find more suggestions for museum related movies in my previous blog posts about museums and the movies)

For Big Kids

1. The Lewis Chessmen are among the star objects at two of the UK’s best loved museums, the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and the British Museum in London. If you need a gift for someone who loves playing board games, then a chess set like this would be perfect (image source: British Museum Online Shop).
2. This 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of Munch’s The Scream should keep puzzle lovers busy over the holiday period (image source: Amazon).
3. It may be from LEGO, but it’s more of a collector’s item than a toy - this real world replica of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum will make any museum geek’s heart beat faster (image source: Amazon).
4. If chess is not enough of a challenge, of the chess fan in your life already has a set (and why wouldn’t they), then why not go for this Hnefatafl Viking Game instead? (image source: National Museums Scotland Online Shop).