It's time to Treat Yo Self
A comedy nerd's last minute gift guide
Ohhhh shit! I promised I had a few tricks up my sleeve before the year wraps up and one of them is … a Treat Yo Self gift guide. Gift guide discourse has been running rampant on Substack since before Thanksgiving, but — as someone who, above all else, loooooves to shop — I have been hungrily consuming each. and. every. single. one. I can get my hands on. So it’s only natural I wanted to enter the fray, this time with a last minute compilation of ideas for the comedy nerd in your life. Now, if anyone wants to buy ME one of these gifts, I’m more than happy to provide my shipping address. It would only be right, in light of the holiday. I don’t make the rules.
Without further ado, here’s the ONLY important list of things you can buy that friend who watches way too much SNL.
An “I Met L’il Sebastian at the Pawnee Harvest Festival” mug - I know we’re not technically at the L’il Sebastian episode of Parks yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be prepared to celebrate everyone’s favorite mini-horse. And imagine how iconic you’ll feel when you get to that ep and you’re reading that week’s Park It, sipping outta your L’il Mug. I just ordered a 15 ouncer for myself for my daily three cups of coffee.
Comedy Book by Jesse David Fox — Jesse is Vulture’s go-to comedy guy. He hosts their podcast “Good Ones” and last year released one of the best books about comedy I’ve ever read. Jesse addresses a bunch of the main pillars of comedy — timing, politics, the importance of the audience — and weaves through case studies of every relevant comedian from the past 50 years. One of my favorite chapters is called “The Line” and focuses on comedians who repeatedly cross lines and face cancellation, like Louis CK and Dave Chappelle. It’s a must-read if you care about the mechanics of comedy more broadly!
A Parks and Rec poster — there are a ton of cheap, Redbubble-esque Parks and Rec posters online, but I think this one’s my favorite. Hate that it’s not the full cast, but it’s simple, classy, and might make your friends go “ohhh so you’ve got taste.” Brb while I order this for myself.
Bossypants by Tina Fey — it kinda feels blasphemous to recommend Tina’s book and not Amy’s but I have to come clean. I love it way more. Bossypants is, unironically, my favorite book of all time. The hands-down best way to consume it is via audiobook: Tina reads it herself and throws in all these little side jokes that you don’t get in the print version. I look like a psychopath listening to it in public, cackling to myself on the sidewalk.
A cardboard cutout of Ron Swanson — self explanatory. Who doesn’t need this? Unfortunately, I am ~ mildly ~ afraid of ghosts, and I fear that seeing this in the corner of my room when I wake up at night would give me such a jump scare it might actively stop my heart, so I might have to tap out. But would highly encourage anyone without the irrational fear of a third grader to order this ASAP. It’s reminding me distinctly of Miss Brigg’s secret Randy Jackson room from that one episode of iCarly.
Subscription to Hung Up by Hunter Harris - while Hunter doesn’t write ABOUT comedy, she’s one of the absolute funniest people I have ever encountered. Pretty confident she’s the first person I ever paid for on Substack and it’s the most worth it money I spend each month. She’s fucking hilarious and I think it’s a crime if people don’t read her.
Parks and Rec Trivial Pursuit — few fun facts about me. 1) I grew up playing Trivial Pursuit on long car rides, where I’d just memorize the facts on the cards and quiz myself endlessly. 2) I’m super competitive when it comes to trivia. 3) I can be a little bit of a know-it-all sometimes. All of that is to say, I fear for who I’ll become if I own P&R Trivial Pursuit. That does NOT mean I won’t be ordering it. Maybe my first Park It reader meet up will be at dusk over a game of P&R TP.
Cheers to TV cocktail book - my friend got this at our book club white elephant exchange last week and I’m so pissed I wasn’t able to steal it!! Mostly because there’s a Leslie Knope cocktail!!! Making for my Trivial Pursuit party. This Snake Juice Margarita sounds like a very dangerously good time.
Live from New York — this is a hefty book, but it’s a complete oral history of the first 40 years of SNL. They interview basically all of the greats. Totally worth it if you’re an SNL nerd in any capacity. I read this, watched the new Saturday Night movie, and now I feel like I could take over for Lorne when he retires.
Tickets to your local comedy club — I would love to include more specific show updates, but one of the best things I ever did was follow my local comedy venues here in SF on Instagram and sign up for their newsletters so I know who’s coming to town. Tickets are usually pretty cheap and I’ve never once had a bad time in a comedy club. It sounds cheesy, but paying $20 to literally lmao for an evening is exactly what money should be spent on.
Happy shopping, people. Everyone needs at least one day to Treat Yo Self.
Love this P&R poster!