Perfect gifts for the inconsolable ‘Parks and Rec’ fans in your life

Leslie Knope has many talents, but one of her best is the ability to give the perfect gift.

There’s an innate goodness embedded into the DNA of Parks and Recreation. Maybe that’s why it’s still so hard to let go of our beloved Pawnee, Indiana squad almost four years after the series said goodbye.

Now, with the holiday season officially here, many of us are taking a page from Leslie’s playbook as we ponder how we’ll surprise and delight our loved ones with thoughtful gifts in the coming months. For the Parks and Rec superfan in your life, here’s an idea: Stay on brand.

If you have a loved one who still watches Leslie Knope’s adventures on a regular basis, make their holidays special with one of these Parks and Rec-adjacent gifts.

OK fine, this one’s kind of obvious. Michael Schur is the co-creator of Parks and Rec, but he’s got a lot of other major credits connected to his name, including The Office (U.S. version), Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and The Good Place.

There’s no wrong choice here. All of these shows are better than most of the other things on TV.

Price: Under $20 per season on Amazon

My Parks and Rec-loving wife absolutely adores her City of Pawnee Parks Department tote bag and coffee mug.

The series may have ended years ago, but NBC still sells an impressively large catalog of Parks and Rec merchandise on its website. Hoodies, t-shirts, mugs, glasses, beach towels, smartphone cases… you name it. Not seeing anything on NBC’s website? Try Etsy or Redbubble for fan-created merch.

It may be a little on the nose as a gift, but what fan doesn’t like repping their fandom?

Price: Varies by item in the NBC store

You might not know this, but Ron Swanson’s love for wood and woodworking isn’t just a fictional hobby. It’s also a real-life interest for the actor who plays him, Nick Offerman.

Offerman Woodshop offers a range of products for different levels of interest and price points. There are books and branded souvenir-type items, as well as much more expensive works of wooden art. You can even purchase slabs of different types of wood, to fuel your gift recipient’s burgeoning interest in woodworking.

Price: Varies by item in the Offerman Workshop

While we’re on the subject of Ron Swanson, let’s talk about whiskey. Ron’s a big fan of the stuff. And Lagavulin, a single malt scotch brewed on the island of Islay in Scotland, is his brand of choice.

It’s potent stuff, and definitely not for everyone. Even if you’re getting the gift for an over-21 recipient, make sure they like scotch before picking up a bottle. You can spend hundreds, even thousands, on a good bottle of Lagavulin. But even on the low end (which is still plenty good), you should expect to spend no less than $60.

Price: Varies by vintage on MasterOfMalt.com

Leslie Knope’s love for waffles is legendary. And while we don’t have access to J.J.’s Diner, we can brighten a Parks and Rec fan’s day with a strategically gifted waffle maker.

That’s exactly what Ben and Anne did in a Season 5 episode when they both decided it was time to out-gift Leslie. Follow their example. There are plenty of options to choose from.

Price: Varies on Amazon

Ben Wyatt’s fictional Cones of Dunshire never made the leap into real life, but there are other ways to celebrate the beloved Ice Clown’s nerdy appreciation for tabletop games. Did you know, for example, that Ben is a nationally ranked Settlers of Catan pro?

The game of settling a new land and building up a stockpile of resources isn’t difficult to find, nor is it hard to learn. But anyone hoping to achieve Ben Wyatt levels of Catan mastery needs to have a copy of the game for themselves.

Price: $44.99 on Amazon

Leslie Knope loves her parks. She’s the most devoted to Anne, Ben, and Pawnee (in that order), but her job running Pawnee’s parks department is much more than just a 9-to-5. She cares about creating happy public spaces for the people in her community.

You can help your Parks and Rec-loving friends and family celebrate that love with an America the Beautiful annual pass. The $80 pass gives its owner and up to three guests (16 or older) free access to more than 2,000 federally operated recreation sites (details here), located all across the country.

Price: $80 on the USGS website

Image: Shutterstock / sevenMaps7

This is more of a DIY gift. Jerry Gergich’s love for the small, real-life city of Muncie, Indiana is well known on the show. As he mentions on more than one occasion, it’s his family’s preferred vacation destination.

Since you can’t gift anyone a trip to Pawnee — the city only exists in our hearts, sadly — do the next best thing and gift a trip to Muncie instead. There’s a whole website devoted to Muncie tourism, in fact, with suggestions on where to stay, what to eat, and how to fill your time there.

Price: Varies depending on how you spend your trip

Leslie Knope is an expert quilter and a god-tier scrapbooker. 

Those are skills that can’t be gifted. But you can give your loved one a hearty push in the right direction by funding their shopping spree at any local crafts store. They don’t even have to buy yarn/knitting needles or scrapbooking supplies (though Leslie would probably feel betrayed by that decision). 

Price: Pick your own price via Michael’s

Lil’ Sebastian is adorable and all, but this is no impulse gift. The up front cost of buying a miniature horse is multiple thousands of dollars on the low end. Then, it’s hundreds more each month — for 20 to 30 years, most likely — to keep the animal stabled, fed, and trained. (Start looking here.)

On the flip side, all that money does pay for a miniature horse. Which is like a normal-ass large horse, but tiny. That said, you’ll still probably want to confer with your friend or loved one — spoil the surprise, as it were — before you consider such an expensive and commitment-heavy gift.

Price: A lot