In a typical year, we grumble over Santa sightings in November. We “bah-humbug!” at department stores that tinsel up too early. And premature holiday carols? Don’t get us started.

But this year is different. Perhaps we’re just trying to hasten the end of 2020. Or we crave the deep comfort of twinkle lights and snowmen. At least we’re not alone: Pinterest searches for winter holiday decor began soaring in  — wait for it — April. TikTok went Christmas crazy in July. And a little eggnog escapism sounds perfect right about now.

So if you’re thinking about getting a start on your holiday gift shopping now, we’ve got 12 merry ideas for the foodies, drink lovers and adventurers in your life — or for you to keep for yourself.

1 EAT & READ: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s new children’s book

“Every Night is Pizza Night” by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, Norton Young Readers 

Got a young foodie on your list? Trust Lopez-Alt, the South Bay restaurateur, Serious Eats guru and dad, to pen a children’s picture book about everyone’s favorite food. “Every Night is Pizza Night” (Norton Young Readers, $18) for pizza-loving Pipo, until she and her friends go on a neighborhood quest to prove that — scientifically speaking — pizza is the best thing ever.

Pipo even calls on the “Pizzagorean Theorem” to declare that “triangles taste better.” But in their search for more data, Pipo discovers that while pizza is indeed the “best,” so is bibimbap. And tagine. And red beans and rice. And dumplings. And pozole.

This funny, heartwarming tale is illustrated by Gianna Ruggiero. Pipo’s an adorable fireball. And this being Lopez-Alt, there’s a recipe for Pipo’s Pizza in the back. Available at Orinda Books and other Bay Area independent bookstores.

2 EAT: A bacon subscription

For the last decade, chef Tony Baker has made British-style bacon for swanky restaurants around the country, curing and smoking sustainably-raised heritage breed pork at his smokehouse in Marina, just north of Monterey. You know those high-end restaurants that top their crave-worthy $25 burgers with thick, dry-cured, double-smoked bacon? That’s the stuff.

Now regular people can get it, too, by ordering the Baker’s Bacon gift box ($42) or — for die-hard fans — a bacon subscription ($95). The gift box includes two packages of thick-sliced double-smoked bacon and one of uncured back bacon. The subscription box goes even bigger with six pounds of porky splendor; https://bakersbacon.com.

3 EAT & READ: Ayesha Curry’s new cookbook

Entrepreneur. Restaurateur. Television host. Being Ayesha Curry takes all day — how does the mother of three find time to cook? By using the tips and tricks in “The Full Plate: Flavor-Filled, Easy Recipes for Families with No Time and a Lot to Do” (Little, Brown, $30). Curry’s new cookbook features more than 100 approachable recipes, including Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas and her go-to Quinoa Salad alongside seasonal desserts (hello, Winter Spiced Rice Pudding) and quick-fix cocktails. Photos of Curry’s adorable kids and gorgeous home make this a must-have for her fans.

Available through Bay Area independent bookstores.

  • You can order a bacon subscription or gift box of porky splendor from Marina's Baker's Bacon. (Photo: Baker's Bacon)

  • "Every Night is Pizza Night" by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, Norton Young Readers

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  • Ayesha Curry's new cookbook is geared at getting the whole family into the kitchen, with recipes that take less than one hour, start to finish. (Little Brown)

  • Wooden Table Baking Co's alfajores sampler is the perfect gift for your foodie's sweet tooth. (Wooden Table Baking Co)

  • Petaluma-based Griffo Distillery has a variety of cocktail kits to keep you sipping all winter. (Courtesy Griffo Distillery)

  • Host a virtual wine-tasting party or gift a private tasting session with Inglenook's gift packs, which include small tasting bottles, a virtual session with a wine educator and add-ons, such as a chef demo. (Courtesy of Inglenook)

  • Olive and Poppy make modern, affordable jewerly out of wine barrels. (Olive and Poppy)

  • Olive and Poppy's totes will inspire wine and cheese picnics year-round. So will one will local goodies for your foodie. (Olive and Poppy)

  • Tim Burton's iconic film comes to life in "The Nightmare Before Christmas"pop up advent calendar. (Insight Editions)

  • Portland illustrator Rachel Austen designs artist-quality paint by numbers kits of San Francisco landmarks, like Coit Tower. (Rachel Austen)

  • Spend the holidays putting together a national park jigsaw puzzle from folk-art puzzle company Dowdle. (Courtesy of Dowdle)

4 EAT: Alfajores sampler

Oakland’s Wooden Table Baking Co. is the East Bay expert on alfajores, the decadent Argentine shortbread cookies filled with dulce de leche. If your giftee has a sweet tooth, one of the Latinx-and-LGBTQ-owned company’s 16-cookie samplers will certainly make them swoon.

The Basic Sampler includes traditional alfajores, along with Chocolate, Meringue and Snickerdoodle, while the Flavor Fusion is a medley of Argentine-American flavors, like Lemon Ginger, Snickerdoodle, Espresso Chocolate and Mint Chocolate. There’s also a Chocolicious Sampler. $26; https://woodentablebaking.com

5 SIP: Griffo Distillery cocktail kits

Petaluma-based Griffo Distillery offers so many cocktail kits, you could try a different one every month of the year and still have more to sip. The small-batch, family-owned distillery — co-owner and distiller Michael Griffo has a Ph.D in physics — specializes in craft gin, vodka and whiskey.

The 13 kits run the gamut, from the trendy Hibiscus Whiskey Ginger Cocktail Kit to classics, like the Ultimate Old Fashioned Cocktail Kit, which makes a whopping 24 cocktails. Best part? They’re adding new kits for the holidays. Each gift box contains a recipe card and ships in a sleek black box. $50-$180, plus shipping (California only); https://griffodistillery.com

6 SIP: Virtual party, real wine

Virtual wine tastings have popped up at wineries across California over the last six months, but this holiday package from Napa Valley’s historic Inglenook adds a festive party element to its virtual offerings. Send your favorite wine lovers a trio of 100mL bottles of wine to taste during a private Zoom session with a wine educator, and make it a party by adding on a vineyard tour, chef demo or wine trivia game. Starts at $45; reservations@inglenook.com, http://bayareane.ws/Inglenook.

7 SIP & WEAR: Wine barrel jewelry

Napa-based Olive and Poppy designs modern and affordable pieces of jewelry ($30-$68) out of reclaimed oak wood barrels. Barely-there wine stains add originality to each piece, reminding your stylish wine lover that these accessories started in the cellar. The hexagonal rings, earrings, necklaces and stackable bracelets — with pops of red, turquoise or pink lucite — are edgy yet everyday, like the red wine from which they came; https://oliveandpoppy.com

Olive and Poppy’s totes will inspire wine and cheese picnics year-round. So will one will local goodies for your foodie. (Olive and Poppy) 

8 SIP: Appellation picnic totes

Your favorite picnicker needs one of Olive and Poppy’s chic, leather-handled canvas tote bags. Available in Sonoma County, Napa Valley or the all-encompassing CA Wine Country riff, the heavyweight cotton totes, with copper rivets for strength and style, have an interior wine sleeve that keeps a bottle of wine upright and a zippered pocket for cheese knives.

Now all you have to do is fill it with memorable local cheeses — is your person a Cowgirl Creamery fanatic or a Laura Chenel devotee? — crackers and nuts and get it monogrammed with his or her initials. Olive and Poppy does the monogramming, too. The picnic supplies are up to you. $64 or $72 with monogramming; https://oliveandpoppy.com

9 PLAY: Puzzle out the National Parks

One thing’s sure about this pandemic: It has reignited our love of puzzles and the great outdoors. The two come together beautifully in artist Eric Dowdle’s colorful jigsaw puzzles of the country’s National Parks. The folk-art puzzles cover individual parks — Yosemite, Grand Teton, Yellowstone — or you can get your puzzle champ the 500-piece National Parks puzzle, which features 24 of them in charmingly intricate detail. Comes with a collector’s box, resealable bag and story insert — and a “no missing pieces” guarantee. $25. Available through Amazon and https://dowdlefolkart.com.

10 SIP & PLAY: Whimsical camping mugs

You’re out in the great outdoors, sipping coffee in a wildflower-dappled meadow as birdies sing in the trees. Shouldn’t your favorite camper’s mug be just as sweet? Forget the speckled blue cups of yore. We’re going for Oregon artist Katie Daisy’s whimsical white enamel mugs ($23) and cheery ceramic mugs ($18) with their depictions of tents, trees, cozy red socks, butterflies, bees and more. Suitable for actual camping or RV-ing adventures, or simply holding pencils on a desktop (while you dream of camping adventures).

Daisy is the artist behind some incredible murals in Bend, Oregon and the illustrator and author of the whimsical “Wildflower’s Workbook,” too. A peek around her Etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/thewheatfield, will yield other gift ideas, too.

11 PLAY: Coit Tower paint-by-numbers

Know someone in need of a creative outlet? Portland illustrator Rachel Austen’s kits may be the perfect gift. Austen is the designer behind elle crée, aka she creates, a line of artist quality paint-by-numbers sets in themes ranging from botanicals to female heroes. She offers three nostalgic San Francisco-themed kits: Parrot at Coit Tower, Cable Car in Chinatown and Conservatory of Flowers.

Each kit includes an 8×10-inch canvas, reusable synthetic sable hair paint brushes and hand-mixed acrylic paints in eight custom colors. $35; www.elle-cree.com

12 PLAY: Jack Skellington advent calendar

Tim Burton’s iconic film comes to life in “The Nightmare Before Christmas”pop up advent calendar. (Insight Editions) 

Disney and San-Francisco based Insight Editions have created a spooky countdown to Christmas with this advent calendar and pop-up tree ($40) inspired by Tim Burton’s film, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Follow Jack Skellington’s adventures with 25 removable and displayable ornaments — from a skeletal reindeer to a man-eating wreath — to hang on the tree as you get closer to Dec. 25. Bonus: It comes with a 28-page guidebook containing fascinating facts about Halloweentown and its residents. Available via Amazon.