a&e features
Todrick Hall on his ‘Oz’ show, RuPaul, ‘Kinky Boots’ and more
Busy performer returns to D.C. for two-night Howard Theatre engagement
Todrick Hall (Photo by Shawn Adeli)
Todrick Hall
‘Straight Outta Oz’
Tuesday, April 18
Wednesday, April 19
8 p.m.
Howard Theatre
620 T St., N.W.
$35-100
Dancer, singer and YouTuber Todrick Hall has become a dance staple with his more than two million subscribers and videos earning millions of views.
The Beyoncé stan became known as an internet sensation for his medley mashups of her songs (as well as Rihanna, Arianna Grande and Taylor Swift). His “End of Time” Target dance flash mob video, where Hall and a group of dancers bust out a choreographed dance routine on unsuspecting shoppers, even grabbed the attention of the Queen B herself. Beyoncé posted a thank you to Hall on her own YouTube page.
His credentials reach beyond YouTube with Hall competing on “American Idol” and being a guest judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Hall eventually took his talent to Broadway starring as Lola in “Kinky Boots” from November until March of this year.
The 32-year-old choreographer released “Straight Outta Oz,” a semi-autobiographical visual album in a similar vein as his idol Beyoncé’s “Lemonade,” in June with a rerelease of a deluxe edition in March. This time, the celebrities were singing Hall’s original work with appearances from RuPaul, Bob the Drag Queen, Amber Riley, Jordin Sparks, Raven Symoné, Tamar Braxton and more. “Straight Outta Oz” has now been adapted from the computer screen to stage with a live tour.
Hall took a break from rehearsing to speak with the Washington Blade on being out in the public eye, RuPaul’s life advice and just what happened to Lola’s boots.
WASHINGTON BLADE: What about “Wizard of Oz” did you feel such a personal connection to that you wanted to do your own version?
TODRICK HALL: I think subconsciously I’ve always felt that my life was parallel to Dorothy. I just didn’t realize that until last year. I grew up in a small town in Texas. I always knew there was something out there that was greater for me that I wanted to get out there and see. And that’s what Dorothy does. She knew that Oz was there. Even though she realizes in the end that there’s no place like home and that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, without those experiences she would have never realized those things. I feel like I have realized so many things and put my faith, trust and my career in other people’s hands when really I had the power all along to be able to control my destiny. I realized that and said this is a story that I have to write and tell. If I feel this way and so passionate about it, a lot of other people will feel this way and identify with this as well.
BLADE: The visual album was released in June but in March you released a deluxe edition. Did you think of the additions you made after the initial release?
HALL: No. The initial release was supposed to be much smaller, but I am a perfectionist and I always want to tell the story in full. For me, I said, “Well if you tell the story of Dorothy you have to have the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion. If you have those four characters you have to have the Wizard and the Witch.” Eventually the visual album, which was supposed to be eight songs, turned into 16 songs. When we went on tour, my fans really loved the numbers that they were getting to watch that they knew and recognized. But they weren’t able to follow along to the songs that I wrote for the musical that were not a part of the tour. It got to a place where I was like, “I really want them to be able to hear the songs and the lyrics from the songs that we performed at the live concert last year that weren’t on the visual album.” So this year I rereleased it so that the songs that they didn’t know they could learn and be familiar with.
BLADE: The deluxe album has some big names like RuPaul and Raven-Symoné. Did you reach out to them to collaborate?
HALL: I reached out to them and I reached out very last minute. I was so thankful that they all were able to jump on board with sometimes 24-hours notice before they had to shoot the video.
BLADE: You’ve worked with RuPaul on your album and also you were a judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” for the last couple seasons. What’s the best piece of advice Ru gave you?
HALL: I don’t know if this is a piece of advice but the entire way that he looks at life. There was a moment of time when my MTV show was on television. It was airing and I was very nervous whether it would be successful. He said, “You need to live in the moment. You need to appreciate that the stars have aligned for you to have this moment and you can’t sit at home every day wondering whether or not it will be successful. It’s successful because it happened. If it doesn’t happen again, you’ll go on and have another opportunity.” My whole life I’ve always put so much pressure on each opportunity I’ve been given. We, as humans, do that often. We think that if this relationship doesn’t work, if this job isn’t the one that gets me to the top, if I don’t ace this test, then my life is over. It’s not the case. It’s a life experience. You will move on and you will be able to experience other things. That’s kind of what he taught me. So now when I’m doing a project, I give it 100 percent of my energy and then I leave that energy in that project and I say, “I hope that this does really well. But if it doesn’t, there’s a reason God gave me these gifts. So I can keep using them.” They’re not over, they’re not done, they’re not running out. I’ll go do something else. His whole insight about everything has really helped me be able to approach everything that I do with a much different lens.
BLADE: Your song “Water Guns” was a tribute to those who were lost to gun violence from the Pulse nightclub victims, to YouTuber Christina Grimmie and Trayvon Martin. All these people are parts of your identity: gay, YouTuber, black. How emotional was it for you to record?
HALL: It was very emotional for me to record. The inspiration for that song was a huge coincidence because I wrote it because I had a friend who got murdered. She was a police officer. Some people perceive that song to be a pro-Black Lives Matter song or an anti-police song. It’s not. My friend was actually an African-American police officer. She was shot and killed. I wrote the song because I’m very anti-guns and anti-violence in general. The night that I wrote the song Christina Grimmie got shot. The next night after we filmed the video the Pulse situation happened. So I went back and shot the scenes of me spray painting the names of these people because it couldn’t have been more relevant at the time that I wrote the song for my friend. That was a crazy coincidence and they both hit me really hard.
Pulse was one of my old stomping grounds. My first job out of high school was dancing at Walt Disney World. I knew a lot of people who worked at that club, I knew a lot of people who were there that night and some of the people who unfortunately didn’t make it out had pictures of me and them on their Instagram. These were people I didn’t know personally but I had met that were fans of mine and came to my concerts. It was just a very weird thing to think this was so close to home and that I could have been there that night. Every time I go to Orlando for my tours I go to Pulse afterward. It was a very scary thing for me and a really eye-opening thing to remind you how fragile life is and we should really live each day to the fullest.
BLADE: You were also on season nine of “American Idol.” You’ve mentioned before that you were concerned about being out while on the show. What made you decide to be out in your career?
HALL: When I was on the show I felt this pressure. They kept saying, “Appeal to middle America,” and what I translated that as was, “Don’t be so openly gay because that could offend people.” I don’t think they were saying it in a mean way. They just wanted me to be successful. After I was eliminated I realized that I got eliminated being someone I wasn’t. I would rather have been eliminated from the show for really showing people who I was. There was nothing I could have thought that was a worse feeling than getting eliminated when I didn’t even recognize the person that I was being on television. I vowed to myself after that, “I will be 100 percent myself and I will be out waving my flag and letting people know who I am.”
I felt it wasn’t important because it wasn’t any of their business. But it’s so important because it gives people that are coming out the confidence to say, “Well if Todrick did it, I can do it. If RuPaul did it, I can do it. If Joey Graceffa, Tyler Oakley, Kingsley and all these people who are such huge influencers online can do it than I can do it as well. There is a place for me in the entertainment industry and I don’t have to hide.” Like Colton Haynes has come out and is being celebrated and I hope and pray it doesn’t do anything negative for his career. He should not only be considered for gay roles, he should be able to play any role that he wants because that’s what actors do. It was very important for me to come and say who I truly am and I would rather maybe not reach the level of success I could have pretended to be straight. I’d rather reach the level of success that I can as the real me and be happy and free to be who I am.
BLADE: You just mentioned quite a few gay YouTubers. As a gay YouTuber yourself, what are your thoughts on the recent controversy of YouTube censoring LGBT content on its restricted mode?
HALL: I don’t know all the details. I don’t like to comment when I’m not educated on something. I was releasing my album during the time that this happened and flying from coast to coast. So I didn’t really get all the information about this. But I am positive that the gay community is so strong that if anything like that were to ever happen we would be able to get it banned and YouTube wouldn’t stand for it. YouTube has an entire department that is dedicated to the LGBTQ community. They do so much research and so much to help our community that I don’t believe this will stand.
BLADE: You have been busy. You just finished your run as Lola on Broadway in, “Kinky Boots.” Did they let you keep the boots?
HALL: Yes they did. My boots might be making a quick appearance in my upcoming tour as well.
BLADE: How do you go about translating the visual album to the stage?
HALL: It’s not a difficult transition for me because I love theater. As I was writing all the songs and shooting the videos I was already thinking of ways to bring it to life on stage. It’s not very complicated. The story kind of tells itself and the staging and a lot of the choreography is the same. We just have transitions that are not on the album still. There are three or four songs that you can only hear on the tour. I think it’s really fun to bring all those things to life on stage in front of everyone.
BLADE: How does it feel to bring “Straight Outta Oz” to D.C.?
HALL: D.C. is just one of my favorite cities to perform in. I love how much D.C. supports its fine arts. I love how much effort and energy they spend to make sure there are theaters there for people to perform in. I love specifically how the Howard Theatre is such a historical venue. It’s such a landmark for people who are African-American performers. I’m so honored to join the roster of legends of people who have performed there before me. There’s something about the energy in that building that just feels really epic. I’m so grateful to be able to get on that stage and share the story of a proud, gay black man. I think it’s very progressive and beautiful and I appreciate D.C. for supporting me the way they do.
a&e features
Local, last-minute holiday gift ideas
Celebrate the season while supporting area businesses
The DowntownDC Holiday Market is bustling. Union Station is decked out with its annual Christmas tree. Washingtonians have wrapped their houses and apartment balconies with festive lights and holiday decorations. The holiday season is here. And with stockings to fill and empty space under the tree, Washington’s local shops and artists have plenty to offer.
Show your LGBTQ and D.C. pride with the Washington Blade’s annual holiday gift guide.
To embrace the holiday buzz: The Blanco Nwèl cocktail from Alchy Cocktails. This Caribbean eggnog is one of Alchy Cocktail’s seasonal holiday cocktails. The flavor profile is similar to coquito, a traditional Puerto Rican Christmas drink with a coconut base. As a queer and Caribbean-owned business, Alchy Cocktails has been based out of Washington since 2021. Blanco Nwèl is available in both cocktail ($24) and mocktail ($12) online and at a variety of holiday markets, including the Tingey Plaza Holiday Market, the Flea Market at Eastern Market, Union Station’s Main Hall Holiday Market, and more. ($24)
A spicy bite: Gordy’s Cajun Okra from Salt and Sundry. These spicy, tangy pickles pull on Southern Cajun-style flavors, packing a punch with paprika, cayenne, and more. Gordy’s is an LGBTQ-owned and Washington-based brand, making this gift an opportunity to support a local LGBTQ business straight from the jar. This pantry staple is available on Salt & Sundry’s website and at its locations in Union Market, Logan Circle, and its Georgetown holiday pop-up store. ($14)
To celebrate Washington pride: The DC Landmark Tote Bag from The Neighborgoods. Native Washingtonians, visitors, friends and family alike will find something to love about this Washington-themed tote bag. Food trucks, the 9:30 Club, the Metro logo and pandas from the National Zoo are just some of the city’s landmarks depicted across the tote in a red, white, and blue color palette. The tote is a part of the DC Landmarks collection, which donates 10 percent of its sales to the American Civil Liberties Union. The Neighborgoods itself is a local, woman-owned business built out of a passion for screen-printing in 2013. The 100 percent cotton canvas tote is for sale online or at the DowntownDC Holiday Market. ($22)
To give friends and family their flowers: The Flowers Bandana from All Very Goods. This 100 percent cotton bandana was designed in Washington and hand printed in India. Its uniqueness comes in being covered with the faces of Black women, representing a “love letter to all women but especially Black women,” according to All Very Goods. The Black woman-owned and operated business, based out of Northwest Washington, has a mission to celebrate diversity and representation through its products. The bandana intends to give Black women their “flowers.” The Flowers bandana is available for purchase online. ($24)
To unlock culinary creativity: The Curious Chef Gift Collection from Each Peach Market. This customizable collection of kitchen oddities — ranging from tinned fish to chili oil — is a quirky gift for the most inventive chefs. The collection is available in a Standard Santa, Extra Goodies and Super Holiday Size for up to $165. The Washington-based market, founded in 2013, permits customers to make the collection special by specifying what unique ingredients are packaged, including products made by local or LGBTQ brands. Each Peach Market offers assembly and pick up in-person at its Mount Pleasant shop and also offers local delivery and nationwide shipping via its website. ($85)
To give a touch of sweetness: The DC Landmark Chocolate Covered Oreo Holiday Cookies from Capital Candy Jar. Wrapped in a festive red bow, this box of nine cookies embraces love for Washington and the holiday season in one. Among the dark and milk chocolate covered cookies are images of the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial and festive hollies. The treat, packaged in a Hill East facility just a few blocks from the Capitol, is available for purchase online and at the DowntownDC Holiday Market. ($23.95)
To celebrate queer gaming: Thirsty Sword Lesbians from Labyrinth Games & Puzzles. This roleplaying game embraces lesbian culture by unlocking a world of swords, romance, and battle. Ideal for group settings, the book presents a system of world building and character identities that are best brought to life by creative minds. Labyrinth, which has been a local Washington business for more than 15 years, celebrates non-digital fun through games and puzzles that connect the community. This gift is offered online and at Labyrinth’s Capitol Hill location. ($29.99)
To make a bold statement: The “Resist” T-shirt from Propper Topper. This locally screen-printed black tee features the Washington flag designed within a raised fist, symbolizing both Washington pride, and political resistance. The shirt is made exclusively by Propper Topper, a local Washington business that evolved from a hat shop to a gift store since opening in 1990. The tri-blend unisex shirt is available both for pickup at Propper Topper’s Cathedral Heights location and shipping via the online site. ($32)
To keep it c(g)lassy: The Glass Ball earrings from Blue Moon Aquarius. Gifting can rarely go wrong when it comes to a new pair of earrings. The unique statement earrings — made of polymer clay, glass, and 18k gold plating over surgical steel — are hand cut, sanded and assembled in Washington, meaning each set is unique. Blue Moon Aquarius, a local brand, is known for its small batch jewelry and home decor designed with clay materials. Available in oxblood, hunter green, lavender, and bluestone color palettes, these earrings are available for purchase on Blue Moon Aquarius’ website and at the DowntownDC Holiday Market. ($48)
To elevate a holiday tea or charcuterie party: The Honey Flight: Tea Lover’s Selection from BannerBee. This local honey company presents the ideal gift to make cozying up with a cup of tea slightly more special. The Honey Flight contains three types of raw wildflower honey infused with fair trade Ugandan vanilla bean, chai spices, and locally sourced lemon thyme herb. The gift is also an opportunity to uplift a family company based in the Mid-Atlantic that offers all-natural, sustainable products. The flight is available online, at the DowntownDC Holiday Market or at the Arlington Courthouse and Dupont Farmers’ Markets. ($36)
For Baltimore shoppers: If you’re in Charm City, don’t miss Balston Mercantile, opened by a gay couple in June. Their gorgeous shop in the Hampden neighborhood offers an array of unique, upscale finds, from barware and artwork to cookbooks and home decor and more. (849 W. 36th St.)
a&e features
Have yourself a merry John Waters Christmas
Annual holiday show returns to Alexandria and Baltimore
When it comes to iconic Christmas scenes in movies, none can top the tree-toppling tantrum thrown by cha-cha heels-deprived Dawn Davenport in John Waters’s fifth full-length feature “Female Trouble” from 1974. Therefore, it’s not surprising that Waters continues to make art out of Christmas, performing his spoken word Christmas tour in cities across the country. Waters has even more reason to celebrate with the release of his new red vinyl 7” single, a cover of Little Cindy’s “Happy Birthday Jesus (A Child’s Prayer)” on the A-side, and “A Pig Latin Visit From St. Nicholas” on the B-side. If you’re still looking for unique Christmas gifts, consider this record. As always, John was kind enough to make time for an interview in advance of his tour dates.
BLADE: John, in preparation for this interview with you, I went back and listened to Little Cindy’s original rendition of “Happy Birthday Jesus (A Child’s Prayer)” on your “A John Waters Christmas” CD.
JOHN WATERS: One thing I did, if you notice, I make the same stumble in my recording that she did in the original.
BLADE: It sounded to me like she got choked up.
WATERS: No, I think she just stumbles over a word, so I stumbled over the same word. It’s appropriation, insanely.
BLADE: Is this a song you first became aware of in your youth or when you were an adult?
WATERS: When I was doing the Christmas album, I had this friend named Larry Benicewicz. He was kind of my idea man with music. He knew every single old record. I would say to him, “Weird Christmas songs,” when we were doing a soundtrack, or a song about bears, or a song about this, and he would give me all these tapes. It was one of the ones he played for me. A lot of the songs I put in my movies and on my records, I did know as a kid. I did not know this one, but I immediately embraced it. I don’t think it’s campy. I think it really is spiritual in a weird way. My doing it makes it a novelty record. I am really for novelty records, and there aren’t any anymore. Why was there not a COVID novelty record? That’s insane. The dance “The Bug” that’s on the “Hairspray” soundtrack would be perfect for COVID.
BLADE: The thing that struck me was that for a Christmas song in the voice of a child, a kind of death pall hangs over it, with lines like, “If I was good you’d let me live with you” and “they nailed you to the cross, they wanted you to die.”
WATERS: All of it! When I see children at midnight mass kneeling in front of a nude man nailed to a cross, I feel like I’m at The Eagle! It is S&M, it’s creepy. I took the same cover (photo) from her record to parody and put my face on it. The same thing I did with The Singing Dogs last year when I covered (their version of) “Jingle Bells.” I’m really into novelty records. I love them and I’m trying to bring them back. I don’t expect anybody to ever play these records. Even The Singing Dogs one said on it, “Please do not play this record” [laughs]. And the flipside, the Pig Latin version, is almost impossible to listen to.
BLADE: I’m so glad you mentioned that. “A Pig Latin Visit From St. Nicholas” reminded me of the lost art of speaking in Pig Latin. I also recall watching the PBS series “Zoom” as an adolescent and learning to speak “ubbi dubbi,” a distant relative of Pig Latin. Do you think that the time is right for a Pig Latin or ubbi dubbi revival?
WATERS: Here’s the thing, I never could pick up any language, except Pig Latin. I’ve been in every foreign country. Foreign countries have given me money to learn to speak the language. I can never do it! But Pig Latin…my parents and other parents in the ‘50s spoke Pig Latin so kids couldn’t understand what they were saying. Then my mother taught it to me, and I used it. The hardest take to shoot in “Pink Flamingos” was not eating the dog shit. It was when the cast skipped, in one take, saying “E-way, are-yay e-they ilthiest-fay eople-pay in-hay e-they ole-hay ide-way orld-way.” We’re the filthiest people in the whole wide world in Pig Latin. We had to do so many takes so they could do it once without screwing it up. In “Polyester,” Edith (Massey) answers the phone, “ello-hay.” I did a photo piece where it was all subtitled in Pig Latin. Like “osebud-Ray” (from “Citizen Kane”) or in “Streetcar,” “ella-Stay!” [Laughs] All the iconic dialogue translated into Pig Latin. My assistant who helped me do it, had never heard of Pig Latin. She really got good at it because she lived in many foreign countries and can pick up languages. But it’s not that easy to do it correctly and read it. Your computer will translate into Pig Latin.
BLADE: AI understands Pig Latin?
WATERS: I guess that’s AI. It wasn’t 100% right, but it was close. I can speak it if I look at it, but just do a bit at a time. It was a challenge that no one would possibly care about or want to do.
BLADE: I think you pulled it off very well.
WATERS: If you want people to leave on Christmas morning, you put it on. That’s how you get your guests to leave. It’s time to go.
BLADE: Ood-gay i-bay! How did your relationship with record label Sub Pop, which released 2021, 2022, 2024, and new 2025 holiday singles, come about?
WATERS: I believe the first thing I did for them was “Prayer to Pasolini.” They came to me through Ian Brennan. He’s won a couple Grammys for World Music, but he is also is one of my agents who does the Christmas tour and a lot of my shows, anything with music. He helped me arrange each one of the songs. He had a relationship with Sub Pop. It was perfect. My friends in Baltimore, (the band) Beach House, have had huge success.
BLADE: That’s right, they’re on Sub Pop!
WATERS: Yes! I’m happy to be on it. I’ve even been to the warehouse and posed for pictures like Jackie Suzanne used to do.
BLADE: Is there any chance that “A John Waters Christmas” might be reissued on vinyl by Sub Pop?
WATERS: No. It’s such a nightmare to get the rights and to renew them. You have to find the publisher and the writer, and they usually hate each other. It doesn’t matter if it’s obscure or famous, it’s hard to get. You have to make the deal. The singer doesn’t get anything unless they play it on the radio. It would be so complicated legally, and there would be such a [laughs] tiny audience for it. I hope it will come out again. The same thing with the one for Valentine’s Day. I had two of them that did quite well when they came out; “A Date With John Waters and “A John Waters Christmas.” The “John Waters Christmas” album is still the soundtrack that plays whenever I’m doing my spoken word Christmas show as people are entering the theater.
BLADE: Aside from your annual Christmas show tour, what else do you do for the holidays now, and are there any traditions that you’ve carried over from your family?
WATERS: Certainly! I have two sisters, my brother’s widow, and me, so there are four and we take turns each year to have the Christmas dinner. Mine was last year. An entire sit-down dinner. Mom’s China, the silverware, the entire full dinner. It’s pretty traditional. I don’t have a Christmas tree, but I do decorate the electric chair from “Female Trouble.” That is a tradition in my family. We do have Christmas decorations, but they’re usually weird ones that fans sent me. I have one with Divine knocking over the Christmas tree, and the Christmas tree lights up, all sorts of amazing things. There is definitely a tradition here that might be a little altered, but it is definitely a tradition. I used to have a giant party every year, but COVID ended that. I still wouldn’t want 200 people in my house breathing right now.
BLADE: I was looking at your tour schedule and wondered if there are any new cities in which you’ve never performed the John Waters Christmas show that have been added to this year’s schedule?
WATERS: I don’t think there’s a city in America in which I haven’t done one show! The only places I haven’t been to are Hawaii and Alaska. I could do it there, but it’s too long on a tour. I can’t think of a city I haven’t played in in America over the last 50 years. The Christmas show is completely different every year. It doesn’t matter if you saw it last year.
Some gifts scream practical, others whisper luxury, and a few flat-out blur the lines. From cocoa that feels ceremonial to a cologne that linger like a suggestive smirk, this year’s ultimate gift picks prove that thoughtful (and occasionally naughty) presents don’t have to be prosaic. Welcome to your holiday cheat sheet for festive tangibles that get noticed, remembered, and maybe even result in a peck of gratitude planted under the mistletoe. Consensually, of course.
Amber Glass Champagne Flutes
Pop the champs – but make it vintage. These tulip-shaped stunners in amber-tinted glass bring all the Gatsby vibes without the Jazz-age drama. Whether you’re toasting a milestone or celebrating a Tuesday, their seven-ounce capacities and hand-wash-only care make ‘em as practical as they are pretty. Pair with a thoughtful bottle of bubs and gift with a glittering wink. $18, NantucketLooms.com
Disaster Playbook by Here Comes the Apocalypse
Because the end of the world shouldn’t be a solo act, this spiral-bound guide is your step-by-step roadmap to surviving and thriving when everything else goes sideways, which might be sooner than you think. Packed with checklists, drills, and a healthy dose of humor, it’s like a survival manual written by your most prepared (and slightly snarky) friend. Whether you’re prepping for a zombie apocalypse or, more realistically, REVOLUTION!, this playbook’s got your back. $40, HereComesTheApocalypse.com
Wickless Vulva Candles
Bold, luxurious, and completely flame-free, CTOAN’s wickless candles melt from beneath on a warmer, releasing subtle, sophisticated fragrances, like sandalwood or lavender. The vulva-shaped wax adds a playful, provocative element to any space –perfect for a bedroom, living room, or anywhere you want elegance with an edge. A gift that celebrates form, intimacy and self-expression, no fire required. $39, CTOANCO.com
Villeroy & Boch Royal Classic Christmas Collection
Every meal is a mini celebration – with whimsy at every place setting – in Villeroy & Boch’s Royal Classic festive dinnerware collection that hits all the right notes. Made from premium German porcelain, it features nostalgic little toys, nutcrackers, and rocking horses in delicate relief, giving your holiday spread a playful but refined twist. Dishwasher- and microwave-safe, it’s luxe without the fuss. Gift a piece to a special someone, or start a collection they’ll use (and show off) for years to come. $22-$363, Villeroy-Boch.com
Greenworks Electric Lawnmower
You a ’hood queen who considers lawn care performance art – or just wants to rule the cul-de-sac in quiet, emission-free glory? Greenworks’ zero-turn electric mower has the muscle of a 24-horsepower gas engine but none of the fumes, drama or maintenance. Six 60V batteries and a 42-inch deck mean you can mow up to two-and-a-half acres on a single charge – then plug in, recharge, and ride again. It’s whisper-quiet, slope-ready, and smooth enough to make you wonder why you ever pushed anything besides your queer agenda. The perfect gift for the homeowner who loves sustainability, symmetry, and showing off their freshly striped yard like that fresh fade you get on Fridays. $5,000, GreenworksTools.com
Molekule Air Purifier
For the friend who treats their space like a sanctuary (or just can’t stand sneezes), the Molekule Air Pro is magic in motion. Covering up to 1,000 square feet, it doesn’t just capture allergens, VOCs, and smoke – it destroys them, leaving your air feeling luxury-clean. FDA-cleared as a Class II medical device, it’s serious science disguised as modern design. Gift it to your city-dwelling, pet-loving, candle-burning friend who likes their living room as pristine as their Instagram feed. $1,015, Molekule.com
Cipriani Prosecco Gift Set
Effervescent with stone-fruit sweetness and a touch of Italian flair, the Cipriani Bellini & Prosecco gift set brings brunch-level glamour to any day of the week. The Bellini blends rich white-peach purée with sparkling wine, while the dry ’secco keeps things crisp and celebratory. Pop a bottle, pour a flute, and suddenly winter weeknights feel like a party – even with your pants off. $36, TotalWine.com
Woo(e)d Cologne
British GQ recently crowned Woo(e)d by ALTAIA the “Best Date Night Fragrance,” and honestly, they nailed it. Confident without being cocky – smoky gaïac and Atlas cedarwood grounds the room while supple leather and spicy cardamom do all the flirting – it’s a scent that lingers like good conversation and soft candlelight. Gift it to the one who always turns heads – or keep it for yourself and let them come to (and then on) you. $255, BeautyHabit.com
Lococo Cocoa Kit
Keep the run-of-the-mill mugs in the cabinet this Christmas and pull out Lococo’s handcrafted Oaxacan versions that demand you slow down and sip like it matters. Paired with a wooden scoop, rechargeable frother, and Lococo’s signature spice hot-chocolate blend (vegan, gluten-free, with adaptogenic mushrooms), this holiday kit turns Mexi-cocoa into a mini ritual you’ll look forward to. Perfect for anyone who loves a little indulgence with a side of ¡A huevo! energy.
Manta Sleep Mask
Total blackout, zero pressure on the eyes, and Bluetooth speakers built right into the straps, this ain’t your mama’s sleep mask — but it could be. The Manta SOUND sleep mask features C-shaped eye cups that block every hint of light while ultra-thin speakers deliver your favorite white noise, meditation, or late-night playlist straight to your ears. With 24-hour battery life, breathable fabric, and easy-to-adjust sound, it turns any bed (or airplane seat) into a five-star sleep suite. Perfect for anyone who treats shut-eye like an art form (or just wants to escape their roommate’s late-night bingin’ and/or bangin’). $159, MantaSleep.com
Shacklelock Necklace
Turn the industrial-chic vibe of a shackle into a sleek statement. Mi Tesoro’s platinum-plated stainless-steel necklace sits on an 18-inch wheat chain, featuring a shackle-style latch pendant that’s waterproof, tarnish-free, and totally fuss-les. Beyond style, it nods to a classic gesture in the queer leather community: replacing a traditional Master lock with something elegant to quietly signal belonging to someone special. Wear it solo for a minimalist edge or layer it like you mean it; either way this piece locks in both your look and your intentions. $90, MiTesoroJewelry.com
Parkside Flask Mojave Edition
Wine nights get a desert glow-up with Parkside’s limited-edition 750-milliliter all-in-one flask draped in sun-washed bronze and badland hues like sage, sand, and terracotta – with magnetic stemless tumblers that snap on for effortless shareability. It keeps your vino chilled for 24 hours, pours without drips (no tears for spilled rosé, please), and even lets you laser-engrave your own mantra or inside joke. Perfect for picnics, surprise rooftop clinks, or gifting to your favorite wine (or desert) rat. $149, HighCampFlasks.com
Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBT lifestyle expert whose work has published in more than 100 outlets across the world. Connect with him on Instagram @mikeyroxtravels.
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