Credit to @Draddy for the header image.

Every year, all active Nest Members receive a member gift in January (so January 2024 is a Nest gift for all 2023 members). The member gift is a surprise and is meant to be a thoughtful collection of items that Nest members will find useful and unique.

For context, here is an overview of the 2023 Nest member gift:

  • NLU shoehorn
  • NLU ice mold
  • TrapDraw-inspired grocery bag
  • NLU sharpie

We actively try to avoid your standard golf gift and member/guest-type products, and as the Nest membership grows, it’s harder and harder to find a gift that’s universally loved. This positive and negative member feedback has led to one of my favorite Nest traditions: The community reaction to the Nest member gift on our message board.

Before we get into some of my favorite responses in the thread, I think one Nest member summed up what I love about this annual tradition so much.

Juxtapose that response with these two, and you get a true thrill ride of discourse worth your time:

If you are a Nest member who’s unfamiliar with the message board, this would be a great time to jump into the Member gift thread and get involved (just start scrolling down, don’t worry about hopping into the thread mid-discussion). Another good starting point and a post I highly recommend reading in its entirety is KVV’s impassioned defense of the Shoe Horn.

If you are not a message board user, below is a selection of my favorite commentary from this year’s Nest gift thread.

The Nest member gift alternate uses category: My favorite type of post.


The Nest member gift sincere feedback category (always appreciated):


The creative meme category (crowd favorites):

The Nest Member gift malcontents (who are essential and valued in this annual discourse):

And the converted malcontents: