Ultimate Persian Gift Guide

The 2021 Ultimate Persian Gift Guide is here! This list has been carefully curated to feature unique gift ideas with a focus on small businesses. Hopefully you find it useful and can share it with friend and family who will enjoy it as well. 


Persian Treats

photo via anarco.ca

Anar is based in Canada and is a duo of two women creating exquisite handmade lavashak with no added sugar, citric acid or preservatives. If you have a lavashak lover in your life, this is the good stuff and you can order lavashak gift boxes in varying sizes that provide an assortment of flavors. Anar ships to US and Canada.


lavashak lovers
photo via lavashak.com

Lavashak Lovers offers a subscription service called the Lavashak Lovers Box that will provide you or your gift recipient with a box loaded with lavashak each month. If you or someone you know is hooked on lavashak, this is the gift that keeps on giving.


Image via vartamelon.com

Vartamelon sells creative Persian-inspired baked goods with beautiful presentation as she does it all herself with a careful eye for detail. Her Sampler Box contains a little of everything from koloucheh bites to saffron rice crispy treats, sandwich cookies, her signature baklava pop tart and more!


 
Image via zozobaking.com

Zozo Baking offers beautiful handmade Persian pastries that are just gorgeous! The Tehran gift box pictured above features some of Chef Fariba's famous Kolompeh as well as several other cookies that are just as beautiful as they are delicious! Be sure to check the bazaar at Zozo Baking for more offerings like chai, baking tools and a Persian boutique.


 
magic date bites

MAGICdATES are the creation of founder, Diana, who wanted to share the sweet taste of dates. Dates are blended with walnuts, coconut, and cacao to bring you a chewy, crunchy, and sweet bite with just a touch of Himalayan salt. The chocolate covered varieties like the Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Snack Bites are just delectable and would make a great gift for just about anyone.


 

Gifts for Children

photo via anaarfashion.com

Outfit your favorite baby in this cute Yalda onesie available in six colors from Anaar Urban Fashion who also makes apparel for youth and adults.

 

photo via amazon.com

Yalda Night by Anahita Tamaddon introduces children to one of the most beloved Iranian holidays of the year through the eyes of the six year old character Soraya. During a time when she is otherwise sad about the cold, dark days of winter, she is excited to find the warmth the celebrations of Yalda night bring.

 

 

photo via littleperisan.com

The Persian Alphabet Big Easy Box Set will delight and engage children of any age as they use colorful visuals, hands-on alphabet objects and included ideas for games and activities (ages 2+) to learn the Persian alphabet. Parents will find pronunciation guides in English, teacher-created example lesson plans, discussion prompts, activity ideas and games. It's all in the box! This is the perfect family gift as it will be useful for everyone in the home. 

shahnameh for kids

Image via shahnamehforkids.com

Shahnemeh for Kids offers great retelling of ancient Persian myths. They are a vibrant and engaging way to make a kid-friendly introduction to Ferdowsi's epic Shahnameh.

gandomak

Image via gandomak.org

Gandomak offers high quality children's literature in Persian. If your child is already reading Persian, these are great titles to keep around for practicing Persian.  


Apparel and Accessories 

razavi collection

Founded by a mother-daughter trio, Razavi Collection offers fashionable, affordable pieces with an evil eye theme.  Seen here is the Vision necklace - one of their many chic necklaces. The Razavi Collection has a huge following, including some celebrities. Each month 10% of proceeds benefit a hand-picked charity. 


 
photo via thegeev.com

Gift your favorite car enthusiast with this Paykan enthusiast tee featuring the iconic Iranian chariot - available in multiple colors from The Geev.


 
photo via etsy.com

Grandparents love letting others know that they are grandparents and they will swoon over the Baba Joon and Maman Bozorg tees available in multiple colors from Ruxart on Etsy. 


 
photo via etsy.com

Celebrate Yalda in style with these colorful socks available in multiple sizes from Prints of Persia on Etsy. 



Tahdig Not War
Image via savagemuse.com

Make Tahdig Not War Shirts are iconic shirts created by Savage Muse They are great statement pieces that are bound to be well received by a lucky friend or loved one. Founder Parisa Parnian designed the shirts and has made them quite popular as she wears hers with flair and has garnered attention from many other like-minded tahdig (and peace) lovers.



 

Gifts for Chefs and Food Lovers

photo via cyrussaffron.com


Cyrus Saffron is a small business providing organic saffron grown in Washington state. They offer a selection of saffron in various sizes and a few other products like saffron sea salt.  What a great story they have raising the bar for US grown saffron. 


image via zaffrus.com


Zaffrus is known for premium and organic saffron, easy-to-use saffron powder and also features speciality items like this saffron infused honey.  What a great treat this would be for any tea lovers on your list.


 

 

image via tahdiglover.com


Tahdig Lover has grown a huge following by making the art of tahdig approachable and fun with their all-in-one kits. Check out the Tahchin Bundle (pictured above), the Tahdiglover Kit  and more! Tahdig Lover is based in the UK so if ordering internationally be sure to allow extra time for delivery. 

 


Image via feastbylouisa.com


The Persian Flavors Gift Set by Louisa Shafia contains a Persian Spice Kit, a 12" Rice Bonnet, and a copy of The New Persian Kitchen. This is the perfect gift for any food lover! Louisa's online shop features an assortment of unique gift sets.


 

photo via enjoyspiceoflife.com

Spice of Life sells award-winning Persian simmer sauces and is currently selling a gift set. Each jar provides a variety of meal options that will be ready in about twenty minutes - perfect for busy foodies!

Cookbooks

photo via amazon.com

Chef Shadi HasanzadeNemati is well known for her website and social media following as Unicorns in the Kitchen. Her best-selling cookbook Easy Persian Kitchen is a great start for beginners with 100 recipes including step-by-step instructions, shopping tips, a how-to guide for preparing Persian ingredients and more!

  

 

photo via amazon.com

In Pomegranates and Roses, celebrated TV chef Ariana Bundy shares part memoir and part travelogue in this collection of memories inspired by her memories of an Iranian kitchen and made greater by her impressive resume as a renowned chef. 

 

 

Image via amazon.com

Food of Life is the award-winning, authoritative gold standard of Persian cookbooks written by Najmieh Batmanglij. She has written several other cookbooks including Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey and Joon - a wonderful book that simplifies Persian cooking.

 

 

photo via igotitfrommymaman.com

Chef Hami Sharafi, known for his blog I Got It From My Maman, has created a great concept by prerecording his top classic recipes as instructional videos. This way, you get his well-loved recipes as well as his expert instruction on Persian cooking techniques. What a cool idea! Check out the Ghormeh Sabzi Masterclass, the Sweet and Sour Bundle and the Full Bundle for a huge discount and a large collection of all of your Persian favorites.  

  

 For the Home

photo via kuzehpottery.com

This pomegranate bud vase from Kuzeh Pottery is perfect for any Shab-e Yalda sofreh and would likely be used all year because it's just that cute!

 

photo via biancatschaikner.com

Is there a Shirazi on your list this year? Artist Bianca Tschaikner sells this whimsical map of Shiraz that would surely be hung with pride.

 

photo via superstitchous.com

This pomegranate throw blanket (also available in a mini size) is one of many fruit-themed sustainably made blankets with symbolic meaning made by Superstitchous. Other great options are the persimmon blanket, fig blanket and the evil eye blanket. You can't go wrong with any of these for just about anyone on your list!

 

 

photo via delledining.com

Chef Nadia Deljou  of Delle Dining offers private dining experiences in the Atlanta area and recently launched Delle candles inspired by Persian culture and flavors including Poetry & Perfume, At Mamani & Baba's and Stay for Chai. Each candle comes with a QR code that will include a suggested song and recipe. All candles are hand poured, soy based, and made with a curated blend of essential oils created to achieve a very specific scent. Hurry and contact Delle Dining on Instagram via DM as word is these are already almost sold out!

 

photo via joonandjigar.com 

There is no better way to toast than in these "Salamati" stemless wine glasses from Joon and Jigar. A set of these with a bottle of wine would be a great gift! 

 

photo via moma.org

If you have not yet learned the game of backgammon, ask your parents, grandparents or favorite aunt or uncle and someone will be sure to rope you into this addictive game of strategy. This sharp looking backgammon set is available from the Museum of Modern Art store.

 

Persian Learning Materials


Little Persian offers teacher-created learning sets that will help learners of any age quickly master Persian vocabulary. The Beginner Bundle (pictured above) or Read and Write Bundle are good starting places for those new to Persian.  Little Persian also offers digital downloads that support learning with fun age-appropriate games and activities. 



Chai and Conversation offers a host of audio and printed resources to learn conversational Persian sold as a monthly subscription at varying levels. Her co-host is a Persian language learner so the audio is full of helpful tips on pronunciation and the content covers a vast array of topics. This is a great gift for adult language learners.



Bahareh Teaches Farsi offers private language lessons available to buy as sessions in any quantity. She is a highly trained English-Farsi translator, with a PhD in translational studies and over 15 years of experience as a translator and instructor. Her lessons focus on conversational Persian but she is willing and able to customize to the goals of each student at any age.


Image via amazon.com

An English Persian Dictionary is a required resource for Persian language learners. If you know someone learning Persian, this will be a great resource to have on hand.


Persian Reading

  

photo via amrevanbooks.com

Moon and Sun is a selection of Rumi's rubaiyat in a bilingual English-Persian edition. Zara Houshmand translated these works in an a quest to provide English readers with a much-needed authentic translation of Rumi and work here is highly revered. 

 

 

photo via amazon.com

Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings is an English translation by Ahmad Sadri of Ferdowsi’s classic poem that is part myth, part history–beginning with the legend of the birth of the Persian nation and its tumultuous history. This version retells the mythological tales in prose format and features spectacular illustrations created from elements culled from thousands of manuscripts, lithographs, and miniatures dating from the thirteenth through the nineteenth centuries. 

 

 

 

photo via amazon.com

The Persians is an authoritative and comprehensive history of Iran, written by Homa Katouzian, an acclaimed expert, covers the entire history of the area from the ancient Persian Empire to today’s Iranian state.

 

photo via amazon.com

In Persepolis 2, author Marjane Satrapi continues her fascinating story in this follow-up to her heralded memoir Persepolis, which the Los Angeles Times called  “one of the freshest and most original memoirs of our day,”

 

Hopefully you have found this list helpful. Bookmark it for future use and share it with someone who would find it useful! (It never hurts to send an explicit hint to significant others or grandparents.)

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Looking for more? Check out last year's list!

 

Little Persian has a mission to provide high quality Persian learning materials.  Little Persian is more than just learning materials. It is a movement to connect children and their families to Persian heritage and to one another. 

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