The Best Gifts to Get Someone from Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is home to many cultural touchstones like Point State Park, the Strip District, the Duquesne Incline--which will take you all the way up to the top of Mt. Washington where you’ll get the best views of the city--Randyland, Kennywood, and of course our three black and gold teams: the Steelers, the Penguins, and the Pirates.
You’ll notice the closer you get to the city, (or when you’re at an airport headed to the Burgh), a lot of yinzers will be reppin’ black and gold jerseys because we like to cheer on our teams no matter the time of year.
Pittsburgh has a lot to explore, from food like our famed “Pittsburgh Salads” (which simply means adding fries to your salad…don’t knock it till you try it) and Primanti Brothers sandwiches, to our many bridges- we actually have the most bridges in any city in the world! Can you believe it? Just like anyone with a strong attachment to their home, Pittsburghers everywhere will proudly boast about their city and will oftentimes want memorable keepsakes, trinkets, and experiences to really imbue their Pittsburgh spirit. We thought we’d take a look at the best gifts to get someone from Pittsburgh so you can add to, or start your collection off right.
Gift an Authentic Pittsburgh Experience 🏙️
As we mentioned in the intro, there's always a lot going on in the city so it’s only right that we go out to explore some of those happenings because while a gift is thought of to be one physical thing, it can actually be an experience as well.
Visit Phipps Conservatory
1 Schenley Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 | phipps.conservatory.org
With many cities in the world, you’ll find a smattering of museums and historical sites to visit, and Pittsburgh has their own which we would recommend starting first with one for nature lovers: Phipps Conservatory. Since 1893, they have been giving the people of Pittsburgh somewhere to go to see fifteen acres including a fourteen-room glasshouse and twenty-three, yes twenty-three, distinct gardens. Plus what makes Phipps great is as the seasons change you’ll get to see new exhibits and flowers on display which makes visiting frequently a fun feat. Open every day of the week starting at 9:30am tickets are $22.95 for adults and $13.95 for kids ages 2-18.
Visit the Carnegie Museum(s) of Art and Natural History
4400 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 | carnegiemuseums.org
Lots of people will argue about the “best museum” in Pittsburgh and we think it’s actually two museums in one place: the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Located in the same building, these two museums have rave reviews from visitors from all over the world including those native to the city. Showing displays throughout time, you’ll be quickly immersed in both history and culture as you take in art pieces as well as exhibits of things from hundreds and thousands of years ago.
The Natural History Museum and the Museum of Art are open every day of the week except Tuesdays starting at 10:00am tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for kids ages 3-18. One ticket gets you into both museums!
Gifts Showing off Your Love for the City 🎇
We gotta love collectibles, art pieces, and gifts that show off Pittsburgh, here’s some that we found and fell in love with:
A Pittsburgh Neighborhood Print
Show off your favorite boroughs and hang this piece in your home! Image courtesy of: love, Pittsburgh.
There should be more companies like love, Pittsburgh out there because they are making sure to tell all those who visit that Pittsburgh is a unique and special place with lots of voices that deserve to be heard creating art and trinkets that really capture the good of the city. They have a ton of really cool products including this Pittsburgh Neighborhoods Print from Squirrel Hill Design And Craft for $30.00. Outlining every neighborhood and many of the city’s parks, you can hang this up in your home to show off to friends and family that come on by. Shout-out to third-generation cartographer Erin for creating this wonderful piece.
A Pittsburgh Puzzle
Puzzlers, we’ve got your next project lined up right for you! Image courtesy of: love, Pittsburgh.
Also from love, Pittsburgh we have something for all aspiring puzzlers out there and it’s the Puzz’ Pittsburgh Puzzle for $28.00. Showing off everyone’s favorite: the Strip District, this puzzle really captures a unique colorful look at the neighborhood and is more than worth the few hours it’ll take you to build it. Containing 1,000 pieces, this puzzle’s artwork was designed by Lucy Engelman and is more than worth the get.
A Pierogi and Pickle Meet at a Bar…
Ornaments don’t have to just be for Christmas, they can be a year-round decoration! Image courtesy of: Etsy.
Cute little trinkets are for everyone and we need to add more whimsey back into all of our lives so we had to include these absolutely adorable Pittsburgh Ornaments - Pickle Ornament - Pierogi Ornament for $9.00+ from Etsy user HeartFeltByJulia. The pierogi of course is a symbol of one of our “food staples” because if we know how to make something right, it’s a pierogi. And the pickle is shouting-out our annual Picklesburgh festival that just celebrated its ten-year anniversary recently.
Learn about the City
History buffs will absolutely love this gift of Pittsburgh! Image courtesy of: Barnes & Noble.
History holds lots of secrets, we only know what has been told to us and we learn new stuff everyday so it’s safe to assume that we don’t know everything about our city and there’s a bunch of fascinating things to explore that haven't seen the light of day. Well, author Len Barcousky uncovered some of that in his book “Hidden History of Pittsburgh” which is available at Barnes & Noble for $23.99 on paperback and $12.99 as an e-Book. Learn and explore the city as you never have before with this book that takes many twists and turns.
Pittsburgh-Themed Goodies Too Good to Pass Up 💛
Say it with us: consumables 👏 are 👏not 👏 a 👏 bad 👏 gift 👏. In fact the more on-theme a consumable gift is the more likely it’s to be received well. And there’s nothing quite like getting a good taste of the Burgh as a gift.
Sarris Chocolate
A classic for kids and adults. Image courtesy of: Sarris Chocolate.
Sweets are something everyone likes to indulge in every once in a while and when you’re in the city there’s nothing better than getting your hands on Sarris Chocolate. You’ll have probably been introduced to Sarris Chocolate when you were a kid as it’s usually a gift given for holidays or sold at school events. We can’t start off a Pittsburgh gift list right without urging you to get an 8 oz. Pretzel Box for $14.95. Oven baked pretzels coated in either milk, dark, or white chocolate all for your pleasure.
Mancini’s Bread
Real Pittsburghers will know from the smell alone that a loaf of Mancini’s Bread is near and there’s a reason people from out of town want to buy an extra suitcase to stuff even more loaves for their trip home- it’s just that damn good. There are grocery stores that work with and distribute a variety of Mancini’s bread(s), but if you want to go to the source you have two options to pick up some gifts for your friend: 601 Woodward Ave in McKees Rocks and/or 1717 Penn Avenue in The Strip. It’s a funny mental image, getting someone a loaf of bread as a gift but trust us: it’ll be more than well received.
A Pittsburgh Themed Gift Basket
Not your average gift basket, no, it’s something better. Image courtesy of: Basket of Pittsburgh.
If you’re someone that likes to give gift baskets as a gift then you might be familiar with Harry & David or 1-800-Baskets. But what if you want something that’s local to the city? Something that doesn’t just have generic goodies in, but a taste of the town instead.
This is where Basket of Pittsburgh comes in.
A local company that ships both inside and outside the city, Basket of Pittsburgh makes all kinds of gifts for any kind of occasion. They truly have an impressive range of baskets including their “Pittsburgh Pride” for $38.00 which has snacks and sweets all popular in the city, as well as their “Dinner is Done!” basket which has grocery items local to Pittsburgh for $78.00.
But we want a wider range so we thought we’d go with their “Strictly Pittsburgh" basket on sale for $90.00 (normally priced at $100.00) which has things like Pittsburgh Sports Sauce (Hot Sauce), an Eat N Park Signature Smiley Cookie, Pittsburgh Popcorn, UTZ Snacks – Bag of Fried Pickle Potato Chips, a Basket of Pittsburgh Signature Trade Marked Incline Box keepsake and more.
Our Famous Smiley Cookies
Smile: you’re eating a smiley cookie! Image courtesy of: Smiley Cookie.
Speaking of Smiley Cookies, we can’t just have one, it’s a travesty to do that, especially when it’s tailgating season and they have crafted their very own Black and Gold Tailgate Gift Box for $29.99. Since it’s sports season, we are more likely to host our own parties, especially when our teams are doing well and what does a party need if not Pittsburgh famous sweets like six Full-Size Black and Gold Smiley® Cookies and twelve Mini Black and Gold Smiley® Cookies. Freshly iced and can be delivered to you ASAP for your convenience.
BONUS ROUND: Pittsburgh Staples
Food is the way to the heart and we love our picks that we’ve found so far but before we move onto the next section we thought we’d add three more Pittsburgh classics just in case you’re liking what we’ve been cooking up:
- 🥂Wigle Whiskey, the award-winning craft spirits has brews like the City of Champions Bourbon for $39.00.
- 🌭Parma Sausage, is aged sausage full of flavor, a great companion for Mancini’s Bread!
- 🍿Pittsburgh Popcorn is so easy to gift (they make sampler packs and have bulk orders in a variety of sizes). Full of flavors and delicious to boot.
Here We Go Steelers, Here We Go 🏈
Out of all the sports teams Pittsburgh has, the Steelers are arguably the most popular. Now that’s not to say we don’t love our Penguins and Iceberg, our cute team mascot, cause we do. (We will slack off the Pirates though and we don’t feel bad about it. It’s actually our right as a yinzer to). So of course we have to include some proper Steelers and a Penguins gift in here to really get the into the Pittsburgh spirit:
A Steelers Gift Box
Get your, officially licensed, package here! Image courtesy of: Fanatics.
Black and golf are our colors and there is a lot of merchandise you can get to spice up your home just in time for the next big game but we gotta love things that are officially licensed from the team itself and where better to go then the Fanatics shop which has this Pittsburgh Steelers Fanatics Pack Tailgate Game Day Essentials Gift Box - $80+ Value on sale right now for $52.49 with code FOX.
In this box you’ll get: a 30'' x 60'' beach towel you don’t have to use at the beach but instead hang up on the wall or hold onto for good juju during a game, a two-sided garden flag with a metal garden flag pole, a multi-use decal sheet with three decals, a 7'' durable stainless steel bottle opener, a slim can cooler 2-pack, and regular can cooler 2-pack.
A Vintage Steeler Shirt for Him
Vintage tees are so in right now and this one is too good to pass up! Image courtesy of: Abercrombie & Fitch.
Big into fashion? Then you know that vintage tees are all the rage right now and there are so many out there that really add to one’s style. We wanted to combine your two loves: looking good and representing your favorite team: the Steelers. That’s where we found this gem from Abercrombie & Fitch for $50: the Pittsburgh Steelers Vintage-Inspired Graphic Tee. Featuring all of our Superbowl Titles (so far) and the logo of our team in a sleek grey, this shirt has sizes from XS to XXXL both in Regular and in Tall.
A Vintage Steeler Crew for Her
Keep up with the trends all while supporting the Steelers! Image courtesy of: Abercrombie & Fitch.
The boys can’t have all the fun, especially when we just found this truly sick Pittsburgh Steelers Vintage Sunday Crew also from Abercrombie & Fitch on sale now for $64 (normally priced at $80). As we know, Pittsburgh weather is a bit unpredictable, so it only makes sense to have a fashion piece that’s good for those days when you wish you brought a jacket out. Coming in a slightly darker grey and a simpler yet cooler design, we have this Sunday Crew in sizes XXS to XXL.
A Penguins Hat
Wear a hat you’ll never grow out of! Image courtesy of: Rally House.
Lots of people wear hats and while the hats you have are more than fine, we thought we’d add another one to your collection to really make it something special. And we have yet to talk about the Penguins so let us show you this 47 Pittsburgh Penguins Trawler Clean Up Adjustable Hat - Black for $30.00 from Rally House. This simple, yet vintage looking design really is timeless and it works as an every-day hat or one you wear specifically when the boys are playing on the ice.
Classic Penguins Earrings
Wear these game days to really show off your love of the team! Image courtesy of: PensGear.com.
As you can sense here, we have gone for quite the classic approach when it comes to our sporting merch recommendations, so we thought we’d end with another classic but this team we’re going back in time to the original Penguins logo with these very darling Pittsburgh Penguins Team Logo Post Earrings from PensGear.com for only $10.00. These can be worn on game days for “good luck,” when you go out to a sports bar, or when you want to show off your favorite team.
Give the Gift of Exploring the City Proper🐧
With the regular, “run of the mill” gift card, you won’t be able to use it to shop at multiple different stores as it's typically only accepted at the store it’s made for. But Visa gift cards are different. With a Visa gift card you can go to any store, restaurant, or online shop that accepts Visa as a form of payment. And most, if not all, businesses accept Visa nowadays so it will work at the smallest Pittsburgh businesses and boutique shops if you're out shopping for something on the ground in the city.
Although it’s fun getting "Pittsburgh" themed gifts, there’s something special about going out and exploring the city to find something uniquely to your own tastes, especially in a place that’s so full of fun trinkets in shops.
We pride ourselves on our Visa gift card experience as you can add a photo to create a custom Visa gift card and get it to you fast. Make the photo on the front their favorite place to visit while in town, a picture of the city itself, or add the Steelers on their as we are deep in football season right now. PerfectGift prints and ships our own Visa gift cards, so we can guarantee same day printing & shipping (if ordered by 4:00pm ET Monday through Saturday). Since we are all in-house, no one else can beat our turnaround time because a lot of other spaces use third-parties to get their stuff ready.
PerfectGift.com is all about finding, well, the perfect gift! With hundreds of popular eGift card brands available, you can personalize and send someone a gift in just a few minutes. Pick between multiple restaurants, famous retailers, online subscription services, and more for your first PerfectGift today.
PerfectGift+ which takes gifting to a whole new level as it allows you to give the amount of money you would be putting on the gift card, but not tie it to any specific merchant. Instead the recipient gets to choose any merchant they want from our vast catalog. What makes PerfectGift stand out from the crowd is our flexibility.
Become the perfect gift giver.
Finding the best gifts from Pittsburgh isn’t hard when you have professional yinzers like us guiding you every step of the way. There are so many unique items out there waiting to be purchased for your home, you just gotta know where to look 😉.
