Bob Ross Chia Pet

Give it a week or two and Bob Ross grows his famous perm back, in bright green chia sprouts. The terracotta bust captures the beard and the calm half-smile, and the seeds fill in the hair so it looks surprisingly like the real thing.

The kit has everything: the pottery planter, a plastic drip tray and chia seed packets for three plantings. A simple six-step guide walks through growing it, and the planter reaches full growth in one to two weeks. When the sprouts are done, you wash the planter and start again, as many times as you like.

This is a gentle, nostalgic gift that works for almost any adult in a gift swap. Anyone who remembers the ch-ch-ch-chia jingle or watched The Joy of Painting gets the joke the moment they see the box. It suits an office windowsill, a painter, or someone who wants a plant but keeps killing them.

The catch: it needs watering and a bit of attention to grow, and the green hair lasts a few weeks before you replant. There are only three rounds of seed in the box, so a die-hard fan will need to buy more to keep Bob’s hair going.