Narf-Made Holidays: 12 Budget DIY Gifts Only a True Pinky & the Brain Fan Will Understand
Look, we all have that one relative who quotes the nightly plan at Thanksgiving. And we all have that one friend who responds exclusively in 'Narf' and 'Zort.' This year, instead of gifting them another gift card to a restaurant they'll forget by February, why not make something with your own two hands — hands that, unlike Brain's, actually work?
Every project below costs $20 or less, requires roughly the skill level of a Saturday morning cartoon marathon, and comes with a verdict: is this a Brain gift (precise, strategic, slightly menacing) or a Pinky gift (chaotic, heartfelt, likely covered in glitter)?
1. The 'World Domination Is One Gift Away' Mug
Cost: ~$8 | Time: 30 minutes
Grab a plain white mug from any dollar store, pick up oil-based paint markers, and letter the classic phrase in your best sinister handwriting. Add a tiny outline of the Earth with a checkmark next to it. Bake per the marker instructions to set the design.
Verdict: Brain gift. The recipient will sip coffee from it while muttering about their five-year plan. That's the point.
2. DIY Acme Labs Cage Ornament
Cost: ~$10 | Time: 1 hour
Small wooden birdhouse or miniature shadow box + craft paint (go institutional gray) + thin floral wire for the bars + a printed 'ACME LABS' label. Add two tiny pom-pom mice if you're feeling ambitious. Hang it on the tree, ideally near the star, because Brain would insist on proximity to power.
Verdict: Brain gift, though the pom-pom mice push it into Pinky-adjacent territory.
3. 'Pinky, Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?' Question Jar
Cost: ~$6 | Time: 20 minutes
Decorate a mason jar, then fill it with folded slips of paper featuring absurd hypotheticals — both real ones from the show and your own inventions ('If a snowman melts into a puddle, does he dream of being an ocean?'). The recipient draws one whenever dinner conversation stalls.
Verdict: Pinky gift. Deeply silly. Genuinely useful at parties.
4. Plan for World Domination Notebook
Cost: ~$7 | Time: 45 minutes
Cover a composition notebook in kraft paper, stencil 'THE PLAN — VOL. 1' on the front, and add a red 'TOP SECRET' stamp (a rubber stamp costs about $4 online). First page: write 'Same thing we do every night.'
Verdict: Brain gift. Your recipient will actually use it. Possibly for evil.
5. Glitter Brain Snow Globe
Cost: ~$9 | Time: 1 hour
Glue a small brain-shaped stress ball (or a painted ping-pong ball with drawn-on eyebrows) inside a mason jar lid, fill with water, glycerin, and an irresponsible amount of glitter. Shake. Behold a storm of ambition.
Verdict: Pinky gift, because Brain would never endorse glitter. Glitter is uncontainable. Glitter cannot be dominated.
6. 'Egad' Cross-Stitch Hoop
Cost: ~$12 | Time: an evening (or six)
Simple pattern: the word 'EGAD' in big letters inside an embroidery hoop, framed and hung. Free font charts abound online; beginners should start with 14-count Aida cloth and lowered expectations.
Verdict: Pinky gift, if you use rainbow thread. Brain gift if you use black. Choose wisely.
7. The ACME Labs ID Badge
Cost: ~$5 | Time: 15 minutes
Design a laminated employee badge — photo optional, 'LAB MOUSE' title mandatory — and attach a clip-on badge reel. Slip it into a stocking. Watch your recipient wear it to the grocery store with total confidence.
Verdict: Both. Universal. Timeless. Slightly concerning.
8. 'Take Over the World' Advent Calendar (Plans Edition)
Cost: ~$15 | Time: 2 hours
24 tiny numbered envelopes strung on twine with mini clothespins. Each contains a single ridiculous scheme: 'Day 9 — replace all mall Santa beards with synthetic fur you personally approve.' The recipient opens one per day in December.
Verdict: Brain gift. Structure. Ritual. Escalation.
9. Pom-Pom Pinky & Brain Desk Buddies
Cost: ~$6 | Time: 1 hour
Two large pom-poms, felt ears, googly eyes, and hot glue. The white one gets a slightly deranged smile; the gray one gets eyebrows angled for maximum menace. They sit on a monitor and judge everyone.
Verdict: Pinky gift. No further analysis needed. Narf.
10. 'Sorry, I'm Planning' Doormat
Cost: ~$18 | Time: 1.5 hours
Plain coir doormat plus outdoor paint. Stencil 'SAME THING WE DO EVERY NIGHT' across it. Guests will either get it or they won't — that's the filter working as intended.
Verdict: Brain gift. It sets expectations before anyone crosses the threshold.
11. Freeze Your Brain Cookie Kit
Cost: ~$12 | Time: 2 hours
Bake a batch of sugar cookies, frost them gray and white, and pack them in a tin labeled 'LAB-GROWN. DO NOT QUESTION IT.' Include a note reading 'You are what you eat, apparently.'
Verdict: Pinky gift, because it's delicious, illogical, and made with love.
12. The Complete Plan: A Gift Basket
Cost: ~$20 | Time: 1 hour
Combine the mug (#1), a mini notebook (#4), and a few cookies (#11) in a crate labeled 'ACME LABS HOLIDAY PROTOCOL.' Total spend lands right around $20 if you shop smart, which Brain would respect.
Verdict: Both. For the fan who's the whole duo in one body. You know exactly who that is.
A Final Word From the Workbench
None of these will actually help you take over the world — we checked, repeatedly, with varying degrees of legal counsel. But they will make a fan's holiday, and unlike Brain's schemes, these plans are guaranteed to succeed. Mostly. The doormat stencil might smear. Plan accordingly.
Now if you'll excuse us, there's a glitter snow globe drying on the desk and we've already shaken it eleven times. Narf, and happy crafting.
