Our self-serving recommendation for a cheap, wondrous gift for any curious person: The e-book editions of the Annals of Improbable Research.
Here’s the full list of issues. You can get them on Amazon.com, Kobo, or Barnes & Noble. (Amazon and B&N make it easy to send an issue as a gift.)
Download a free issue:
PS. Paper, paper, paper! If you prefer paper, you can instead send a gift subscription to the paper version of the magazine, which has the same content as the e-books!