Happy Owlidays!

Rice Magazine’s third-annual holiday gift guide highlights three alumni-owned businesses that collectively offer something for everyone on your list.

Product photo of Little Red Wagon granola with festive props
For a delicious, healthy treat for family or friends, check out Little Red Wagon Granola, owned and operated by Ven Rajarathinam McMahan. Photo courtesy of Little Red Wagon Granola 

By Tracey Rhoades

For a delicious, healthy treat for your family or friends, check out Little Red Wagon Granola, owned and run by Ven Rajarathinam McMahan ’05. Based in Durham, North Carolina, Little Red Wagon is known for its small-batch, crisp, golden granola in five craveable flavors: Cinnamon-Spiced Original, Orange-Cranberry Cosmopolitan, Coffee-Kissed Mocha (dark chocolate), Crunchy Monkey (banana chocolate) and the Big Apple. With no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners and eco-friendly packaging, Little Red Wagon Granola is perfect for breakfast bowls at home or snack breaks on the run. Check out littleredwagongranola.com for monthly subscriptions and options for shipping throughout the U.S.

Photo of a bottle of Two Souls Spirits bourbon
Rice Business grad and co-owner Karen Gentry and the company’s whiskey doctor, James Estrada, partner with craft distilleries to select and bottle limited-edition spirits under their own label. Photo courtesy of Two Souls Spirits

Two Souls Spirits is a Houston-based independent bottler bringing unique, limited-release spirits to market. A whiskey enthusiast for over a decade, Rice Business grad and co-owner Karen Gentry ’23 and the company’s whiskey doctor, James Estrada, partner with craft distilleries to select and bottle limited-edition spirits under their own label — bottling, aging, barrel finishing and blending to create one-of-a-kind releases. The lineup includes single-barrel bourbons, ryes and American single malt whiskeys; small-batch selections; unique finished whiskeys aged in honey, wine and specialty casks; and special releases spotlighting underappreciated categories like light whiskey. Every bottle is hand-selected and released in limited quantities, making it an ideal gift for the whiskey lover. Available at twosoulsspirits.com.

Photo of children making crafts
Founded by Rice Business alumna Devina Bhojwani, IDEA Lab Kids offers an array of programs in 14 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Photo courtesy of IDEA Lab Kids

As technology continues to change how we live and work, the next generation needs more opportunities — not fewer — to build, experiment and solve real-world problems with their own hands. Founded by Rice Business alumna Devina Bhojwani ’06, IDEA Lab Kids helps children ages 4 to 14 build the skills AI can’t replace: curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving. Through engaging STEM, robotics, coding, culinary and visual arts, and entrepreneurship programs, students learn by designing, building and experimenting through hands-on experiences. IDEA Lab Kids offers an array of programs in 14 locations in the U.S. and Canada; learn more at idealabkids.com.

From the Fall 2026 issue of Rice Magazine