SN&R’s last-minute holiday gift guide

We all do it.

We say, “This time it will be different,” as we’re pushing ourselves back from the Thanksgiving table, and we fully intend to finish our shopping by the middle of the month. We may even scribble out a list, but when it’s time to shop, well—it’s not like the world stops for Christmas!

Worse yet, some of us are holiday-impaired, our imaginations (and perhaps our spirits) stunted by too many years of new underwear and—horrors!—fruitcake masquerading as gifts. OK, so useful is good (and we certainly can’t knock a certain amount of frugality in these uncertain economic times), but Christmas gifts—the best ones, anyway—are all about delight.

So we’ve gathered together a short list of some ways to bring a little delight to your loved ones with presents that are nonetheless the stuff necessary for a happy holiday.

If we’ve managed to add in a bit of caring for the planet, for our fellows and for our local economy, that’s so much the better. But the real goal here is to take the stress out of that last dash to the holiday and come up with some ways to make Christmas worthy of an “oooh” or an “aaahh"!

For that matter, these gift ideas can be adapted for Kwanzaa or Hanukkah or solstice or Yule or Festivus or whatever other reason (or excuse) you’ve got to eat too much, laugh too much and spend time with the people you care about. That really is the point, isn’t it?

So relax. Get set. Now go shop—but do it with a grip on your soul!

Contributors: Kimberly Brown, Sena Christian, Josh Fernandez, Megan Hanson, Jenn Kistler, Katie McMillin, Shoka, Melinda Welsh and Kel Munger.