Forget finals: shop for holiday gifts galore

By Andrea Lynch

When I went home last week, I remembered something that is easy to forget when you've been at school too long: college is a vortex. While eating dinner with my parents for the first time in three months, I watched their faces contort with horror and disgust after I innocently asked, "Septuplets? What septuplets?" It is easy to drift into your own little world here at Yale, which makes it important to keep an eye on the outside world.

As the temperature drops and reading week looms, we all need to start reminding ourselves that Thanksgiving is officially over. All across our fine country, and even in our very own dining halls, cheerful and festive Americans are perkily preparing for the holiday season. They are stringing Christmas lights, buying dreidels, baking fruit cakes, and most importantly, making their gift lists and checking them twice. Yes, that's right, wake up and smell the spirit of giving. Or, failing that, get ready to buy into consumer culture. You don't want to wait in line at HMV record store with all the rest of the procrastinators on Christmas Eve, especially after two weeks of rigorous study. Maybe you shouldn't be studying so hard, my friend. Maybe you should be thinking of gift ideas instead.

So what should you give your friends this year? New Haven can be a difficult place to shop, but if you know where to go, you won't have to disappoint with another pair of socks from the Gap or bagel from Au Bon Pain. If you're not sure what you're looking for, check out the inconspicuous Antiques store on York Street between Crown and Chapel. This funky little underground den of surprises is sure to inspire you, and its low prices will be especially pleasing to the thrifty shopper. For the even thriftier shopper, there's always Sam's Dollar Mart in the Chapel Square Mall. You may have to wade through a lot of bad, useless stuff to get to it, but if you persevere, I guarantee you will emerge with a charmingly useless item--a bargain at twice the price.

Books and music may not be the most original gifts out there, but they are good non-committal items to get someone if you're not sure whether your relationship has progressed to the exchange-of-gifts level. Cutler's seems to be the only music store around for those of us who don't have access to cars (be sure to check out the massive selection in Cutler's Classical for those with a cultivated musical palette). However, New Haven is a literary gold mine.

We all know about Atticus, Book Haven, and the Co-op, and we certainly would have to be fools not to know about the Yale Bookstore by this point. But if you're looking for a slightly more obscure tome, mosey on over to upper Whitney Avenue and browse through one of the many used book stores there, like Arethusa, the Foundry, or the Bryn Mawr.

If you're looking for a hot new book that your friend probably doesn't already own, check out Warp, the first novel from Lev Grossman (a recent graduate of our very own graduate department of comparative literature). This quirky take on one man's personal experience during the dreaded post-graduate year will charm your friend with its clever references and bitingly deadpan dialogue.

Or, as I always say, just shock 'em. This season, try something different and give a low-maintenance pet such as a fish. Bop on over to your local pet shop, pick out a particularly pleasing fellow, a glass bowl, a little bit of colorful gravel, Tetra Min, and some plastic plants (throw in a fake treasure chest if you want to be really daring), and you'll not only be giving someone a present, you'll also be giving them a companion who can breathe under water. And don't worry, if your friend doesn't really want a fish, it will probably die within a few weeks anyway! "A win/win situation," my cat says, although her other gift suggestions (crippled mouse, flightless bird, and bag full of insects) might not be so appropriate.

Clothes are risky gift business, but if you feel like taking the plunge, take a (long) walk up State Street to Solemate, one of my favorite stores in New Haven. Solemate primarily sells shoes, but it also carries a funky selection of hats, scarves, tights, hair dyes, shoelaces, and second-hand clothing. And even if you don't get anything there, you will still discover one of the hippest neighborhoods in town. Grab a pizza at Modern, which puts Pepe's and Sally's to shame, and top off the excursion with a cup of joe at the ambient Cafe Diesel.

You can never go wrong with the gift shops at the Yale University Art Gallery and the British Art Center. Their wide selection of classy prints, notecards, calendars, journals, and art books should fill any holes on your list. If you're looking for something a little less highfalutin', walk a little further down Chapel Street, towards Park, and stop in at Group W Bench. If your friend already has a three-foot bong, you could always get the whippersnapper a nice piece of pottery or a fun little gadget.

Maybe this season you don't feel like being a cheerful little consumer. O.K. Commie, what could be better than a gift crafted by your own loving, generous hands? Back in high school when I could do things that required more than 20 minutes of my time, I used to make books for my close friends. Take three pieces of paper, fold them in half, staple the crease, and voilà! You have just created a 10-page book. Conjure up the muse of friendship and write a story about your best pal. Some suggestions for plot: the story of how you became friends, the story of his or her life (hopefully abridged), the story of a particularly amusing or embarrassing episode that you have shared. Finish it off with drawings, photographs, or clippings from magazines, and get ready to be called "Santa" for the rest of your life.

I know this next idea sounds like summer camp, but take my word for it, a mix tape has always been and will always be the holiday gift that keeps on giving. It says, "I love you, and I want you to love my musical taste." A carefully constructed mix with creative transitions and eclectic selections can melt the heart of your favorite Scrooge or Scroogette. Remember, a good camper always uses a high fidelity cassette, decorates the cover, and makes sure that the tape doesn't run out before the last song is over.

I have been a naughty little elf and saved the best for last. So, if you've read this far, your reward is the gift idea that puts all other gift ideas to shame: a Polaroid camera. Polaroids are surprisingly cheap (a little over $20), and if you throw in a couple rolls of not-so-cheap film, the gift is complete. This brilliant gift idea was pioneered last year by my beloved ex-roommates, Julie Cooper and Molly Green (names have been changed to preserve confidentiality) and met with roaring success on every front. You don't know anyone who deserves so fine a gift? Be your own Santa and treat yourself to a Polaroid camera. You can always take pictures of your new pets!

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