1 day to Christmas: You're kinda in a bind unless you're celebrating Orthodox Christmas

At this point, it's 24 hours to Christmas and you probably want to avoid the mall because it'll be crazy busy and possibly crazy depressing. I'm going to make some last minute suggestions for your local 24 hour drugstore without resorting to the gift card rack.

Band Aids: 

Last time I checked, little kids love Band Aids. It's like crack to kids, but the safer crack since it's marginally less destructive than than actual crack for kids aka refined sugar. Stop by the Band Aid aisle and buy at least 5 boxes of cute themed Band Aids, 10 boxes if your budget permits. Get the premium branded cute stuff, don't skimp out on generic plain Band Aids. It's Christmas, don't be a grinch. Wrap them up and let them rip it all open on Christmas morning. It's the gift that might not last long and it's the gift that parents might not like very much, but it'll provide about 5 minutes of pure joy and quite a bit of trash.

Themed sets of magazines:

Stop by the magazine aisle and top like twenty bucks on a pile of magazines geared toward someone's interest or guilty pleasure. If you want to fake it, buy a hard copy of a magazine and then sneak online and buy them a subscription that will come in a few weeks.

Decor and Home Stuff: 

• House Beautiful
• Dwell
• Elle Decor

Trashy Stuff - buy a couple for multiple sources of Kim Kardashian's latest adventures:

• US
• Star
• National Enquirer
• People…to keep it a little respectable

Food Stuff:

• Bon Appetite
• Food & Wine
• Gourmet
• Food Network

You get the idea…just buy a bunch of stuff in the same category for the illusion of thoughtfulness

As Seen on TV:

I've noticed that my local CVS has a section of goofy Christmas gifts that are mostly as seen on TV type gifts. If you're gonna go this route, I recommend you totally own the gift by playing up the campiness and being over the top. Avoid "practicality, "usefulness" and "good taste" at all costs since most gifts from this drugstore aisle will not qualify. Get them something that they'd never buy themselves, something they might secretly want, but are too embarrassed. Think butter butlers, chia pets, chocolate fountains, lava lamps, etc.

Merry Christmas! Best of luck at the local drugstore if you're headed there to shop…you're gonna need it in more ways than one.

2 Weeks to Christmas: I really wish I were kid...

Ice Cream Truck from OTO Toys

When I saw this beautiful cardboard ice cream truck toy, I was smitten. It's adorable! I want it, but I need this cardboard ice cream truck as much as I need an ridiculously expensive handbag. I can probably semi justify the handbag more easily. Someone I know, please buy this for your child so I can come visit and play.

Uncle Goose Blocks

I'm also obsessed with all shapes (just cubic) and sizes of Uncle Goose blocks. I bought a set of lower case blocks for Zristen's baby shower as decorations and I really really wanted to keep them for myself.

The classic upper case ABC and lower case abc blocks are great. The lower case abc blocks are a little unusual, they feature baby versions of animals on the blocks. They also have foreign language blocks for smart multiethnic babies. I bought the Arabic set for a friend who's Moroccan Moving beyond the letter blocks, you'll find awesome blocks with periodic tables, USA blocks and Presidential blocks. If you want to get all high design and buy me gift, they have Eames House blocks, House Industry Font Alphabet blocks, Christmas Tree blocks and so much more.

3 Weeks to Christmas: Game Night

As a child, Adam dreamed of family game nights which rarely came to fruition either due to lack of interest or initiative. These days, Adam hosts a monthly game night that's now a "thing" after a year of persistently having fun. It's a potluck game night so you bring games and snacks to share. It's also been fun to learn about new games that would also make cool gifts. Here's the round up of new discoveries and old favorites thanks to adventurous game playing friends.

King of Toyko

You might not realize by looking at him, but Adam is really into super heroes, zombies and monsters. Our friends Zrian and Zbigail introduced us to King of Tokyo, a game pitting imaginary monsters with even more imaginary powers in an epic battle set in pretty much an imaginary Tokyo. Let me assure you that there's nothing culturally educational about this game. You will learn nothing about actual Tokyo, but it's fun nonetheless. Adam loved King of Tokyo so much, he promptly ordered his own set the next week so he could bring it his new toy to someone else's house. I've come to enjoy it myself and I especially like to make sound effects like, "whack whack" when my monster takes a "whack."

Ticket to Ride

I love this train building game because it's a perfect fit for my personality and it's right in my sweet spot. It's even sorta educational and it's definitely a ton of fun. We have the American version, but there's also an European version. I look forward to playing it every game night without fail.

I'm an ISTJ and if you're not familiar with Myers Briggs, let me break it down for you within a Ticket to Ride context.

Introvert: There's no trading and negotiating in this game which is perfect if you want to hang out with people, but maybe don't want to be chatty the entire time. Everyone has their own agenda, there's almost no cooperation and minimal interaction. I almost feel energized after a game of Ticket to Ride.

Sensing: Collecting train cards, building trains, building routes is all super tangible and detailed oriented. I love it!

Thinking: Successfully building a train route from LA to NYC requires a lot of forethought, deliberate planning and lots of opportunities to use the old noggin…quietly with little interaction.

Judgement: First step of this game is to decide which train routes you're going to build. Yipee! I know where I'm going and I have a tangible goal. I can measure my goal when I reach it and check it off my list.

Oh man, I really want to play Ticket to Ride now. Maybe I can persuade Adam to play with me.

4 Weeks to Christmas: Fancy Pants gifts that are not actually pants

Here are two items that I instantly coveted as soon as I saw them. They provoked an unfamiliar feeling of profound regret and the thought, "I wish I'd waited to buy XYZ, this one is so much cooler. Wah!" Buyers remorse is a very rare experience for me which is why I'm highlighting these two fancy pants gift ideas that are just a little bit slicker and cooler, but entirely unnecessary.

Custom Jambox…ships in 2 days…wow!

I am a sucker for anything customizable, especially if the custom version costs the same as the standard version. Years ago, Wheezy and I wasted countless hours customizing messenger bags at Timbuk2 so I knew I was in trouble when I saw that you could customize your own Jambox. I already own a little red Jambox so I don't need another one, but I love little red Jambox so much, I'm considering replacing my Bose iPod sound dock with a second Jambox. It's small, portable, super easy to use and easy on the eyes.

Bose Noise Canceling Earbuds

I just bought myself Bose Noise Canceling Headphones this summer. In fact, Adam and plasticmom both have their own headphones so I can't even pawn my headphones off on them and buy new ones. I do love my headphones and I use them all the time. One of my favorite "activities" (and plasticmom's) is to wear the headphones while miming to those around you (namely Adam) that you can't "hear" them even though you sorta still can. The only downside to the headphones is that they are bulky and these new earbuds that Bose released are NOT bulky. I absolutely do not need a second pair of noise canceling thingies, but I kinda wished they'd been offered earlier this year when I was buying my bulky headphones.

Bulky Noise Canceling Headphones? Nah, just some old school 80s headphones on baby plasticann.

5 Weeks to Christmas: New Home Sweet Homes

This year, a number of my friends have bought new homes and moved. It's both exciting and a little bittersweet with everyone moving on to a new phase. I've leaned on these two gift ideas to celebrate this milestone recently and since they're require a little bit of lead time, order early and be done with your shopping.

Fancy Address Stamp: 

Your friends might not buy themselves a fancy personalized address stamp because they're waiting for their first batch of "free" address labels from the American Cancer Society, but you know they'll appreciate one of these fancy address stamps. I'd like to think it makes paying the mortgage more palatable. 

Save The Date on Etsy is a favorite vendor of mine. Here are some more cool looking shops like foryoo and and Greenhouse Studio. 

Personalized Word Map:

A little personalized something to remember their last home and all the memories. Adam and I personalized this map for Adam's dad who grew up in Seattle. Amanda from UrbanFootprintDesign on Etsy helped us personalized the map with important landmarks from growing up there. 

6 Weeks to Christmas: Local Candy Gift Ideas

This year, I'm not feeling super ambitious so I'm going to keep it at just one weekly post with a few gift ideas in the six weeks leading up to 12/25/13. I'm starting out with some local candy gifts which also work great as gifts for your Thanksgiving hosts.

Local candy if local means Somerville, MA

Taza Chocolate: This is not a new discovery by any means and it's a massive local favorite, but I've rediscovered them recently when searching out for gluten free and dairy free gifts. It's been challenging to find food gifts that are GF and DF that I actually really enjoy myself so I'm pretty excited about Taza Chocolates this year for its dietary versatility

• Gluten Free and Dairy Free
• Fun limited edition holiday flavors like Gingerbread and Eggnog
• Chocolate samplers are a great way to try a bunch of their flavors, I love the Salt & Pepper
• They even offer tours at their company store in Somerville which is super fun. You do have to wear a hair net and a beard net if you've got a winter beard like Adam

Adam's hair net and beard net at the Taza factory tour

Spindler Chocolates: I discovered these guys at the Davis Square Flea Market this fall where I bought their Almond Clusters and their Pate de Fruit jelly candies. Both were delicious and they're made right outside of Porter Square.

• Full of dairy
• Local dude making a living making candy
• Product looks more expensive than it actually is, always a plus

PocketMonkey - a cool nerdy geeky handy gift idea

As soon as Adam watched this video online, he immediately asked me to get him a PocketMonkey thin credit card sized multi purpose tool doodad. They're available online and locally at DavisSquared in [take a guess] Davis Square where I bought one for Adam and one for my friend Zave. They're $12 each, thin like a credit card and TSA complaint so you can fly with it. We gave it to Zave yesterday and had a fun time checking out all the various features which include:

1. Phone Kickstand
2. Bottle Opener
3. Orange Peeler / Banana Peeler
4. 3 screwdriver: flathead, micro flathead, 2D Philips head
5. Hex wrench
6. Ruler / Scraper
7. Letter Opener
8. Locked interior door opener

It's a pretty great little gift or stocking stuffer or dads, handy people, people who eat oranges, people who lock themselves out of their interior doors at home, etc.

Pinhole Press

Custom Photo Flash Cards and More

I happened upon Pinhold Press today and I CAN'T believe I haven't heard of them before. They offer some really cool photo products that would make great gifts like the Photo Flash Card set where you can customize every ABC card with a photo. For example, P is for plasticann, M is for MGDub, G is for GJDubya, Z is for Zvy, etc. Based on this blog's naming conventions, the letter Z would be super popular. They also have a fun memory card game. Drat, I already bought Zvy and Zwan their birthday presents.

2013 Gift Ideas - let's get started

McCrea's Caramels

I hear the shop local thingamajig is the next thing or maybe it's the just past thing or current thing. I also like to think buying local artisanal foods make them nutritionally virtuous. Adam and I stopped by the Williams Sonoma at Copley yesterday where they had Mr. McCrea himself from McCrea Candies passing out delicious samples of their caramels handmade in Boston. Mr. McCrea was generous with his samples so we tried the Black Lava Salted Caramels, the Highland Single Malt Scotch Caramel and I just tried the Fusion Ginger. The Black Lava Salted Caramels are insanely good and I made one last 30 minutes by taking tiny bites. Big salt granules embedded in a creamy soft caramel. Excellent product and a great gift for the holidays. It's easy to pack for travel since it's not fragile or "liquid" and a little goes a long way. Locally available at Pemberton Farms or check out their online store. That's why I'm kicking off 2013's list with McCrea's Caramels

Flower Measuring Spoons from Beehive

I may have dropped a bunch of shameless hints, but I was very excited that Adam got me these awesome measuring spoons from Beehive for Valentine's Day. I love how heavy they are and I feel like a total baking bad ass with my new tools. Just be sure these handcrafted spoons were accurate, I even calibrated them against my other more pedestrian measuring spoons. Can't wait to bake!!!

All the soda water I want

Adam got me a Sodastream for Christmas and it took me a month to finally set it up. I was intimidated by the CO2 tank and was irrationally scared of blowing something up. It was totally easy to put together and I was carbonating water like a pro in no time. All the flavors they make have artificial sweeteners that taste disgusting to me so I used the flavor essences to make lemon/lime soda water. Tastes great and I feel like I'm not completely killing the environment with my cans of carbonated water.

Wooden Bottle Opener

I intrigued by this bent nail wooden bottle opener when I saw an article on nytimes last fall and I jotted it down as a gift idea. I wasn't sure if it was actually functional so I first bought it for us try out when I found it at Abodeon on Mass Ave. I'm happy to report that it works really well and we gave a few away this Christmas. The bent nail easily opens the bottle and the bottle cap stays attached to the magnet embedded in the opener's underside so you don't have bottle caps flying and pinging all over the place. There's even a magnet on the top of the opener so you can stick it to your fridge. Like the article says, it's "rustic" and "refined" and it actually works.

P.S. After I bought my first one, the opener started getting gift guide press pickup and I saw it featured a few places. Today, I read that Jason Schwartzman recommended it on some shopping site. Should I feel cooler because the tastemakers agree with what I like should I feel less hip since everyone else knows about it?

Echo Touch Gloves

This winter I was so excited about these smartphone compatible gloves that I bought them for all my girlfriends. They have a small fabric tip sewn into the index and thumb of the glove so you can actually use your touchscreen phone with the glove on. If you live somewhere like Boston where it's frigid 5 months out of the year, an internal debate rages daily. "Do I want to take off my gloves to check my iPhone and see when the bus is coming, but risk my hands cracking because it's so cold out?" This cute little glove elegantly solves my dilemma and is vastly improving the quality of my life. Thank you little glove.

P.S. Wheezy and I stopped by Moxie on Charles Street last weekend and each bought a second pair of these awesome gloves.

Donut Tape Dispensers

My supply of Hi-Tec C pens was running so low, I actually had a nightmare one night that every pen I tried ran out of ink and I was freaking out so I went on jetpens.com to replenish my stash. While I was picking out my beloved pens, I saw these genius donut tape dispensers. I thought it would be funny to get them for my coworkers because they enthusiastic consumers of the Verna's donuts I often bring to work. I ordered a variety of tape dispenser "donuts" and "wrapped" them in plain brown paper bags. I wrote the "flavor" of the donut, added a Dunkin Donuts napkin I pilfered from the mall and haphazardly stapled the bags shut. Then I went around the office offering my coworkers holiday "treats" and I asked them what "flavor" they wanted: chocolate, caramel, custard, etc. I got plenty of laughs and I had a blast tricking people, but one of my coworkers was super concerned about the flavor she picked. She really wanted the cuppuccino, but coffee made her stay awake so maybe she should get another flavor. I felt kinda bad that I was being mischievous so I encouraged her to get the cuppuccino and said I'd let her trade if she didn't like it. One of them displays his "donut" on top of his travel mug and it looks real.

Bakun Burger Tour (BBT)

At the end of 2009, Adam was telling me about how one of his dreams in life is to try all the $20 burgers in Boston featured in this one magazine article in 2010. Fortunately, Adam's modest dreams in life were well within reach and could be funded by one hundred dollar bill. DONE! He did enjoy a few of the burgers, but wasn't disciplined enough to really follow through with all of them. He did spend a lot of time last year pitching our friends on the Bakun Burger Tour, a monthly get together of burger lovers who try different gourmet burgers. Here are a few of Adam's rules if you're interested in joining in.

1. The BBT only visits restaurants with delicious burgers. It doesn't go for "gimmicks" like enormous burgers or five pound burgers held together with skewers that are not as delicious. You might wonder who the taste maker who gets to decide which burger is worthy, that would ultimately be Adam who named the tour after himself.

2. On the BBT, everyone has to order the burger. Don't think about going off script by ordering a turkey or veggie burger. You need to order the signature burger.

As much as I make fun of Adam for his BBT, I think it's a pretty fun idea which is why this year I got him an official BBT "flag" to encourage his culinary adventures. I found this awesome tea towel at a local craft fair with a diagram of a cheeseburger and I had it embroidered with BBT. I was kind enough to actually use Adam's official name rather than sneaking in the name I was originally advocating for, the "triple B" or "BBBB" or the "Boston Bakun Burger Bonanza." To top it off, I got him a set of fabric markers so he can write the name and date of all his burger accomplishments on the towel. Let the tour begin.

Illustrated tea towel from Girl Can Tell.