There’s a good chance you’re reading this the day after Thanksgiving, having finally metabolized yesterday’s monstrous meal. I can only hope you see it before you’ve finished drawing up battle plans for today’s holiday shopping.
I don’t like anything about “Black Friday.” People deserve more than twelve hours of rest after a holiday before they leap into frantic preparations for the next one. And there’s something depressing about a nationwide explosion of pent-up buying-lust. In fact, the very phrase “buying-lust,” which I just made up, seems like the back-translation of a disturbing foreign concept.
But this is America, where Black Friday is a reality. In the spirt of brotherhood, and with every intention of sparing you an hour or two of full-contact competitive shopping, I’ve put together a list of holiday gift ideas, ranging in price from absolutely free all the way up to the biggest ticket item, which rings in at $173.18.
Here’s the best part: all of them — with two exceptions — can be procured from the comfort of your living room, with the help of a Web-enabled device.
1. The gift of a good family story
(Free)
My very first column of 2013, January 3rd’s “One Good Family Story Deserves Another,” featured two tales from my own clan, both of them embarrassing. Your own story doesn’t have to make anyone blush. The key is to write it down and hand it over. Think of it as passing down a family heirloom that, paradoxically, you also get to keep.
2. Zojirushi 5 1/2 Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker
(Amazon.com, $173.18)
I learned a lot about Chinese cooking this year. You may remember the gastronomical oddities and delights of January 31st’s column, “New Adventures in Chinese Cooking.” One of the ways we kept our homestay student, Wen Rui (“When-ray”), from pining for her homeland was to supplement most meals with Chinese style sticky rice. The rice cooker we bought, based on hundreds of stellar reviews, is about the size of a toaster; makes perfect rice every time; has a built-in timer that’s — gasp! — easy to set; keeps rice warm and ready to serve for hours; and has a non-stick surface that makes clean-up a breeze. In short: our kitchen has made a Great Leap Forward.
3. A jar of preserved lemons
(approximately $7)
If you’ve just blown your budget on a rice cooker, consider giving jars of preserved lemons. A family trip to Morocco in March yielded several columns, including May 9th’s, “Arise Sleeping Lemons, for Thy Stew Has Come.” For the cost of a rubber-gasketed glass jar, a handful of lemons, preserving salt, and some spices, you can provide someone with one of the basic building blocks of a tagine, Morocco’s national dish. (FYI, the lemons take a minimum of four weeks to cure, so you’ll want to get right to it.)
4. The Mighty Lalouche, Building Our House
(Amazon.com, $15.59 and $13.98, respectively)
From the department of shameless plugs…This was a big year for a certain columnist, whose first picture book, The Mighty Lalouche, illustrated by the brilliant Sophie Blackall, was published in May. The experience inspired a few columns, most notably May 16th’s “For Country, Mail, and Genevieve!”
To deflect the appearance of favoritism, I’m also recommending Building Our House, an extraordinary picture book by Harrisburg-based illustrator and author Jonathan Bean.
5. Edmund Burke, the First Conservative
(Amazon.com, $19.69)
It’s always a happy day when a friend publishes a book — and an even happier one when the book turns out to be a prize-winning bestseller. On June 20th, in a column with the same title as the book, I wrote about this superb political biography written by Jesse Norman, a sitting Minister of Parliament. An excellent gift for anyone interested in the roots of the conservative movement.
6. Uncle Tungsten, by Dr. Oliver Sacks
(Amazon.com, $12.87)
September 12th’s column, “It’s Elementary, My Dear Mendeleev” focused on the history of chemistry’s periodic table. I didn’t have room to mention Uncle Tungsten, the splendid autobiography by the neurologist Oliver Sacks, but anyone with an interest in chemistry — or for that matter, brilliant autobiographies — should buy this book right now; read it; and give it as a gift. It’s one of my favorite books of any genre. Which is saying a lot.
7. Kilim purse
(Etsy.com, search for the store “Bohogrand,” $76.45 in the “bags” category)
Just a few weeks ago, in “Tales from the 21st Century Bazaar,” I wrote about the quest for a certain special purse, which led me from Asheville, North Carolina to the souks of Turkey — by way of a German internet storefront. Etsy.com is an excellent place to find handmade gifts generally, and this particular seller, who goes by the name “Bohogrand,” couldn’t have been any more helpful.
8. Web Master Harness by Ruff Wear
(Amazon.com, $54.95)
Although this sounds suspiciously like something you’d find in an adult novelty store, it’s actually a heavy-duty padded vest for a dog. Brooke, our geriatric basset hound, has been having trouble with stairs, and the Web Master Harness, which has a convenient handle that lets you pick up your dog like a suitcase, has proven to be a lifesaver for those middle-of-the-night visits to the back yard.
9. Bill Evans Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961, 3-disc box set
(Amazon.com, $20.92)
This isn’t a new release; it was just new to me this year, and a revelation. The ultimate in cool melodic piano jazz, from the man who gave Miles Davis his signature harmonic style.
10. A year’s subscription to the Perry County Times
($27 in county; $40 out of county; $50 out of state)
This topped out last year’s gift suggestions, and it bears repeating: please support your hometown rag!
On a related note: I started out by mentioning the convenience of shopping on the Web, and I’ve listed Amazon.com prices for simplicity’s sake, but I strongly urge you to shop locally, even if it costs a few more dollars. Local merchants deserve your business; they’ve earned it by being there for you week in and week out.
