My Favorite Things (A Holiday Gift Guide)

In terms of finals week, today is the eye of the storm. Most of my students will take their exams on Wednesday, and I'm leaving town (for my xmas visit to my parents) Friday morning. I had planned on doing all my Christmas shopping today, but that got scrapped in favor of dealing with the antique shop from which I hope to buy the desk I saw on Saturday.

Maybe you have Christmas shopping that needs doing, too? Maybe I can counteract my bad shopping karma by sharing some gift suggestions.

1. Black and Decker Sandwich Maker Xpress. Every meal that I've eaten this week has come out of this machine. Absolutely fabulous. Not only does it make wonderful grilled cheese sandwiches, but it makes every sandwich good. Hummos sandwich? Delightful. Cream cheese and jelly sandwich? Better than Pop-Tarts.


2. Zometool. A must have for everyone who is old enough not to choke on the parts. Sold in kits and a la carte. (The blues and the greens are necessary if you want to make yourself a set of the Platonic Solids.) Once you're done playing, it's easier than Legos to clean up.


3. Five-inch dpns from Brittany Needles. It's not that she (or he) really hates dpns, it's that the 7" and 8" dpns flop all over the place and threaten to poke out an eye. With small gauge 5" dpns, you can pretend you're knitting with toothpicks. Plus, Susan Bates doesn't need any more of your money.


4. Craftsman Tools. My grandmother bought me the 30 piece screwdriver set in 1994 (when I was House Manager at Panarchy and first learning home repair on a house owned by someone else!), and I still use them all the time. A pry-bar is a good gift for anyone who has frustrations to work out -- removing aluminum siding or a chair rail is cathartic, and replacing them with something less ugly is good karma.


5. A subscription to good coffee. Anyone who values fresh coffee will appreciate the arrival of a new bag of Peet's every month. For those who are looking for something less corporate, Ithaca's Gimme Coffee! is a small, independent roaster of high quality coffees. Maybe you know someone who'd appreciate their Leftist Espresso?


6. L.L. Bean flannel shirt. Perfect for every occasion. Especially for someone whose wardrobe is stuck in 1993. Remember: fleece is just fancy polyester.