Xmas Gift Guide
FOR THE SOCIALLY CONSIOUS
Marlo Campbell

There is a way to participate in holiday gift giving without succumbing to the rampant overconsumption that now seems intrinsic to the season.

Don’t get me wrong — we all like opening presents, me included, and I’m not advocating a Christmas devoid of gifts.

But the best gifts generally involve more than a stop at the mall. They need consideration on the part of the giver. So why not use that big, juicy brain of yours and think outside the box — or at least outside the big box store?

Cool gift option 1: Gifts that make a difference in the world

Compared to almost everyone else on Earth, we North Americans live well. Lest we forget, this is not because we are somehow more deserving; we’re just geographically lucky. Not only does donating to a charity in someone’s name fit with the spirit of the Christmas season, it also helps balance out the karmic scales.

Organizations such as World Vision (www.worldvision.ca), Oxfam Canada (www.oxfam.ca) and Foster Parents Plan (www.fosterparentsplan.ca/gifts) offer an astounding array of socially conscious gifts.

I personally like the idea of giving livestock. Buying a pig for $50 or two rabbits for $35 will enable people in developing countries to eke out a sustainable living and feed their families for years to come.

You can also purchase supplies — $100 will stock a medical clinic, while $25 buys mosquito nets. (Here at home, mosquitoes are mostly annoying; in Uganda, they spread malaria.)

For me, wrapping gifts is a favorite holiday activity (yes, I am a nerd), so I can empathize with people who like the idea of a charitable donation but are concerned about wrapability.

To that end, you could always buy a small stuffed animal that represents the real thing or perhaps a book about the country in which your gift will be used. I would also be inclined to write a nice letter explaining why you chose that particular cause.

Cool gift option 2: Gifts that take time and/or effort to produce

A unique, hand-made present implies your gift recipient is actually worthy of some energy expenditure on your part. Plus they tend to cost less, which is handy if you’re low on cash.

A mix tape or CD is always a good choice. You can personalize it with songs that evoke memories of such shared experiences as that summer road trip to Calgary or that crazy night at the Pal. Or, you can use it as an easy way to introduce your friends and family to good music. As an added bonus, due to its diminutive size, a mix tape or CD is easy to ship. Just make sure to decorate the case all pretty, since presentation matters (did I mention I love gift wrapping?).

Why not be whimsical or idiosyncratic? I once bought a bunch of fortune cookies, painstakingly removed all the existing fortunes with tweezers, then inserted my own handwritten notes, which ranged in subject matter from sweet compliments to X-rated bits of nastiness. It went over well.

I’m also a big fan of any gift that involves sneakiness. I know a person who snuck out in the middle of the night and wrote love poems on the sidewalk to be discovered by their intended target the next day. While our current snowy conditions might impede this particular gift, it’s good inspiration.

You could write a song and perform it serenade-style. Yes, it’s cheesy, but remember you’re aiming for a grandiose romantic gesture.

You could also plan an elaborate scavenger hunt around the neighbourhood, complete with little gifts hidden in the snowbanks, that ends up at your place for a nice dinner or a two-person bath. You are a creative and clever person — now is the time to use those skills.

Cool gift option 3: Gifts that involve doing things together

Have you ever wanted to have your palm read, go on a hot air balloon ride or get one of those weird spa treatments involving a stranger slathering you up with fancy mud and seaweed?

Me too. But it’s hard to justify spending hard-earned money on experiences that seem frivolous.

An experiential gift takes any guilt out of the equation for the recipient and it also allows the giver (i.e. you) to try new things under the guise of “It was a gift and I didn’t want him to have to go by himself.” Besides, someone has to immortalize the event by taking a picture, right?

Marlo Campbell is an Uptown staff writer who is always pointing out the brighter, and saucier, side of things.

Rule 1: You’re never wrong with The Clash
Give the gift that rocks the Christmas Casbah
John Kendle

Elsewhere in these pages, Uptown contributor Jeff Monk offers sage advice to those contemplating buying music for friends and loved ones.

“Don’t,” he says.

I understand completely.

There’s nothing that would disappoint me more than receiving a copy of, say, *NSync’s Home for Christmas album under the tree on Christmas morning, especially if such a lame gift actually came from someone who claimed to love me.

I’ve been told my music snobbery makes me difficult to shop for. This problem is compounded by the fact I don’t drink and I’m about to stop smoking (again). Most ‘guy gifts’ are thus crossed off any shopping list marked “Kendle, John.”

I fear I’m about to become a lifetime recipient of socks and underwear.

But that’s my problem.

This gift guide is meant to be about you, the givers. So, if there are people in your lives who love music and you simply don’t know what to get them, here are half-a-dozen things worth checking out:

You will never go wrong with The Clash

It’s one of my rules in life. And 2006 has been an especially good year for Clash fans. First came the DVD re-release of Rude Boy ($26.99), the controversial movie that was renounced by the band more than 25 years ago for its confused political message. Nevertheless, the film incorporates the best live footage of any band, ever, and this disc includes an option enabling viewers to watch only the live scenes. Clash geeks will also relish the opportunity to watch interviews with Rude Boy star Ray Gange and the band’s road manager, Johnny Green, a man who defines the term ‘diamond geezer.’

Also worth grabbing is The Clash: The Singles ($96.99), a new boxed set that packages all the band’s single releases on CD, replete with miniature versions of the original sleeves, all the original B-sides and several bonus outtakes and extras. Buy this for a Clash fan and he or she will spend hours checking out the mini-45s, reading the liner notes and listening to obscure tracks such as Long Time Jerk, the almost-unknown B-side to Rock the Casbah.

Go hoser, eh!

Just about every Canadian kid of a certain age has at least a fleeting knowledge of Rush. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, this was the Great White North’s rock band of renown — far preferable to Loverboy or Bryan frickin’ Adams. When I was in high school, Rush fans sported faded denim jackets, wore their hair long and traight and always smelled like pot after lunch. Some 28 years later, these same people are older, fatter and balder but they still love Neil Peart and lament the fact the band hasn’t played Winnipeg since Lee was hit in the face with a flying object way back in 1980.

This latter fact is why the DVD set Replay x 3 ($36.48 at amazon.ca) will thrill the Rush fan in your life. Featuring footage from the band’s Exit Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure and A Show of Hands tours, the package also includes a bonus audio disc from Grace Under Pressure, as well as miniature reprints of the programs from all three tours.

Buy it and be prepare to hear all about the awesomeness of By-Tor and the Snow Dog.

While we’re dealing with Canadian kitsch, the strangest man on the Canuck music scene is Nardwuar the Human Serviettem and he has just released a two-disc DVD compilation ($16 at maplemusic.com) of all the interviews he’s done for MuchMusic. Called Doot Doola Doot Doo… Doot Doo! the set includes clips with Snoop Dogg, Marilyn Manson, Gene Simmons and Vanilla Ice (a classic, by the way). He’s also put out, in conjunction with Mint Records and photographer Bev Davies, the 2007 Punk Rock Calendar ($12 at maplemusic.com) which features classic B&W shots of iconic North American acts such as D.O.A. and the Dead Kennedys. (I highly recommend this item.)

Jazz it up

Still confused about a musical gift?

There isn’t an adult music fan in the world who won’t say he or she wants to learn more about jazz. Call their bluffs. Buy them a copy of Ross Porter’s just-published guide, The Essential Jazz Recordings ($24.99, McClelland & Stewart). It’s a well-crafted introduction to the jazz world that provides overviews of 101 discs while avoiding the highbrow stiffness of a lot of jazz writing. Add a gift certificate to a music store and you’ve got a winner.

Still unsure? Then maybe we can’t help you.