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The Student’s Guide to Holiday Gifts – Part Five: Reflections & Miscellanea

Christmas has come and gone, Hanukkah will soon be over, and most gifts have been exchanged with (hopefully) minimal awkwardness. For those of you who put some thought into your presents and maybe followed my advice, gifting should have been a fun and rewarding experience. I have no sympathy for those who did not. As this segment wraps up, now is the time to reflect on the holiday gift-giving season and learn even more for next year.

Reflections

My brother got a turtle wall calendar and an anthology of H. P Lovecraft, my mother got a high-quality retro-style kitchen timer, my best friend got an irreverent guide to –isms, and my cousin got a flip calendar of 365 words to make her sound smarter. Of the gifts I gave this season these were the highlights, or at the very least the presents that were best-received. I was very aware when I gave them, having spent the past little while writing and thinking about the act of gift-giving. I paid close attention to my recipients’ reactions and what their first thoughts on their gifts were. As predicted, the newspaper wrapping did little to impress but a lot to conceal and titillate, the cards were meager but heartfelt, and the knowledge that these gifts represented a shared pleasure among me and my friends. Is my soul liberated? I don’t know. Did I feel just as warm and fuzzy as my recipients when sharing the moments with my friends and family? Absolutely.

Miscellanea (AKA Qs I Wish Were FA)

Q: Are there any gifts I should never buy?

A: Candles seem to be very popular as presents even though they’re a poor choice 99.99% of the time; they come off looking very last-minute and poorly thought-out. Scented candles may also be implying something about your recipient’s home. Seriously.

Q: I am exchanging gifts with someone for the first time this year, and I don’t know the value of what they’re going to get me. What do I do?

A: Remember that your recipient is in the same boat you are, and come up with your closest ballpark guess. Then, once you’ve opened the gift they’ve gotten you, make sure to gush about it and compliment as much as possible: if it’s more expensive than the one you’ve bought you’ll be letting the giver know you truly appreciate the extra dollar they’ve put in; if it’s less expensive than the one you’ve bought they’ll feel better knowing that you don’t feel their gift is inadequate.

Q: I notice a disturbing omission of home-made gifts in your posts. What’s up with that, you consumerist monster?

A: I haven’t bothered to write about home-made presents because there is very little I can say about them. What you make is a reflection of you and what you want to express, and I can’t really evaluate if what you’re expressing is right or not. When in doubt, a store-bought gift is the way to go, but if you’re certain of your ability to make a gift that meets rules 1 and 2 from Part 2, go for it.

Q: What are your thoughts on gift receipts?

A: Always include a gift receipt for clothing and electronics, in case they need to be returned because they don’t fit or are defective. In other cases, gift receipts make it seem as though you want or expect your recipient to exchange your gift and that you doubt the quality of the gift you’ve bought. Part of the joy of getting a present is the knowledge that is was chosen for you, but a gift receipt makes it seem as though you are choosing for yourself.

Q: What are your thoughts on gift cards?

A: Gift cards are excellent presents for people you don’t know very well. Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Cineplex, and Indigo! are almost guaranteed hits because of their popularity and/or large selections. Do not give a gift card to someone you know well for the same reason you shouldn’t give them an arbitrary present with a gift receipt: it’s lazy and impersonal.

Q: Do I get gifts for my professors or TAs?

A: Uh, no. It may seem like a nice gesture, and I hazard one in every 5 professors and TAs would genuinely appreciate it, but the rest would likely interpret a holiday present as an attempt at apple-polishing. If you feel you have a truly special relationship with your TA or professor you could give it a shot, but it’s risky. People for whom you should buy (small) presents: peer mentors, FLC leaders, advisors, academic dons, and other staff in your residence you see frequently. Good small gift ideas include small boxes of chocolate or candy from Shoppers and low-value gift cards to coffee shops.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed this series on student holiday gift-giving as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Have a merry rest of the holidays, a happy (and safe) New Year, and enjoy the rest of your winter break. You’ve earned it.

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Sugar: The Bitter Truth

My mind has just been blown by this video and I felt like I needed to get the word out:

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

Yeah ok, fine it’s an hour and a half long. Here’s the summary for you people who somehow still have no time even though exams are over:

Summary:

  • Today High Fructose Corn Syrup is used in basically every processed food as a substitute for regular sugar since fructose is much sweeter
  • Sucrose (made up of 1 glucose and 1 fructose) is also found everywhere since it is also sweeter and cheaper than glucose
  • Fructose is evil
  • We eat fructose much more than we drink alcohol but fructose is metabolized ONLY in the liver through a pathway similar to alcohol
  • 30% of Fructose turns into fat whereas less than 1% of glucose turns into fat
  • Fructose turns off brain sensitivity to hormones involved in feelings of satiety after meals so you never feel full
  • Fructose can desensitize cells to insulin to cause Type II diabetes
  • One pop drink or fruit juice is basically one serving of food; but you still don’t feel full

The real issue here, I think, is the fact that we’re quite addicted to sugar. I mean a day without cake for me is hardly a day worth living (I exaggerate only slightly). And after checking most of the foods in my apartment at the time, I have discovered that BREAD has glucose-fructose! IT’S EVERYWHERE!!!

And the issue is since it’s so cheap and is “naturally made”, the health industry has yet to crack down on this rather unhealthy substance. I mean really, from the biochemistry it’s as though we’re drinking a beer every time we drink pop or juice. And not to mention all those snacks we eat. But it’s so cheap that banning it will surely cause quite the uproar.

I guess I shouldn’t panic so much; it’s not like I binge eat sugar.. oh wait, maybe I do.

Luckily my regular diet (when parents are cooking) is relatively sugar free, and this video did explain why I’ve suddenly gained 5 pounds since entering university. In a way, I’ve found the reason for freshmen-15: it’s because ever since university came I’ve been eating while studying. And since I study a lot, I eat a lot. I eat candy and chocolate and other high-sugar (high-fructose) snacks not to mention most of the cafe foods are probably soaked with this cheap sucrose sugar that is affordable and tastes good (arguable when we talk about res food).

But to cut sugar completely out of my diet is not going to work… will reducing be enough? It seems fruit juice and pop are the major contributor to this sugar. So I suppose I’ll just have tea instead now. Simple enough. The real issue lies in the fact that as I’m writing this blog I’m also eating Ferrero Rocher that my roommate gave me as a Christmas gift. I’m almost half way done. This can’t be good for me.

But sadly my self-control is not good enough. I’ll just run madly around my house and speed up my metabolism with hopes that the citrate will all get used up before it can leak out of the mitochondria to start the VLDL formation.

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The Student’s Guide to Holiday Gifts – Part Four: Wrapping, Cards, and Presentation

You’ve bought the gifts. They’re sitting in the corner of your cramped room, or on a shelf, or maybe even on your desk now that you’ve triumphantly swept off your exam materials. Your calendar or planner is clearly marked, and you know exactly when all this thinking and theorizing and shopping will culminate as you present your gift at an upcoming party or exchange. The only problem is, it’s been sitting in plain view since you walked in and the surprise is ruined. Or maybe you’ve awkwardly wrapped it a few times around in some brown paper and the delight of receiving the gift is marred by its “authentic” aesthetic. Or maybe even you’ve wrapped the gift beautifully and left it in a conspicuous location, only to find its recipient has no idea who’s given it to them because you’ve omitted a card. These scenarios – and more – can be prevented if you take the time to consider these aspects to ensure proper premium presentation:

Gift Wrapping

Though it may seem like an old-fashioned redundancy to some, gift-wrapping can make your present that much more appealing and exciting. Wrapping should be reserved to six-sided gifts and presents that won’t look awkward covered in paper. For gifts of other shapes and sizes, try putting them at the bottom of a gift bag stuffed with tissue paper or in an appropriate-sized box that you can then wrap. Stores like Indigo!, Dollarama, and Shoppers Drug Mart sell a wide variety of solid-coloured and patterned wrappings, but there are plenty of cheaper or free options for us cash-strapped students:

  • Newspaper – There are literally dozens of free newspapers circulated on campus, all of which can become free and nifty gift wrap. For UofT students, try using the official newspaper from your recipient’s college. Foreign-language newspapers are especially cool.
  • Maps – Who uses maps when we have the internet? Exactly! Paper maps are things of the past, so people shouldn’t mind parting with them. Ask your friends if you don’t have any of your own.
  • Comic books – For $2 you can pick up a comic book from a nearby retailer and surprise your friends and family by wrapping their gifts in comic book pages. Just gently remove the staples – no tearing – and you’ll have 16 sheets of bold-coloured, eye-catching, onomatopoeia-blaring wrapping paper. For smaller gifts only.
  • Potato Chip Bag – Credit for this one goes to the brilliant minds at Martha Stewart Living. Buy one of those foil bags of potato chips, cut it open along the seem, clean it thoroughly with a damp cloth and dish soap, and wrap with the silver side down. Works with other food packaging as well. For smaller gifts only.

To learn the basics of gift-wrapping, check out this tutorial.

Cards

So you’ve got the perfect gift and it looks – if you’ll pardon my language – dope; now all you need is the adjoining card. Cards are a good way of letting your recipient know the gift is from you even if you’re not handing it to them in person, but they’re also a nice memento to keep even after the wrapping is torn and gone. The trick with writing a gift card is that simplicity is key; don’t get too mushy or poetic. Never buy a mass-produced drug store-type card – they’re tacky and impersonal, and even scrawling “Merry Christmas” in magic marker on printer paper is preferable. Special cards that are produced in limited quantity, however, such as those sold at Kelly Library made by St Michael’s College’s antique printers, can be a beautiful addition to your gift.

Etiquette

While many of the rituals considered within the realm of etiquette are no longer practised due to their apparent obsolescence, it’s okay to check the book every now and again to figure out exactly what the best way to go about something like this is. For me, that book is The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette, the best-selling guide by American etiquette expert Amy Vanderbilt. The 1995 edition I picked up at a used book store has paid for itself time and again, such as when I hosted a dinner party with between 7 and 12 guest and only one maid, or when I had to give that toast at an engagement party in which most of the guests were on the bride’s side and I on the groom’s. In regards to gift-giving, Amy offers these wonderful tips:

  1. Keep a record of every gift you’re given and every gift you give and by whom. This will allow you to take note of who gave you gifts last year, which will allow you to determine to whom you will give this years’.
  2. Re-gifting is perfectly acceptable, so long as you completely rewrap the gift and remove any evidence it was intended for you, and give it someone the recipient does not know.
  3. At a party, put the gifts you’ve brought with the others already there and do not present them to their recipients until everyone else does. If you find that you’re the only one who’s brought gifts, try to hide them as best as you can until you can discreetly give them away.
  4. Giving a gift in person is always preferable to sending your assistant or valet [or friend].
  5. It is presumptuous to assume that a gift to be used by more than one person (i.e.: tickets to an event) given by you to someone else will be shared with you. It is also rude to directly request this. If you would like to join your guest, ask with whom they were planning to share the present and mention how exciting it sounds.
  6. Bringing up a gift someone’s given you in the past in conversation (i.e.: “oh, I was just reading that book you got me…”) is a good way to build a connection. However, mentioning a gift that someone else has given you can be alienating.
Amy’s advice is a bit drab and old-fashioned, but worth considering nonetheless. Even if you don’t want to adhere to the wisdom of the woman the St. Petersburg Times called “a leading authority on etiquette” in 1968, be sure at least to wrap your gifts and make a thoughtful card.
Stay tuned for part five: “Reflections & Miscellanea”
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Dear New Year’s Eve, from a New Year’s Eve Cynic

Dear New Year’s Eve:

I would really, honestly love to believe that you are going to be a wonderful, magical night of fun and partying with friends, that will culminate with a perfect countdown to midnight, the jovial tone of all of which will amount to my having a simply tremendous year.

However, I have been alive for 19 long, eventful years and in those years I have acquired some deep, extensive wisdom (read: absolutely none). Unfortunately, I have, in the more recent of those years, come to see you for what you really are, New Year’s Eve. When I was young, I would watch TV and see all the fun people appeared to be having in New York City, while watching special episodes of all sorts of shows depicting how exciting it was to ring in a new year. Now, I see how wrong those shows were.

I have yet to experience a New Year’s Eve that has lived up to the confetti-filled, tacky sunglasses, champagne, fancy outfits, kindled romances, all smiles image of the evening that I was educated in back in the day. My New Year’s Eves have consistently disappointed: unless you get on guest list 15 months in advance (slight exaggeration), be prepared to spend your midnight standing in line in the cold outside a mediocre club or bar. I have tried the messy house party, and I’ve even tried a hockey game. Yet ever year I’ve brought in the New Year tired, cold, and disillusioned. Every year, it’s “where are we going to go?” every day up until the actual day, and then on that day, it’s the hunt for something to do, and it’s snowing, and “what am I go to wear?”, and the self-evident cynic in me just questions why I bother, year after year. I go out a lot of nights in a given year; and on most of those nights, I will enjoy myself. But the only magic of New Year’s Eve for me is its apparent curse.

In the moment, it’s exciting. I will give you that, New Year’s Eve. That countdown leading up to midnight, and midnight itself, brings a bit of a flutter to my heart. But after a minute or so of celebrating that, it’s January 1st, and I’ve had my fill.

Now there’s an entire movie, featuring approximately 600 celebrities (no exaggeration this time), dedicated to the cause of continuing the myth of the wonders of this night. I’m sure there are many people out there who enjoy their New Year’s Eve, such as all those celebrities most likely, but for myself and any other skeptics who feel gypped by New Year’s Eve, I thought I would put this out there. New Year’s Eve, come on. Step your game up.

Most sincerely,

A New Year’s Eve Cynic.

(I also go by Danielle.)

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The Student’s Guide to Holiday Gifts – Part Three: Where to Shop!

By now you’ve put some thought in to what you want to get people for the holidays, and you may even have begun your shopping. If you have, you might have noticed something about it – holiday shopping is hard. In many cases, people conceive of a perfect gift, only to discover that it doesn’t actually exist, or is only made by this one Laotian craftsman and only on leap years. Students especially may find shopping for the holidays challenging, as our limited budgets can severely inhibit our ability to shop in many of Toronto’s finer retail outlets. International students may also find it difficult to shop in Toronto when they aren’t very familiar with the city or don’t have a good sense of where to start looking. If any of the above situations describes you, continue on:

Holiday Shopping Near Campus

1. BMV Books – 471 Bloor Street West

Most UofT students are already familiar the gigantic and glorious BMV bookstore. Its proximity to campus and wide selection of academic and literary books at reasonable prices makes it a popular spot for students to pick up textbooks and stimulating reads. What many students don’t realize, however, is that BMV is also an excellent source for holiday shopping on a budget. Their selection is enormous and includes graphic novels, beautiful hardcover art books, cookbooks, popular fiction, and a strong international selection including classics in other languages and translations from all over the world. Remember the first guideline from Part Two: a gift should reflect your relationship with the recipient? Well, there’s always a book for that. If you two are in the same club or class, you can get a book on that topic. If your recipient has expressed interest in taking up knitting or sewing or cooking or yoga or sketching or interpretive dance, there’s a book for that. If your beneficiary has a particular sense of humour or appreciation for a certain type of poetry or style, you’re sure to find a novel or anthology that they’ll appreciate – you just need to do a little digging first. BMV salespeople know the store well, but with the sheer volume of texts available it’s unlikely that they can recommend anything to exact specifications. Just take your time, soak up the literary atmosphere, and flip through books like crazy until you’ve found the right one.

2. Blue Banana Market – 250 Augusta Avenue (Kensington Market)

Blue Banana is a marketplace that rents out space to a variety of different vendors throughout the store, creating an interesting and eclectic mix of goods for sale. At times it’s possible to find a beautiful watercolour, an hilarious fridge magnet, vintage candy, and awesome winter hats within a few metres of each other. Blue Banana tends to run a little pricey, but with the amount of one-of-a-kind and hard-to-find gifts there, it’s worth it. The great variation of items for sale makes the BB a great source of inspiration if you’re unsure of what to buy; something’s bound to pop out at you. And if not, you can at the very least enjoy a Double Decker Bar.

Apparently, some people don't find this as awesome as I do. Weird, right?

3. The Eaton’s Centre – 220 Yonge Street

Probably the most conventional location on this list, the Eaton’s Centre is by far the best reason to ever risk running into a Ryerson student out there in the wild southeast. An enormous shopping mall the likes of which many have never seen, The Eaton’s Centre covers an entire city block in the heart of downtown with a wide variety of fashion stores and other typical mall-y stuff. They also have an Indigo! bookstore and some other stuff, but clothing is the largest draw. Popular chain stores in the EC include H&M, Lululemon, Abercrombie & Fitch, The Gap, and so much more.

Remember: only buy clothing for someone if you are absolutely certain of their size.

4. The Internet – Everywhere!

With the number of online stores growing by the minute, the internet has become a great place to shop for gifts. Search bars allow you to enter keywords to find gifts to your specifications, and the variety is unparalleled. Here is a breakdown of some major shopping sites:

  • Amazon

Cheap and with a huge selection, Amazon connects to major stores and individual sellers to bring you competitive pricing on just about everything. There are also fewer scams circulating through Amazon than at other sites, and they can deliver straight to your door within days of ordering.

  • eBay

eBay allows individuals to sell their good online directly to others without a middleman. This means cheap prices and oddly specific items you might not find elsewhere, but it also means the possibility of scams, misrepresented items, and odious sellers trying to rip you off. Always check the feedback percentage of the seller; if it’s less than 90% you can forget it.

  • Craig’s List

Offering free, anonymous personals and listings in an extensive range of topics, Craig’s List is often coveted by students as the holy grail of free, cheap dorm stuff. The elimination of shipping costs makes it cheaper than eBay, but the limitation of your mobility means the selection can be lousy. Beware of scams, frauds, predators, and the like, and always meet in a public place. Seriously.

  • Threadless

What? You’ve never heard of Threadless? That’s too bad. Threadless.com prints shirts designed by enterprising young artists and sells them for reasonable prices across North America. You always know what you’re going to get, and you’re always going to get it. The shirts are brilliant and beautiful and often hilarious, and the selection is enormous.

"Spoilt" T-Shirt Design by Olly Moss. My Absolute Favourite.

 

And there you have it: how to get started buying gifts for the holidays. Of course, there are plenty of other places in our fine city to shop, but if you were stumped these are great places to start.

 

Stay tuned for part four: “Wrapping, Cards, and Presentation”

 

 

 

 

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The Student’s Guide to Holiday Gifts – Part Two: Thoughtful Gifting

Now that we’ve established how beneficial and joyful gift giving can be, it’s time to take a look at which gift is the right one to buy. Choosing the perfect present has always been a strength of mine – here’s what some past recipients have had to say:

  • My brother: “That’s awesome!”
  • My best friend: “I don’t know what to say!”
  • My mother: “Don’t you have school work you could be doing?”

So you see, I’m not just making this stuff up. In my years of gift picking, buying, wrapping, and presenting, I’ve learnt a thing or two and now, for the first time ever, I’m going to share them with the world.

I have condensed my giving theory down to three main principles. The gift you get for any given recipient should be:

  1. Reflective of your specific relationship with the recipient
  2. Usable but not needed; fun but not superfluous
  3. In the same price range as their present for you

With these three rules it’s easy to pick out the perfect gift. Now, let’s go into some further depth in each:

1. Reflective of your specific relationship with the recipient

This rule is the backbone of the emotional aspect of giving. It’s true that you could give someone a present just for them to enjoy that item, but the bond created between giver and recipient by the gift is in many cases just as enjoyable. When one of my dear friends headed off to Halifax over the summer to begin her education, I gave her a gossip magazine with a Subway restaurant gift card in it; the gossip magazine because we used to read them together and the Subway card because she introduced me to the wonders of fast food sandwiches so many years ago. The presents have an emotional attachment to them, which makes them that much more meaningful. When picking out a gift for your friend/partner/sibling/parent/etc. try to think of something that only you, of everyone they know, would have known they’d be likely to enjoy. Consider inside jokes, clubs that you two are members of, conversations you’ve had, etc.

2. Usable but not needed; fun but not superfluous

This one can get tricky. There’s a school of thought that says a gift should be purely fun and whimsical, and if it’s practical it’s boring. This is true of the occasional present, but the problem is that people end up with dozens of trinkets and knick-knacks and whatnots that, though cute, take up room and lose their appeal very quickly. When my mother went to Disney World last year she brought me home a hockey-puck sized device with a button that, when pushed, plays an audio recording of the Scar character from the Lion King saying “I’m surrounded by idiots!” Yes, it’s cute and fun and all that, but now I have a hockey-puck sized device that does nothing but shout at me in Jeremy Irons’ voice lying around and taking up space on my bookshelf.

Continue reading “The Student’s Guide to Holiday Gifts – Part Two: Thoughtful Gifting”