duke chronicle gift guide (published december 1st, 2009)

THE INDEPENDENT DAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITYTuesday, December 1, 2009

2 | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2009 THE CHRONICLE2009 Holiday Gift Guide

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THE CHRONICLE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2009 | 32009 Holiday Gift Guide

table of contents4 The Priceless Holiday Gift

5 Gift Ideas for Dad

6 Save Money this Holiday Season

7 The 15 Worst Gifts

8 Holiday Happenings: Upcoming Events at Duke and in Durham

Chronicle StaffAdvertising Director Chrissy BeckRetail Sales Manager Rebecca DickensonAccount Assistant Margaret PotterProduction Manager Barbara StarbuckCreative Services Christine HallOperations Manager Mary WeaverHGG Editor Cap YoungGeneral Manager Jonathan Angier

©2009 The Chronicle, 101 W. Union Bldg., Box 90858, Durham, NC 27708-0858. For advertising information, call 919-684-3811. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of The Chronicle Business Department.

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Ideas for a Priceless Holiday GiftThe season is here once again. No matter what holiday you

celebrate, no matter what you believe, you’re being bombarded with exhortations to celebrate, to love, to buy and to give.

The Internet and airwaves are filled with stories about miracles and family gatherings that may be more fantasy than reality. Remember that gifts do not have to be homemade or extravagant to be loving and important.

Here are some suggestions for non-material gifts that capture the spirit of the season.

Give Yourself the Most important GiftGive yourself the gift of realistic expectations. So many of us

understand others are human and imperfect, but forget the same is true for ourselves. Forgive yourself for being human, and for having limited time, energy, and resources.

Give the Gift of TimeOffer to babysit for someone with small children. Go to lunch with

a friend you haven’t seen in a long time. Plan a special evening with your lover. Take time for yourself.

Give the Gift of LifeIf you haven’t done it already, fill out an organ donor card and carry

it in your wallet. Or go to your local blood bank and give blood.Give the Gift of Unusual Sights and SoundsGive the gift of laughter. There’s plenty of pain and suffering in the

world, and laughter helps us cope. Go frolic on a playground, play with a child and tell silly jokes, take someone to a comedy - move, play, or concert.

Laughter isn’t just for kids. Call someone and make it a point to be silly until they laugh. Tell a stupid joke, rhyme something funny, or sing

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a little tune. Send a silly question to them in email.Give the Gift of An Open MindHaving an open mind means trying new or uncomfortable things,

even if a part of you resists the idea. New things are difficult for many people, so oh, so worth while! Here are a few ideas to get you pointed in the right direction:

• Listen carefully to someone who disagrees with you. Find something to agree with in their communication, and don’t com-ment on the rest.

• Watch a television show you’ve never seen.• Try a new dish.• Wear something different.• Give the gift of love. Tell the important people in your

life how much they mean to you. When you are on your death-bed, you are not likely to regret having said, “I love you” too often.

Approach the season with an attitude of openness and curiosity. You’ll be amazed at how different you can feel - and all for FREE!

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Holiday Gift Ideas Your Dad will Love

Sometimes we all wait until the last minute to do holiday shopping for dad. If this is the case with you and you need some last minute gift ideas for dad. You are in luck; here are some great ideas for a last minute gift for dad.

Last minute gift idea for dad - Plaque

On an eight by ten piece of paper, write down the feelings you have for your dad and tell him what you think of him as a dad. Place it in the center of a large pic-ture frame. At the top of what you have written, place a picture of your dad and mom together. Place pictures of all the children they have together around the paper you have written. Sign your name at the bottom. This last minute gift idea for dad only costs you a few minutes of your time, but will be something he will treasure.

Last minute gift idea for dad - Hunt club fees

Does your father hunt in a hunting club? If he does, pay the fees for the hunting season for your dad. This will make a wonderful last minute holiday gift because he will now concentrate on kill-ing a big buck instead of the fees killing his wallet.

Last minute gift idea for dad - Lifetime fishing license

Does your dad love to fish? Instead of him buying a fishing license every year, give him a lifetime fishing license as a last minute holiday gift. Now when he goes fishing, he will not have to worry if his fishing license has run out.

Last minute gift idea for dad - Vacation to favorite place

Does your dad have somewhere he has always wanted to visit, but never got the chance for one reason or the other? Give him an all expense paid vacation to his favorite place as a last minute holi-day gift idea. He will appreciate the free vacation and the relaxation that comes with it.

Last minute gift idea for dad - Family

Does your dad have family he has not seen for a long time? If so, talk with them; tell them you will pay the way for them to come for a visit for the holidays. This will make an excellent holiday gift surprise for your dad.

Remember you do not have to spend a lot to make your dad happy this holiday season. Check out the links for greater holiday gift ideas for dad.

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. Search estate sales and flea markets for inexpensive mismatched dishes. They make the perfect vessels for delivering home-baked goodies to co-workers, friends and neighbors. Best of all, there’s no need to ask them to return the plate.

Set a spending limit on gifts from your spouse or closest friends, says Sara Noel, who runs frugalvillage.net. You could do a second-hand gift exchange. Or only swap stocking stuffers. Noel and her husband give each other the same “favorite things” each year. She gets a box of chocolates and he chooses nuts and cheeses.

Talk to your family about volunteering or giving charitable gifts to take the focus off of buying and wanting. Help out at a food bank or soup kitchen. Or agree to exchange gifts that support charities.

Give the gift of time. Make gift certificates or coupons to offer free baby-sitting to your friends or to prepare a home-cooked meal for them. Kids could give breakfast in bed to their parents. A husband might offer candlelight dinner at home.

Let the kids make wrapping paper. Stock up on inexpensive butcher paper or newsprint and let your young artists go to town with finger-paints, rubber stamps, even stickers. Each package will be a one-of-a-kind.

Get thrifty with decorations. Use branches, pine cones, wire and ribbon to create your own holiday wreaths. Let kids work on cut paper snowflakes (embellished with glitter glue for extra sparkle) or other deco-rations.

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You’re sweating, panicked. You’re about to recycle an old gift, buy a weight-loss book for Aunt Josephine or grab the Victo-ria’s Secret catalog. Stop! Break the cycle of Holiday Gift-Shopping Syndrome!

Pressure, stress and confusion, inexpli-cable choices, a complete lapse of taste.

Alzheimer’s? No, it’s Holiday Gift-Shopping Syndrome! If you suffer panic attacks at the mall or you have recurring nightmares about the colossal gift gaffes you’ve made over the years -- you may be an HGSS sufferer.

Take two Advil and keep reading be-cause the only cure is to spot the pitfalls early. The following primer will help you save yourself some angst -- and quite a bit of money -- by avoiding these classic gift-giving faux pas. (And your nearest and dearest will be ever so grateful when you give them stuff they like this year.)

The not-so-subtle suggestion: There’s nothing quite like watching the expres-sion on people’s faces when they open one of these: a set of meditation tapes for Mr. Type A, a low-carb cookbook for your sister, or an Elizabeth Arden makeup and spackling extravaganza for grandma. Just don’t be surprised if they all go in on a gift for you next year: a one-way ticket.

The useless gadget: Everyone has someone on their list who is seemingly impervious to gift-giving. It might be your boss, your dad or some other (inevitably) male relative. They appear to have no interests, no style, no obvious needs. So you race to one of those stores that spe-cialize in “stuff guys like” and spend more than you should on a PGA-approved golf ball cleaner. In case he ever starts golfing. Why? Why, why, why?

The lingerie trap: My husband passes

along this lesson learned from hard expe-rience: Never buy lingerie for a woman un-less she has ripped out the page from the Victoria’s Secret catalog and circled the exact item herself. If she opens a box and sees something that looks like a black sat-in hanky, it just opens up a can of worms: “Why does he want me to wear that? Does he need me to look trashy? Doesn’t he like me the way I am? Next thing you know he’ll want me to wear a blond wig and fishnet stockings like a streetwalker!” You can go from surprise to Splitsville in five or six mental leaps. Way too expensive on sooooo many levels.

The deadly weapon: My editor admit-ted that he briefly considered buying his 12-year-old son a water-balloon sling-shot (because he wanted one himself, of course). But after reflecting a bit on the damage that a water balloon can do to unsuspecting passersby after traveling 500 feet from his backyard to a nearby road, he decided against it.

Books by the pound: Why buy a mere book when for the same money you can give a tome? That two-thousand-page volume of the sixth installment in the life of Lyndon Johnson is MUCH more desirable than a book someone might actually read. Sure, the megabook can be read by those with more time than taste, but it can also serve as a flower press, a door stop and kindling. Four gifts in one!

Inventiveness or desperation?Gifts made by your own $40-an-hour

hands: At some point, the Spirit of Frugal-ity will pin you to the floor and tell you that the best way to save money during the holidays is to make all your gifts by hand. Resist this impulse! First of all, just be-

The Worst Holiday Gift Ideas by MP Dunleavey.

cause you don’t have money doesn’t mean you have talent. Second, handmade gifts always cost more than you think, in both time and money. My truly talented sister-in-law, Deirdre, decided to make people jewelry one year. She quit when she found out how much it was costing her in sup-plies, never mind the all-nighters spent stringing tiny beads.

Things that can’t be exchanged on this planet: Resist the urge to go down to your local “Tofutti ‘n’ Things” boutique and buy a one-of-a-kind set of embroidered Bolivi-an hankies imported by the proprietor her-self for your sister who lives on the oppo-site coast. The odds are good your sister will hate them and curse you for making her buy a $400 plane ticket to exchange them.

Last year’s gift, again: My mother’s best friend gave her a kaleidoscope. Several times. At least two Christmases and a birth-day. So try to keep track of what you’ve giv-en people in the past. Dad doesn’t need a fourth scarf. (I once gave my sister-in-law the same book three times.) If you’re not sure, ask someone who might remember last year better than you do.

Treasures from King Tut’s tomb: It’s al-ways so tempting to buy from those slick museum catalogs. How can you go wrong giving a replica of something that has

been sitting in the Smithsonian Museum for a hundred years? But unless you know that your cousin in Denver loves Egyptian artifacts or really wants a lamp that sprouts from the head of Queen Nefertiti, forget it. Warning: If it looks tasteful, keep shop-ping.

The pro-am present: My brother is a cooking maven. Ask him the difference between braise, stew and sauté and you’d better have a good hour on your hands. So guess what I never give my brother? Anything to do with cooking. I know, it’s tempting. Your brother-in-law plays a mean game of golf. Therefore: DON’T waste your money on a golf gift. He already has it. And now he has to return it.

AND FINALLY...The thoughtlessness that counts: Don’t

get pierced earrings for your friend who doesn’t have pierced ears (I did). Don’t buy cookies for a diabetic. No booze for the teetotaler. Don’t get “Fear of Flying” for a born-again Christian. You get the idea.

With these 15 rules in mind, you can easily avoid the worst gift-giving mistakes. You’ll save time. You’ll save money. And you will thank me when your credit-card bill comes in January and, thanks to this list, you haven’t bought a damn thing for anyone.

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December 1 Holiday Decorations WorkshopThe Sarah P. Duke Gardens, 426 Anderson St2pm – 4pm Duke Chorale Christmas Concert (Live Music)Duke Chapel, Science Dr7pm, pre-concert organ and carillon holiday music 6:30 pm “Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center,123 Vivian St7pm

December 2 “Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center,123 Vivian St7:30 pm

Duke Symphony Orchestra Concert (Live Music)Baldwin Auditorium, Duke East Campus8pm

December 3 Critical Mass Bike RideCorcoran and Parrish Streets5:35pm

“A Trailer Park Christmas” PlayCommon Ground Theatre, 4815B Hillsborough Rd7:30pm “Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center, 123 Vivian St7:30pm

December 4 Santa TrainMuseum of Life and Science, 433 W Murray AveCall or check website for times


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Duke Homestead Christmas by CandlelightDuke Homestead State Historic Site and Tobacco Museum, 2828 Duke Homestead Rd7pm - 9pm

Durham Symphony Orchestra Holiday Pops ConcertDurham Armory, 220 Foster St7pm

Handel’s Messiah (Live Music)Duke Chapel, Science Dr7:30pm

“A Trailer Park Christmas” PlayCommon Ground Theatre, 4815B Hillsborough Rd7:30pm

“Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center, 123 Vivian St8pm

December 5Santa TrainMuseum of Life and Science, 433 W Murray AveCall or check website for times

Brightleaf Square Holiday FestivalBrightleaf Square, Duke and Gregson Streets12pm – 4:30pm

City of Durham Holiday Parade and Tree LightingDowntown Durham4pm; tree lighting 5:30pm

Duke String School ConcertBaldwin Auditorium3pm, 4pm and 7pm

Handel’s Messiah (Live Music)Duke Chapel, Science Dr2pm

“A Trailer Park Christmas” PlayCommon Ground Theatre, 4815B Hillsborough Rd7:30pm

“Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center, 123 Vivian St2pm and 8pm

December 6Santa TrainMuseum of Life and Science, 433 W Murray AveCall or check website for times

“A Trailer Park Christmas” PlayCommon Ground Theatre, 4815B Hillsborough Rd2pm

Handel’s Messiah (Live Music)Duke Chapel, Science Dr3pm

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Velvet Ribbons- A Holiday Celebration with the Triangle Gay Men’s ChorusFirst Presbyterian Church3pm – 5pm “Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center, 123 Vivian St1pm and 6:30pm

December 8 Fall Wine Dinner – Stag’s Leap Wine CellarsFairview Restaurant at the Washington Duke Inn, 3001 Cameron Blvd., 7pm “Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center,123 Vivian St7pm December 9 Santa TrainMuseum of Life and Science, 433 W Murray AveCall or check website for times “Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center,123 Vivian St., 7:30pm

Really Terrible Holiday Concert (presented by RTOOT)Reynolds Theater in Bryan Center at Duke, Science Dr7:30pm

December 10 Santa TrainMuseum of Life and Science, 433 W Murray AveCall or check website for times“Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center, 123 Vivian St7:30pm A Rockapella HolidayCarolina Theatre, 309 W Morgan St., 8pm December 11 Santa TrainMuseum of Life and Science, 433 W Murray AveCall or check website for times Nativity CelebrationChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints6:30pm – 9pm Duke Homestead Christmas by CandlelightDuke Homestead State Historic Site and Tobacco Museum, 2828 Duke Homestead Rd

7pm – 9pmNutcracker & Broadway Holiday Dance PerformanceReynolds Industries Theater in Duke’s Bryan Center, Science Dr7:30 pm “Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center, 123 Vivian St8pm December 12 Santa TrainMuseum of Life and Science, 433 W Murray AveCall or check website for times Christmas in the Carolinas During the Civil WarBennett Place State Historic Site, 4409 Bennett Me-morial Rd, 10am – 4pm

The Triangle Youth Ballet Presents “The Nutcracker”Carolina Theatre, 309 W Morgan St., 7pm Nutcracker & Broadway Holiday Dance PerformanceReynolds Industries Theater in Duke’s Bryan Center, Science Dr., 7:30 pm “Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center, 123 Vivian St2pm and 8pm December 13 Santa TrainMuseum of Life and Science, 433 W Murray AveCall or check website for times Christmas in the Carolinas During the Civil WarBennett Place State Historic Site, 4409 Bennett Me-morial Rd., 10am – 4pm The Triangle Youth Ballet Presents “The Nutcracker”Carolina Theatre, 309 W Morgan St., 7pm Nutcracker & Broadway Holiday Dance PerformanceReynolds Industries Theater in Duke’s Bryan Center, Science Dr., 2pm Young Harpists ConcertDurham County Library, 300 N Roxboro St., 3pm “Phantom of the Opera” MusicalDPAC- Durham Performing Arts Center, 123 Vivian St1pm and 6:30pm


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Empire of Liberty

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The Toon Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics

Art Spiegelman & Francoise Mouly


For more holiday selections, check out our newsletter at:

duke chronicle gift guide (published december 1st, 2009)

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