I must confess that I love REI, the locally-based national chain of outdoor equipment stores. They have just what I want, in at least ten varieties.
A few months ago, I went looking for a new Nalgene bottle, and came home with a $35 assortment of contraptions. First, there’s the basic bottle, to which I added an insulating sleeve and a Gription bottle top, which is basically a springloaded sippy top and a beefy handle:
Amy was looking through the REI catalog just now, and came across iPod-compatible gloves, which have a conductive patch on the tip of the index finger and thumb to work with your iPod’s click wheel (which senses electricity from your body). Yuppielicious, and a great addition to a wardrobe that already contains an iPod-compatible jacket and earphone hat.
Yesterday, I braved the cold air and clear roads to purchase a product that my yuppie lifestyle desperately demands: ear warmers I can wear to work that won’t mess up my hair like a hat would. They’re called, rather unfortunately, Earbags, and they were designed in Sweden to meet the needs of the cold-eared, aestheically-aware yuppie.
I have to stand outside for about an hour a day between my bus commute and various supervision duties, so Earbags are ideal for me. The iPod gloves are a bit over the top, but otherwise, I rather like the immense array of choices to serve my yuppie lifestyle.
I think all this choice makes gift-giving more complicated. It’s not that people already have everything, but that they want such a specific type that it would make more sense if we all just bought ourselves what we wanted. Some would say that takes away from the spirit of the Christmas season. Humbug. You can still exchange meaningful gifts, even if we’ve gotten away from the “You got me just what I wanted!” magic of Christmases past.
Most of the gifts we’re giving this year are through WorldVision or Heifer International’s gift catalogs, which let you donate something to a needy family in the developing world, in honor of the person you’d otherwise be buying yuppie junk.
I still find the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas shopping season a great time to buy stuff, because the prices are good, and, more importantly, I’m confronted with the sheer absurdity of it all. When I went to REI’s hat and gloves section yesterday, they had probably 80 kinds of gloves. Everything is marketed as the perfect gift for some specific type of person.
I think holiday gift shopping will start to wane as people become more and more unable to buy things for others in the face of near-infinite consumer choice. Last year there was a huge buzz about gift cards, and there are now numerous websites that let you swap out unwanted gift cards. It’s becoming a charade. How much longer will it continue, and how will holiday shopping change? Tell me what you think in the comments.
Do you think the pendulum will swing the other way and we will start making our special gifts again?
A friend of mine told me that last year at their departmental gift exchange, the hot gift that they all wanted was a crocheted afghan handmade by one of the ladies.
Several years ago, my husband lost his sister to liver failure and since that time, we donate what we would have used toward her gift to charity. I’d like to see everyone do that for the loved ones that they’ve lost.
I hope so, April. That approach to holiday gifts seems so much more meaningful. If it’s handmade, you aren’t going to complain that it was the wrong brand or particular variety.
I’m giving all fair-trade and homemade gifts this year, but…shamefully…I kind of want the iPod gloves. Taking off my mittens to push buttons on my iPod is tricky to do while running. I almost fell on ice the last time I tried it
Alternately, I could just, like, not put sucky songs on my iPod.