This week's cover story on handy holiday gifts.
-ED

2005 Gift Guide

Philly EDGE knows you don’t have any time on your hands for all this holiday shopping nonsense.
That’s why we’re your new favorite paper.
We’ve taken the time to gather information on the coolest, neatest and most practical gifts available in Philly, the ’burbs and online so that you don’t have to spend your dining, drinking, club-going, movie-seeing and game-watching time doing it.
You’re welcome.
Happy holidays.

Her

TO: Your tres trendy friend who wants to cheat on her iPod with something a little sexier

Sony Walkman Bean – Sure everybody loves the safety and functionality of the iPod and its whole family (The Shuffle, The Nano and the video-capable iPod), but now Sony has given consumers their own magic Bean. The MP3 player is curvy, colorful and capable of holding up to 1GB (about 695 songs). Better still it has an FM tuner, a built-in USB connector and a one-line OEL display.
$139.95 for 1GB player at selected retailers.

TO: Your stressed-out friend, s.o. or co-worker

PLANK Mat – PLANK founder Doreen Hing knows that if you’re doing yoga to relax, you don’t need to be looking at the same type of mat you might see in a sixth grade gym class.
“I (imagined) amusing and funky imagery randomly placed amongst the sea of plain colored mats.”
The result is mats with words, a half-eaten blueberry muffin, lush shag carpet or a wood plank design (pictured) on them. PLANK mats, which range in price from $65 to $125, are available at AIA Bookstore & Design Center (117 S. 17th St. Philadelphia, 215.569.3188, www.aiabookstore.com). Coordinated carriers and totes are also available at www.plankdesigns.com.

TO: Someone who needs to be pampered (as in treated by a spa, not your Nana who needs adult diapers)

A spa package- Fine area spas, like Body Serene Day Spa (4007 Skippack Pike, Skippack, 610.584.7284, www.thebodyserene.com), offer manicures, pedicures, soothing massages, facials and hot rock therapies that are sure to clear your mind, but not your wallet. It’s like a vacation for the recipient, without the brochures, luggage or risk of transporting avian flu back into the country.

Also:

TO: The lady who’s tough to impress

A holiday floral arrangement (we think that means flowers and stuff ) or a unique personalized gift (like a nutcracker for your peckerhead boss) from Precious Petals (2540 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley, 215.357.3870, www.preciouspetals.net). Interesting, unique and classy gifts. Prices vary.

TO: The woman who has everything

Glassware, furnishings or designer pieces from Area (51 Bridge St., Lambertville, NJ 609.397.6660, www.areaandco.com) are as cool, maybe even cooler, as anything your snobby cousins with a loft in Northern Liberties or SoHo will be able to find in their hipster neighborhoods. With a handmade frame or glass with hand-drawn images from this Lambertville boutique, you’ll be able to walk into the holiday party and wipe their smart-assed grins right off their faces.

TO: Yourself, or someone who knows what it’s like to walk in your footsteps

Trendy shoes and accessories from Well Heeled (20 E. Butler Ave., Ambler 215.628.3508) are a must for your holiday parties. This fairly new shop offers shoe lines from Via Spiga and Donald J Pliner and bags, clutches and belts to match. Shop ASAP for the best selections.

Him

TO: The man who needs a new ride

2005 Honda Valkyrie Rune - Many riders love custom bikes and wouldn’t dream of dropping their cheeks on anything not made in America. But even they have to admit that the Honda Rune is a damn fine lookin’ bike. This stylish ride, priced at just under $25,000 comes rigged with a liquid-cooled horizontally opposed, six cylinder, 1832cc
engine, meaning it can haul ass and turn heads. Go to Powersports.honda.com for local dealers.

TO: The always networking guy

Samsung a940 cell phone – OK, Philly EDGE saw this item in the December issue of WIRED, so we’re certainly not the first to report about it, but WOW.
This phone not only has a 2X optical zoom lens to take its 2-megapixel shots, a scanning feature which allows the user to scan business cards, phone numbers and etc. into text, but it ALSO has a voice-to-text making text messaging as easy as regular conversation.
Sign us up.
$400 at www.samsungelectronics.com

TO: The Philly guy who’s not in Philly anymore

Philly Soft pretzels – Whether you use an online vendor (www.pretzelsdirect.com, 800.424.2034) or ship twisted delights from a quality local merchant (Philly Style Soft Pretzel Bakery, 920 Woodbourne Rd., Langhorne, 215.946.0300, Traditional Soft Pretzel Bakery, 300 E County Line Rd, Hatboro, 215.444.0787 or Jim's Wholesale Soft Pretzel 2 E. Lincoln Hwy., Penndel, 215.757.2600) there’s no easier way to send a smile to that locally-born guy who doesn’t make it back here often enough. PS- Don’t forget the mustard.

Also:

TO: The guy who needs a little color

A tattoo gift certificate from a local tattoo parlor can brighten his day, and his skin. Artists at shops like (Gemini Tattoo, 13629 Philmont Ave. Philadelphia 215.934.7027;
Liberty Tattoo, 4000 Skippack Pike, Skippack, 610.222.4220; Fyre Body Arts, 1129 Market St., Perkasie 215.453.0734;Tru Blu Tatu, 247 Mill Street Unit 4, Bristol, 215.788.5304) are trained and talented to make sure he gets the tattoo he wants, rather than another tribal band or an embarrassing lower back tat like all the club ladies seem to have these days.

TO: The collector of all things pop culture

PEZ Dispenser – Sure you can stop at many retailers and get your guy an ordinary PEZ, but why not take the extra step and bid for a Batman, Joe Cool or Darth Vader PEZ that may be harder to find. Check the variety out at www.collectingpez.com. The site is a great starting point to PEZ dreamland.
For other cool pop culture items, check www.kidrobot.com which offers other very hard-to-get figures and other toys.

TO: The artsy type of guy

Think of those guys who think that Miller was a playwright, not a beer. Gifts from the Allegheny Art Company (22 S. State St., Newtown 215.579.1060) have thoughtfulness, style and flair. You can choose from any number of items from art to stationery to kitschy toys.

Sexy

TO: Someone who you are sleeping with, or someone who you KNOW VERY WELL and think needs to have a more active sex life

Urge Bodybouncer – At the wonderful intersection of modern engineering, scintillating sex and functional furniture is the Bodybouncer by Urge Designs (800.526.0370, www.bodybouncer.com). This innocent looking contraption is billed by its aptly-named company as “taking the gravity out of sex” and “the biggest news in toys since the vibrator” (c’mon bigger than Cabbage Patch Kids?)
Anyway, this bench with a well-placed circular opening is a sex trampoline of sorts that allows couples to bounce their way to ecstasy by making many awkward sexual positions more comfortable by taking the weight off of one partner and placing on the Bodybouncer.
Price: $199.95

TO: That guy who’s hard to shop for

They Fit Condoms- Get him something you know will fit. They Fit sized-to-fit condoms, available online from Condomania (800.926.6366, www.condomania.com). The functional site has the one-size fits all and other mass-produced rubbers as well, but the draw here is the custom johnson wrappers which are determined from a downloadable size chart, with letters instead of numbers so your guy doesn’t develop self-esteem or self-importance issues.
Cost: $4.95 per 3-Pack / $11.95 per 12-Pack

TO: That special someone who you’d like to peel like a grape

Paint-on fashions from Liquid Latex Fashions – This stuff allows you to get a piece of art AND a piece of … Ah, just kidding. The latex available from this locally-based company (www.liquidlatexonline.com, 888-774-7246) can be used on clothes as well as in lieu of clothing as a costume, hot club wear or, as an outfit that you can seductively strip off your partner’s body.
Yeah- we know, but whaddya want? Pittsburgh is having a better year than the Iggles.
$12.89 for a 16 oz. jar.

Quick

TO: Your friends who really need a drink… fast.

Wine from local vineyards- It’s not a drinking problem if you have a solution: wine!
Both the Chaddsford Winery (632 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, 610.388.6221, www.chaddsford.com) and Crossing Vineyards and Winery (1853 Wrightstown Road
Washington Crossing, 215.493.6500, www.crossingvineyards.com) have vino that’s ready fast for wrapping (and gulping) during the holiday season. If you can’t make it to Chester County, Chaddsford has locations at Peddler’s Village Wine Shop (20 Merchants Row, Lahaska) and the Montgomery Mall Wine Shop (Bethlehem Pike, Montgomeryville).
Even if you don’t choose wine as a gift, wouldn’t it be nicer to drink your booze out of a festive bag rather than the brown paper model that is so cliché these days.
AND- Check out www.pennsylvaniawine.com for the Bucks County Wine Trail and other area growers and wineries.

TO: The person you want to think of you every month (but who you almost forgot)

Magazine subscriptions – Almost nothing is a faster or more functional present than a magazine subscription. With titles like Cat Fancy, Quilter and Hustler there is a periodical out there for everyone from that crazy cat lady who lives downstairs to the porn-addicted second cousin whose hand you never want to shake. And they’re available everywhere, so if you need one in a pinch, a truck stop or gas n’ sip will hook you up.
For instance: You can stop by and get your post-metrosexual friend Steve, a year’s worth of FHM ($9.97), which according to report in last week’s Citypaper, will feature Cherry Hill, NJ’s own Lauren Harris on its cover in December to celebrate her being named Miss FHM. (That’s not Lauren pictured, but she’s just as hot.)

TO: That person you forgot to shop for

Gift cards at Wawa - It happens. You’ve shopped for your friends, family, co-workers, even that postal worker who consistently loses your friggin’ mail.
Then you forget someone. Uuugh.
Have no fear, Wawa is here (and there, and over there). Not that Aunt Phyllis wouldn’t appreciate a pack of smokes, some beef jerky and an egg salad sandwich, but this year Wawa locations have teamed up with retailers like Bed, Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, Sears, Toys R’ Us and Blockbuster Video to offer gift cards from those stores at one of the ten zillion Wawas throughout the Philly-Jersey area, like the megastore at 5000 Bristol Pike in Bristol (215.781.8080).