Consumptivity

Gift Guides 2008

Catalogs of potential presents

Black Friday has come and passed. The holiday shopping season is in full swing. By now, you’re either finished (congrats) or catching up. Here’s a few gift guides we recommend, because unlike a lot of year-end round-ups, they don’t simply list what’s new or flashy, but in most cases make a compelling case for why the stuff’s interesting, fun and worth considering. If you have any other great guides you’d like to share, please let us know which ones and why via the submit page or the comments below. Happy hunting, giving and getting!

— Steven Leckart

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Uncle Mark Gift Guide and Almanac

The latest iteration of this previously-reviewed guide is chock full of truly satisfying variety: boardgames, spatulas, watches, child strollers, iPhone apps and more. Plus, a few tips and How-To’s that have nothing to do with shopping or consuming.

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Make Magazine

This year the makers of the DIY bible have fine-sliced the zine’s goods and content into a few little fun guides, including those for Music Makers and Chemistry. There’s some overlap here and there, but nevertheless, each are worth a look…

Robots!
Everything from fully-assembled $300 bots to $25 DIY solar-powered cars and various other automata kits.

$20 Gift Guide
Little, inexpensive DIY trinkets galore. Build your own LED felt tree ornament, LED mini menorah or both.

Arduino Gift Guide
DIY microcontroller kits and boards for as little as $12! Plus, a Getting Started guide for beginners.

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TreeHugger
One of the RSS feeds I regularly check offers up 11 different giftee categories like “health nut” and “foodie” all viewed through the lens of modern green. Like a museum gift shop, there’s something for pretty much everyone.

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Scott Kelby’s Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide
Kelby’s third annual list of high-end cameras, lenses, portable drives and accessories for photogs and aspiring image jockeys, plus his short take on why they’re worth the high price tags.

12/15/08

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