Willamette Week's Holiday Gift Guide 2005

[November 23rd, 2005] Holiday shopping? Isn't it more like year-round shopping nowadays? The pressure to find the coolest and quirkiest gift items out "there" (read: stores, markets, on the Internet) can turn even the savviest consumer into a quivering ball of tinsel-tousled confusion. That's why, around this time each year, Willamette Week hits the street with its annual gift guides. Think of it as our little present to the harried mom/dad/brother/sister/dog/cat who is looking for somebody...heck, anybody....to give them some advice about what people just gotta have this holiday season.

With so many items to pick and choose from, we're pretty sure you'll find something on the following pages that will tickle your—and your giftee's—fancy.

The guide you hold in your hand focuses on more high-end goods (best to blow your budget early, baby!), and in the next few weeks we'll also provide you with a section focused on winter style and a guide for gifts under $35 that's perfect for the penny-pincher in all of us, Scrooge or not.

And for those of you who look at the holidays as less a shopping experience than an interactive one, we've also included our Holiday Events Calendar. It includes all the major seasonal celebrations—including a few you may have never heard of—and we've even added a schedule of fun bazaars we think are worth checking out.

So what you waiting for? It's time to get your jollies on!

Best Holiday Wishes,

Byron Beck

Special Sections Editor

P.S. And now a word from WW publisher Richard Meeker: If you haven't shopped WW's Give! Guide, do so now. Simply go to www.wweek.com/giveguide, check out the couple dozen local nonprofits we feature, and give to a few. Note: There are nice incentives to spur your eleemosynary spirit.

See the complete guide at www.wweek.com/sitelets/giftguide2005