servicey holiday shopping post.

i fucking love shopping. love it love it love it. and i never know what to get people for christmas, which makes shopping more like a puzzle. and i love the shit out of puzzles. i always aim to buy my loved ones amazing gifts, mostly to assert my own gifting superiority and make them feel inadequate. or to make them happy, whatever. anyway, here are some places i like to shop for the holidays.

websites, so you don’t have to shower:

• etsy. you’re probably thinking, duh, heather. etsy is awesome. but guess what? my mom doesn’t use the internet. so when i get her a handmade candle from etsy and tell her about the site, she thinks i am not only a genius, but an incredibly thoughtful daughter. score.
• the breast cancer site store. okay, some of these items here are cheesy. god knows i don’t want or need any of that sisterhood jewelry shit. but you know who does? my midwestern relatives. done. plus, your gift  helps to fund mammograms for woman who cannot afford them. you can also support one of the other five causes listed on the site, but you and i both know that you’d rather help keep those tits safe.
• fred flare. lots of cheap little stocking stuffers can be found here. and they offer some great deals, so check the site often.

flea markets in nyc:

• gifted, presented by brooklyn flea. i’ve really been all about flea markets this holiday season, mostly because i enjoy shopping for myself. and flea markets have what i like. but i checked out gifted yesterday and actually completed much of my shopping for others while there. they have a wide variety of stuff, with gifts for the old/young/male/female/human/dog/whatevers in your life. i was pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the items, and most were reasonably priced. and i was able to pick up some jewelry for myself, which really made the trip worth it.
• artist & fleas. warning: this one is in williamsburg, so prepare yourself to be bombarded with irony and keep your earned money secure. this market is good for buying accessories, printed t-shirts and vintage clothing. it’s also presented year-round, so you can check it out any weekend you want. plus, you can get wasted at the surf bar across the street, because you traveled to an outer borough, dammit, and you’ve earned that delicious mudslide. and trust me, those mudslides are delicious.
• the holiday handmade cavalcade. this event is a one-time deal and it’s over, so you missed it. suckers! but you can still check out the newnew, a group of etsy artists from the nyc area. i checked out this event yesterday and it was decent. a little crafty for my taste, but i did find some good gifts there. you just have to dig through a bit too much overpriced stuff to find the deals. but worth checking out the group.

special bonus gift idea: charity donations. trust me, your loved ones will eat this shit up. and you’ll be doing some good for worthy causes, but mostly you’ll be earning bonus points with the relatives. i suggest researching the causes at charity navigator, lest you end up giving your cash to the human fund. charity donations are great gifts for anyone, but especially for those people that really leaved you stumped for gift ideas. just donate to a cancer cause in their honor. everybody loves cancer.

okay, that does it for my annual blog post that i put effort into. good luck with the shopping.