It's All Happening

Today's the big day as we count down the final hours to the Yankee Swap! Some key points to remember: We have an ice luge, so feel free to bring your favorite spirits. The party officially begins whenever the first person arrives, but have your wrapped gift under the tree by 9 p.m. for the swap, which will begin shortly thereafter. Attire is holiday semi-formal.

Your final gift idea is one you can buy on the way over (although you still need to wrap it). Lottery tickets!

The Massachusetts State Lottery offers a wide variety of instant win tickets with all sorts of exciting prizes. You could win, win, win! Feel the excitement!

See you at the Swap tonight!

Far Out, Man

You could probably use some culture in your life. If not now, you will after this party. Today's gift idea is two tickets to the Planetarium! Offerings include "Into The Unknown" and "Far, Far Away: The Worlds of Star Wars". Or you could just get stoned to the bejesus and go see the Pink Floyd laser show. It's like you can see the music. Or, if you're a huge pussy, you could see the U2 laser show. There's something for everyone!

What-Have-You

Another perusal of Craigslist unearthed this gem, an Ikea TV stand going for $15.

I feel that giving the biggest gift is also a point of pride, much like giving the most traded for gift or the last gift traded for. We should have awards for things like that.

It's The Thought That Counts

You don't necessarily need to spend a lot of money on a Yankee Swap gift. A homemade gift from the heart can be just as special. To wit: a former colleague of mine once worked in the athletic department of a small Catholic college. The department held an annual Yankee Swap in which the majority of gifts exchanged tended to be alcohol and scratch tickets. This one year was no different except in the midst of passing around bottles of vodka and wine, someone had the fortune of opening the gift from the department's secretary, a kind old lady who had served the college for many years. She had given a meticulously crafted homemade nativity scene. Her lucky colleague (and each participant henceforth) then had quite a decision to make. "This homemade nativity scene that clearly took weeks to make is great, but I'm going to trade it for the lottery tickets someone bought on the way over here."

The moral of the story: You don't have to get a great gift, just one that will make people feel guilty about giving it away.

Mmmm...Chocolate

What better way to spread holiday cheer than with the gift of chocolate? When I was a young lad, I always enjoyed Lindt truffles. While their fancy packaging and silent D would lead you to believe that they are from Switzerland, they are actually made, among other places, in Stratham, New Hampshire, the next town over from my childhood home. You could go to the factory and get cheap prices on delicious chocolate. One year, my uncle worked at the factory for the holidays so we got lots of chocolate that year. You can get two of these little bags of 20 truffles each for under $14.

Cut to the Chase

Now if coffee's not your thing, you could also get a gift card to a liquor store. I don't know if every area liquor store offers gift cards, but I know that Huntington Wine and Spirits does, because I was once given a gift card there from my boss.

T Minus One Week

We're under a week until the Yankee Swap, so it's time to start shifting to focus to gifts you can get quickly and without a lot of thought. We'll keep going right up until we get to the gifts that you can buy on your way over. First of all, I'll go with what was one of the most popular gifts from a year ago: The Dunkin' Donuts Gift Card. Sure, you're not gonna wow anyone, but it's a safe bet to give and a safe bet to get. The only problem with the gift card is that you really have to spend the full $20 or else you look like a cheapskate. ("Hmm, should I keep the $15 Dunkin' Donuts gift card or trade for the $20 Dunkin' Donuts gift card?") Of course, you could always just put in one with an unmarked amount and woe be to the person who walks into get their coffee on Monday morning and find only $2.50 on the card.