Called a “best value” by Wall Street Journal oenophiles Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, Piper-Heidsieck is a familiar name among champagnes and one soul-satisfying toast for the New Year, whether you’re drinking to remember or forget. Salud.

$35.00

So you’re music mogul wannabe teenager wants to make a million real quick to pay for college? Well, since everyone else with no real talent seems to be doing it, your kid might as well too. Help him get there with the one essential item of modern recording - Auto Tune - the pitch correcting software that gives everybody and their momma with a recording contract his or her signature sound. Just do it quick. Hopefully it will play itself out soon.

$319
Guitar Center

What’s on sale in this picture? Look on the wall. From Samsung, it’s the world’s largest digital picture frame at a whopping 32 inches. By comparison, 8″ is considered fairly big. At the very least, a frame this size is going to force your giftee to take much, much better pictures. We recommend giving it to your grandmother along with a flash drive full of picture of Kennedy, Jesus, MLK - and Obama. It’ll fit right in next to the plastic covered sofa.

A signed first edition of “The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin.A lovely, and expensive but riculously so, way of saying, “I think you’re smart.”

$425
biblio.com

OK, so we couldn’t find a picture of the product without the screaming kid. Nevertheless, we’ve always said if you buy a kid a carboard box, he or she would be plenty happy and have hours of imagination fun. It’s still the best gift ever - if you can convince the kid that a box is a gift.

If not, here’s a step above. A cardboard box with a little built-in imagination. The company, Carboard Creations, out of the UK, makes this plane, a teepee, a fort and some other great ready-to-fold, very sturdy cardboard toys. They’re quite a bit more than the $2 job from the storage place down the street, but they look like much more fun.

$50
Carboard Airplane from Spoon Sisters

 

Angels for Obama are whimsical, earth-friendly ornaments created by chlee to celebrate this chapter in American history.

Made of recycled plastics, each angel carries a banner with either the name Obama, or one of the many sentiments expressed during this historic campaign.

$15.00

chleeart

What better time to start squirreling away spare change for the college fund? This cute little polka-dot piggy makes the whole process less painful.

$28.00

Elegant Baby

With green tea being the new black and all, you can find the stuff at any price range in your local grocery store, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting quality. But if your giftee really enjoys a  good cup of tea  - and the peace and calm that comes with it - you should send them the real thing, and the very best.

Direct from Paris, the teas of the Mariage Freres company are considered by many to be the absolute best in the world. We agree.

Gifts of Tea from $15.

Mariage Freres Tea

Even if you’re lucky enough to be doing well in these economic times, the idea of paying out hundreds of bucks on video games and Nintendo systems is daunting, if only because you hate succumbing to the current idea of fun when you know the real deal was so much –well, funner.

And what was more fun than this?

From $16.99

Operation by Hasbro

No, not the sexiest or most romantic Christmas gift. But if you’ve got relatives planning to go to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration (and at this point who doesn’t), then trust us, Inauguration Day is nearly always the most bone-chilling day of the year. And watching the parade will be no fun at all- historical significance notwithstanding - if you’re suffering from frostbite. Keep those dogs toasty with these.

$12.95 per 8 pack

Grabber Toe Warmers