Awesome Christmas Gifts: Last Minute Stocking Stuffers

Less than ten days to go and you're sure you've forgotten someone, but not sure who? Yup, know that feeling. To help you out here are some last minute stocking stuffer suggestions, or those 'just in case I forgot someone, but if I haven't I'll just keep it for myself' gifts!

Pop! In Vinyl

Those crazy cats at Funko know what's hot and use melted plastic to mould it into dust gathering goodness! Don't get me wrong, I love my Pop! Vinyl figures. Whether it's Game of Thrones, WWE, Disney, Batman, Marvel or Adventure Time (and many, many more) you'll find a Funko Pop! Vinyl figure for everyone.

Popcultcha currently has loads of figurines, including bobble heads, SDCC (San Diego Comic Con) exclusive releases and metallic limited editions, but you can find them at pretty much any geek-y game-y stuff shop.

A Bit of Comedy Luxury

This one really could go either way - the recipient will love it, and you for it, or you'll be taking it back home with you. So, win-win! To my mind, Fielding is the ultimate hipster and his comedy is a commentary on art, popular culture and absolute ridiculousness.

My favourite sketches are the nonsensical adventures of a plasticine Joey Ramone. When purchasing the Luxury Comedy DVD for someone, what you really need to decide is whether you're going for a joke or a concept.

Ice and Stones

Ice is good for many things, cooling drinks in particular. Fred's ice trays both cool drinks and present a talking point, with whimsical shapes and witty names including the brain freeze, abominable ice men, and gin & titonic.

Alternatively, if you're going for cold but without the melt, try whisky stones instead.

Bow Ties are Cool

http://www.bties.com.au/

I'm actually astounded at how often I find myself in that old dilemma of how exactly to accessorise my outfit. The result is that I would love to find a bow tie in my Santa stocking this Christmas! Because, you know, bow ties go with just about everything!

Check out B.Ties, a Melbourne-based brand that brings funk and quirk to this old fashioned accessory - for the fellas and also for the ladies.

Nerftastic!

You might need a large(ish) stocking for these ones, but if you want to get the kids - big and small - out of the house for a bit on Christmas Day, I reckon a few Nerf guns are the way to go. Some shoot foamy things, while others are soakers, but either way fun is almost guaranteed to ensue. Just a tip - if you get a foamy one, you might want to stock up on darts - thank me later.

That's it for our 2013 Christmas gift guides! If you missed them, here are our gift guides for her and for him. Happy shopping!

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Awesome Christmas Gifts: For Him

Time is ticking! Only two weeks until Christmas and Santa waits for no man. So, to help you out here are some suggestions for the fella(s) in your life.

Keeping Cosy: Ugly Christmas Sweaters

Just in case Christmas Day turns out to be a little on the chilly side, here is a selection of ugly Christmas sweaters for you to choose from. But wait, they're not just ugly jumpers, they're actually heavy metal band merchendise! Oh, so that totally makes it okay. You can get Motorhead and Slayer jumpers from Backstreet Merch, and Queens of the Stone Age via Rekords Rekords.

Beer Snob: Your Very Own MicroBrew

Apparently beer making is as easy as cake making, especially with a BrewSmith home brew kit. A Melbourne-based company founded by Adrian MacGeraghty, BrewSmith aims to bring premium beer making into the home at an affordable price. The kit is reusable, with a number of 'refill' flavours available, including Summer Citrus Blonde, Chocolate Paradise Porter, and Aussie Wattle Pale Ale. They also have a Simple Cider.

They say that without the preservatives or filtering agents of commercial beers, home brewed beer leads to a lesser hangover. That alone makes the $70 reusable starter kit worthwhile, and the $20 refill kits an absolute bargain. The only drawback is the delay, as each batch takes around three weeks to ferment, so some planning ahead may be required.

Keeping with Tradition: It's What's Underneath that Counts

Those good old staples of socks and undies now come in a vast array of funky and colourful varieties - perfect for any man in your life, including Grandpa! Nothing says hipster Christmas quite like an amazing pair of paisley, sprinkled or patterned socks from Swedish company Happy Socks. And what about a pair of Sponge Bob, Star Wars or fruit inspired underpants from Pull In. Grandpa, uncle Bruce and your boyfriend will all love you for it.

I Like to Play: Get Steamed

Steam is a platform and community that digitally distributes games (for PC, Linux and Mac), from smaller independent titles to those from larger and better known developers. All the cool kids are on Steam, which has over 2,000 available titles and a community of some 40 million potential competitors or compadres.

While there are loads of free games, paid games include Call of Duty: Ghosts, Batman: Arkham Origins, Final Fantasy VIII and Football Manager 2014. And for under $20 you can get award winning indies like Super Meat Boy and Gone Home. There are bundles available for a range of prices, so there's pretty much something for everyone on Steam.

For the Young: Or the Young at Heart

I could have made some serious grown up DVD recommendations, like Danish cop show The Killing, the boxed set of Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy, or Luther starring Idris Elba. Instead, My Little Pony, Adventure Time and Phineas and Ferb make the list this festive season. Why? Because each is mostly harmless and utterly enjoyable!

I asked Aussie comic writer, Ryan K Lindsay, author of My Little Pony Micro Series: Rainbow Dash #2 (available on Comixology) why he thought MLP would make an awesome gift this Christmas, 'What's not to love about ponies who think friendship is magic? Sweet characters, plenty of horseplay [see what he did there] and when I write 'em stolen Batman lines, Blade Runner speeches pony-fied and room for a David Bowie reference'.

The intertextuality (that's a wanky word for references to other pop culture etc) alone makes all three worth watching. Adventure Time will leave you wondering what the heck you just watched, Phineas and Ferb will make you feel smarter than everyone else in the room, while MLP will leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling, yup, even for the fellas (see bronies). And the best part - you can legitimately watch each of them along side the younger nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers, sisters, and grandma.

Did you miss our gift guide for her? Find it here.

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Awesome Christmas Gifts: For Her

With only three more weeks until Christmas (I know, where has the year gone?), we thought we'd give you a hand with coming up with gifts for your loved ones, and even those you don't like very much but should probably get a little something for anyway. You know, get into the spirit. It's not about the gift, it's about the giving...or something like that.

So here we go, a completely random list of absolutely awesome Christmas gifts for her.

A Light Read: Fiction, Facts and Comics

Danielle Hawkins' Chocolate Cake for Breakfast is the story of Helen McNeil, a country vet, and her whirlwind romance with All Blacks rugby player Mark Tipene. Just as they're getting to know each other their courting is suddenly interrupted by a 'little something', which changes their relationship forever (read our review here). Thoroughly chic lit, Chocolate Cake for Breakfast is one to take on holidays or throw in with the towel and sunnies for an afternoon on the beach. Chocolate Cake for Breakfast is published by Allen & Unwin.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley is a collection of short comic strips detailing various food related journeys from Lucy's life. Food discoveries, rebellion and comfort through food, the way certain kitchen smells transport you back to another time and place...this is Relish (read our review here). Relish is available through Macmillan.

Rose George's Deep Sea and Foreign Going is a detailed account of her journey from Felixstowe in the UK, though the Suez Canal, via Somali pirate waters to her final port in Singapore. The point George makes is that shipping in many respects, is a hidden industry, yet it's one that brings us '90 per cent of everything' (read our review here). Deep Sea and Foriegn Going is published by Allen & Unwin.

Brighten Up: Colourful Beads

See: emilygreen.net

Emily Green is based in Melbourne and makes various colourful wonders, including necklaces, scarves (both silk and knit), earrings and now shoes. Emily's necklaces have become iconic in and around Melbourne, with the brightly coloured polymer beads popping up in all manner of trendy places. 

The best thing about Emily's necklaces is that they're versatile and can be worn with just about anything - adding colour to a monochrome professional outfit, or pulling from a colourful spring dress. Either way, you can't lose with one of these. You can buy an Emily Green necklace here or find stockists here.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Beauty and the Geek

See: Bellabox.com.au and Lootcrate.com

What about a gift that just keeps turning up, month after month? Sound like something to get you and keep you in her good books? Well, that's the idea behind both Bella Box and Loot Crate - you subscribe and received a box of goodies delivered to you each month. The catch is that it's a bit of pot luck as you don't know what's inside until you open it.

For the lady in your life who loves fashion and beauty there's the Bella Box, which comes filled with sample sized products that effectively allow you to try before you buy in full size. Their website has a long list of the brands you might receive covering the spectrum of beauty products. They also have a men's range and baby range.

But for the lady geek in your life, maybe a Loot Crate is more up their alley. Again, the crates come on a monthly basis, but this time they're filled with 'epic geek and gamer gear'. Past crates have included The Zombie Survival Guide, TMNT Pop! Vinyl figures, an 8-bit bow tie, and various sweet things like PEZ and Warheads.

It's Alive: Great Balls of...Moss?

See: mister-moss.com

Mister Moss is another Melbourne-based company taking an interesting approach to keeping plants. Instead of pots, Mister Moss plants are balled up in moss and tied with string. Although intended to be hung, with a specially made stand also available, a Mister Moss will happily sit all on its own, bringing a feature and a little colour to your home.

Mister Moss plants, including a Christmas tree and Poinsettia are available from here or through stockists found here.

Nice Wheels: Just Like Riding a Bike...or Skates

See: reidcycles.com.au and moxirollerskates.com/shop/

You don't have to wear lycra to ride a bike, and in fact, I probably recommend you don't if you're going to be riding a vintage style bicycle from Reid Cycles. The ladies bike comes in a variety of bright colours, from red, yellow, baby blue and sunshine yellow, and you'll probably want to add a basket for all your shopping. If you're feeling truly nostalgic, I'd recommend some spokey dokeys - you know, those things that clack back and forth along the spokes as you coast along, and well, because we are grown ups here, a wine bottle carrier too.

But if cycling isn't for you, what about a pair of roller skates?! Roller skating seems to be having a bit of a revival, possibly due to the growing popularity of roller derby, but maybe because skating is just good clean fun (off the derby track that is). Moxi skates bring retro glamour to skating with their animal print, candy colours and Hello Kitty themed boots. These skates are definitely made for showing off. Skater HQ has a selection of recreational skates, as well as those for derby and speed. 

Next time: awesome Christmas gifts for him!

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