The A.V. Club Twin Cities' Surprisingly Specific Holiday Gift Guide
With so little money being spent anywhere these days, it's more important than ever to buy local. By purchasing the following items, you can help the Twin Cities flourish, while the rest of the country turns into a hellish, Mad Max-ian nightmare land.
FOR RADIO LISTENERS INTENT ON RELIVING THEIR CHILDHOODS
Owl City Adult Onesie
Owl City's "Fireflies" has a naïve, childlike quality to it, what with its lyrics about hugging lightning bugs, and a video that features Adam Young performing for an audience of blinking, tottering wind-up toys. So it really isn't so surprising that the Owatonna band now offers merchandise made specifically for the Peter Pans in its fan base. This cozy loungewear is blue with buttons running down the front, the band's name on the left breast, and a drawing of an owl on the back. It would probably go nicely with a Weezer Snuggie. But make no mistake: These footie pajamas are made for grown-ups. (The smallest size fits someone up to 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds.)
Price: $40
Find it at: owlcitymerch.com
FOR MUSIC FANS STILL WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED TO NIGHTCLUB DWIGHT
Lifter Puller Vs. The End Of
It's hard not to get nostalgic for Lifter Puller's Twin Cities. Seedy nightclubs, date-rape drugs, arson, murder, anonymous sex in public parks—those were the days. And now they've been put on paper and readied for your coffee table. This full-color book, which the band is putting out itself, is 96 pages of photos, lyrics, and an oral history made up of the somewhat fuzzy but surely entertaining recollections of various people who were around when LP ruled the scene. As if that weren't enough, every copy comes with a download code that grants the buyer access to the band's entire digital catalogue. It's not a reunion, but it's a lot more than most beloved, long-defunct indie-rock bands have to offer.
Price: $25
Find it at: Treehouse Records, 2557 Lyndale Ave. S, 612-872-7400, treehouserecords.blogspot.com
FOR RESIDENTS WHO APPRECIATE BIG-CITY DANGER WITH MIDWESTERN CHARM 
"Lovely Day/Night For A Bike Ride" Print Set
Northeast design duo Jamie Paul and Kevin Hayes, who go by the team name Lovely, created these parallel screen prints to depict one location at two very different times of day. In the midday print, a cyclist rides past the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, the Grain Belt sign, a winking sun, and a friendly fisherman. But at night, a mugger pops out of the bushes, the fisherman becomes a junkie, a body is thrown from the bridge, and a sea monster emerges from the deep. Oh, and the moon is waving around a gun. It's a testament to the loveliness of Minneapolis that even the scary scene is pretty cute.
Price: $40
Find it at: lovelympls.etsy.com
FOR IMPOVERISHED REAL-ESTATE SPECULATORS
"Peek A Boo" Stained Glass Window
Your friend has always wanted to live in a real Frank Lloyd Wright house—but this year he poured whatever savings he didn't lose on Circuit City into airline peanut futures. Not to worry; the Minneapolis Institute Of Arts is selling a 7.5-by-5-inch piece of that dream at Great Recession prices. No, it's not really a Wright production, but a replica from the MIA's Purcell-Cutts house, built by William Purcell and George Elmslie, the second most popular Prairie School architects after Wright. Plus, if you go out on your roof with a 120-watt bulb, you might be able to summon Casper the Friendly Ghost, Bat-Signal-style. The window comes with a hanging chain (bling, anyone?) and box.
Price: $35
Find it at: Minneapolis Institute Of Arts, 2400 Third Ave. S., 612-870-3100, artsmia-museum-shop.stores.yahoo.net
FOR BUSY PIE-MAKERS AND TWILIGHT FANS
Cherry Chomper
It's not a nutcracker. Conceived by Minneapolis-based Talisman Designs' Katherine Waymire, this pale criminal pits cherries. Operation goes like so: Place a cherry in the chomper's mouth, give him a bop on the head, and the cherry rolls out more-or-less intact while the pit remains in the little guy's clear ersatz belly. It's kid-safe and can hold up to 20 pits before it needs unloading. The chomper's boyish white complexion, prominent fang, and cherry-respecting modus operandi also suggest that he may have been an early character design for Twilight's Edward Cullen.
Price: $12.99
Find it at: Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., 612-375-7633, shop.walkerart.org
FOR BUDDING FILMMAKERS SEARCHING FOR THEIR NEXT PROJECT
Pen Pals Books' Latest Titles Bundle (Thunderstruck, Things I've Been Silent About, The Wordy Shipmates, The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel, Red Knife)
Did you know there are books that haven't been made into movies yet? The Hennepin County Library is selling a bundle of five of these pulpy potential properties at a 20-percent discount. The money goes to support the library, which seems to be a sort of giant warehouse of books that never quite made it to a script treatment. What's more, the writers of said books—total nobodies like Azar Nafisi, Sarah Vowell, and Michael Chabon (the Pulitzer what?)—are participating in the library's Pen Pal lecture series next year. They'll be stopping by the Hopkins Center For The Arts to tout their ideas—and probably to see if anyone in the audience has Jerry Bruckheimer's cell number.
Price: books $84, author appearance tickets $35-$45
Find it at: Central Library Bookstore, 300 Nicollet Mall, 612-630-6178, supporthclib.org/bookstore.html
FOR THE FRIEND WHO ALREADY HAS THE MELTED BEER BOTTLE ASHTRAY
Wild Dog Studio's Beer Bottle Fused Glass Pendant
Before going out and dropping some serious cash on holiday jewelry, check out this alternative. Given all the un- or under-employed folks out there, this pendant, which comes in brown or green glass with an 18-inch silver ball chain, is the perfect gift: half sweet, half "please tell me you didn't pick this up off the street outside Big V's." No matter the reason for giving, this will end up being the not-too-serious kitsch gift for your eco-chic friend, whose heart will be warmed simply knowing she's recycling. And the necklace is so chic she won't be stopped on the street by someone pushing a shopping cart and looking for extra cans.
Price: $18
Find it at: wilddogstudio.etsy.com
FOR THE FASHIONISTA WHO CRIES DURING "SAVE THE POLAR BEARS" ADS
Rectangle Designs' Eco-Friendly Canvas Clutches
Designer and former botanist Sarah Nassif's collection, Rectangle Designs, includes the stark contrasting images you'd find playing with cyanotype sunprint paper. Inspiration for her Marimekko-like designs comes from traveling and her own photographs. For the "Branches" clutch, Nassif used images from along the Mississippi River bluffs in winter. Her hand-screenprinted line of apparel (mostly for women) uses phthalate- and PVC-free, nontoxic, water-based ink. In addition, Rectangle Designs is committed to using remnant and surplus fabric and reclaimed zippers in its designs. Often the irony with reused products is that they begin with a negative impact only to have a new use found later, but here the idea began in flora and remains environmentally sensible throughout.
Price: $24-$28
Find it at: Design Collective, 1311 26th St. W, 612-377-1000; I Like You, 501 First Ave. NE, 612-208-0249; Mother Earth Gardens, 3738 42nd Ave. S, 612-724-2296; and Shoppe Local, 813 W 50th St., Minneapolis, 612-827-3071
FOR THE ROOMMATE WHO COULD USE A HINT ABOUT CLEANLINESS IN A PRETTY PACKAGE
Daub & Bauble Cleansers
In every relationship there are surprises, like when you catch someone "washing" a dish without soap. Everybody has their own ideas of clean and a certain amount of chemicals they're willing to ingest. Which brings us to Daub & Bauble, a company owned by husband-and-wife duo Josh and Rachel Berger. Their line of cleaners, dish detergents, hand wash, lotions, and candles are made from plant-based ingredients and come in four high-end scents. But it's really the packaging that makes this gift more than just a bottle of Dawn; local agency Wink designed the bottles to be something even a minimalist could love. Beware: These products are like a gateway drug. Next thing you know, you'll be remodeling your kitchen.
Price: $8-$14
Find it at: The Bibelot, 300 E Hennepin Ave., 612-379-9300 and 1082 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 651-222-0321; Garden of Eden, 867 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 651-293-1300; Corazon, 4646 E Lake St., 612-276-0198; and various Bachman's locations
FOR THE LADY WHOSE JEWELRY BOX IS SHORT ON PLASTIC
Gold Medallion "Killa" And "Smorkin' Heart" Necklaces
If holiday commercials are to be believed, you are required to buy your significant other jewelry at a near-constant rate. The survival of your relationship hinges on the purchase of miniscule yet exorbitantly priced shiny things, but doesn't it get boring to throw another sparkly gem or majestic stone onto the pile year after year? Why not try something a little different from Robot Love? The independent design store carries Tina Tarantino's limited-edition Kidrobot series, including necklaces featuring boxing champ "Killa" and Frank Kozik's cigarette-chomping "Smorkin' Heart," both of which are sure to find that middle ground between quirky and classy.
Prices: $80-$275
Find it at: Robot Love, 2648 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, 612-871-9393, robotlove.biz
