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Goods Guide

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Shine on the karaoke stage with 3 Wishes Jewelry ‘s Swarovski crystal ring ($40, Boutique Le Trou , 940 Queen West, 416-516-7122).

Give junior a break from the game console’s blips and blow-ups with Brio ‘s red wood train engine ($19.95, the Toy Shop , 62 Cumberland, 416-961-4870).

Ante up your holiday host with these poker-themed snack bowls ($21 for set of four, Joey’s Atelier , 473A Church, 416-925-2702).

Sparkle up her holiday season look with the Body Shop ‘s pink iridescent party shimmer cube ($13, 100 Bloor West, 416-928-1180).

Whether you express your domestic divaness through homemaking perfectionism or instant takeout number recall, Domistyle ‘s aprons ($39, www.domistylegifts.com ) will have you keeping house in style.

Lift your head from Dirty Linens ‘ Tom of Finland toile pillowcases ($45, Come as You Are , 701 Queen, 416-504-7934) for fun-in-the-sack inspiration.

Super Agent ‘s reworked-jeans aprons ($45, available by contacting designer Kristy at superagentkr@rogers.com ) slide the booty pockets up front for easy stashing minus the butt bulge.

Duck and cover when the marbles start flying from Schylling ‘s old-timey tin shooter ($17.95, the Toy Shop , 62 Cumberland, 416-961-4870). aa

No need to name-tag everyone’s drink with this multicoloured glass set ($35, Lily Lee , 261 Danforth, 416-461-1017).

You stick them in mini Birks and feed them almond butter scooped from a pail at the organic grocer. Might as well complete the hippie-fication with Jacquard ‘s psychedelic Tie Dye Kit ($12.95, Curry’s , 344 Queen West, 416-260-2633).

When sonny struts to the playground with this Patches kitty handbag ($39.50, Bubble Face , 926 College, 416-535-8506), it could be just a phase – or the start of some- thing fabulous!

Don’t save it for guest soap duty – lather yourself up with Lisboa Luxo Banho’s bath set ($34, Oni One , 1335 Dundas West, 416-850-8111) creme, olive and nectar-scented bars.

If last year’s get-together had you capping your bottle of 50 and running for the park, make this year’s holiday bash a blast with the Get This Party Started book ($19.95, Red Pegasus , 628 College, 416-536-3872) of socially lubricating games.

Stuff your face full of grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches and hit the hay in this Andy Warhol Elvis snooze mask ($20, Butterfield 8 , 235 Danforth, 416-406-5664).

The LaserPark can help you stop smashing the car into the garage wall. When the garage door opens, a laser shoots from the unit to your dashboard and guides you to perfect parking every time. Installs onto your automatic garage-door opener. $29.99 from the Source by Circuit City ( www.thesourcecc.com )

Add and subtract the Koie OTIS Utility Bag ‘s three independently removable pouches to hold the gear you’re taking with you that day. Extra padding protects your iPod and digicam while two D-rings hang extra accessories. Ideal for photographers and caped crusaders dressed as a bat who are hell-bent on handing out justice in the form of an uppercut platter with side of groin kicks. $38 from www.koieproducts.com

Restoration Hardware ‘s Build Your Own Snowman kit ($21, 2434 Yonge, 416-322-9422) includes coals, a carrot nose and a pom-pom-topped hat to help you fashion your own Frosty.

T.H.E. Store ‘s rooibos tea ($12.95, Hazelton Lanes, 87 Avenue Road, 416-921-7317) includes caffeine-free rooibos, rosehip and lavender to steep away holiday stress and sneaky flu bugs.

Create a crazy creature combo with the Kushies plush stacking toy ($49, Token , 888 Queen West, 416-516-9586).

Nothing is safe from glamification, including this rose-printed umbrella ($53, Betsey Johnson , 102 Yorkville, 416-922-8164) with its blingy gold-coloured chain.

Soniac ‘s poppy-red pillow ($60, Lily Lee , 261 Danforth, 416-461-1017) will punch up your room’s beige colour scheme.

Blythe always looks a little nutso, so stitch up a hot little outfit using this Blythe Doll Sewing My Way Kit ($60, Zuei , Hazelton Lanes, 87 Avenue Road, 416-929-8120) to distract from her buggy eyes.

Tune up your guy’s concert-going couture with a trend-setting reworked vest ($89) and silkscreened tie ($45, Model Citizen , 913 Dundas West, 416-553-6632) and Dom Rebel vintage T ($55, Over the Rainbow , 101 Yorkville, 416-967-7448), recycled chip bag purse ($65, Clandestino , 249 Crawford, 647-436-4761)

Marmalade designer Kate Singer crafts these perfect pendants ($65, Distill , 55 Mill, building #56, 416-304-0033) using bold bits of leather set under sterling silver.

This hot-pink plastic vase ($100, Ma Zone , 63 Jarvis, 416-868-0330) can upstage the gutsiest bloom’s flower power.

Record every special memory and debauched tale from your next world tour in this nubuck bird-print travel journal ($86, Token , 888 Queen West, 416-516-9586).

Flat recycles old tire inner tubes and groovy vinyl upholstery into eco/retro yoga mat bags ($59, Trove , 793 Bathurst, 416-516-1258).

Stuff the tobacco (or whatever) into this MacQueen wooden pipe ($65, Friendly Stranger , 241 Queen West, 416-591-1570).

If a fido sandwich isn’t the type of threesome you have in mind, lure poochy to the foot of the bed with Wagtime ‘s plush woofy cushion ($54.99, Inner Luxe , 2358 Bloor West, 416-915-3982, wee.innerluxe.ca).

We won’t pass judgment on top-to-toe denim looks, but will suggest pairing this smart Salt + Pepper indigo waistcoat ($68, Over the Rainbow , 101 Yorkville, 416-967-7448) with one non-jean piece.

Grandpa’s old paisley might find its way into one of Natalie Gerber ‘s recycled-tie bags ($75, Distill , 55 Mill, building #56, 416-304-0033).

Adorn your neckline with Tricia Burney ‘s felted wool pom-poms ($70, Frock , 97 Roncesvalles, 416-516-1333).

Roll out the noodles with Imperia ‘s pasta maker ($74.95, Williams-Sonoma , 100 Bloor West, 416-962-9455).

Back-country culinary masters will cook up a mean tetra-packed chicken soup with MSR ‘s kerosene-fuelled WhisperLite Internationale stove ($84, Mountain Equipment Co-op , 400 King West, 416-340-2667, www.mec.ca).

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow (three shakes required) with Gisela Graham ‘s musical water globe ($60, Red Pegasus , 628 College, 416-536-3872).

Homegrown fashion represents with a crafty cummerbund ($46, Skirt , 903 Dundas West, 647-436-3357) by Toronto’s Nathalie-Roze Fischer cinched around Chulo Pony ‘s wrap sweater ($135, Trixie , 2313 Bloor West, 416-762-0084) and Fidelity Snap Dragon jeans ($145, Body Blue , 201 Danforth, 416-778-7601) from Vancouver. A pink velvet clutch ($125, Scarlet Boutique , 363 Eglinton West, 416-480-0330) by UK’s Ginka makes an appearance in an ode to our colonial roots.

Blackberry makes checking your e-mail even more addictive with the 7100g . Upgraded features include a speakerphone, Bluetooth, polyphonic ring tunes, an advanced call log and new super-fast SureType keyboard technology that makes typing a cinch. $449.99 from Rogers Wireless (www.rogers.ca)

Lamp up your side table with this lucite Miss K light ($295, Caban , 262 Queen West, 416-596-0386).

The layered necklace look is giving way to gutsy single strands like this Koju yarn-wrapped ring piece ($159, Trove , 793 Bathurst, 416-516-1258).

For your convenience – but more for your money – the Sony PlayStation Portable GigaPack combines the powerful hand-held gaming console with a slew of accessories: a 1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, battery pack, AC adaptor, USB cable, headphones with remote control and an all-new PSP stand. $339.99 from Future Shop (www.futureshop.ca)

Dubbed the Bean, the NW-E307 is Sony’s attempt to kill the iPod Shuffle. It won’t be much of a fight – the Bean kicks ass with 1GB of memory, an FM tuner, a groovy organic EL display, 50 hours of battery life and a function that gives you three hours of music with a quickie three-minute battery charge. $199 from the Sony Store (Eaton Centre, 416-971-7589, www.sonystyle.ca)

Blind the airport customs guys to your carry-on full of vacation-spot-bought goodies with Smythson of Bond Street ‘s fuchsia leather travel clutch ($475, Holt Renfrew , 50 Bloor West, 416-922-2333).

Don’t toss out those old sentimental mixed tapes from high school just yet. The PlusDeck 2c installs into your computer like a disc drive and converts cassette tapes into MP3s or plays them through your computer’s speakers. Listen to Eternal Flame in all its static glory, just like when you were making out in the back of your mom’s 88 station wagon. $160 from www.thinkgeek.com

Doing dashing doesn’t have to turn you square. Look luxe with Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll ‘s grommeted blazer ($450) and Alessandrini ‘s argyle screenprinted sweater ($350, both Anti Hero , 113 Yorkville, 416-924-6121), Ben Sherman Special Brew Havana shirt ($240, Uncle Otis , 26 Bellair, 416-920-2281), and Gas Norton slim-leg jeans ($175, Body Blue , 201 Danforth, 416-778-7601).

Colour your world with a Prismacolor ‘s pencil set that includes 120 lush shades and hues ($149, Curry’s , 344 Queen West, 416-260-2633).

This Litebook portable LED lamp ($299, the Big Carrot , 348 Danforth, 416-466-2129) is for that winter moment when seasonal affective disorder slaps you across your sun-deprived face and you’re craving a serotonin boost.

Great for digital photographers, the Epson P-4000 Multimedia Storage Viewer kills the need to buy multiple memory cards for digicams. When your camera’s card is full, empty the photos onto the compact 80GB hard drive and continue to snap away. View the images on the large 3.8-inch LCD, or use it to play video and music. $899.99 from Best Buy (695 Wilson, 416-635-6574)

Thumb your ride home for the holidays and spend your plane fare on M0851 ‘s Hard Handle Weekender bag ($530, 23 St. Thomas, 416-920-4001).

The Sony DCRDVD7 DVD Handycam Camcorder records directly onto DVD discs, cutting out the middleman between camcorder-to-TV. A 2.5-inch LCD touch screen swivels to get you the best camera angles, while the SteadyShot picture stabilization system ensures your caffeine-induced shaking doesn’t make your video look amateur. Includes a Night Mode and 10X optical zoom and a massive 120X digital zoom. $949.95 from Vistek (496 Queen East, 416-365-1777)

Giant ‘s Revive Bicycle ($849.99, Sporting Life , www.sportinglife.ca) is the ultimate sweet pedal-pushing ride. Its cushy seat, easy suspension and chain guard mean you can cruise to work in comfy style or to brunch without ripping your flared-out jeans.

A big holiday bauble buy can still be part of your Canadian-designer-boosting style. Loranne Kettlewell ‘s Cleopatra necklace ($695, Boutique Le Trou , 940 Queen West, 416-516-7122) is made with 22k gold, sterling silver, freshwater pearls and turquoise Swarovski crystals at her studio on Queen West.

For use in actual emergency, or a really, really fun drinking game, the Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator is the first readily available to the public. Once your uncle hits the carpet after ingesting a kilo of holiday turkey gravy, the easy-to-use unit will guide you through CPR, and if need be, tell you to yell “Clear!” before shocking him back to life. $2,149.95 from EfstonScience (3350 Dufferin, 416-787-4581, www.escience.ca)

Want to contribute to the Lance Armstrong Foundation but don’t want to sport those ubiquitous yellow rubber bracelets? Pick up the 14-inch Hewlett Packard Special Edition Livestrong laptop . A fast AMD Turion 1.8GHz processor, 1GB ram, DVD burner and 80GB hard drive are crammed into a 1.2-inch-thick, 5-pound black laptop with yellow trim. Each purchase sends $50 to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. $1,499 from http://hpshopping.ca .

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