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GIFTS OUTSIDE THE BOX
By Archive
from Salem Monthly, Section News
Posted on Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 08:53:33 PM PDT

Salem Monthly’s
2005 Holiday Gift Guide

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that the same old lame stuff won’t be there. This holiday season think and shop outside the box. Use Salem Monthly’s list as your guide.

For the reader:
Support your independent bookstore. Why? Well for one, those that carry used books will have treasures, ridiculously cheap. Here’s a sample of what I found at Reader’s Guide in West Salem on a ten-minute browse:
• Five volumes of Ogden Nash’s slice-of-life poems from the 40s and 50s, $6.95 each.
• “Virginia Lee Burton: A Life in Art” coffee-table book of the classic children’s writer and illustrator, $10.
• “The Hite Report on Male Sexuality,” by Shere Hite; a fascinating classic for $5.95, and cheaper than a subscription to Cosmo! Reader’s Guide to Recycled Literature, 1105 Edgewater St.

Other spots to pick up used books:
The Book Bin, 450 Court Street
Booksmart, 4908 River Road North
Jackson’s Books, 320 Liberty Street
Paperback Exchange, 1201 Commercial Street SE

For the cook:
Pappy’s Moonshine Madness Barbecue Sauce $7.50
Taylor’s Fountain & Gifts
296 South Main St., Independence
(503) 838-1124

For the not-very-much-of-a-cook:
Ready Made Beer Bread Batter $5.50
Taylor’s Fountain & Gifts
296 South Main St., Independence
(503) 838-1124

Maiden, Mother & Crone
There is a profusion of unique gift opportunities in Bill Light’s store downtown. For a cheap and personal one, pick out a stone – there’s one here for everything. Hematite, for instance, is a grounding stone, good for counteracting the sugar highs from all that Christmas fudge. Unakite helps control weight gain (during the season), and spurs weight loss (afterward). Carnelian is good for family stress, i.e., sit-down dinners with the extended family. And if you’re bringing your boyfriend/girlfriend home to meet your parents, give him/her a tiger’s eye for courage. For the office gift exchange, try a 2006 Daily Planetary Guide. Pick up vegan and organic hemp lip balm for stocking stuffers. 375 Liberty Rd.

Stone Buddha
Take a trip to Silverton’s Chinatown: two storefronts beginning at Chan’s Restaurant and ending here and marked by two cheeky sidewalk signs. Stone Buddha’s Asian marketplace includes such goodies as the dashboard monk, wood and stone-carved Buddhas in all shapes and sizes, calligraphy tools, folding bamboo tables, hand-painted dinnerware from Saigon, original Asian toys and candy, plus a pop-up dinosaur calendar. Pick up authentic green leaf tea and china cups for Aunt Joan, a pair of super-chic Vietnam slip-on mules for mom. Get your niece who has everything a mounted dragonfly collection and buy yourself a do-it-yourself henna tattoo kit. Then walk a block over to Mac’s Place and show it off! 216 E Main St., Silverton.

For the stocking:

Bacon strips $4.50 (band-aids)
Chuckles Cards & Gifts
3405 Commercial St. SE Ste. 140, Salem
(503) 391-4248

Candy Flavored Chapstick $2.95
Chuckles Cards & Gifts
3405 Commercial St. SE Ste. 140, Salem
(503) 391-4248

The Sunflower Barn
The Sunflower Barn is on a grass seed farm, so don’t worry, you’re not lost. 4299 Riddell Rd., Monmouth There is a little bit of verything here: roosters and turtles and candles and pigs, plus a fantastic selection of wind chimes. If your person collects anything, they have it here. A rack of sink strainers at the door caught our eye —bright shiny steel with cute, colorful toppers (footballs, kittens, bumblebees). And you know those spongy miniatures you put in a bowl of water that expand to 600 times their size? Kids love them, but here they have them for grown-ups. Get a “grow your own prince,” a “grow your own girlfriend” (a bosomy little pink thing for your favorite bachelor), or “grow your own Mafioso.” Also original toys, Beaver and Duck items, kitschy wall hooks and a surprising used book collection.

For the starving artist
Art Classes $50
Alize’ Framing & Gallery
877 Main St., Dallas
(503) 623-7952

Bilingual Folding Travel Bag
This durable waterproof bag comes with a surprise tote bag inside. Folded up, it’s purse-sized with an easy handle. Unfolded, the large bag can hold pajamas, make-up bag, and a change of clothes. The smaller bag is perfect for a light jacket, magazines and newspapers, or other traveling debris. They’re adorned with common phrases and translations in Spanish, Italian or French. Very cute. $34.95 at Simply Stated, 327 State St.

For the aspiring astrologer:
Home Planetarium $34.95
The Learning Palace
3832 Center St. NE
(503) 587-8992

Tip of your nose
Anyone on your list wear glasses? Get them a wooden face eyeglass stand at Ten Thousand Villages. This handsome carved visage bears a proud and noble nose, with ears to hook glasses on. It looks great anywhere, and is so much easier than fussing with an eyeglass case. $12. Ten Thousand Villages on State St.

For the wine connoisseur:
Wine Bottle Cheese Server $17.95
Words Lovely Words Gift Shoppe
4635 Commercial St. SE, Salem
(503) 763-0151

Wine Jellies $6.95
Expressions Fine Gifts & Baskets
3632 N River Rd., Keizer
(503) 393-2254

For the imaginative child:
Medieval Figures $4.99

The Learning Palace
3832 Center St. NE, Salem
(503) 587-8992

For the discerning palate:
Sushi Set $32

West Coast Mudd Gallery
320 Lancaster Dr. NE, Salem

For the new home owner:
Area Rugs $99
JK Carpet
985 Broadway NE, Salem
(503) 363-6033

For the thrill-seeker:
Glider Rides (call for prices)
(503) 472-8805
(503) 864-3735

For the snacker:
Chocolate Covered Sunseeds $5.25
Taylor’s Fountain & Gifts
296 South Main St., Independence
(503) 838-1124

For grandma:
Decorative Magnetic Frame $5.95
Rick’s Place
123 Main St. E, Monmouth
(503) 838-4912

Chocolate River Rocks $5.95
Taylor’s Fountain & Gifts
296 South Main St., Independence
(503) 838-1124

For the Buddhist penny pincher:
Buddha Bank $14.95
Taylor’s Fountain & Gifts
296 South Main St., Independence
(503) 838-1124