Gelatobaby

Okay, so I was a bit slow to the “Black Friday” table (I always thought “black” + any day of the week meant something horrible, although this year, it did). But did anyone else not know that yesterday is now called Cyber Monday? Luckily the kids did at Core77, where they published their annual 77 Design Gifts Under $77. Not that you should be buying anything in this economy. Or maybe you should? Buy Nothing? Donate Everything? Buy Handmade? Make something yourself with kitchen scraps and old copies of the New Yorker? Someone needs to write a guide to gift-giving in a recession.

Regardless, some of you will definitely need to buy something to impress someone in a position of authority (we call these bribes where I come from), and Core77’s picks are an annual best-of list when it comes to the witty and the wise. (And in case you’re wondering what those Barbies are doing, they’re just shimmying down the straws of the BottleBob bottle cap hole punch, one of two gift guide exclusives.) From the list, here were the gift ideas I contributed:

Phuze Design Glass Cocktail Rings, $62

TOMS Shoes (of course), $42-48

Kiso Ashtray/Desk Organizer, $48

Plunger Lamp, $72

Stanley Thermos, $42

One-Way Flight Originating at JFK on JetBlue, $59

Imprint, by Daniel Eatock, $37.80

Virgil O. Stamps Custom Letterpress Notecard Set, $77 for 20 cards

And when you’re done there don’t click away: Core77 is where I wrote another delightful holiday-themed piece, “Conventional Wisdom: Eight Ways to Save Design Conferences.”