The N Judah Chronicles Very Last Minute Shopping Guide!

Many people wait until the last minute to go shopping for Christmas. I know I do – usually because I find the best bargains and get people more gift for the money than I would had I done it all months in advance. Plus these days there are shopping bargains galore. Plus, there’s no shame in giving someone a super awesome card with the message their present is on the way – hey if they complain, then they get a lump of coal next year (and no carbon offsets, either).
Because I’m still sending out Christmas cards and so on, I’m going to cheat, ever so slightly and post this link to my guide from last year as a starter. 99% of this is still all true, anyway, and they’re all easy to get to, be it on the N or the 71 or whatever.
Also, of course you can always buy some NJC-related presents here, be it a mug, a Failwhale mousepad, or whatever. Already I’ve noticed quite a few “N is Near” related products out the door, and they make for a nice unique gift. Don’t forget the Market Street Railway, which offers some truly unique gifts as well. “Mason Powell” also just got some kick-ass vintage SF street signs at the Cable Car Museum too.
I also wanted to link to some cool Etsy.com shops. Three of them, Foxy Monster (Goth and Kawaii related jewelry and more) Wonderland Dreams (Alice in Wonderland themed jewlery just in time for the new movie), and Superfly Delicious are all run by my friend Z, who was one of the people who encouraged me to start this blog in the first place, years ago.
Another is a site run by Reader Geoff, who not only reads the N Judah Chronicles, he lives just about a block or so away from me. He’s got this great Etsy store and he’ll be donating proceeds to efforts to repeal Prop. 8, too.
Finally, I’ll leave you all with this link I found. Now, I’m not suggesting “buy local” for some sort of “let’s all be holier than thou” nonsense. Instead, I suggest it simply as a practical matter to turn things around a little. Sure, we all shop at chains from time to time for a good discount, or for something not easily found locally and that’s fine. But if you have the choice, take a look at this graph, which demonstrates what happens to your money when you buy local first.
I think it’s worth paying a few extra dollars if that means we keep people in our city employed or in business, and see that money stick around here longer, than if we give every single spending dollar of ours to Wal Mart. Chains do offer some wonderful things (think prescriptions filled 24 hours, etc.) and again, that’s fine. However, you can also spend a little more locally, and know your money will not just pay for your items, but also help out in other ways too! Who wants to hate on that?