Stressed because of the holidays? This post is for you!

I don't get unduly stressed this time of year. My family a few years ago started doing a formalized gift exchange, so primarily we're responsible for one person, plus the kids of the family can usually expect something from everyone. This year, my brother Max was my assigned receiver. I thought a long time about what to get him, and realized that the one thing that he always wants is food, so I made a gigantic batch of his favorite cookies (60 alfajores) and gave it to him last week. After all, the other thing he particularly hates is waiting to open a present, a decidedly Peralta characteristic. There have been a couple of years of late where my mother would wrap empty boxes to put under the tree to represent all the gifts we didn't feel like waiting until Christmas to open. But enough about me, I want to give a hand to all those people who need ideas for gifts.

• Threadless, which I have linked to before, is a great place to search for a t-shirt gift. Plus, they're having a $10 sale through tomorrow. Get on it!
• Heifers.org is a site I found a few years ago. Because you know what the great thing about charity as a gift is? You are truly helping someone who needs it. Plus, it's the gift that can't be returned or exchanged, and nobody can complain about it without sounding like a louse, muahahahahaha! This one I love, because you can tell everyone you bought a family a water buffalo for Christmas.
• Charity Navigator follows up on the above, but you can scan through lists of charities and see whether they're spending the money right and make sure the donations aren't just sitting in some lunatic's pocket.
• Payback... well, maybe it's not right for the holiday spirit, but perhaps you know somebody you can't stand who is for some unknown reason on your gift list. Well, maybe a nice dead fish would do wonders. At least it would make you feel good. And they probably would ask you never to give them anything again.
• Lobster Anywhere lets you send live shellfish to someone you actually like. They don't necessarily have to eat it, I guess they could keep it as a pet if they have a nice tank.
• Petfinder, oh, how you make me want to adopt a dog! Planning on getting someone a new friend? Avoid the breeder, check out this site. Scan through tons of listings of local animals in shelter and rescues, and go out and get 'em.
• Thinkgeek, of course. Seriously, who's blog are you reading, anyway? It's a great site filled with unique gifts. They have a caffeine section. You all have at least one person in your life who could appreciate that.
• The Brick Testament actually has a couple of gifts that are actually appropriate for all ages. The rest of the website is filled with graphic scenes of sex and violence from the Bible, illustrated with... Legos.

So, get cracking! Even using the gift of the internet, you have to buy stuff, like, today if you don't want to pay extra for shipping and you want it to arrive before Christmas morning. Or just relax and tell the recipient it will get there when it gets there, which is what I would do.

Random final thought: I, personally, would love to give this to anyone who, as they put it, empathizes with Moses' fury at the inability of people to follow even the simplest of commands. Moses Smash!