-
-
Ad Space
(728 x 90)
Published at 4:56pm
Sign up today!
Underneath those songs of holiday cheer, do we hear a collective groan? Riiight. All the shopping that goes hand-in-hand with the season makes a lot of us grumpier than the Grinch. And he only brightened up when he realized Christmas wasn’t just about all the stuff.
But the gauntlet is thrown: You’re already obligated to the family grab bag and the office Secret Santa. You’ve got a list of people to buy for, some of whom you don’t know very well. How to save money, time and sanity? We put three different folks to the test to glean some pointers.
Each gift-giver got the same restrictions: one hour, $100 and a list of three people to shop for (a high-school junior, a research assistant and a bride-to-be; see full profiles below). Then we sent our shoppers to three different places: one superstore, one neighborhood full of independent retailers and one website. Finally, we made the holidays come a bit early, so we could see whether our giftees were happy, or headed to the return line.
The giftees
Lauren DeSalvo, 16
Occupation High-school junior
Residence Hoffman Estates
Hobbies/activities Swimming, water polo, watching romantic comedies
Andrew Bishop, 27
Occupation Field Museum research assistant
Residence Uptown
Hobbies/activities Bicycling, camping, collecting punk and jazz on vinyl
Rachel Benoit, 33
Occupation Production coordinator, freelance graphic designer
Residence Logan Square
Hobbies/activities Photography, planning winter wedding in Hawaii
