Under 25

With the country’s current, sorry economic state, many are preparing for a Cratchit-like holiday season. If plummeting stocks have crippled your finances and threatened your stockings, you have two options: The first is to pull a “Gift of the Magi” and trade in your most prized possession for presents for your loved ones. But let’s be honest, your season one DVD box set of Wings isn’t going to get Ralphie that Red Rider BB gun he’s been clamoring for. Your best bet is to stick with your friends at VITAL, and let us show you some thoughtful, spirited local gifts that cost $25 dollars or less. Keep your wallet, your family and friends happy, and keep your Wings DVD. VS PinoFunnel + more $17 – $25 hot*pop 414-273-1301, hotpopshop.com hot*pop opened in the Third Ward this spring, and it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen in Milwaukee: they advocate “good living through good design” and at their colorful store you can find apparel, sneakers, comic books, skate deck art, urban tableware, Hong Kong-inspired vinyl toys, as well as a gallery of local and national art. Among the dozens of bright, cheeky delights available, you can find a small funnel shaped like Pinocchio’s face (his nose is the funnel) that lets you get wine back into the bottle from the carafe. Great for the young at heart, street art lovers and people who obsessively collect small things. Recycled t-shirts $7 Teecycle Teecycle.org We all know how fun it is to find a hip, hilarious or just plain nice t-shirt buried in the racks at the thrift store. It’s great to wear it and tell people who like it that you paid a dollar for it. But if you’re not so into the thrill of the chase, the hours of digging or the funny smell of thrift store clothing that never quite washes out, you’re in luck. Not only does Teecycle take all of that nasty hard work out of it, they donate $1 from every shirt sold to the River Revitalization Fund. Everyone wins! Teecycle’s cute gently used shirts are a bargain at $7 per, so buy one for everyone in your family. Hand-made crafts $7 – $25 John Michael Kohler Arts Center 920-458-6144, jmkac.org The John Michael Kohler Arts Center is well- known for its visual and performing arts offerings, but the center’s ARTspace breaks the mold by merging a traditional museum gift shop with a curated exhibit of art with One and Only: Gifts Made by Hand. So if that special someone would love a decorative ceramic tumbler, a one-of-a-kind glass ornament (incorporating ash from Mount St. Helens), decorative felt wool flowers – all delivered with gorgeous hand-made cards – One and Only is sure to have just what you need. Organic fair trade tea and gift sets $20 – $24 Rishi Tea rishi-tea.com If the nerves of some of your gift recipients are still shot from a turbulent election year, help them forget that a real life Ebenezer Scrooge […]