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The Goods

Buyer's Market

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Holiday Gift Guide 2011: 19 festive finds from $31 to $99

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Holiday Gift Guide 2011

By Fraser Abe, Karolyne Ellacott, Kevin Naulls and Mark Teo | Photography by Carlo Mendoza

It’s the jolliest time of the year for some, and for many, mulled wine, cider or anything, really, are the social lubricants that make life a little cheerier (as well as cookies, big turkey dinners and spiced coffee drinks), so we’ve found a mid-range carafe for the special merrymaker in your life. For a little young lady, we’ve found an adorable toy tea set, which will go perfectly with a tray of cucumber finger sandwiches and, for the wee lad, a plastic toy tool set (but hey, don’t conform to gender stereotypes if you don’t want to—mix and match). Money is required for the purchase of all of these things, and since money goes into a wallet, we’ve found a great one. Check out all 19 gifts between $31 and $99 in a gallery after the jump »

The Goods

Buyer's Market

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Holiday Gift Guide 2011: 11 top-tier treats for over $500

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Holiday Gift Guide 2011

By Fraser Abe, Karolyne Ellacott, Kevin Naulls and Mark Teo | Photography by Carlo Mendoza

The big-ticket items are what we’re all hoping to get for the holidays, and sometimes we’re special enough to be the recipient of one or two. So in the spirit of giving, we take a look at the high end of giving (no boats or cars to be found): a beautiful handbag for a fashionista, a great shoreman’s jacket for a stylish dude and a synth keyboard for an aspiring (or professional) musician. Check out our selection of 11 gifts that are $500 and more in a gallery after the jump »

The Goods

Shop Talk

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Introducing: Scout, a fully stocked gift emporium and treasure trove of tchotchkes in Roncy

The Place: While travelling around Australia and Nepal, Scout shop owner Leah Eyles had an epiphany: she wanted to open up a gift shop on Roncy. On her days off—she used to work at Red Pegasus on College—she’d trek west to seek out the the real estate gems not listed on MLS. This ex-Cashmax needed a serious facelift; Eyles chucked the carpet, raised the drop ceiling, ripped out a wall and filled the space with beautiful antiques that could be repurposed as displays (a number of the pieces were bought at an estate sale around the corner). Right now the walls are fairly sparse, but Eyles is currently considering trying her hand at art dealing. Artists Jacqui Gardner and Craig Hopgood designed Scout’s window display, and the two oversized maps—one of eastern Canada, and the other of western Canada—are marked with little buttons, which denote the Canadian towns where Eyles sources her products.

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The Goods

Buyer's Market

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Attention last-minute shoppers: check out our picks for put-a-smile-on-his-face Father’s Day gifts

The race is on, and we’re thinking the last thing dads want is a three-pack of golf balls, another humidor or even another barbecue (unless it’s some state-of-the-art outdoor wood burner, but we called Williams Sonoma and it isn’t available in Canada). We searched around and picked some practical and decadent options for the dads in our lives, hoping it would somehow make up for all the times we were sent to bed without dessert. We think our choices beat a gift card to Montana’s, but don’t take our word for it, have a look at our choices after the jump.

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The Dish

Food Porn

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Holiday Gift Guide: 13 edible present ideas

We prefer to pass the holiday season by eating our way through it and forcing loved ones to do the same. So we’ve come up with 13 inventive edible gifts (and not a mini-muffin basket in sight).

See our foodie gift guide now >>

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The Goods

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On-line Holiday Gift Guide: 25 presents you can buy in your PJs


Sure, giving is better than receiving, but buying gifts is better when done from the comfort of your couch—with a glass of eggnog in hand—and far away from long lineups and stressed-out salespeople. (Disagree? Then head to our 100-item, shop-till-you-drop gift guide.) That’s why we’ve found 25 fantastic presents (from $4 to $600), all available on-line.
View the on-line gift guide now >>

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The Goods

From the Print Edition

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Best of the City 2010: Toronto’s top shopping

Left: Robber’s shirt-dress, Chasse Gardée’s sandal, Ella and Elliot’s dishware for kids, Harry Rosen’s cufflinks; Right: Canuck kitsch at the Drake General Store (Image: photographs by Jay Shuster; cufflinks courtesy of Harry Rosen)

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The Goods

The Find

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Mother’s Day gift guide: 10 ideas for Mommy Dearest

Go beyond the old brunch-and-flowers routine this Mother’s Day. Here, 10 praise-worthy gifts from $10 to $500. View the slide show >>

A lightweight wheelbarrow that folds up to save space. $135. Châtelet, 717 Queen St. W., 416-603-2278, chatelethome.com.

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The Dish

Food Porn

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Twelve Treats of Christmas: amazing edible (or drinkable) gifts for the indulgent epicure

The glistening white sugar finish on these gingerbread snowflakes stimulates the visual sense as much as the taste buds. The popular hand-crafted cookies make excellent casual table-top decor—while they last. $1.95 each or $13.75 per dozen; gingerbread star tree, $29.95. <br /> <strong><em> All the Best Fine Foods, </em></strong>1101 Yonge St., 416-928-3330, <a href=

Now is the time of year when Toronto’s patisseries and food shops offer a tremendous selection of goodies that cater to the most specific tastes. To make sense of this yearly embarrassment of riches, we found some delicious items that are sure to be crowd pleasers and  ideal gifts. Here, 12 ways to avoid the dreaded (and regifted) Pot of Gold.

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The Goods

Shop Talk

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Holy Cow brings globe-trotter style to Leslieville

Exotic decor and specialty gift boutique Holy Cow is the latest project for restaurateur Aristedes Pasparakis and womenswear designer Alexia von Beck. The long-time partners, globetrotters and treasure hunters opened the shop three months ago, filling it with eclectic art, furniture, jewellery and household items from north Africa and Asia.

Holy-Cow

(Photo by Denise Dias)

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The Goods

The Find

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Great gift idea: a must-have classic belt

belt

(Photo by Carlo Mendoza)

This belt—called the Gatabelt—from the Scandinavian label Designers Remix is a smart gift for the fashionable women on your list, no matter their ages. In a glossy chocolate brown with a simple braid detail at the front, it’s a classic piece that will last for years.

$150 at Magnolia. 333 Eglinton Ave. W., 416-488-9893.

The Dish

From the Print Edition

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Holiday shopping: 22 gift ideas for at-home chefs

$26. Kids on the Hip, 1142 Queen St. E., 416-466-1171

$26. Kids on the Hip, 1142 Queen St. E., 416-466-1171

Toronto Life‘s annual Holiday Gift Guide has 120 ideas for presents, but we’ve put together this slide show of items (like a $20 bar set, crumbless bread board and glass coffee siphon) for for those kitchen gadget addicts who actually bought a Slap Chop.

Our roundup of 22 gifts for finicky foodies after the jump.

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The Goods

From the Print Edition

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Holiday shopping: over 40 gifts for the style obsessed

$80. Planet Kid, 87 Roncesvalles Ave., 416-537-9233

$80. Planet Kid, 87 Roncesvalles Ave., 416-537-9233

There’s less than a month left for holiday shopping, but don’t freak out. We’ve plucked 41 gifts—a rabbit fur hat, dainty lingerie, leather weekend bag—from our annual Holiday Gift Guide that will satisfy picky fashion devotees and decor snobs.

See them in the slide show after the jump, and read the full 120-item gift guide here.

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The Goods

From the Print Edition

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120 amazing holiday gift ideas, including 40 under $30

holiday gifts 2011

holidaygifts

From the tiniest stocking stuffer to the big-ticket splurge, we’ve found 120 gift ideas for spendthrifts and skinflints alike.

See our holiday edition of Super Shopper here >>

The Goods

On the Block

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The best shopping at Yonge and Eglinton

An influx of indie boutiques and upscale shops is quickly remaking this area—formerly more big box than fashion forward—into a stylish shopping hub befitting its young, condo-dwelling population. Here, nine of our favourite stores on the strip.

yongeeg1

Eko opened its midtown outpost in late 2008 (Photo by Carolyn C)

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