By Fraser Abe, Karolyne Ellacott, Kevin Naulls and Mark Teo | Photography by Carlo Mendoza
The holiday season is rapidly approaching, and we’ve tackled the ever-difficult task of narrowing down a list of items that would be perfect for the men, women and children in your life. We find it is always a big to-do finding that special something for the wine snob who likes to aerate his or her wine, but we’ve got it covered, and to spare moms, dads, uncles, aunts and friends from waiting in line for this year’s Tickle Me Elmo, we’ve found some cool options for rug rats that won’t break down and send a greedy child into a tantrum. Check out the 90 presents that make up our 2011 ultimate holiday gift guide in a gallery after the jump »
We’re as bitter as the next Torontonian about having to bring our jackets and scarves out. Then there are the inevitable overcrowded coat hooks and the disorganized mitten basket. If it were summer all the time, we wouldn’t need to worry about storing winter paraphernalia; since that’s not the case (Did you see the flurries last weekend? Blech!), we might as well organize in style. One of our favourite decor design firms, Blu Dot, has just released the Splash coat rack ($279 U.S.) in walnut and powder-coated steel. Resembling a handful of pick-up sticks, the piece makes us a little less grumpy about cold weather, and it looks as good empty as it does full, so we won’t be putting it away come June. It’s on sale for $223.20, so 
Over the past few years, HBC‘s Olympic mittens and the Drake Hotel General Store have helped raise Canadiana from kitsch to cool. We’re not surprised, then, to find the first retail outlet of Red Canoe on one of Toronto’s coolest strips: Dundas West. Founded eight years ago by Sudbury native Dax Wilkinson, Red Canoe revels in northern Ontario vintage. Though they have been compared to what’s found at Roots, Wilkinson’s designs are more emblematic of old-school Sault Ste. Marie than posh Muskoka cottages. The showroom is decorated with vintage trinkets like military trundles and leather-cased cameras.
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