It's that time of year when we flock to the malls to shop shop shop to the limit of our credit cards. Oh, it's not even the final stretch and you're maxed out? Not to worry, you can still vicariously participate in the joy of holiday giving by shopping for others this Tuesday night. As a bonus, you also make creative use of the mountains of mail-order holiday gift catalogs that have been arriving since, well, the advent of the DMA.

Besides, you know what Aunt LuAnn wants better than she does. Here's your task: pick a person (relative, friend, politician, random face in a magazine). Pore through holiday gift catalogs to find the presents that they REALLY want. Cut & paste to make a collage of the gifts they should bereceiving. Remember, it's the thought that counts, and you've probably got some good thoughts already...

Bring:

- scissors & glue
- paper
- markers, crayons, number two pencils
- picture of your shopping beneficiary (photo, 'most wanted' poster, newspaper clipping, you choose)
- holiday shopping catalogs (including that one with the special spot in your nightstand drawer)

*with apologies to John Waters:

"Shopping for others is when you go into a supermarket and you sneak unwanted items into unsuspecting shoppers carts. Things that they would never get. For example, if they were rich you would put in CheezWiz or Spam or for vegetarians you would put in a big thing of liver when they're not looking. Then they get to the counter and they have it rung up and say "Hey! I didn't buy that!" It's total anarchy in the supermarket and it's just a fun game to play. I talked about Shopping for Others on one of those talk shows on the Serial Mom tour. Anyway, I came home to Baltimore and I was exhausted and I had to go to the supermarket to get milk and someone did it to me. Candy corn, which I took personally.

More info: http://www.cuff.org/interviews/iwaters.html


Tuesday, December 18
5:30 till you drop
The Latin-American Club
3286 22nd St (at Valencia) in SF

Muni: 14, 26, 49, 67
BART: 24th Street Station