Brokelyn

Our holiday wish is for Kat Dennings to read Brokelyn.

My how the time flies when you’re scrambling for gift money. In case you missed it or still haven’t done your shopping yet (C’MON!), review our entire guide to great local gifts for less than $25. From ninja bread men and fancy simple syrups to bubble wrap calendars and chocolate bacon pancake mix, there’s something for everyone here. We’ll see you a bit next week and will be back in full after the New Year. So be good to each other and have a happy holidays from all of us here at Brokelyn and, of course, your new favorite Brooklynites, the 2 Broke Girls!

Scented soap may not seem like the very height of gift-giving originality, but it’s really nice to have a stack on hand as a hostess present or to give out to the ladies when you’re on the hook for a crowd. And the fragrances from the Red Hook soap and flower shop Saipua are just delish: beautifully packaged, bright, fresh, vibrant, yum. The $10 bars come in Lavender Oatmeal, Peppermint Pumice, Winter Citrus, Salt Water, Mango Butter, Coffee Mint and more. Saipua is open today until 6 and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to noon at 147 Van Dyke St., conveniently located for that last-minute Fairway Run. The squares are also on sale for $12 at A. Cheng at 152 Fifth Ave. in Park Slope, which is open until at least 5 on Christmas Eve.

Ah crap, Christmas is THIS WEEKEND??

We’ve been giving you ample head’s up about all the great local markets and Brooklyn gift ideas this year, but if you’ve been procrastinating, your time is almost up! Just three markets will remain open tomorrow to let you pick-up a last minute item that’s more personal than a gift card. The Dekalb market is open the latest on Christmas eve, and also gives you get your photo with Santa (in a shipping container). Or you could swing by the greenmarket and grab an extra bottle of blueberry wine, along with some cheese for Christmas dinner, or visit Artists & Fleas to pick up some Swiss-inspired pillows to put under the tree. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve been ogling our famous Brokelyn logo t-shirts but haven’t made your move, here’s a little extra motivation: order by 2 p.m. EST today, (Wednesday, Dec. 21) and your Brokelyn t-shirt will be on its way to a stylish loved one by Christmas Day.* Plus you get 20 percent off, today only, so shirts are only $16 (normally $20.) Loads of colors and styles for both men and women. Check ‘em out in our Brokelyn Apparel online boutique and order yours today. Right now even.

* While we’re not swearing to this in blood, the USPS says today is the last day to send Priority Mail for Christmas Day arrival. And when have they ever been wrong?

Merry boobsmas!

You’ve been reading lots of gift guides here, from gifts for foodies, gifts from Pinterest and gifts under $25. What about when you don’t have $25 to spend? Like, when you’re down to pocket change? Our friends at Brooklyn Based did some comprehensive scouring of 99 cents stores to find things you can actually give. The cool finds include painted carafes, cheap pots, margarita glasses, some “flesh colored, squishy boobies with hard pink nipples, as fun to hold and squeeze as the real things,” and much more. Put the right bow on it and no one will even know you shopped at a store with the price in the name.

Snow small wonder, these cake pops from Pinterest. Nice work, Tori Jayne.

Thank goodness DIY everything is still the rage this year, so we can all sneak in another year of homemade gift-giving without looking like the family cheapskate. And now there’s Pinterest.com, a social media hub where crafty fashion, food and decorating obsessives share their latest inspiration (Aaand now you will never get at least 4 hours of your life back…  happy browsing!). The virtual pinboard is also a veritable font of DIY gift ideas we want to try this year. Here are 10: Read the rest of this entry »

Oh. Hey boss, these are for my friend.

Your friends are busy this week fretting about what to wear to their fancy office party so their boss will think they’re just the right balance between prude and skank. But you’re not worried because your freelancing, work-from-home or otherwise cubicle-averse merry ass is coming to the No Office Holiday Party at Littlefield on Thursday! As if dancing, live-band-karaoke-ing and sexy Santa-ing wasn’t enough, we’ve now get some free drinks from our friends at Scoutmob! Plus, the hilarious Kurt Braunohler will be gathering stories about the worst thing a boss, coworker or client has ever done to you. Drunk stickin-it-to-the-man? Now THAT sounds like Christmas! Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Showalter has some wet hot American gift ideas. Photos by Doug Campbell.

What do local authors and lit celebs Emma Straub, Michael Showalter and David Rees think you should give for the holiday? If you were at Greenpoint’s Word Bookstore this weekend, you would have found out in person. But if you missed it, we were there to collect their suggestions; plus we asked for some cheap gift ideas, for your non-bookish friends, and — in one case — got a lesson in artisinal pencil sharpening. Book suggestions ranged from classics to new releases, and cheap gift ideas ranged from the free (a sonnet) to the practical (batteries) to the awesome (gift certificates to a bar) to the creepy (cat hair crafts). Read the rest of this entry »

Can't you just Pinterest your list this year?

St. Nick, Santabot, Kris Kringle, Joulupukki, Santos L. Halper  … whatever you call him, kids will pester you until you get them in front of the fat man in the little coat. And between you me and the elves, taking a girl to get a picture with Santa is a prettttty smooth date, because she’ll think you’re adorable and humble and not so jealous you can’t stand to see her sit on another man’s lap. McBrooklyn has the complete rundown of where to see the big man this year. Also, SantaCon is tomorrow, where Santa really lets loose. Probably should keep the kids clear of that one.

The Brooklyn Lyceum holiday market/Photo by Flickr's groundsel

As if Amazon’s anti-small-business tactics weren’t enough to convince you, here are more than a dozen reasons to ignore e-tailer spam and shop locally in Brooklyn. This year, holiday markets are popping up around Brooklyn like Swedish espresso shops, with added inducements like concerts, performances and booze. At Dekalb market, Santa’s even posing for photos in a shipping container. Beat that, internetz. Markets are free unless otherwise noted. Read the rest of this entry »