Sometimes gift-giving is a game of chance. Think of your friends’ majors or interest areas for a better chance at a gift they will love this holiday season. The Hatchet has gift ideas for all your friends, no matter their field.
Business & Economics
For Don Draper wannabes and those who follow the stock market religiously, here are a few ideas for ideal presents:
A share of stock: Is your friend a Coke or a Pepsi person? Buy them a share of stock from E-Trade or Zecco and pair it up with a bottle of soda to help out their investment. ($5 sign up fee and about $30 a share on Zecco.com)
Business card holder: One important part of business is networking – and that’s not really possible without business cards. Get your pal something to keep all those cards organized with a business card holder. ($5.49, amazon.com)
Monopoly: The game of money and property can get pretty vicious, especially for wannabe business tycoons. The game comes in a variety of themes from American Idol to Dogopoly. ($17, amazon.com)
Political Science & International Affairs
Does your best friend want you to be his chief of staff while he’s living at the White House in a few years? Get them to stop watching C-SPAN with one of these gifts:
“The Economist” wall calendar: Does your friend like to make every day a history lesson? This calendar offers some help, noting important dates like Amelia Earhart’s historic flight and Obama’s first State of the Union address. ($29.96, amazon.com)
Vintage campaign gear: Is your politically active friend in campaign withdrawal? Good news: The Internet is home to plenty of campaign T-shirts, stickers and buttons from campaigns in the ’70s. (T-shirts about $15 on cafepress.com)
“Theories of International Politics and Zombies”: This entertaining book by Daniel W. Drezner depicts what would happen on the world stage if zombies started to invade. ($11.40, amazon.com)
Humanities
We all know a Cold War buff or someone who is writing their senior thesis on an author you have probably never heard of. Here are some obscure gift ideas for those friends this winter:
Barnes & Noble gift card: Even though the store closed on M Street, you can still shop at the B&N in Penn Quarter or online. Give your friend a card to buy just about any book in the world. (Any price, Barnes & Noble stores or banesandnoble.com)
Ugly holiday sweater: Will your friend need something fun to wear to that tacky sweater party? Look no further than myuglychristmassweater.com for all kinds of sweaters – even ones that light up. ($20, myuglychristmassweater.com)
Henry VIII Vanishing Wives Mug: When you pour hot water in, pictures of all six of the king’s wives vanish, leaving only their outlines. Perfect for the history buff. ($12.95 philosophersguild.com)
Social Sciences
Has your friend constantly diagnosed you with disorders since taking Introduction to Psychology? Shut him or her up for a few seconds with one of these gifts:
Tickle Me Freud: Help them get acqauinted with Freudian thought with the adult version of the classic Elmo toy. ($49.78, amazon.com)
Gift card to Anthropologie: Your girl friends won’t be able to study sociocultural anthropology with it, but she will be able to pick up some really cute home furnishings or outfits. (Any price anthropologie.com)
Sociology Chick apparel: Is your female friend getting A’s in sociology? Grab her some Sociology Chick gear. This apparel, complete with a cartoon baby chick, will help make sure everyone knows she’s a soc major. (T-shirt $31.45 at zazzle.com)
Sciences & Mathematics
Is your friend a physics geek? Buy them one of these awesome gifts to get on their good side – they’ll be making more money than you ever will:
Molecular puzzler: Check out this lab test game from uncommongoods.com – put together and take apart molecules while trying not to get stumped ($20, uncommongoods.com)
Anatomy coloring books: There are a few ways to really learn anatomy, and coloring is one of them, apparently. Let your friend color his or her way to an “A” in their bio classes. ($13, amazon.com)
“Math Jokes 4 Mathly Folks”: If your math major friend could use some help with humor, get them this book and hope it rubs off on him or her. ($9.33, amazon.com)
Journalism & Political Communication
Does your friend swoon every time Anderson Cooper comes on CNN or have a celebrity crush Bob Woodward? Spring for one of the following gifts:
Starbucks gift card: Any budding journalist is already addicted to caffeine. Fuel that addiction by running to the Gelman Starbucks and snagging a gift card with a cute box. (Any price at Starbucks)
“The Onion Book of Known Knowledge: A Definitive Encyclopedia of Existing Information”: The crew at “The Onion” published this book in October which will give your journalism friends a break from the hard hitting stuff. ($16.66, amazon.com)
New York Times subscription: True wannabe journalists worship The Times. A digital subscription will do. ($45+, nytimes.com)
