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Harry Rosen, Joe Thornton & Gilbert Blythe walk into a mall...

December 05, 2008

I come from an interfaith family and most of the time we have a Holiday Party at the beginning of December and then the Jewish side all go to Miami, the Christian half go to their in-laws and the Hindus go to Uncle Paul’s.

One year I forgot about the celebration, and at 5 to six on a cold Sunday afternoon my mother called telling me she and dad were on their way to pick me up.

Me: Pick me up for what?

Mom: The party.

Me: What party?

And then it dawned on me: it was the Holiday Party and I’d hadn’t bought a single gift.  Now, these were the dark days before Sunday Shopping, so my only options were what I had in my closet and the corner store.  I grabbed a stack of paper lunch bags and a Sharpie and quickly drew on a bunch of Candy Canes, Bindis and Dreidels.  Then I fished out every perfume sample, cosmetic freebie and glitter lip gloss I had and crammed them in.

Ok, that covered the girls and cousin Steve, but what was I going to get the boys?  Razor blade refills for a Lady Gillette just weren’t going to cut it.  So I ran out to the corner store and quickly grabbed a bunch of Auto Traders and Kinder Eggs.

Yes, you can say it: worst gift ever.  And since then, I get a bit of a twitch when it comes to Holiday Shopping, especially for the men in my life.

This year, in order to save my sanity, I decided to take it to the pros: I asked 5 of my favourite men (an idol, an icon, an anchor, an actor and a hockey player) to give me their personal wish lists as well as suggestions for things every guy would love.

Aaron Walpole (Energizer Mummy’s favourite Canadian Idol) is in Calgary right now staring in “One Hit Wonders”.  Destined not to be one himself, you can find his amazing self-titled CD here.

Aaron says: I guess my wish list and ideas for perfect guy gifts would be the same thing.  They’d be:

 




A GPS System '
cause we never ask for directions. (no kidding!!) 

An iTunes Gift Card. It's always nice and very affordable. 

Portable High Speed Internet so you always have it where and when you need it.


Harry Rosen (Energizer Mummy’s favourite Haberdasher) aside from being Canada’s foremost men’s retailer, Harry is also the father of 4 and the grandfather of 7, none of whom have ever bought him a tie.  He is on the board of Ryerson University and is one of the voices in CAMH’s latest campaign. 

In his dreams Harry says: I think a Vespa would be a great gift.  I like how easily everyone gets around and how cool they look when I see them on my trips to Italy.

I’d also really like Banjo Lessons (and a new Banjo!!) I used to play the Mandolin, but I wasn’t very good.  And while I still love it, I think I would get a kick out of entertaining my grandkids with old Pete Seeger tunes.

Lastly, I’d love a trip to Russia.  But first I have to convince Evelyn that it would be a good idea to go there for our anniversary in January!

As for perfect guy gifts, Harry’s suggestions would be:

A Really Cool Car, like the

Aston Martin DBSa Laptop, and really,

who wouldn't love a gift from Harry Rosen??



Ian Hanomansing (Energizer Mummy’s favourite Anchor) Gemini Award winning co-host of the 6pm Vancouver News on CBC, he’s also a great father and the creator of NHL Big League Manager.

For his personal wish list Ian says:

1. I'm ready to make the leap, finally, to High Definition T.V. but I am paralyzed by all the choice. That's why I would love it if my family made the choice for me.

2. A DVD set for one of those great HBO series that you can't get here, or at least I can't. Again, I like some element of surprise so I don't have a specific show in mind.

3. A Dressy Overcoat for that rare Vancouver day when it's very cold and not raining. (aka a gift from Harry Rosen’s!!)

 

As for 3 great "Guy Gifts", Ian’s suggestions are

1. The 10th Anniversary DVD of "Sports Night", a great comedy that ran on ABC and deserved a much bigger audience.

2. A guys night out watching some stand-up comedy at a local club. Pick carefully though. Great comedy can be a bargain but it's not easy to find.

3. The hockey board game NHL Big League General Manager. A great way to spend an evening with some hockey fans. Although I am biased, since it's my board game!

 

Jonathan Crombie (the quintessential Gilbert Blythe and Energizer Mummy’s favourite Theatre Actor) just finished starring as “Man in Chair” in both the Broadway run and the National Tour of “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

He currently has a number of projects on the go including “Waiting For Ishtar” a documentary on the infamous cult movie staring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman.

“Aside from Peace and goodwill, which should be for more than just Christmas, there is one thing and it will cover both my wish list and the prefect guy gift.

It was the one thing I asked for as a kid, and my parents actually got it for me and it is still the best gift ever: The Planet of the Apes Board Game.

I really love board games and this one is retro and hip and it’s awesome.  The object is trap all of your opponents in a cage in the center of the board.”

(The only downfall is that the cage keeps breaking, so you have to be a bit of a MacGyver to keep it going.   Even better if you can find a 2nd game or cage, then you’re cookin’...)

Joe Thornton (Energizer Mummy’s favourite Hockey Player) as Alternate Captain of the San Jose Sharks and an NHL All-Star, Joe knows his way around both the rink and guys tastes. He's also the recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, and is an all 'round great guy. 

For Christmas this year Joe says he’d love:

A Weekend in Vegas (so would I!!)

Any game for the Wii (don’t forget NHL2K9)

The Blackberry Bold

 

As for gifts any guy would would love, Joe says:

The Wii because they're fun as heck

(and don't forget NHL 2K9),

the Harmony Universal Remote

(which really is the quintessential guy gift),

and A Portable DVD player for the road.

I’m grateful to these hunky Canadian men for sharing their amazing and diverse lists.  Loaded with this ammo, I’m ready to hit the mall and, amazingly, there’s nary a twitch in sight! 

Happy Shopping!

 

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