Annual gift guide: December loving

A guide to the season’s best apps, gift parties

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Well this is interesting. For the first time in over 30 years, the 2014 gift-giving season will consist of a single stretch of holiday revelry, from the lighting of the shamush on Dec. 16, the first night of Chanukah, to the lighting of the black candle on Jan. 1, the last day of Kwanzaa. That’s the longest the holiday season can be — lucky us!

Smack dab in the middle, of course, is the king daddy of all annual holidays, which will deter mine a.) the U.S. economic status, b.) the national tolerance for “Jingle Bell Rock” and/or c.) the social acceptability of saying “happy holidays” or “seasons greetings” instead of “merry Christmas” without being accused of attacking the holiday. Also: Holidays can apparently be attacked nowadays.

But whether you’re a weekly churchgoer or an expat Aborigine, if you live in America, this is Christmastime. Yeah, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and pagan Yule traditions account for half of the month’s celebration, but if you try to avoid Christmas, you’re only going to make it worse. So grin, bear it and use the City Pulse Annual Gift Guide to get you through the month.

Thanks to modern technology, you don’t have to second, third and fourth guess yourself about what to get for everyone on your list. Online wish lists and a host of free apps have taken some of the sting out of gift buying. We show you a few new options.

Not everyone opens presents on Christmas morning. In the wake of families spread across the map and friends who are more like family than the real thing, some new gifting traditions have arisen. Find out how you can pre serve the gift giving spirit without worrying about hurting anyone’s feelings. But a fair warning: They’re the kind of parties where you could end up stuck with a Justin Bieber cell phone case.

And did you know that buying clothing for someone that’s way too big isn’t the only way you can offend? We take a look at some gifting taboos to avoid losing a friend.

We’ve also got photos of last week’s Silver Bells in the City event, the annual gift that the City of Lansing gives to the 80,000 or so folks who brave the cold for fireworks, boy bands and a giant Christmas tree. This year, we also sent a first-timer on the street to check out the festivities. Find out what she thought of the 30-year-old tradition.

So if you want to bury your head in the snow until the sounds of carolers and the smell of pine-scented candles have left the air, that’s OK too. For all the rest of you, welcome to Gift Giving Season 2014.

Only 20 days until it begins. Good luck.

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