Having trouble thinking of gift ideas for those special people in your lives? Instead of spending your precious time off getting stresesd out, take a look at the Lanthorn’s Holiday gift guide, and see if we can’t lighten your load this holiday season.

THE MUSIC JUNKIE
By Jessica Smith
GVL Staff Writer

The music junkie is constantly rocking headphones, hops from genre to genre, and has those jazzed-up playlists with bands most of us have never heard before with the perfect song to cure the wintertime blues.

GIVE
Keeping up with your music guru’s favorite band can be impossible when they’re always finding new material. If you have a true connoisseur on your hands, help them expand their record collection with a gift card from Vertigo Music. This music haven has shelves stacked with EPs and LP’s from every genre imaginable. After spending a few hours perusing bin after bin of vinyl records ranging from old school collectibles to new age indie-alternative, it’s unlikely that they’ll be leaving empty-handed.

DO
Considering the apocalypse is approaching, you and your music junkie can dance like your lives depended on it at The Pyramid Scheme’s Retro D’Luxe: End OF The World Eve Edition on Dec. 20. DJ Jef Leppard will be spinning old school jams that span the decades accompanied by a trippy light show and cheap brews, which will leave your junkie stuck in a musical trance on the dance floor.

WATCH
If your funds are looking a little low this holiday season don’t panic because this is a gift you can give on the cheap. Hop in the car and take your musically inclined crony to Founder’s Brewery on a cover-free Thursday night to watch live performances from local bands. The great acoustics and cool atmosphere will make your music junkie feel right at home.

THE ARTIST
By Rachel McLaughlin
GVL Staff Writer

The artist’s history notes are covered in doodles instead of dates, and her or she usually carry more sketchbooks than textbooks. The artist is always coming up with new ideas to solve problems, decorate, and create aesthetic works whether it be written, audial, or visual.

WORK
For the multi-talented artist, no gift is better than Hobby Lobby’s 164 piece deluxe art set complete with drawing pencils, broad markers, watercolor paints, oil pastels, brushes, and colored pencils. If you’re tight on cash, Hobby Lobby also has an 89 piece art set for $20.

While working, a hot cup of tea is a must-have. Amazon.com as a vast assortment of tea infusers for the artist/creative thinker to use while working pedantically on his or her latest art project – the sharky (shark fin) tea infuser, the DCI tea rex, the deep tea diver, or a yellow submarine .

Projects and classwork can be long and tiresome with minimal breaks. Snack foods, such as fruit for vigor or granola bars, from the nearest Meijer will benefit an artist to keep him or her inspired, energized, and creating. Still having trouble coming up with other gift ideas for your artist? Try Etsy.com, where people from all over the world sell their handmade items such as jewelry, artwork, clothing, etc.

PLAY
A creative thinker will have fun using their mess-making abilities in Wreck This Journal, a book made for the reader to destroy, by Keri Smith. Readers develop their own ideas and follow methods of “destruction” such as defacing blank pages, poking holes through paper, and cracking an egg on the page to wreck the notebook and fully engage in the creative process. Smith also has a few other books based on the same idea as Wreck This Journal. Keri Smith’s paperbacks are available at Target and most bookstores.

CREATE
From Uncommongoods.com comes Makey Makey, an invention kit for anyone. Makey Makey allows the user to use every day objects as computer key for typing, clicking, controlling a character in a game, and much more – basically anything you can think of, you can create. Containing a circuit board, alligator clips to connect objects to the board, and a USB cable to connect to any computer, the Makey Makey can be plugged into nearly anything from fruit as buttons to a clay gamepad or even a pencil drawing. This gift is perfect for an artist/creative thinker who enjoys thinking outside of the box.

THE BOOKWORM
By Rachel McLaughlin
GVL Staff Writer

The bookworm is an intellectual; someone who has been preparing for college finals since they were seniors in high school, setting down the Xbox controller in favor of an essay to write or test to study for. While the intellectual studies a reading break is sometimes needed, the bookworm inside of them loves curling up in a knit blanket to read a classic with a cup of tea or coffee by his or her side.

GIVE
Author Potter Styles has come up with a Q and A a Day: 5-Year Journal available on websites such as Amazon.com. Each day the journal asks the reader to write their answer to the stated question once a day for five years and when you finish, you start over. It’s a great gift idea for expanding the thought process but is entertaining as well.

If writing isn’t the intellectual’s/bookworm’s calling, try a useless facts or random knowledge book such as The Book of Strange Facts and Useless Information available online or at a bookstore, he or she will be sure to learn a thing or two.

OBSESS
Sometimes the intellectual or bookworm won’t put their book down until it’s finished. For late night studying or reading, gift your intellectual/bookworm with a book light this holiday season. Barnes and Noble bookstore sells a variety of book lights that clip onto the book and are available in an array of colors, some with flexible necks to bend closer or farther from the pages. Most run on batteries that’ll last up to 100 thousand hours but depending on the individual, the intellectual or bookworm may need more so save them the trip and pick up a pack of batteries from any gas station, grocery store, or drugstore. Short on cash? No worries, at Barnes and Noble, book lights are less than $10.

Barnes and Noble offer a membership program which gives members 10% off of the sale price for almost all store items plus additional coupons and free shipping online. Save your bookworm friend a little money and purchase them a Barnes and Noble year-long membership for $25.

ENERGIZE
Maybe your intellectual or bookworm is falling asleep in class due to too many all-nighters reading or doing class assignments. Help him or her stay awake with a box of Keurig individual coffee k-cups (18ct.) in any flavor from gingerbread to doughnut available at Target. No Keurig maker and not enough money to buy one? No problem, drop by Starbucks, Target, Meijer, or even use your debit dollars at one of the on campus stores to pick up a few Starbucks frappucinos. Coffee not their thing? Try a Monster or Rockstar energy drink, he or she will be sure to keep their eyes open.

THE TECHIE
By Megan Braxmaier
GVL Staff Writer

The techie is the person that has the all of the latest gadgets. This person is completely wired into the world around them, so why not help them enhance their experience? Here are the three top choices for gifts for that tech-savvy friend that we all know and love.

WEAR
ETIP/ Smart Touch Gloves are the best thing to happen to this generation since glittens became a hit last winter. With the specially designed tip on the thumb and forefinger, these gloves allow you to interact with any touch-screen device without taking your gloves off. This gift is sure to be a hit in these cold winter months. You can find these wireless wonders at the North Face for around $45 or Target from $7-15 if you aren’t looking to break the bank.

WORK
When it comes to technology, you can never have too much free space and there’s a flash drive for everything. You can impress your friends with a MIMOBOT USB flash drive in almost any Star Wars character you can possibly imagine. Choose from the classic characters like Vader, Artoo, Boba Fett or a Storm Trooper. These 2-16 gb beauties can be found on Amazon and are perfect for anyone who enjoys the Star Wars saga.

RELAX
Coming in onyx black or graphite, a Kindle is the perfect gift for any student. Less than 6 ounces, the Kindle is a great way to carry around your books without the weight and hassle. With a Kindle you can even start purchasing E-books and lighten the weight of that heavy backpack, and with the price of $69 (comparable to the $99 Nook) it’s a deal you cannot pass up on, and you can even upgrade to the Kindle Fire, where you can download not only e-books but numerous apps, much like your average tablet, for $159.

THE PARENTS
By Kari Norton
GVL Laker Life Editor

Parents are usually there for you at all times, always willing to bend over backward in order to provide for you and make you happy, yet they seem to be the hardest people to shop for. Having trouble thinking of ideas this holiday season, hopefully this will help.

EAT
Back in the day giving your parents a present meant making them something, that doesn’t have to change. With Pinterest, you can look up the newest recipes and make them a tasty dish – don’t forget the dessert. Your mom will enjoy being able to take a break and rest for once and will probably be excited to try out the recipe on her own in the future. As for your dad, he can never turn down a free meal, especially if it includes some delicious chocolate cake that you’ve been waiting to try.

PLAY
Marriage and kids are hard, so plan a date night for your parents to take a break from reality. Your mom and dad were your taxi drivers growing up and throwing money at you left and right so you could go out with friends, do them a favor and be their chauffer. Drive them to the Rosa Parks ice skating rink and pay for them to go ice-skating and pick up a hot dog at the Dog Pit or a hot drink from Biggby’s. You won’t have to spend more than $20 and they’ll be grateful of it.

HOBBY
Has your dad been eyeing the newest golf balls but refuses to buy them because he thinks they’re too pricy? Now’s the time to splurge and get him something he wants. Titleist is at the top of every golfer’s list, ranging from $40 – $50. You might not see the hype in this gift, but your dad won’t be able to hide his excitement. As for your mom, take her on a shopping spree and treat her to lunch. Make her try on clothes that she wouldn’t normally pick up – she’ll thank you for it later.