Welcome to Juneau, where there may be a little Christmas in July but there is absolutely no July in our Christmas. Where we go to an ice rink to warm up after a walk on the beach. Where we have an extra pair of rain boots, one size larger than our normal ones, just so we can fit our wool socks underneath. Or is that just me?
And is it just me, or does anyone else feel a little lighter in their shoulders at the thought of 2016 ending? Now, I’m not saying I’d want to forget 2016 at all, and it had its moments to be sure, but between the acrid political climate leading up to the election, the deaths of beloved celebrities, and a number of violent domestic and foreign attacks, I think it’s a good time to defrost our worldview a bit and look at 2017 with clear vision.
First of all, in a review of our year, it would only be fair to include our microcosm of life here and not just the national and global conversations and events. This year we’ve gotten SLAM, and a new whale sculpture, (probably to make up for Nimbus, I don’t know). We had some incredibly warm weather. We’ve also had a dispensary open, which is historic if nothing else. But we can go even smaller than that. For example, we got a brick-oven pizza cart down in Diamond Alley, Egan finally got repaved, and, most gravely of all, Rockwell stopped serving sweet potato fries!
I can personally remember 2016 as the year I got engaged to the love of my life, went to Disney Land and rode the teacups, took pictures in the snow (froze my rear off), got a job writing for the newspaper (Thank you, Juneau Empire!), only went salmon fishing once but talked about going probably a thousand times, and took the long journey, moving myself and my stuff from the windy maritime coast of Douglas to the snow-blanketed valley. That’s like an entire 20 minute drive to anyone counting, and I did it more than once, even.
So what now? Only a couple holidays separate us from the New Year. How are those stocking stuffers coming? Or those resolutions? I’m working on a few. You know, the usual: I am resolved to actually walk into Breeze In and only leave with one item, to actually come up with a Halloween costume before Oct. 29, and to actually finish a chap stick. And also to actually stop saying actually with such frequency. We will see how that goes.
Before all of that, though, we do have to make our way through Christmas, for which I want to gift you a quick guide to low-cost, high-meaning gifts. Maybe it’s too late to go to Public Market, or maybe your item won’t arrive in time. Perhaps you prefer to abstain from the consumer culture of Christmas, or maybe you’re looking for the perfect gift for, say, a lot of people. Here are some ideas.
1 – Build your own gift baskets. Sure, you’re not Harry or David, and you might not have immediate access to Belgian cured meats, but all you really need is a basket (arguably the costliest part, but try Alaska Dames first!) and a quick trip to Costco and Fred Meyer. Buy in bulk and make your own gift basket assembly line. Hit up our local foods section and get some jellies or salmon jerky, and make sure to get prepackaged cheeses, chocolates, crackers, and more. If you’re shipping out of town, maybe opt out of the Asian pear or Honeycrisp apple, but the salmon will more than make up for it.
2 – Baked goods. Just about everyone can bake, but that doesn’t mean everyone does. Even if you’re pretty sure you’re going to accidentally explode something in your kitchen, give this one a try. This can be done in bulk as well, and compared to actually gift shopping for each and every person, is incredibly time-effective. If you’re a pro baker, you’ll have this done in no time, and who doesn’t appreciate home-made cookies? If you need a little practice in the kitchen, just be sure to give your first batch to your mom because she loves you no matter what.
3 – Instead of spending a handful of cash on every person in your family, spend just one or two handfuls of cash on one nice set of stationary and sit yourself down and write some letters! It can be incredibly meaningful to receive a letter, especially one that’s been handwritten. Make a rule of not using cards with any words on them. If you still don’t know what to say, just start by paraphrasing a Hallmark card (I won’t tell). It still means much more in your hand.
Goodbye 2016, and with it George Martin, Gene Wilder, David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Muhammed Ali, and more. Farewell to failed cease-fires, and elections, for a while. Instead, hello Christmas! And hello 2017! Your personality is yet to be known.
• Guy About Town appears the first and third Sunday of every month and includes seasonal musings on what changes and what doesn’t in a small town. Guy can be reached at unzicker.music@gmail.com.
