Shopping for Nuts

Last minute shopping is on everyone’s mind during these days leading up to Christmas, and chances are good lots of people are still puzzling over the right gift for the right person. And like others, the race is on around here too. It’s usually a case of something being either too expensive or unsuited to the person in mind, or maybe an idea for a gift that’s unfortunately not really needed by that person. Finding a memorable and useful gift can be a big headache.

Christmas is a season when I miss Japan and especially Tokyo terribly. Let no one tell you that the Japanese have no idea of how to do Christmas right. True, their Christmas may not be inspired by Christian thoughts, but it is nonetheless a season when Tokyo turns magical in all its decoration and lighthearted spirit. From my earliest days there it was always a favorite time of year personally and one always looked forward to. And Christmas shopping was always easier in that city of everything, one particularly well-stocked during December. Whatever for whomever, somewhere among the lighted and artfully decorated streets and shops you will find that perfect gift. Thinking about Tokyo and the limitless array of possible Christmas gifts there, my mind turned again to the nutty-crazy-wacky angle of possibilities that are to be found nowhere else in the world. Let’s take a look.

PUPEKO ANTI-AGING MOUTHPIECE

Expensive surgery and dangerous therapies begone! For that youthful look Pupeko has an answer that is as simple as it is offbeat. Pop the stylishly designed Pupeko into your mouth and the training begins. By clenching your jaw and breathing in and out, cheeks and jaw muscles will be strengthened and tightened, helping to offset those telltale signs of aging and returning the youth and freshness to your cheeks once more.

An ordinary housewife concerned about her age and looking for an easy way to combat those revealing lines developed the revolutionary Pupeko. Try either the yellow or pink design using the simple technique of puffing out your cheeks or sucking them in while breathing through the mouthpiece. Using it with the head upright will exercise the neck and surrounding muscles further. Choose either pink or yellow—a ‘fountain of youth’ steal at $40.00!

Take a walk on the wide side in these USB-powered warm and comfortable monster-foot slippers, perfect for those icy winter mornings and nights. They are also ideal as hand and finger warmers. Whether it’s cold feet or cold hands, just slip either into these furry Jurassic babies and feel that winter cold drain away!

Be warned! Cuddly and cozy, they are also great for ‘others’ to snuggle into. Your cat or puppy will love the Dinosaur slippers so much you may lose your claim to them! Special Christmas bargain $52.00.

These inventive and strikingly novel stress balls relieve tension as their rubbery faces run the gamut of hilarious expressions. Perfect for office or home Caomaru will sit easily on desk or table waiting for you to squeeze its emotion-filled little face into a hundred shapes!

A choice of four faces in either chocolate brown or white is available. The four faces are named for mouth shapes in pronouncing Ho, Ge, Ni and Pu. Closeout price of $70.00 for a choice of one face; $215 for a set of four. Don’t dillydally! Get them while they last.

Eating your words may sound like a tempting alternative when you’re writing on the Kudamemo. These whimsically designed memo pads are cleverly named after the Japanese word for fruit, kudamono. From the outside the pads look like tasty apples and pears, but a closer look tells you they are made of 150 sheets of premium notepaper, each printed to look like a cross-section of the fruit.

Attention to detail is amazing; stems are made from actual tree branches, and the detached sheets include a seed. Requests are rarely refused when written on one of these unconventional memo slices. Apple or pear in a single pack is $51.00; six-pack of either $215.