Who hasn't found himself roaming aimlessly up and down the blindingly bright aisles of a chain drugstore at 3 a.m. before a major holiday pondering just what the hell to pick up for a loved one?
At this hour, the temptation to give in and purchase a gag gift is strong: "How about a bedpan?" your wastrel buddy suggests. How indeed.
This sort of foolishness can be avoided, though, by more considerate sorts of foolishness. There are places to obtain cheap, last-minute gifts for loved ones you'd prefer stay loved.
Alemany Flea Market
Well, you may yet find a bedpan at this every-Sunday, city-run flea market. Or any number of antiques, "funktiques," furniture, and copious amounts of bric-a-brac. You will find both odds and ends. You will find old books. You will find oddities such as maps of Australia in Cyrillic. This is indeed the place for people who desire stuff of that sort. Perhaps the only place.
100 Alemany Blvd., 647-9423, sfgsa.org/index.aspx?page=1059
Ambassador Toys
At this West Portal shop you can find plenty of the classy, wooden toys liked by children and loved by their parents. There's also an amazing section of nostalgic old-school toys that you might have played with as a child before growing up and fighting in the Korean War (metallic roadsters, metallic robots, metallic U-boats). And, if that's not enough, you'll find plenty of figurines, LEGOs, educational toys, little trains, and other timeless staples of childhood.
186 West Portal Ave. 759-TOYS, ambassadortoys.com
City Beer Store
This Folsom Street cellar is something of a Valhalla for those with a hankering for beer. Craig and Beth Wathen have been mopping up the drool of entranced visitors who stand, agape, ogling the wall of brews within. Have a few, enjoy a bite to eat, and pick up an assortment of exotic beers to disseminate to worthy recipients.
1168 Folsom St. #101, 503-1033, citybeerstore.com
Cole Hardware
Purchasing power tools for a friend or lover is dicey, and not everyone enjoys being pointed in the direction of manual labor. But there's more to be had here than saws, plumbing equipment, or lighting fixtures. Cole Hardware has a full array of soaps, lotions and potions, toys, decorative doo-dads, and stuff for your dog. No doggie power tools, sadly.
Daiso
This vast warehouse of low-priced Japanese houseware, trinkets, and other adorable crap also doubles as an exciting game when one tries to read the packaging for the decorative ice trays, sake sets, or piggy banks ("saving boxes"). Hell, this place is a saving box. You can wander in with a $10 bill, buy gifts for the entire family, and leave with change. Kawaii!
GameShop Classic
If you can look past the ever-present fog, the far reaches of Taraval isn't an ethereal place. It's a very earthbound, up-for-business, residential sector of this city. And perhaps that's why one of our most comprehensive videogame nostalgia shops opened up here. GameShop Classic is just what you think it is: a repository of videogame lore and a chance to purchase a piece of one's youth. And, perhaps, give it as a gift. Or keep it.
2101 Taraval St., 242-9990, facebook.com/gameshop.classic
Green Apple Books
Here's the small, locally owned business you can shop at not because of those bona fides but just because it's a hell of a store. Whether it's a new or used book or literary ephemera or the sorts of things NPR listeners put onto their refrigerators, you'll do well here.
506 Clement St., 387-2272, greenapplebooks.com
Loved to Death
For all your last-minute taxidermy needs, look no further. Cast fetal skulls for $60 can be had here, as can taxidermied alligator heads ($25), blowfish ($8), and glass eyes for as little as $24. A touch of the macabre, and at low, low prices to boot.
1681 Haight St., lovedtodeath.com
Sockshop Haight Street
Why yes! The Frida Kahlo socks do reveal her monobrow. We are, assuredly, living through the golden age of humorous socks. You may wonder how a sock-only store stays in business these days. The answer: volume.
1742 Haight St., 386-5400, sockshoponhaight.com
X-Press Prints
If you find yourself out in the Excelsior and you need that $5 Giants shirt — well, here you go. For the price of a draft beer, one can obtain not only shirts but ballcaps and beanies. Owner Alfred Palma will also custom-print the novelty shirt, Giants or otherwise, of your choosing. There's no website (yet), but Palma promises $5 caps every day of the year at 4537 Mission.
Comments are closed.
