My sister and her family live in the U.K., so I can reveal what I’ve just mailed off in their Christmas parcel. Socks—those immeasurably soft, fuzzy ones sometimes called spa socks that come in cheerful colours and cost under $10—can travel great distances without getting smashed or broken. Also winging their way to Bury St. Edmunds are a bracelet made of mahjong tiles, handmade tree decorations”¦ Tick the U.K. off the list; on to Eastern Canada.

At this time of year, the urgency of buying is in direct proportion to the distance the gift has to travel. After Eastern Canada come the Prairies, then the closer-to-home, and finally friends down the street and the people you live with. No need to worry about those last ones for weeks yet, but assuming you want to sleep nights, you should get on the others. I’m stuck for ideas, but here’s what various people around town are wrapping up for friends far and near.

Wendy de Kruyff of Dream Apparel and Articles for People (311 West Cordova Street) has cool stuff under her nose and practical advice for the rest of us. “Go wander around, have nice food, a nice coffee, enjoy the process, and don’t freak out,” she says. Comfort level raised, her number one favourite present is local Nathalee Paolinelli’s owl T-shirt ($40), which is, she says—pause for rim shot—flying out of stores. A new shipment will be in by the time you read this. For your Alberta buds, it’s reliably West Coast–y, as is Refined Designs’ brown pearl-acorn necklace ($98) and Jejune Cleaver’s real lacquered pine cone on a real gold chain ($72).

Yaletown hair-salon owner Ian Daburn has a large army of small people to buy for back in the U.K. “All children are getting Ugly Dolls,” he says, because they’re cute and pack easily. Daburn is planning a major raid on Modern Kid (45 Water Street) where these winsome creatures hang out ($14 to $63 for various sizes). To keep connections lively, “Web cams are going to other family members in the U.K. and Australia,” he says. “For the loved one [wife, Pam] I’m doing the H&M collection.” Don’t get your hopes up. Vancouver is not getting its own store yet. Instead, Daburn plans to see what he can score from the latest, and definitely sold-out, collection from Viktor & Rolf on eBay. “Last year, she got all Stella [McCartney] stuff,” he says. Friends here can expect luxury products from the Kerastase line, which he sells in his salon, i.daburn (1073 Cambie Street).

“You know the new Tiffany store?” asks Annabel Hawksworth of Hawksworth Communications. “I’m hoping to receive”¦” Well, anything in that blue box. In a giving mood, she often takes friends for lunch or dinner, “rather than getting another smelly candle that they don’t need”. An off-the-radar gift on her list is The World of Karl Pilkington (HarperCollins, $21.95); Pilkington’s podcasts with The Office’s Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant have beaten all downloading records. Log on to www.rickygervais.com for info on these and the upcoming Podfather podcast on Christmas Day, and to hear a couple of other freebie specials.

Mo Salemy at Dadabase (183 East Broadway) is raiding the store. Wouldn’t you? (Especially while there are serious markdowns.) “A very special, beautiful friend of mine” will unwrap a Boxfresh grey cotton crew-neck winter-weight sweater ($99 on sale) horizontally striped in “yellow, beige, light olive”¦it’s a rainbow,” says Salemy pointing out that “you can wear a dress shirt under it and match any of the colours.” The small sizes fit women, he says, also suggesting a Government T-shirt in cream printed with a Manuel Posada print in burgundy and deep purple of skeletons on bikes ($45 on sale). For stocking stuffers, he likes cotton-wool toe socks (marked down from $19 to $10) striped in combos like pink, aqua, white, or navy with yellow, kelly green, grey, and white.

Host and producer of 969 on Citytv and Razer TV, and host of Citytv’s Ethnosonic, Lauren Toyota will be buying for four “really good girl friends” back in Toronto. “Everyone I know is into fashion,” she says, “so I try to find jewellery and accessories from local designers. Things that are unique to the city.” She took the same tack last year, raiding a pre-Christmas market on Main Street. An event this weekend could make short work of her—and your—list. Masterminded by Christi York of Eat Organic panty fame, the Green Christmas Market showcases fashions, bangles, beads, accessories, and things for the pad, all made locally from recycled materials. Feel good about buying Bring Your Own Bag’s reusable bags, BuenoStyle’s recycled leather earrings, all-natural soap from the Ocean Soap Company, and Passionflower’s throw pillows made of vintage wool blankets. See you there Saturday (December 9) from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Blim Arts Centre (187 East 17th Avenue).