Buying gifts for roommates is more difficult than buying for family or friends because, at the end of the day, you have to go home to those people and deal with the repercussions of your gift.
If you get them a nice gift, things will run smoothly. However, If you’ve had enough of a frustrating roommate, a slightly mean gift may be just what you need.
Still, depending on his or her personality, each roommate requires different ideas.
Fashionista: A quick trip to Artifax at 247 Main St. or Lulu’s Fashion Lounge at 212 Main St. is all you need to buy something for a fashionable roommate. Pick up a few accessories, whether it’s sunglasses, earrings or scarves and they’ll be able to mix and match.
Artsy: Take a trip to Ital Imports in the back of the Melody Records at 341 Main St. and pick out some beads and hemp chord. A little incense could also set a creative scene for that next art project.
Musician: The musically inclined roommate may appreciate an old vinyl from Melody Records or a CD from Headz Up at 167 E. Third St.
Globally conscious: These roommates love receiving a fair-trade item for the holidays. The Chico Peace and Justice Center at 526 Broadway St. offers everything from hats to soap in its free-trade store.
Hippie: Thrift store shopping is an option for an environmentally conscious roommate. Buying secondhand clothing from a place such as Recycle With Style at 163 E. Third St. or the Discovery Shoppe at 315 Flume St. is ideal. All money from the Discovery Shoppe goes to cancer research, so it’s a double dose of charity and sustainability.
Book Worm: The English major roommate may appreciate a nice book from a local book store during a study break. Some decent resume paper from Magna Carta at 113 W. Second St. could also be perfect for a grad student.
Chef: A nice vegetable steamer or neat cookie cutter from Zucchini & Vine at the intersection of Second and Main streets will please the food-lover roommate. Hopefully he or she will use whatever you buy to make you a meal, too.
Jerk: What about gifts for a roommate who has been less than friendly this semester? Give him or her something along the lines of “Dating for Dummies” or any other book that can come across as backhanded.
Shopping for a bad roommate should be thoughtful if it is to be done right. Think about things he or she loves and then buy the exact opposite. Better yet, buy something he or she may want, put it in Jell-O and give it to him or her that way.
If thinking about your roommate gives you a headache, why not just confuse him or her?
Try giving the offending roommie a box of garden gnomes or a bag of leaves. Not only will it make no sense, he or she will probably be too weirded out to bother you for the rest of the year.
Bianca Hernandez can be reached at
bhernandez@theorion.com
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