Gifts for ToolGirls and ToolBoys

They say that your adult shopping tendencies are established when you're young. I remember dragging my brother through the frigid streets of Richmond Hill, Ontario on Christmas Eve when I was eleven. It was 5:30 p.m. and we were walking home the mile and a half from the only shopping centre Richmond Hill had at the time. We still didn't have a present for Dad. We had $6.00.

We were numb with cold when I saw the cheery glow of the Mainprize Drug Store, "Open 'til 6 on Xmas Eve!" said a big sign in the window.

"C'mon!" I urged my brother.

"Mfwaa!" he said, his face stiff from the bitter wind chill of '68.

In the drug store, we trawled the aisles looking for something for our 56-year-old Dad. Past the suppositories and hot water bottles and canes, there was one gleaming bottle of Old Spice left, specially packaged for Christmas in a gift box that included a bar of Old Spice soap. It cost $5.98. The pharmacist waived the tax. We were thrilled, so jubilant we didn't feel the cold for the rest of the walk home, taking turns carrying the treasured Old Spice.

So I say, shop late and enjoy the adrenalin hangover. But if you're the type who wants to be done early, say by the 23rd, here are some suggestions:

LePage No More Sealant Guns

A revolution in caulk! This is one gift for EVERYONE on your list, an absolute must-have for all humans living in dwellings. Why? Because cracks happen. And they look bad. But you put off fixing them because caulking guns are awkward, jamming, cramp-inducing, drippy nightmares.

But No More Sealant Gun's built-in easy-action trigger dispenses an elegant bead of high-quality 25-year caulk. Good for any indoor application including tubs, sinks, trim, windows and doors. A godsend for every DIYer, this is a highly innovative product backed by LePage's great track record. Heaven in a tube! Keep one in your purse for quick repairs to unsightly restaurant bathrooms.
Available only at Canadian Tire.
Price: $6.99 for latex and $7.99 for polymer and silicone.

Caulk Rite

The perfect complement to No More Sealant Guns, the Caulk Rite tool is one of my favourite timesavers. It belongs in every stocking, and even in some garter belts. Introduced by Vancouver Tools, the Caulk Rite smoothes a bead of caulk with incredible finesse, so you don't get it all over your fingers, clothes, furniture and toilet seat (don't ask). The Caulk Rite is a rubber spatula-like cornering tool set in a comfortable plastic handle. After applying a bead of caulk, run the Caulk Rite over it for a perfect finish. Wipe the spatula off on a clean rag, and move on to your next bead. Sweet.
Available at hardware stores nationwide.
Price: About $5.00

In Flame Chiminea Insert

Delight your family with the warm gift of firelight this season! The In Flame chiminea insert produces real flame (up to 9000 BTU's per hour) but needs no venting, no electricity, no installer, no chimney, no hook-ups of any kind! This brilliant innovation allows you to bring your existing chiminea inside for the winter. Place it in your entryway to warm boots and mitts, or tuck it into a barren corner of the house to add instant ambience.

The In Flame chiminea insert burns environmentally-friendly Sunjel ethanol fuel, which carries the coveted EcoLogo label and is made from renewable sugar cane. The combustion by-products of Sunjel are hydrogen and oxygen (i.e. water vapour), so burning it is like turning on a heat-generating humidifier.

If you live in an apartment or condo, you can now have a fireplace at a fraction of the usual cost. In Flame has a complete line of Sunjel-burning fireplaces, stoves and inserts. If you've always wanted a fireplace to hang your Christmas stockings on, this is the technology that will provide you with a clean-burning, inexpensive alternative to the cost of putting in a wood-burning fireplace or woodstove. All of these units are capable of burning up to three canisters of Sunjel at once. Each canister costs $4.29 and provides 2-1/2 to 3 hours of flame. The canisters can be shut down and re-lit at your convenience. Enjoy a smoke-free, fume-free "real fire" for as little as $1.43/hour. Chiminea kit includes a fuel box and an attractive ceramic log.
Available for delivery nationwide.
Info: Inflame Fireplaces Inc.; (416) 530-0555
Showroom: 99 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 310, Toronto
Chiminea insert: $199.00

Bag Balm

Used by farmers since 1889 to massage chapped goat teats and cow udders, this stuff is fabulous for softening work-roughened hands and cracked lips. You just have to get past the name. TIP: It sold out worldwide a couple of years ago when Shania Twain told Britain's Daily Telegraph that her skincare secret is Bag Balm. Maybe Bag Balm is the key to her post-maternity abs too. A 10 oz.-tin is $9.50 at Lee Valley Tools; 1-800-267-8767

Barnyard Tea

Poop from cows, pigs, horses and chickens, packed in classic teabag fashion for making compost tea. Compost tea is made by placing one bag in 2 litres of hot water and letting it steep for the day. Be sure to label the jug, "NOT APPLE JUICE. I MEAN IT." By day's end you'll have a rich, amber-coloured liquid fertilizer your plants will love. The box of 25 bags makes about 13 U.S. gallons (50 litres) of fertilizer. The poop is treated, by the way, so it's odourless. Don't store it in the kitchen or some bonehead will use it in the teapot. $6.50 at Lee Valley Tools.

Vegewax Candles

This is the season for bathing everything in a romantic glow, including surly, overfed relatives.

The downside of paraffin candles is that they're made from petrochemical by-products, so burning them produces soot, smoke and sometimes lead if the wick has a lead core. The soot collects on furnishings, walls and ceilings, and is pure hell to get off. Plus, burning paraffin gives my husband a headache, and we can't have that on a Saturday night. So I had switched to expensive beeswax candles.

But imagine my delight upon discovering a beautiful, environmentally-friendly, inexpensive alternative to beeswax and paraffin. Scents Alive candles are formed from Vegewax, a 100% plant-based wax that produces no harmful emissions, soot or smoke and burns 50% longer than paraffin.

Vegewax candles last forever compared to paraffin (a 3" x 6" pillar lasts 150-175 hours). The candles, available in unscented or aromatherapy versions, produce gorgeous lacy patterns in the outside layer of wax.

Visit their outlet in Toronto for astonishing selection and pricing that's 75% off retail. You can score armloads of candles for under $100.

Scents Alive candles carry the EgoLogo label, signifying approval by the Canadian Government's Environmental Choice program.

Available at Scents Alive or at the outlet store - 1300 Alness, Unit 1B, corner of Steeles and Alness, near Dufferin (Vaughan, ON).
Price: Competitive with paraffin, except at the outlet store where they're way cheaper.