From the Editors

Some people say that the best gifts are the gifts of self. Or that it’s the thought that counts. We’d like to respectfully disagree.

This holiday season, you barely have to think at all: Flip to our twice-checked list of the best gifts to give—a smattering of selections for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Or, to avoid being Christo-normative, the Eight Days of Chanukah, or the Week of Kwanzaa.) While you’re at it, see those black and white boxes that look vaguely like crosswords? Snap a photo with your iPhone or hold it up to your computer’s webcam, and let our interactive barcodes do your online shopping legwork. Seriously.

We’ve kept our suggestions under $500, or less than an individual’s monthly rent in a Bob Schmitz Property, a portfolio of homes a stone’s throw from East Campus. Associate Editor Caroline McGeough appraises his frat houses—and his business model. Turn to page 20 to examine Durham real estate’s very own market failure.

For good measure, we move from Durham to Dakar with a dispatch from abroad. As this issue goes to press, TOWERVIEW Contributing Writer Ryan Brown is spending her first American holiday outside the states. In her piece this month, she wrangles with language, reminding us that sometimes, it’s the power of expression that matters most. (So don’t forget the card.)

The denouement of the holidays can be deflating—especially when one considers returning to Duke laden with some home-cooked cushioning. Check out Creative Director Lawson Kurtz’s assessment of how much we walk in a given day. The numbers may surprise you, or, at the very least, they may be disheartening. You can calculate how much time you need to log on the treadmill from there—and that’s without an extra plate of holiday heapings.

Finally, while we’re in the spirit, don’t miss Contributing Writer Julia Love’s visit to a Christmas tree farm in the Duke Forest. It’s slightly surreal. But isn’t that what this month is all about?

Bonnes fêtes!