This year’s holiday festivities may not be as extravagant as those in the past, but despite hard times, Americans will likely do what they love best: shop. After all, there’s nothing like the seasonal bustle of consumers carefully examining stores for the lowest prices on the hottest items, set to a “Winter Wonderland” soundtrack. With the economy freefalling, shoppers may buy less this Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa), which is why we have compiled a thorough selection of affordable ideas for the annual Casino Connection gift guide. And so it begins.

Seasonal Scents

Cologne and other strongly scented gifts are a popular choice over the holidays. We don’t necessarily know why—they’re better than socks, footie pajamas and neckties, at least—but we aren’t going to buck tradition…much.

Sure, you can go to Walgreens to buy a last minute collection of Stetson, Polo or Brut, but they are about as original as the smells of Old Spice or Gillette. Why not look for something different? It may be a little more expensive, but being different isn’t always cheap.

Burberry’s latest men’s fragrance, the Beat for Men, was well received when it was introduced earlier this year, including praise by a number of magazines, such as Esquire. The scent is described as fresh and woody, a mixture of leatherwood, cedrat, black pepper, bourbon and violet. It is youthful and energetic, but at the same time modern and refined. At $65, you can’t go wrong.

If you want to pay a little more, Prada’s Infusion d’Homme is the hot item this year. The $100 fragrance combines cedarwood, vetiver and smoky incense. It is also not as overpowering as many of the colognes on the market, so it may be a good gift for the person who doesn’t know how much is too much.

For the tree-hugger, Pangea Organics Harmony Gift Box (pangeaorganics.com) is a definite winner. The $35 package contains organic bar soap, shower gel, hand and body lotion and a spruce tree. That’s correct, a spruce tree. The box contains the seeds of a spruce tree. Take the box out back, plant it in the ground and a spruce tree will grow.

You can’t use any of Lush’s products to cultivate your lawn, but the handmade cosmetics company does produce earth-friendly and mostly vegan toiletries for men and women. You can purchase individual products like bath bombs and soaps, or you can buy one of the company’s pre-wrapped gift sets, such as the Christmas Parcel Holiday Gift Set ($29.95) or the 8 Crazy Nights Holiday Gift Set ($59.95), which include a variety of products and can be given to friends or loved ones of either sex.

For ladies who love perfumed products but can’t seem to settle on a signature scent, the goddesses at Sephora have created Scent Sampler Best Sellers For Her, an $80 set that includes samples of the store’s 10 best-selling perfumes (such as Vera Wang’s Princess and Stella McCartney’s Stella), along with a gift voucher that can be redeemed for a full-sized bottle of the recipient’s favorite sample at any Sephora location.

Bits and Baubles

Every holiday season, there are new toys and gadgets galore, ready to be bestowed upon those who love new and interesting inventions. But if you’re attracted to more traditional gifts, then there are several mainstays that could provide inspiration.

Clothing is a classic gift choice—after all, who doesn’t remember receiving knitted scarves from Grandma or a warm winter coat from Mom and Dad? Of course, these days, gifts of clothing don’t have to be frumpy or tacky (so forget purchasing that reindeer-emblazoned sweater, even if it supposed to be ironic).

If you don’t have Grandma’s crafting skills, check out Madewell, located at the Fashion Show Mall, for chic, warm scarves ($68). H&M in Town Square and Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile Shops is a source of great winter clothing for low prices, so look there for your loved one’s coat. Target’s designer collaborations are also trendy without breaking the bank, so look to Thakoon’s collection this December for brightly colored pieces that all ladies will love.

For someone who’s been extra good this year, the gift of jewelry is a great option. Department stores like Dillard’s and Macy’s have an excellent selection of quality necklaces and earrings, though if you haven’t been slammed by the recession this year, you may want to invest in a piece from Tiffany & Co. (located at Caesars Palace’s Forum Shops and the Bellagio). Many items at Tiffany are extremely affordable (not to mention beautiful): The sterling silver Two Hearts pendant ($175) is a flawless way to show you care, as is Paloma’s Crown of Hearts ring ($135).

And for the makeup aficionado in your circle of friends and family members, MAC Cosmetics has released their annual holiday collection, which includes four eye palettes at $38 each and three lip palettes at $22.50. The bejeweled compacts are perfect for the glamour girl on the go.

Buzz Worthy

Let’s be honest: There is a recession, and we’re just not going to go around buying all of our friends iPods and digital cameras. But we can still include them in the gift of giving with something more affordable, but no less enjoyable.

For example, the Belvedere Vodka Gift Set (for that matter, any of the alcohol gift sets from the top manufacturers come with pretty decent glassware or barware) rings in at a modest $65 for a 750-milliliter bottle and two Riedel martini glasses. Why they include martini glasses with vodka (martinis are made with gin and only with gin) is up for debate, but the glasses are nice, and Belvedere is one of the better vodkas available today. And if you bring it to a friend’s house, they would have to be a real knob to not let you partake in the joy.

For the wine snob (or just the wine aficionado), you can purchase a wine club membership. We would like to suggest Bottlenotes.com. Unlike traditional wine clubs that send a random bottle every month, Bottlenotes has a taste profile you fill out before signing up, and they try to send a bottle that fits your preference.

Great Gadgets

The advances we’re seeing in technology these days are pretty impressive. Cell phones now include cameras and MP3 players as part of the package. Some of them can also access the internet and play video. To keep up, manufacturers of MP3 players are forced to trick out their products and, not surprisingly, Apple continues to lead the pack in this category.

Apple was the industry leader with portable music devices dating back to the introduction of the first generation iPod. The company continues its position with new offerings, including the fourth generation Nano and the new iPod Touch.

Apple iPod Nano | Starting $139

The Nano is one of the smallest MP3 players, and thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign, it is certainly the trendiest. These devices are available with 8 gigabytes and 16 GB of non-volatile flash storage, enough to hold 2,000 songs and eight hours of video or 4,000 songs and 16 hours of video. It is so small you have to see it to believe it.

Apple iPod Touch | Starting $219.94

The Touch is a little bit larger, but that extra size packs in a huge amount of additional features. The touch-screen allows easy navigation through audio and video files, and it also allows the Touch to function as a portable gaming device. With sizes ranging from 8 GB to 32 GB, and with WiFi capabilities, the continuing evolution of the iPod guarantees there is something for everyone.

T-Mobile G1 with Google $179 with two-year contract; $399 without contract

Finally, something to knock Apple and its iPhone off of its high horse. The G1 is actually the most anticipated new phone, not the iPhone 3G. The G1 is customizable, features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and DRM-free downloads from Amazon. Best yet, it uses open source code, so there will be endless options for third party software, games, applications, skins and support. The G1 is immensely more coveted than the iPhone because it is new, so for the person who has to be on the bleeding edge of cellular technology, it is a no-brainer.

Audio Accoutrements

Portable MP3 players come with earphones, yes, but they tend to be of a very low quality. Most people don’t notice any problems, until they listen to the device with a set of legitimately good earphones. And while it used to be that if you wanted studio sound you needed studio cans, these days, there are earbuds that sound just as good as over-the-ear headphones.

Klipsch Image Headphones | $224.24

For the typical consumer, this is money wasted; for a real audiophile, this could be the greatest gift ever. These tiny earbuds block out outside noise, and they deliver the sound quality you would expect out of an expensive home stereo system—although you can’t feel the bass in your chest. The sound separation is also superior, making the listener feel they could identify the position of the bass player, guitar, drummer and singer.

Radius Atomic Bass Earphones | $39

These aren’t the best earphones by any stretch, but they’re better than stock earbuds and considerably cheaper than the high-end equipment. They deliver a great overall sound with plenty of bass, and come in a variety of colors designed to match those of various iPods. Additionally, for $10 more, you can get a version that includes a microphone for use with the iPhone.

Koss PortaPro Headphones |$39

This is the traditional style of headphones. You don’t have to stick anything in your ear to use these. They are extremely comfortable, and they sound amazing. They are not the newest technology by any stretch—they were first introduced more than 20 years ago—but there is a reason they continue to sell. The PortaPro delivers a crisp high-end, clean mid and good amount of bass for something so small. If the earbuds aren’t your style, these are definitely worth looking into.

Cool Cameras

Prices of digital cameras have fallen as fast as the technology supporting digital imaging has improved. The smaller point and shoot cameras take pictures suitable for 5 x 7 prints while the current generation digital SLRs take images that will print at 8 x 10 or better. The professional photographer’s lament is your gain. There are a number of excellent cameras available for anywhere from $100 to $500, depending on the needs of the shutterbug in your life.

While there is no way to beat the SLR in terms of image quality, low light performance and available lenses, these cameras tend to be large, and a camera is useless if it is sitting at home when that perfect photo opportunity presents itself. Digital SLRs also tend to be the most expensive digital cameras.

When buying a digital camera, take note of the type of media it writes to. Cameras usually come with a memory card that is laughably small. You can buy a 1 GB card for less than $20 these days, so throw that in, too.

Lastly, don’t buy into the mega pixel hype. You need to double the number of mega pixels to notice and difference in image quality. The difference between 8 MP, 10 MP and 12 MP is imperceptible and shouldn’t be taken into consideration.

Olympus Stylus 1030 W ($278.95 at Adorama.com)

This is the one camera you have no excuse to leave at home, no matter where you are going. It can survive a 6-foot fall and withstand 220 pounds of pressure, it works in temperatures as low as 14 degrees and can take pictures underwater up to 33 feet deep. The reviews say image quality isn’t perfect, but for web sharing and smaller 4x6 prints, this 10 MP camera is perfectly acceptable.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 ($389.95 at bhphotovideo.com)

This is the camera for a somewhat more serious photographer. More important than the 10 MP sensor is the full manual controls and the wide angle, 24-millimeter lens (84-degree diagonal field of view) with a fast 2.0 maximum aperture. This makes the camera a prime contender for low-light shooters and street photographers. There is a tradeoff, however, as the maximum zoom length is to 60 mm, which doesn’t really reach the typical telephoto category. Image quality is superb, and a number of film emulation modes make this camera a load of fun.

Sony Cybershot DSC-T700 ($364.95 at bhphotovideo.com)

This is the quintessential point and shoot camera perfect for the casual shooter. The 10 MP sensor is more than enough to make great prints, and the 3.5 inch LCD rear display is amazing. The camera features image stabilization, scene recognition and, perhaps most importantly, face detection and a smile shutter (if enabled, the camera will wait until it detects a smile before releasing the shutter and taking the picture). It has 4 GB of built-in memory, so you won’t need to buy a memory card with this one.

Canon Powershot SD790/SD880 ($189.95/ $260.95 at bhphotovideo.com)

What is the difference between these two cameras that justifies the $70 price differential? It comes down to a longer zoom and new exterior styling. Both are 10 MP cameras, both have the same LCD display, optical image stabilizing and face detection technology. The SD790 has a 3x zoom (35mm to 105mm equivalent) while the SD880 has a 5x zoom (37mm to 187mm equivalent).

Nikon D40 kit ($649.95 Adorama.com)

The Nikon D40 is an entry-level digital SLR. Its image sensor has only 6.1 MP, but its image quality is far superior to anything a point and shoot can produce. That is because the sensor itself is about the size of a frame of film while the point and shoot sensor is about the size of a fingernail. It also uses significantly better lenses. The D40 kit at Adorama comes with both an 18-55mm VR (vibration reduction) and a 55-200mm VR lens. It is all the starting kit a budding photographer would ever need.

Now that you’re prepared with a comprehensive guide to the season’s greatest gifts, perhaps your holiday shopping expedition will be a little less stressful. Go forth and be merry.

By Greg Jones

Greg Jones is managing editor of Casino Connection Nevada, as well as associate editor of Global Gaming Business magazine.

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