When in doubt, go online

When in doubt, go online

Thomas Wanker, Staff Writer

The holidays are coming, and there’s a reason it’s called the “season of giving.” The average American will spend upwards of $800 on Christmas presents for their friends and loved ones. In fact, some companies like Target brought in $11.4 billion in revenue on Black Friday, and the total money spent online on Cyber Monday ranged upwards of $1.5 billion. The shopping website Amazon.com sold 426 items per second on Cyber Monday in 2013. People debate the issue every year, should you hit up the stores on Black Friday, or avoid the rush and shop online. The question is, which method can bring in the best gifts at the lowest prices? However, if you plan on spending your hard-earned cash on Christmas presents, make sure your loved ones get the coolest presents out there.

Death Star ice-cube molds, glow-in-the-dark nail polish, maybe even a pack of gold playing cards. Where does someone find awesome gifts like these? The Internet of course! Shopping on the Internet is the easiest way to find the best gifts at the lowest prices. The website to check out this holiday season is aptly named thisiswhyimbroke.com, now you can’t actually buy the items listed directly from the website, however it links you to the websites where you can buy them. The website is full of fun novelty gifts, as well as useful and innovative tools for the household. For this list we’ve compiled the top ten gifts from this website and Amazon.com that you should consider getting for your friends or family, and to make it simple and cost efficient, the items on this list are all $50 and below.

Pet Hoodies: Need a gift for Fido or Mittens, but wish to forego the traditional cat toy or dog bone? Make sure they’re stylin’ this Christmas with these assorted pet hoodies. At the low price of $11.96, these soft cotton pet garments ensure that your cat or dog will be comfortable and warm for as long as they wear them. They can be bought in all sized for whatever breed of dog or cat you own.

Potato chip bag re-sealer: Have an open bag of chips lying around? Keep them from going stale and protected from nasty critters with this handy gadget. The re-sealer uses heat to fuse the two sides of the bag back together, in the same fashion as the factory method, and a useful gift to give anyone this holiday season at the reasonable price of $15.28.

Sword handle frying pan: Brace yourself, breakfast is coming; this handy kitchen utensil abandons the standard frying pan handle. Instead, cooks can get wrap their hands around the hilt of a medieval sword to prepare their favorite meal. It offers chefs a comfortable, balanced grip with a rubberized handle, and for $50 it will make the perfect gift for the medieval chef in your family.

Death Wish whole bean coffee, the strongest coffee on the planet: Have a loved one who’s too lethargic around the holidays? Make sure they get the right gift by giving them the gift of alertness. Death wish coffee is a specialty blend from the Death Wish Coffee Company and has double the caffeine of your standard cup o’ joe. This isn’t your grandmas special French roast coffee, at $19.99 for one pound this coffee is truly for those who desperately need that morning boost that’ll last all day.

Valery classic leather notebook refillable vintage writing journal: Need a place to write thoughts or ideas? Write them in style in this vintage leather-bound notebook. Complete with metal medallions and full faux-leather binding, this is sure to make you feel like your writing in a piece of history. Available in brown, green, red, tree green, light coffee, and tree brown, as well as the larger upgrade to give you the extra writing space you need. So throw out whatever notebook you were planning on giving someone, and pick up one of these beauties for just $17.99.