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White hot
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Fan the flames of love or friendship with fiery, snow-melting gifts
by GENEVIEVE PAIEMENT
It's hard to believe, but some people would rather skip over the holiday season and jet straight into July. Not only do they not appreciate that pesky jackfrost nipping at their nose, they definitely don't want to be cajoled into enjoying it with gifts of candy canes, a Santa hat and a pair of reindeer slippers. Nay, these dreamers prefer to escape the winter wonderland hoopla and lose themselves in dreams of another season, another place, perhaps down Mexico way...
The more upwardly mobile version of this type of person has most likely already planned out their mid-winter vacation down south, so your job is to help keep their eyes on the prize. A fashion-forward 2002 bikini they can don on the beach would suit them just fine. Case in point: next summer's nifty Anna Cole red-and-white striped bikini ($89.95).
If your southern-minded sister or brother is strapped for cash and will not be escaping to warmer climes (or you can't afford to spring for the bikini), the next best thing is to fake it. A cheap and state-of-the-art way to help them look and smell like they've been kicking it in Key Largo for the past week is to make up a DIY tropical gift set. Include Coppertone's Endless Summer Sunless Tanning Lotion ($16.99) because it gives a tan in just 30 minutes--beware the streaks though. Then add a bottle each of Body Shop Coconut Shower Gel ($9.95) and Coconut Body Lotion ($14.95), to get them smelling like a golden, thong-clad creature of the beach.
For your more liquid-minded aunt and uncle with a dogged fondness for Club Med and Sandals, help them relive those cherished inclusive holidays with the tropical drinks Tom Cruise slung so well in Cocktail. Head to the SAQ for some quality rum, like Appleton Estate Jamaican Rum ($31.75, 1.14 litres), Barbancourt Haitian Rum ($28.45, 750 ml) or Dark Havana Club, 7 años (28.50, 750 ml). Then pair the booze with a ready-made mix like Mott's Mr. & Mrs. T piña colada or strawberry daiquiri mix ($3.99). Barring that, wrap up a bottle of Southern Comfort ($21.45, 750 ml), serve them one on ice and call it a day. As a pièce-de-résistence, tack on Jimmy Buffet's best-of collection, Songs You Know by Heart (13.99 U.S. on Amazon.com), and watch the romance rekindle (or run away quickly before you catch sight of it).
If Margaritaville is not your loved one's idea of a good time, why not offer them a heated destination for body and soul: Bikram Yoga. This 26-pose asana series is practiced in a heated room in order to work the muscles deeper and really warm up all those stiff tendons. Offer them the $20 seven-days of yoga deal or a five-class card for $70. At Bikram Yoga Montreal (721 Walker). Info: 989-7642 or www.bikramyogamtl.com.
Hula girls and extreme heat
For your friend with a penchant for retro nick-knacks and graphic design of yore, let them experience the kitschy aloha seductiveness of post-World-War II Hawaii with a box of Hula Honeys (Chronicle Books, $14.95) available at Mojo books and music store on St-Laurent. Purporting to celebrate the "enduring myth, tropical mystique, and charming allure of the Polynesian hula girl," the 30 cards are perfect to send from an imaginary vacation or to plaster your fridge with.
As for the sounds of the South, nothing compares to some sunshiney reggae to counteract a sub-zero grey day. Introduce your none-too knowledgeable cousin to the genre with the modestly named double-CD Best Reggae Album in the World featuring everyone from Peter Tosh and Burning Spear to Boney M (?!) and Shabba Ranks. And as your cuz enjoys the irie hits, why not let them savour the flavours of the region simultaneously? Sugar and Spice and Everything Irie: Savoring Jamaica's Flavors a cookbook by Veda Nugent and Marrett Green will help them do just that (Callawind, $22.95).
Or, go the urban Salsa route with Ray Barretto's Salsa Caliente De Nu York ($18.99). To help your culinary-minded friend recapture the flavours of her backpacking trip, splurge on the in-depth, hardcover The Art of South American Cooking by Felipe Rojas-Lombardi (HarperCollins, $51), and hope she invites you to dinner.
Finally, for your sister's adventuresome husband who doesn't consider it a real vacation unless he's risked his life in some kind of jungle-safari-mountain-climbing escapade, there is Amazon Extreme (Stoddart, $29.95), hot off the presses. Written by Colin Angus from BC, it's the tale of the first-ever people (Angus, an Australian and a South African) to travel the entire length of the Amazon River on a raft. The trio spent five months battling mosquitoes, hallucinations and bone-melting heat and humidity while taking in the majesty of the rain forest and its peoples. Too hot to handle? Let him be the judge.
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