How to be the best consumer you can be.

Your Presents Are RequestedWhat Lucky, InStyle, and Wired recommend you give this year.

By Doree ShafrirPosted Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006, at 2:30 PM ET

Remember those halcyon days when children hand-wrote letters to Santa, and parents kept the Toys "R" Us bounty wrapped in the backs of closets? Today kids e-mail Santa with cross-referenced Excel spreadsheets, and 8-year-olds throw around words like Froogle with disturbing nonchalance. Welcome to the age of the overeducated gift recipient.

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What's a self-respecting gift-giver to do? Spend days online trolling for the perfect gift? Brave the crowds at the mall? The easier solution is to consult a professional—which is why each year, legions of magazines publish gift guides. Since no one has time to sift through the dozens, if not hundreds, of guides (and since so many are wretched), we've reviewed which will leave gift recipients ecstatic—and which will make them wish they'd put a lump of coal in your stocking.

Related in Slate

Amanda Fortini explains why clothes make horrible gifts. Jon Katz warns you not to get a Christmas puppy. Had enough holiday parties? Read John Dickerson on the 26 parties President Bush had to host. David Plotz assesses Santa Claus.

Here are the results, from worst to first, judged on a scale of 1-10:

Outside, December 2006
"Drool-worthy digital cameras, the perfect winter jacket, an MP3 wetsuit for surfers and more"
For: Lance Armstrong worshippers whose idea of fun is a triathlon.
The Approach: Organization seems to be an afterthought. The "holiday gift guide" is teased on the cover, but it's not listed in the table of contents: Instead, gifts are scattered throughout, making them difficult to find. Online, the magazine offers an interactive guide that has suggestions based on criteria you input (gender, price, gift type), which is more useful than the print guide.
Holiday Folly: Ibis Mojo Carbon SLX bicycle ($5,399), an ultra-light, ultra-exclusive bike.
Selling Point: Brunton Solaris 12 solar charger ($260), which can charge most portable electronic devices within several hours. Useful if you find yourself out of batteries and far from an electrical outlet on a sunny day.
The Verdict: It's not clear what exactly makes this a holiday gift guide, besides the yawningly standard assortment of digital cameras.
Score: 1

Elle, December 2006
"Our biggest gift guide: 100+ ideas for him, for home, for you." Not the only magazine that pitches their guide to the giver as well the receiver. One for you, one for me …
For: Fashionistas with cash to burn and trends to follow.
The Approach: Overly high-concept and hard to navigate, with gifts arranged into categories by elements—fire, earth, air, and water—as well as subcategories ("Earthly Delights," etc.). Each section features a hodgepodge of clothing, accessories, decorative items, books, etc.
Holiday Folly: Swarovski-crystal embroidered dress, price upon request, by Chloé; Majolica antique bowl ($4,998), at Bergdorf Goodman.
Selling Point: For the new homeowner, black-and-white espresso cups with painted butterflies ($40) are delicately thoughtful; a gold-plated dragon cuff bracelet ($125) looks more substantial than its price.
The Verdict: This is a gift guide of beautiful objets—hand-painted ostrich eggs, anyone?—for the woman who has everything, several times over. The rest of us may get some inspiration but will likely find most gifts to be outside our price range.
Score: 4

Gourmet, December 2006
"Great Gifts for Cooks and Everyone Else"
For: Everyone from serious cooks to serial Williams-Sonoma browsers.
The Approach: Scattered, and doesn't live up to the cover hype. A page of gifts for cooks (cordless blender, stylish serving utensils) is followed 18 pages later by gifts for "tipplers" (mostly liquor gifts, like 32-year-old malt Scotch).
Holiday Folly: Dorothy Draper revolving bar ($7,974) from the Kindell Furniture Co.
Selling Point: Alessi "La Cintura" aluminum casserole ($149) is a more stylish alternative to ubiquitous All-Clad.
The Verdict: A well-curated collection for epicureans and those who love them—though labeling this a gift guide is a stretch. The upside: The layout is so luscious, it may encourage takeout habitués to return to the stove.
Score: 4

Consumer Reports, December 2006
"Best Gifts in 50+ Categories"
Target: Savvy, price- and value-conscious consumers who aren't swayed by labels or peer pressure.
The Approach: No-nonsense. For those unaccustomed to CR's approach, it can seem like information overload, especially because the main guide mostly lacks photos—items are clearly divided by category and then listed by name and price with no information about where to buy and no description. Extended sections on TVs, wine, mail-order food, food processors and choppers, and cordless drills get more in-depth.
Holiday Folly: Even the section on 50-inch plasma TVs (ranging from $2,500 to $5,500) makes them sound practical.
Selling Point: Oenophiles may find the wine section—"Values in reds and chardonnay"—simplistic, but for someone in need of a quick hostess gift, it's helpful, with wines recommended at several price points.
The Verdict: Though obviously exhaustively researched, CR's guide takes some of the fun out of holiday shopping. This is the gift guide for obsessives who have the time and energy to research their shopping to death, or people who already know they're getting Aunt Rose a blender for Christmas and just need to know which one to buy.
Score: 5