V I MMAGAZ INE

HolidaySupplement

Table of Contents

Fashion & StyleWinter 2011 Preview 10

VIM Picks 13

Features10 Things to do During

Winter Break 3How to Dodge Those Awkward Family

Moments 5

Entertainment & MoreHoliday Gift Guide 6

December Ent. 7

Holiday Ent. Special 8

VIM Picks 13

Page 10

THINGS TO-DO

1

After indulging in feasts and goodies over the holiday, rejuvenate your body! Snowboarding and Skiing are both great work-outs, and ton of fun!

Go snowboardingor skiing 2

Bring back the simple life, when a snow day meant going sledding and not catching up on overdo homework.

Sledding

3

Take a day to bond with your family. Make those delicious warm chocolate chip cookies or a spiced pumpkin pie. Get creative and make sugar cookies with assorted cookie cutters. Who knew a day in the kitchen could be this fun!

Make a fav family recipe 4

It’s that time of a year again where prices are low and sales are high. Take a day and get that last minute holiday shopping in, and hurry up before it’s all sold out!

Go shopping

5

Whether it’s singing along in the living room with your family or out on the streets, everyone loves good Christmas cheer (unless you’re Scrooge) so join in the festivities and sing along with the music of the holidays.

Go Christmas caroling

10101010

DURINGWINTER BREAK

5

6

Go see your cous-ins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and all the relatives you are unable to see during the busy school year. It’s always nice to catch up, and receive those extra gifts!

Visit relatives

7

Good food, great friends, and crazy families. The holi-days are the perfect time to catch up and spend time with those who are most important to you! If you are the one doing the hosting, don’t stress too much, because the outcome will always be memorable.

Have a holiday party

8

Start a fire, amp up the Christmas lights, and grab your favorite snuggie. Sipping cocoa by the fire has always been a holiday cliché, now it is your time to take that opportunity and relax.

Pour some hot cocoa and relax

9

Going home for the holidays allows us to reconnect with some old friends, whether they were from High School, or that neighbor you’ve always had your eye on.

Catch up with old friends

10

Watch some of your favorite Christ-mas movies, such as Home Alone, A Christmas Story, or How the Grinch Stole Christmas. These classics make for a good laugh and are sure to put you in the Christmas spirit!

Watch a Christmas movie

--Sarah Shefferly, Freshman

HOW TO

Nothing says “it’s the holidays” like home cooked meals, fresh snow on the ground, gift giving and, of course, awkward family con-versations. It’s the perfect setting: relatives from every branch of the family tree together for the occasion, ready to hear the latest gos-sip. Of all the people crowded around the table, you can be sure that college students are the first to receive the third degree. From classes to relationships to campus parties, no topic is off limits for those nosy relatives. How do you combat the assault of ques-tions? The answer is simple: Be prepared.

No matter who’s grilling you (aunt, uncle, grandparent, brother-/sister-in-law), re-member that nothing they say has to turn into awkwardness. There is always a way to deflect prying questions and fix the situa-tion. So relax, stuff yourself with homemade apple crisp and be merry!—KATHRYN WATTS

is a favorite, and somewhat predictable, starter. Whether you’re shy about sharing good/bad grades or have just bombed a final, muster up the courage to tell your relative, “They were excellent and I really enjoyed them. I feel like I got a lot out of each one.” This implies that you did really well even if you didn’t. People tend to get better grades when they enjoy classes, so stating how interesting yours were may trick relatives into thinking you did well, regardless of the truth. This ought to both satisfy and silence them for the time being.

is an inevitably awkward question. Remember, the most important thing is to keep a straight face. Simply smile and say, “I’ve met a lot of really nice people so far. I promised myself I wouldn’t jump into a relationship without knowing the person first and I’m sticking to it.” No reasonable relative can argue with that or try to convince you to date someone you don’t know well; they understand not settling for the first person you meet.

This question is the one likely to come from a younger relative, someone you thought would be a safe “friend” add. If the person referenced truly is a mere friend, say so. But if it’s the per-son you’ve hooked up with for the past few week-ends—in a row—you’re better off not elaborating; tell your family that he/she is someone you often go out with on weekends. If they press for details, be ready with a mild, appropriate story about a fun time you had together, thus taking their minds off the idea that you’re more than friends.

While a major etiquette no-no, asking about religion is always a possibility. If the answer is no, but you anticipate stirring up trouble, there are two options: lie or distract them with a story about a recent spiritual experience. If you elaborate enough in the antidote, they might forget what the question was (or at least avoid asking again). If neither is foreseeable, a final option is to be firm in telling your relative that you don’t feel comfortable discussing religion.

This is a potentially sly way of asking “do you go out and party every weekend?” or “do you drink?” Relatives who ask this are looking to stir up trouble. Your best bet here is to tell them the bare mini-mum. Respond with “I think MSU can be a party school, but only if you make it that.” Even if you do party every weekend, or every day, try elaborat-ing on the different ways of spending your time, whether it’s free bowling Thursdays (at the MSU Union) or various University Activities Board events. This response gives relatives the picture of a campus that’s not straight out of Animal House.

How did your classes go this semester?

So are you seeing (dating) anyone?

Who’s that guy/girl I always see in your Facebook profile pictures? Have you been to church/temple/mosque since you’ve been at MSU?

I heard MSU is ranked as one of the top 20 party schools in the U.S. Is that true?

Photo courtesy of AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com.

Dodge Those Awkward Family Holiday Moments

As the joys of the holiday season fill our hearts, our wallets seem to drain. Although the holidays are a time to celebrate life, love and family, there is one question that is always on our minds... What do I get for them? This gift-giving season, remember your loved one’s interests and personalities. Give a cheerful expression of the love you share for one another!

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

— Alyssa Wisenbaugh

Antique Globe, target.com, $89.99

The Wanderer

The Chef

The Rocker

The Stylish One

The Geek

Stationary Kit, dempseyandcaroll.com, $60.00 (set of 10)

The Geometry of Pasta, fredflare.com, $25.95 Peace of Cake Mold,

perpetualkid.com, $22.99

The Birth of Modern Luxury, louisvuitton.com, $130

Mulberry Small Zip Around Wallet, mulberry.com, $250

iPad, apple.com, $499

Twelve South Bookarc, amazon.com, $49.99

Retro Block iPod Speaker, fredflare.com, $25

Kross Pro AA Stereophones, urbanoutfitters.com, $100

ENTERTAINMENTDecember Movies

Blue ValentineIn Theaters Dec. 31

Notable Cast Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams

How Do You Know In Theaters Dec. 17

Notable Cast Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Jack Nicholson, Owen

Wilson

All Good ThingsIn Theaters Dec. 3

Notable Cast Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst

The TouristIn Theaters Dec. 10Notable Cast Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany, Rufus Sewell

Little FockersIn Theaters Dec. 22Notable Cast Ben Stiller, Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, Jessica Alba

Daft Punk: Tron Legacy (OST) Plain White T’s: Wonders of the Younger

December Albums

T.I.: No MercyCiara: Basic Instinct

Black SwanIn Theaters Dec. 3

Notable Cast Ryan Gosling, Mi-chelle Williams, Winona Ryder

Michael Jackson: Michael Diddy: Last Train to Paris

I Love You Phillip Morris In Theaters Dec. 3

Notable Cast Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann

ENTERTAINMENT

Top 10 Holiday Movies

It’s A Wonderful Life

Elf

White Christmas

Dr Suess’ How the Grinch Stole

Christmas

A Christmas Story

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Home Alone Frosty the Snowman

A Muppet Christmas Carol

National Lampoon’s Christmas

Vacation

1 2 3

4 6

8

10

5

7 9

HOLIDAY

Friends: The One With the Holiday Armadillo

The O.C.: The Best Chrismukkah Ever

How I Met Your Mother: How Lily Stole Christmas

Season 7

Season 1

Season 2

Boy Meets World: A Very Topanga ChristmasSeason 5

Saved by the Bell: Home for Christmas-Parts 1 & 2Season 3

Community: Abed’s Uncontrollable ChristmasSeason 2

Favorite Holiday Albums

98 Degrees: This Christmas The O.C.: Have a Very Merry

Chrismukkah

A Very Special Christmas 2 Michael Buble: Let it Snow!

Mariah Carey: Merry

Christmas

Taylor Swift: The Holiday

CollectionChristina Aguilera: My Kind of

Christmas

Trans-Siberian Orchestra:

Christmas Eve and Other Stories

Glee the Music: The Christmas

Album

Harry Connick Jr.: When My

Heart Finds Christmas

Jackson 5: Ultimate Christmas

Collection

Music From the Major Motion

Picture Elf

Sounds of the Season: The

NBC Holiday Collection

Greatest Holiday Television Episodes

This year, NBC’s Community did an entire episode using stop-motion animation (simi-lar to the classic flick Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) to high-larious proportions. If you didn’t tune in, check out the episode online at the show’s Hulu page or on NBC’s website.

Let’s face it, season one of The O.C. may be deemed the greatest debut season in television history--at least to our generation. This particular episode is practical-ly the reason for the show’s brilliance as it introduced us to Seth’s “holiday” Chrismukkah. Fabulous!

Oh dear, where to even begin when it comes to Saved by the Bell. We can’t help but be drawn to the TBS re-runs of this awkwardly fabulous television show. Fortunately, we can relive it often and have cho-sen to select this two-part Christmas special, when the gang takes in and helps out a homeless father-daughter duo, as one of the greatest. Oh, the ‘90s.

Though there are many fabulous Friends holiday-themed episodes, we have chosen this as our favorite for the season because of the “Easter Bunny’s fu-neral,” a.k.a. the hilarious costumes. We would, how-ever, like to give an honorable mention to The One With the Girl From Poughkeepsie from season four.

Mr. Feeny turns into Corey’s guardian angel and shows him what life would be like without Topanga in this twist on the classic It’s a Wonderful Life.

Lily finds out Ted called her a nasty name while she and Marshall were broken up and decides to “steal” Christmas from the boys’ apartment un-til he apologizes. HIMYM never fails to crack us up and we love their take on the Grinch.

Gilmore Girls: Santa’s Secret StuffSeason 7

In this Christmas-after-Christmas episode, Lorelai postpones the holiday in Stars Hollow due to Rory’s overseas status. Upon the prodigal daughter’s return, we get to learn (for the first time) just how the Gilmore’s celebrate this time of the year. Tip: It’s quite funny.

Glee: A Very Glee ChristmasSeason 2

Glee has quickly become the ultimate cultural phe-nomenon and this year’s Christmas episode is one of the greatest we have seen. Not only is the music fabulous (and wonderfully obscure for Christ-mas tunes) but the story brilliant and touching.

Winter FashionPreview

Pictured modeling is MSU student Lindsay Sevic. All photography was shot by Shelby Rodriguez. Jeanologie XX/XY Boutique is located at 303 M.A.C. Avenue in East Lansing.

On model: Beaded Dress, Jeanologie XX/XY Boutique; Solid Sheer Tights, $4.50, Forever21.com; Shoes and A c c e s s o r i e s , Stylist’s own.

This new lip color from Lipstick Queen has the fashion world abuzz. Designed es-pecially to complement the blue of denim, this pink shade goes perfect with that ev-eryday look. What’s even better is that Jean Queen is not only available in a tube but gloss as well. You can find Lipstick Queen products at Lori Karbal in Birmingham, Mich. or online at lipstickqueen.com.

Tube and Gloss, $18 ea.

VIMP i ck sLipstick Queen Jean Queen

Miley & Max Jersey Loop Scarf

Urban Outfitters Fortune Camera

Ever wonder what could make your next photo album more interesting? This new disposable camera operates under the same premise as a fortune cookie. When the pictures are devel-oped, fortunes appear on each one.

Urbanoutfitters.com, $12

The loop scarf is one of our favorite fall trends and this one from Miley Cryus & Max Azria is super affordable.

Walmart, $8

Bobbles WaterBobble

Documentary Winnebago Man

Be prepared to laugh out loud when you order this gem of a flick that Mi-chael Moore hails, “One of the funniest docu-mentaries ever made!”

Amazon.com, $28

Bobbles are unique ergo-nomically shaped water bottles with built in car-bon filters. Not to men-tion, they come in a va-riety of bright colors.

American Apparel, $12