The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Here at Secrets of the City and MNSpeak, we thrive on the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. We love to feast and be merry with our friends and families...and to exchange cool presents, which is often easier in theory than in practice - especially with all that merriment. But gifts happen, so we prepare! Think of this guide as your brainstorming jump-start: gift ideas, tips for fun shopping efficiencies (oh yeah), and thoughts on how to make your holiday season sparkle in a creative and original way.

America's shoppers, determined to single-handedly drag the U.S. economy forth from its dark and lonely apartment before it's found, wrists slit, in a warm bath with a hastily scrawled suicide note containing shitty poetry, had a field day on Black Friday.