If you’re like me, you may have read this subject line and thought “Last minute?! I haven’t even started shopping yet!” But, to many people, this REALLY is last minute. And these are the last gift ideas we have for you for the holidays.

We look forward to continuing next year with our semi-monthly emails, highlighting all kinds of interesting Oakland stuff (not just our vendors) and more conscious shopping tips. Until then, we hope you enjoy these ideas. And remember that many of our vendors allow for local pickup, which means faster delivery and no shipping fees!

If you want to do offline shopping, don’t forget to check out our Oakland Shopping Guide for other local shopping ideas, including neighborhood events, and the gifty fair at The Crucible!

Happy Holidays from the gang at Oakland Unwrapped!

Know you want to get something super fun and original for a friend, family or co-worker, but not sure exactly what they want? You can’t go wrong with a gift card from Entrez! Open House. Your card recipient will be psyched to wander around this Oakland wonderland, finding gorgeous housewares, and clever accessories from brands like Alessi, Koziol, and Oakland’s Jenny Hurth. There are items that fit every budget, and the cards are available online in $20, $50, and $100 denominations.

Super cute accent pillows in a variety of colors from Industrielle, the hot urban chic boutique and gallery on Grand near Broadway. Pillows are by local designer Joom! Available for $35 on the Industrielle website.

Keep the little ones in your life cozy and warm with a cuddle blanket from Mariposa Baby! This pink one ($45) is so soft that many of my friends wish it came in adult size. And there are lots more to choose from on the Mariposa Baby website.

Give your Oakland-lovin’ girlfriend a yellow babydoll Tee that sports her pride and flatters her figure for $19. Lots of other Oakland tees and hoodies for men and women available on the Got Oakland? website.

One of our favorites, and a great gift for Oakland-lovers, this guide is perfect for people who want to travel sustainably, and those who love to explore the true soul of cities, not just the typical tourist spots. The first in the sustainable travel series by GrassRoutes Travel. Available for $16.95 on the Oakland Pride store and in lots of local stores around the city.

We announced Fwrap as one of our newest marketplace members last week, and we can’t let a holiday gift list go by without another mention of these clever eco-friendly gift wrap ideas. Save trees and time by tucking gifts into this beautiful fabric wrap instead of paper! Available on the Fwrap website!

This gorgeous asymmetrical Jade Branch necklace is just one of many playful and compelling original designs at Ear to Ear Jewelry. Each design is unique, made from a variety of materials including precious stones, antique and found charms, leather, silver, and more. Available for $75 on the Ear to Ear Jewelry website.

Last week, we introduced you to the newest member to our online marketplace - Akiba Design. This week, we thought you might want to give this incredible Spider Cuff Bracelet to someone special in your life. Available for $175 on the Akiba Design website.

WineSmarts makes learning about wine as much fun as it is to sip. This elegant game of question and answer cards is a great gift for novices and experts. Perfect complement to a bottle of Cabernet. Available for $10 on the Entrez! Open House website.

We still have a few left, so if you’re looking for a gift for the little Oakland cutie in your life, consider our own Oakland Cutie t-shirts. Available in 12-18 mos, 2T and 4T for $20 on the Oakland Pride store. All proceeds support Oakland Unwrapped’s community development efforts.

Want your environmental values to follow you on vacation? Local travel writer and entrepreneur Serena Bartlett, author of Oakland: the Soul of the City, will share tips on low-impact travel and ways to support the communities you visit.  Wed., December 12, 2007. 6 - 7:30 p.m. Oakland Public Library, Main Branch. 125 – 14th Street. 1st Floor. AMHL Reading Room.

 Sound familiar? We featured this fabulous Oakland company last year and are proud to announce that they have joined Oakland Unwrapped Marketplace.

Make your gift giving eco-conscious. Fwrap offers an alternative to buying gift wrap that your gift recipient just ends up throwing away. Instead, these clever and beautifully-designed wraps are meant to be re-used for other gifts and storage. These elegant wraps also make wrapping much easier - no more cutting and taping! They come in several sizes and colors and each one includes a gift tag. Also check out their book covers and notebook covers. Fwraps have been featured in SF Chronicle (yesterday!) and Oakland Magazine, and they are all the rage with Sierra Clubbers. Buy them online at fwraps.com.

Our latest addition to the Oakland Unwrapped! Marketplace is Akiba Design. Akiba’s collection of jewelry ranges from her own gorgeous Roots Ring design ($160), inspired by her grandmother, to custom name chains. A very fun gift item for men: custom cuff links made from your own coins! See her collection on our marketplace and at www.akibadesign.com Also check the collection out in the flesh this Friday at our gift fair (see below!).

If you’ve spent any time walking around in Oakland, chances are you’ve seen and coveted the classic Product of Oakland t-shirts. Cyrus Pishdad is the local graphic artist behind these shirts and we are happy to announce he has a whole line of fun Oakland-focused shirts on his new Got Oakland? site on our marketplace. We are really impressed with the quality of his work and goods (In fact, we had Cyrus print the Oakland Cutie T-shirts for Oakland Unwrapped!). His goods range from “I love Oakland” babydoll T-shirts to our personal favorite, the Oaktown Cranes Zipped Hoodie (An amazing deal at $30.50!). And if you need something special, Cyrus does custom printing and embroidery, too. Check ‘em out on the Got Oakland? website! Also see these t-shirts and hoodies in the flesh this Friday at our gift fair (see below!).

There’s an unbelievable amount of fun stuff planned for you and your kids at this year’s Montclair Village Holiday Stroll. Ice skating, REAL SNOW, wagon rides, crafts, singing, TAP DANCING TREES, cookies, wine, cheese, discounts and more! This is truly a winter wonderland! Thursday, Dec. 6. 6-9 pm - Montclair

Join us and NovoMetro at Esteban Sabar Gallery for a community holiday shopping party on Friday. In conjunction with the First Fridays Oakland Art Murmur, NovoMetro will be launching their new print magazine: Oakbook, and Oakland Unwrapped! vendors will be selling their products in the flesh!

Products include Oakland books and t-shirts, jewelry, cards, artwork, housewares, and more. So come on out, check out the art, pickup a NovoMetro OakBook, drink some Lost Canyon wine, and see some great Oakland-made goods! For more info about this event, check out the chatter on Yelp! This Friday, December 7 from 7-10 pm. Outside next to 480 23rd Street (at Telegraph Ave.)

Feed your soul while shopping local at the Dimond winter festival this Saturday. Spiritual leaders will share words and music to celebrate diversity. Enjoy choirs, pancake breakfasts, photos with Santa, and holiday crafts and gifts from local vendors. Suggested donation $5 or canned goods for the needy. 10 am - 3pm. Fruitvale Presbyterian Church. 2735 MacArthur Blvd. at Coolidge Ave.

This is the 22nd year for the Holiday, Kwanzaa & Christmas Gift show, presented by the African-American Business Exchange. Come celebrate family and community while finding unique gifts sold by African American and other vendors! $5 Admission. Dec. 8th and 9th. 11am - 8pm. Oakland Marriott Convention Center, 10th & Broadway. www.kwanzaagiftshow.com

This week’s online buy is from Industrielle, the newest addition to the Oakland Unwrapped! Marketplace. You may remember that we reviewed this ultracool urban boutique and gallery when it first opened just over a year ago. Now they’re online, and they are starting to add products to the site, like these super sexy Boy Shorts ($15) from Oakland designer Evo Noche. Check out the current exhibits, plus housewares, clothing fine art and more for sale online and in the store at 33 Grand Ave. (510) 271-0633. http://www.industriellegallery.com

…remember the huge impact you can have on our community, economy, and environment by shopping with Oakland’s local indie stores. Need to remind yourself why? Read here.

We’re doing our best to make it easy for you to get everything you need in Oakland, in the neighborhoods as well as online. So, here are a few quick ideas for easy local shopping:

1) Shop Online at Oakland Unwrapped! (obvious, we know). We’ve got jewelry, baby clothes, Oakland books and t-shirts, cute hats, and more. http://oaklandunwrapped.com

2) Shop in Oakland’s 40+ Neighborhoods. There are tons of new and classic gift stores, clothing boutiques, baby clothing stores, furniture and houseware stores, and more. Check out our newsletter archives for ideas and the Shop Oakland website to search by neighborhood, store type, and product.

3) Buy from Oakland Artists and Artisans - Check out the stores at ProArts Gallery, Oakland Museum of CA, as well as the Oakland Artisan Marketplace (Fridays and Sunday) and the Art Murmur galleries for inspiring ideas and much more fun than you’d have at a mall; Rock Paper Scissors, afterglow, Industrielle, and Blankspace Gallery all have affordable locally-made gifts.

4) Get Gift Certificates from Restaurants that serve locally-grown foods. Get ideas from the Community Alliance with Family Farmers and Edible East Bay magazine.

5) Attend Indie Shopping Fairs and Neighborhood Events - events are a festive way to eat, shop, and socialize at the same time. Start with the Pro Arts Gallery Artisan Faire this weekend. Fri. Nov 23- Sun. Nov 25, 12 - 6pm. 550 2nd St.

Feel good about your purchase when buying toys this holiday season. Komodo Toys in the Laurel District not only specializes in the coolest toys, gifts, & Japanese anime, they host youth tournaments and send care packages to troops overseas. They focus on developing business, communication, and life skills for the youth in the neighborhood and participate in countless neighborhood improvement programs. For this work, Komodo Toys received a Neighborhood Dynamo Award at the 2007 Oakland Indies Awards. Check them out at 4004 MacArthur, Oakland. 510-482-5921.

We are excited to report that the Franklin Square Wine Bar just opened in Downtown Oakland. The bar has a huge and varied selection of wines and cheeses, and they serve lunch, too! Jessica at OaklandGoods.com is a fan of the grilled artichoke and gruyere panini. Franklin Square is being managed by folks from Luka’s and is located just across the street. Yelpers are giving it good reviews, too. This is the perfect pit stop for those who will be shopping downtown at the boutiques and galleries this weekend, including Industrielle! 2212 Broadway, Downtown Oakland.

Oakland Unwrapped! seeks a bunch of fun Oakland-loving volunteers for the next month. We’re especially interested in those who want to help market Oakland’s indie businesses and artists to compete with the big chain stores this holiday season. We have many ideas, press contacts, list serves, and more — we just need some fun, passionate, creative people to execute! For more information, check out our listing on Volunteer Match here. If you would prefer to help out by donating to our cause (Remember, Oakland Unwrapped! is a non-profit), you can