The week before winter break is possibly the most wonderful time of the school-year. Unless a teacher identifies more with the Grinch, the last days at school are dedicated to the things teens actually care about: candy and presents. And, even though Whitman is 130 percent Jewish (or at least that’s what Wikipedia says), the Christmas spirit of giving spans all grades to make gift-giving at school a classic tradition.

Gifts are usually small or edible (because I have no idea what to buy guys for the holidays). But, it’s the thought that counts… most of the time.

“Thoughts” don’t count if they are the exact same thought that every single other person has had since middle school. Bath & Body Works (or any lotion-related project) is not a kind thought. In fact, if I get one more gift from that store my bathroom will literally explode.

Sure, I understand the reasoning behind the lame-o purchase. I have been guilty of the “I-have-no-idea-what-to-buy-this-person-so-I’ll-get-whatever-the-store-is-giving-away.” But at this point in life if you don’t know what your friends want, ask them.

Therefore, the winner of most over-used and abused gift goes to beauty products. Try to be original. Yes, the stereotypical girl spends hours primping for school in the morning with lotions, eight different hair products and a dozen layers of makeup. But this is Whitman; we don’t have time for such nonsense.

So, instead of buying gifts for every one of your friends, start a Secret Santa or Mysterious Moses (for all y’all Jews out there) system. This gift-giving system reduces the money and time you have to spend and makes the exchange more fun by adding an element of surprise and mystery. When there is only one person to shop for, laziness and even, my personal favorite, procrastination aren’t legitimate excuses for a crappy gift.

In general, the golden rule for in-school gift giving is that the more personalized gift is more appreciated by the recipient. Last year, my ingenious friend bought me a Michael Phelps calendar (I used to be in love with him—don’t judge). While I appreciated the other gifts I received, I jumped up from my seat and screamed upon unwrapping Phelps’ beautiful body from the wrapping paper.

The winner of “best gift idea ever” goes to all those who can personalize a gift to the point at which the recipient’s mom buys him/her the same gift and the exchange continues to be discussed into the next year. Yes, that very same Hanukah night my mom walked into the living room with an identical calendar for me. Both will continue to adorn my walls until we hit 2010.

But, I don’t want to hear “I’m broke,” “I don’t have time,” “That takes too much effort” or any other whiney excuse that sounds more like an overly hormonal student from Pyle than the mature high school student with a complex social life from Whitman.

Even President Obama has time to buy his family presents (he told Oprah in an interview that he gives better gifts than he receives), and he’s the leader of the free world. If you want to compare your homework load to having the weight of the U.S. on your shoulders, be my guest.

So don’t be a scrooge and do something nice for your friends. The facebook bumper stickers that apologize for “only talking about the boy you like all the time” or “being generally crazy” aren’t the only way to show how appreciative you are to have such good friends. Give ‘em some real gifts; they put up with you the rest of the year and deserve some reward.