T o some, the holidays bring to mind chestnuts, elves, dreidels, and animatronic babies dancing gaily through the snow. To others, they mean nightmare shopping, empty wallets, and spending exorbitant amounts of time and money shopping for people you only marginally care for. That's why the Mercury's Gift Guide is essential to finding the perfect present for the hard-to-please, from your distant survivalist cousin... to your distant workaholic husband!

By Katie Shimer, Julianne Shepherd, Justin Sanders, Phil Busse, Marjorie Skinner, Wm. Steven Humphrey, Joan Hiller, David Morgan, Kudzai Mudede, John Dooley, Lance Chess, and Aaron Beam