There's nothing like kicking off the new year with the sight of neighbouring office workers carrying boxes of their belongings out onto the street. Oh sweet 2009. I imagine that for most of you the majority of the week was spent doing what you always do after the holidays – planning your next vacation. What better tonic to combat the January blues than some therapeutic daydreaming? Of course those daydreams are filled with you looking incredible in a seriously well-planned holiday wardrobe.

For the first time in London, I worked the period after Christmas leading up to the new year, and it was great. I like London, the ghost town. Unlike the manic vibe that usually fills the streets, this week the sidewalks gave me room to breathe. I could even appreciate the architecture of the buildings I walk blindly by every day, no longer distracted by the human congestion. At work, I saw another side of my co-workers, fashion-wise – a very casual side. Even those people that usually wear business dress (even on Fridays) were wearing sneakers.

It’s not even the middle of December and there are already a lot of “last minute gift guides” floating around, stirring everyone into a needless state of anxiety. Relax, there’s no need to panic. Everyone knows nothing ever gets done well without some time pressure. So, when you get around to it, here are a few suggestions. But, don’t worry, no rush...

Music lover 

For the person on your list with a large vinyl collection, give them a way to digitize their collection with the Numark TTUSB turntable with USB audio interface. $179.94 at Stevesmusic.com

Besides nutrition, exercise and vitamin D, what is the first thing to go when you’re working non-stop day through night? You know what I’m talking about. It’s something with which we’re all intimately familiar: The tortured tresses. The listless locks. The misunderstood mop. It’s worse than your worst bad hair day – it’s fee-earning hair.

When the long hours set in, one thing is certain: your once-stylish hairdo is going downhill, fast. Not only do you lack the time in the mornings to blow-dry, straighten, curl, and coiffe, but you don’t even have a spare minute to schedule that desperately-needed haircut. And you can’t just show up unannounced at your hair salon when you finally have a free moment on the weekend. This means one thing and one thing only: a paralyzed state of really, really bad hair.