$25-and-under gift #25: New Year's beauty kit

duane reade gifts We had lots of fab reader recommendations from our Facebook and Twitter pals for how to wrap up our 25-day gift list. The hard part: it had to be something you could go out and buy today. Summer suggested denture and hip-hop ice cube trays from the Minimini market on Bedford Avenue (open until 2 today, she said.) Cody had this idea: “Movie tickets! Our family’s coming from out of town and we’re treating them to a Xmas afternoon movie.” Good plan—and Stefanie agreed. Alexis came up with ice-skating in Prospect Park, while Lasonya advised us to offer an hour of cleaning. Thanks, but… no thanks. On Twitter, @shinyfoo suggested two tickets to the Prospect Park Zoo, @theskint said we should go skating, and @danno2530 volunteered a $20 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card. All good ideas, but we knew this had to be something that you could pull together quickly no matter where you live. Our stab at said gift:

A New Year’s Eve beauty kit assembled from over-the-top sparkly makeup from the nearest 99-cent shop/drugstore. These fake eyelashes, purple eye shadows, nail polishes, leopard-skin insoles and Demeter frozen margarita perfume add up to ever-so-slightly under $25 if you only get one polish. We found it all at Duane Reade at 296 Flatbush between Park and Prospect, which happens to be open today. If you’re shopping for a guy, consider a similarly inspired hangover-cure kit, a hardbody helper pack (Men’s Health mags, vitamins and energy bars), or punt by picking up a couple of DVDs and adding a couple of boxes of movie-theater snacks. DR has a decent selection of films for $5.99 and $9.99. Happy holidays!

duane reade gifts