WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2015 www.thesheridanpress.com THE SHERIDAN PRESS C1

Just in the

Your last minuteholiday shopping guide

NickofTime

DECEMBER 17, 20155 p.m. to 8 p.m.

C2 THE SHERIDAN PRESS www.thesheridanpress.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2015

(wise) Men’sNight Out

offers lastminute

shoppingoptionsFROM STAFF REPORTS

SHERIDAN — (wise)Men’s Night Out will givemen in the Sheridan com-munity a chance to do somelast-minute shopping thisweek.

The event is coordinatedby the Historic DistrictPromotions Committee andwill take place Thursdayfrom 5-8 p.m.

Area businesses will offerMen’s Night Out specials. Inaddition, those shoppingThursday night can enter adrawing for a Collector’sSeries Ruger 10/22 Carbine50th anniversary edition —valued at $350 — courtesy ofBig Horn Trading.

Leading up to the (wise)Men’s Night Out shoppingevent, women are encour-aged to stop by participatingstores to sign the stores’wish lists.

For each wish list that awoman signs with gift ideas,she will be entered into adrawing for a 14-carat whitegold .24-carat diamond soli-taire pendant necklace cour-tesy of Kraft’s Fine Jewelry.

For a full list of participat-ing businesses, contact theDowntown SheridanAssociation at 672-8881.

JUSTIN SHEELY | THE SHERIDAN PRESS

Creating a picturesque downtown Cheryl Sinclair pushes a snow blower across Main Street Tuesday morning to clear the sidewalks in front of her businesses.

Easter SealsChristmas pageant

set for Thursday

FROM STAFF REPORTS

SHERIDAN — The Easter Seals Playerswill perform their annual Christmas pag-eant Thursday beginning at 6 p.m. at theBethesda Worship Center.

The delightful — and often spontaneous— Christmas show is free and open to thepublic.

For additional information, call 672-2816.

The Bethesda Worship Center is locat-ed at 5135 Coffeen Ave.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2015 www.thesheridanpress.com THE SHERIDAN PRESS C3

LOS ANGELES (AP) — DVDor Blu-ray box sets can begreat gifts for film fans, butthey're often a predictable,and let's face it, boring choice— unless they come with a lit-tle something extra, like aTony Stark tattoo or a “Backto the Future” flux capacitor.

Here's a look at some of thebest box sets of the season,and some outside-the-box giftideas for the movie lovers onyour list.

SUPERHERO CENTRAL:Get acquainted with theAvengers and Guardians ofthe Galaxy with Marvel's lat-est collector's set, “MarvelCinematic Universe: PhaseTwo,” which packs sevenfilms and nearly three hoursof bonus content inside a boxshaped like a Morag orb thatholds an infinity stone. Theset also includes the afore-mentioned Tony Stark tattooand other Marvel memorabil-ia ($199, www.amazon.com ).

BACK TO THE FUTURE,AGAIN: Go back to the futurewith this comprehensive col-lection of Doc Brown andMarty McFly's time-traveladventures in a year thatmarks the 30th anniversary ofthe original film. “Back to theFuture: The CompleteAdventures” includes allthree films, all 26 episodes ofthe animated series spin-off,two hours of new bonus mate-rial and a Visual Historybooklet. The set's specialpackaging features a light-upflux capacitor to help youwith your time travel plans.($89.89, www.amazon.com ).

IT'S JUST A FLESHWOUND: Celebrate the 40thanniversary of “MontyPython and the Holy Grail”with this limited-edition col-lection whose packaging fea-tures a working catapult andrubber farm animals tolaunch as needed. The setincludes outtakes and extend-

ed scenes, commentary byTerry Gilliam, Terry Jones,John Cleese, Eric Idle, andMichael Palin, and a 2015Q&A with the Pythons con-ducted by John Oliver ($29.99,www.amazon.com ).

DAZZLE THEM WITHBRILLIANCE: Take a masterclass in movie comedy withthe “W.C. Fields: ComedyEssentials Collection,” issuedin honor of Fields' 100thanniversary in film. The five-DVD set includes 18 films, fea-turing such stars as BobHope, Mae West, Bing Crosbyand more ($74.99, www.ama-zon.com ).

SPIRITED ANIMATION:“The Collected Works ofHayao Miyazaki” is anothermaster class in Blu-ray form.This Amazon exclusive com-prises all 11 of Miyazaki's fea-ture films, including theOscar-winning “SpiritedAway,” along with hours ofbonus features, a commemo-rative booklet and the 1972 TVpilot the famous animatordirected ($215,www.amazon.com ).

STAR WARS: Anything“Star Wars” is sure to be well-received as the anticipatedseventh installment hits the-aters next month. Go big withthe coveted BB-8 remote-con-trol droid ($149,www.sphero.com/BB8 ) orkeep things warm, fuzzy andaffordable with theChewbacca can cozy ($12.99,www.thinkgeek.com ).

POPULAR SNACKING:What goes with any filmtaste? Popcorn, of course!Butter and salt is the classic,but why not go for somethingdifferent, like Popped'sPinkadelic gourmet corn,with white chocolate, raspber-ry and pop rocks? Otherchoices include Dilly Pickle,Hot Stuff (cheddar andjalapeno) and Buffalo Ranch($5-$50).

Unique box sets and othercool gift ideas for film fans

Gift Guide: Kiddie tech beyond video games, tablets NEW YORK (AP) — What to get

a tech-savvy kid who's tired of thesame old tablets and video games?New toys this year range fromeasy-to-use sets for building cir-cuits to a talking dinosaur pow-ered by IBM's Watson artificial-intelligence system.

Most of these come from startupcompanies, yet they can be foundat major retailers or orderedonline. All are designed to fosterlearning and creativity.

___LITTLEBITS ($200 for Gadgets &

Gizmos set, ages 8 and up)Although circuit-building sets

have long been around, LittleBitstakes inventing and building elec-trical-powered devices to a newlevel. The brightly colored compo-nents connect together easily withmagnets, then attach to mountingboards like Legos.

It took me about 45 minutes tobuild a remote-controlled car. Theinstructions include color picturesof everything I needed to see. Ifound them easy to follow, andolder children should, too.Although I didn't get everythingright the first time, I had funchecking my circuits and solvingproblems. Kids will as well.

Other projects in my set includea wireless doorbell, motorized fanand rotating lamp.

One drawback: There aren'tenough parts to make multipleprojects. The kit has two mountingboards, and I needed both to buildmy car and remote control.Because the boards are needed formost of the projects, you have totake apart what you built to makesomething else.

To get around that, you'd need tobuy expansion packs with extraboards and parts.

___STIKBOT ($10 for a starter kit,

technically for ages 13 and upbecause of social-media restric-tions)

What makes this toy fun is itsmarriage of apps and social mediawith old-school stop-motion anima-tion, which stitches together stillpictures into a video. It harkensback to the "Gumby" cartoons ofdays gone by.

The starter kit comes with two

StikBots — small, flexible plasticfigures with suction cups forhands and feet — along with abasic tripod for your smartphone.

You download a free app and usethe StikBots and whatever else youhave around the house to createyour own stop-motion movie. Themovies can then be sharedthrough social media such asFacebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Zing Global Ltd., the companybehind StikBot, posts its favoriteson YouTube through "The StikBotShow" and gives out cash prizesfor the most creative. You can seesome of the best athttp://www.stikbot.toys/videos/ .

The creativity of StikBot fans istruly amazing. My 6-year-olddaughter can't stop watching andhas been begging to make her ownmovie.

___COGNITOYS DINO ($120, ages 5

and up)This small, plastic dinosaur from

New York-based startup ElementalPath has a voice reminiscent ofYoda from "Star Wars." The toyuses Watson's speech-recognitionand cognitive abilities to create aninteractive experience.

The Dino will engage in conser-vations with your child andremember personal details such ashis or her name and favorite color.With Watson's help, the toy willalso answer complicated questionssuch as "Why is the sky blue?" and"Where do babies come from?" in akid-appropriate way. It's not meantfor sharing with siblings, though,as Dino will keep track of just onechild's favorites.

The toy connects directly to yourWi-Fi home network, so no phoneor tablet is needed.

The Dino, which comes in threecolors, is sold only online andshould ship by the holidays.

___THE INCREDIBLE INTER-

GALACTIC JOURNEY HOME ($30,all ages)

Lost My Name, a London-basedstartup, uses satellite maps andother data to create customizedbooks that go well beyond similarproducts on the market.

The beautifully illustrated booktells the story of your child's jour-

ney home from outer space. Asyour child gets closer to home, thebook's pages display nearby land-marks and eventually a satellitemap showing your child's neigh-borhood and home.

Although my daughter alreadyhas books personalized with hername and friends, she got a kickout of seeing our home and neigh-borhood from space.

The books, available in sevenlanguages, are sold only online.

___TIGGLY ($30 per set, ages vary)Tiggly aims to make learning

fun by combining toy shapes andletters with apps for iPads orAndroid tablets.

For example, little sea creaturesin the Submarine app ask kids tocomplete words by placing therequired vowel letter on the tablet.Use the wrong letter, and a littlecrab character gives a disapprov-ing look, while the tablet makes a"boing!" sound. Words completedcorrectly are sucked up by a littlesubmarine.

The shapes and letters are softand easy for little hands to pick upand manipulate.

The set for the youngest kids,ages 2 to 5, focuses on shapes,while another teaches basic mathto kids ages 3 to 7. The mostadvanced teaches early readingskills to 4 to 8-year-olds.

Apps for the tablet feature a vari-ety of games. Most are free, whilea few cost $2 to $3.

C4 THE SHERIDAN PRESS www.thesheridanpress.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — Twisted cat poetry onlyCharles Bukowski could have come up withand life lessons from "Little Miss Overshare"are among the holiday season's more unusualbooks.

Six suggestions:___“The U.S. Supreme Court Decision on

Marriage Equality: As delivered by JusticeAnthony Kennedy.” The complete decisionclearing the way for same-sex marriage acrossthe United States in a nicely done hardcoveredition from Melville House Publishing, $14.95.A paperback version includes the dissents.

“On Cats,” by Charles Bukowski, edited byAbel Debritto. The rough-and-tumble writerdied in 1994. This anthology of his poems andshort prose honors the animals that touchedhis soul. Bukowski captures the spirit of hisown pet cats as fighters, hunters and sur-vivors, including photos of himself with hischarges. From Ecco, an imprint ofHarperCollins, $25.99.

“Hillary Rodham Clinton PresidentialPlayset,” illustrated by Caitlin Kuhwald.Choose a facial expression and pantsuit fromamong the presidential candidate's greatesthits, or pose Bill Clinton in his bathrobe withhis lawnmower on a foldout White House frontlawn. This truly quirky gift includes 10 paperdolls of the Clintons, bodyguards, favorite sup-porters Bono and Oprah and three sets in all.From Quirk Books, $14.95.

Little Miss and Mr. Me Me Me parody series,by Dan Zevin, illustrated by Dylan Klymenko.The iconic little children's books by RogerHargreaves featuring the goofy Little Miss andMr. Men characters have been teaching goodbehavior for 45 years. They've had a big 2015: Afeature film is in the works, Uniqlo came upwith a clothing line and now there's this twist-ed parody series featuring Mr. Humblebrag,Mr. Selfie, Little Miss Overshare and LittleMiss Basic. From Three Rivers Press. Eachbite-size paperback is $6.99.

“The Selous in Africa: A Long Way fromAnywhere,” by Rolf D. Baldus and Walter R.Jubber and Robert J. Ross. Lots of wild ani-mals eating other wild animals in this coffeetable book celebrating the Selous GameReserve in southern Tanzania, Africa's oldestand largest protected area. The Selous is aUNESCO World Heritage Site and one of thecontinent's largest and greatest undisturbedecosystems. From Officina Libraria/ACCDistribution, $65.

"Findings: An Illustrated Collection," byRafil Kroll-Zaidi, illustrated by GrahamRoumieu. From Harper's, this little volume isfull of gems from the back-page column of thesame name. Rude sales staff boost the desir-ability of luxury goods, for instance. Also, this:Service sizes in images of the Last Supperwere found to have grown by two-thirds overthe past millennium. From 12 Books, $20.

Give a memorablegift: 6 unusual gift

finds in books

Get caught shopping local, win bigFROM STAFF REPORTS

SHERIDAN — If you have a 2015Christmas Stroll button you could winsome money if you get caught shopping.

The Sheridan County Chamber ofCommerce will have Christmas Stroll

elves around town in participating busi-nesses looking for shoppers who coulduse some holiday cheer.

If you wear your stroll button and getcaught shopping on Saturday, you couldimmediately win $25, $50, $100 or $250 inChamber Bucks.

More than 109 businesses are partici-pating in the Christmas Stroll buttoncampaign.

For a full list of participating busi-nesses, see the Sheridan CountyChamber of Commerce website at sheri-danwyomingchamber.org.

Head to a 99-cent store

for goofy,stylin', branded

gifts

NEW YORK (AP) — Not looking tospend a bundle on holiday gifts? Head tothe nearest dollar store instead.

Such emporiums are alive with holidaytrimmings at the moment, but they'realso stuffed with goofy, stylin' and brand-ed gifts and stocking stuffers to pleaseeveryone. We headed to a Jack's World inManhattan and picked up 11 items withprice tags of $2.99 and under, for a grandtotal of $17.04.

___HIPSTER HATS: A blue-stripe Where's

Waldo knit style for the guys and abrimmed cap with bow in swirls of forestgreen, black and white for the gals.

COIN BANKS: Let the Monsters Inc.and SpongeBob SquarePants gangs help

teach toddlers the value of saving theirpennies with mini coin banks. These twoare stuffed with multicolored candycanes.

SALT AND PEPPER: Though we're notsure who's who, this condiment set istruly friendly. Its two arm-in-arm ceramicshakers are described thusly: "MeetGeorge. He's Claude's best mate and notafraid to show it."

CALENDAR: Dogs, cats, bunnies andgoats in get-ups for 2016 in a hanging cal-endar that declares: "Dear Human, NastyNotes from Dressed-Up Pets." The cover isChuckles the dog clown. August featuresa dachshund in bun and ketchup and thispersonal note: "Dear Human. Bite me.Love, Oscar M. Eyer."

COURTESY PHOTO |

Kim Schoenbaum, center, was caught shopping at Babe's Flowers, earlier this month and won $250 in Chamber Bucks. She shows off herwinnings with Sheridan Mayor John Heath, left, and Heidi Parker, right, of Babe's Flowers.