A Roomful of Surprises: What Gifts Can You Find in Your Room?

It's giving season. How can you give on a budget?

By Mariana Schuetze

New year, new me, right?

Before the new year comes around, I thought I'd get rid of some clutter in my room. In doing that, and with my Christmas shopping list in mind, I ended up finding some iconic things I might just give some friends in this giving season.

Tote bag

I bet all my left hand you also have at least a handful of tote bags hanging around your room right now. Slightly-loved tote bags, after some well-deserved washing, will make for a great gift to a friend or loved one. They can also be the packaging of another gift but with a little extra touch of you and extra help for the environment.

Green snake-patterned tote bag, with black handles, hanging on a white wall.

I bought this tote bag when I first went to New York in 2016. It was very helpful back then, and I've used it a bunch since. Now, it will serve as a great gift bag for my friend. (Mariana Schuetze/CanCulture)

Journal

An empty journal is another classic staple in my room. I counted at least five when doing this year's decluttering. You can even fill them up with some little notes, pictures and lovely memories, making it a great, personal gift.

Purple journal on a white background. The cover of the journal says: "I was born to be wild. But only until 9pm or so."

This one is actually a re-gift (another classic, am I right?). I got this from my mom last year, it was an extra journal she got as a work gift, I believe, and I have never used it. Therefore, it's ready to be handed to someone who will love it better (maybe back to my mom, hoping she won't notice?) (Mariana Schuetze/CanCulture)

Friendship bracelets

Friendship bracelets are all the rage lately, and I believe they’re a really cute gift, especially when they’re made with the person in mind. This wasn't the case for these ones, to be honest; these are testers from my do-it-yourself bracelet kit, but I still love them. In a lovely case, and maybe with a handwritten note and some chocolate, this can be a perfect gift.

Two hand-made bracelets on a white background. They are both made with plastic beads. The bracelet on the left has beads with the colours: yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and green. The one on the right has the colours pink, purple and blue.

Fun fact: these two bracelets are supposed to represent the LGBTQAI+ and bisexual flags. The one on the left has similar colours to the Pride flag, and the right one is the bisexual flag (Mariana Schuetze/CanCulture)

Fun glasses

Help your friend see the beauty of a last-minute gift through sparkly-coloured glasses! These ones are from a 2022 Elton John concert. They are fun-shaped, and they light up with the push of a button. In all, a really fun gift and perfect for a costume party or for when your friend wants to put on a stadium tour performance in their room.

Blue start-shaped glasses in a white desk

These glasses also present a fun exciting packaging challenge, and the options are endless: do I wrap it up? Put it in a bag and tie it with a bow? Maybe put it in a box? (Mariana Schuetze/CanCulture)

Glee DVD

I have to admit, I had a Glee phase–some might say I'm still in it– and for some reason, I decided to ship a season four Glee DVD all the way from the United States to Brazil to be able to watch and rewatch this season (why season four, though?) anytime I wanted. I don't care about Glee that much now, and it's all available on streaming, so I think I'm ready to part ways with it.

Glee season four DVD

Season four's "Guilty Pleasure" used to be my favourite Glee episode, and after rewatching it recently, I’m starting to reconsider all my opinions — what a random episode (Mariana Schuetze/CanCulture)

Well, I hope after this journey through some hidden treasures in my room, I've given you some ideas on how to turn clutter into love.

Concert Not-iquette: A helpful guide for your next concert

Have you experienced the epic highs and lows of concert etiquette yet?

By Vihaan Bhatnagar

It’s November 2024. You’ve never been to a concert before, but when Taylor Swift announced that she was going to be performing in Toronto, you knew that you had to go. I know what you’re thinking: How do I know what I’m supposed to do and what I’m not? There are thousands of people here, how do I avoid being that one person that they all go home and sneer about?

Well, fear not my dear Swiftie. Because you can find everything you need right here. Here’s a list of everything that you should definitely do. These tips are going to help you beyond the Eras Tour, and you should keep them close for the rest of your life (or at least your 40s, which will probably be the last time you go to a concert).

Record the entire thing

I think the big question here is; why wouldn't you record the entire concert on your phone? Do you really think people don’t watch the videos of concerts they take? It’s the same way with baseball games and fireworks. Lord knows I always watch every video of these events at least 500 times before I inevitably forget and it falls down into the never-ending abyss that some call the cloud to be forgotten forever.

Make sure to hold your phone as high as you can and for as long as you can. Sure, your arm may hurt after a while. Sure, it might block the view of everyone behind you. But what’s truly important is to have physical proof so you can tell your 150 followers on Instagram that you spent $2000 on a ticket instead of paying half your rent, and then proceeded to be on your phone and watch it through a relatively tiny screen the entire time.

Whoever said “live in the moment” obviously never used an iPhone.

Sing along as loud as you can

Not just loud enough that only you can hear it and so it feels like you and Taylor have transcended all physical boundaries and become one with each other. Sing so loud that by the time you’re out of the venue, your throat hurts and your diet for the next few days needs to be of warm oatmeal and honey tea.

You don’t need to have sold millions of records, or even a singular record, to be allowed to screech at the top of your lungs and drown out the $13 million AV system at Rogers Centre.

You’re not just there to just watch and listen to the concert. The concert is there to listen to you. Each person who paid the price, however overpriced Ticketmaster may have made it, knew what they were getting into when they went into credit card debt.

Dance like your life depends on it

Because someday, it might. Remember not to wear elbow pads so everyone around you can feel the sting of your dancing. It needs to be clear that you’re the biggest and baddest fan there, and if you have to step on a few toes and break a couple of noses, well, that’s just the price of greatness, isn’t it?

I mean, it’s basically physical proof for them to remember the one true legend that they were in the presence of, who danced like there was no tomorrow.

Push everyone around looking for a better spot

It’s very possible and likely even that you’re going to end up in a spot that just isn’t the best. If that happens, you’re well within your rights to push and fight so you can find a better spot, even if it takes half the concert.

It shouldn’t matter that you’re making everyone uncomfortable and their experience unpleasant. You must fight everyone in attendance in a battle royale so you can find a spot that is going to end up never living up to your expectations.

Throw stuff at the stage

Try your best to bring objects just to throw at the performer so they remember you. Stuff like t-shirts, bras, leis, a pigeon, or your grandma’s ashes.

Earlier this year, P!nk was given an enormous wheel of cheese at a concert, followed by a fan’s mother’s ashes. She was clearly delighted by the cheese, less so by the ashes. But it’s the thought that counts. It might be different for every performer, but that’s a risk you’ll have to take. If you really want to commit, you can tailor your gift to the artist, and you could even spend between 12-20 hours creating a replica of Taylor Swift’s dress from The Eras Tour movie and throw it at her if you can get close enough to the stage. You never know; some people might appreciate having something chucked at them at point-blank range by a random person.

Why would anyone not want to get stuff thrown at them and be given random things that mean nothing to them? It’s not like they would want to just sing and have fun. Why would they want to just be doing their job of entertaining in peace?

There’s an entire list of things acceptable to throw on stage somewhere. I can’t remember where, but I’m sure it includes roses, phones, your wallet, hotel keys, a frisbee, a ship in a bottle, a wax statue of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and the Declaration of Independence.

All of these tips will be so helpful to you for your first concert ever, and for all the shows you attend after, for the rest of your life. These might be the best and most serious set of a definite guide of what to do at concerts you’ve ever seen.

This advice is so everlasting, it could be passed down to your children and to their children like an old family recipe. So make sure you definitely do all of this to ensure you and everyone around you have the most memorable concert of their life.

Reminder: CanCulture actually doesn't want you to do any of this. Please remember concerts are a shared collective experience. This is a satirical piece and we hope you've enjoyed it.

Ticketmaster: the survival of the fittest

Avid fans dive into the all-too-real highs and lows of scoring event tickets

By: Atiya Malik

Two white figures are face to face with their arms up in a ready-to-fight stance over a blue background with tickets

Rising tensions during ticket sales have fans on edge (Nalyn Tindall/CanCulture)

From outrageous fees that seem to multiply with every click, to the battle against scalpers and bots, the path to securing coveted event tickets can be a hair-pulling journey. 

If you have shown any interest in attending an event, you may have encountered the undeniable struggles that come with using Ticketmaster. The entertainment site where fans can buy verified tickets for concerts, sports, theatre and more, is both a blessing and a curse. But most importantly, not for the faint of heart.

Act I: The (sort of) Calm Before the Storm

The process of securing event tickets can be broken down into three crucial stages. The first is pre-sale, a limited time period where fans can register to receive a unique code that will then give them access to participate in ticket sales before it is opened to the general public. This means there are generally fewer people competing for tickets and often lower prices. However, not everyone who signs up is guaranteed to receive a code. According to fans, preparations begin days and even weeks before the day tickets are actually available. Pre-sale quite literally requires a game plan. 

“When I buy tickets for concerts, I think of it strategically. I don't base it off of luck. I'm gonna go in at a certain time, and I'm going to do this at a certain time. I know what it takes. I have to plan ahead to get the seats I want, and that includes using backup accounts,” said Nanthana Balachandran, an avid concert enthusiast and first-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University. 

Fans emphasize that even after signing up for pre-sale with multiple accounts and taking the necessary steps in hopes of getting those beautiful and shiny tickets, nothing is guaranteed. 

Balachandran tried to get pre-sale tickets for the highly anticipated Taylor Swift Eras Tour in Toronto but was one of the millions of unsuccessful fans. According to iHeartRadio, an estimated 31 million people signed up for The Eras Tour tickets in Toronto. That is nearly as many people as Canada’s total population of 38 million. To top it all off, according to The Globe and Mail, fans only really had a one in 400 chance of getting that prized email.

So, if you didn't get that code, odds are your friends didn’t either. Unless you know about 400 people.

Act II: The Heart-Pounding Moment of Truth

If you missed out on pre-sale, rest assured because you might still be able to scoop up some tickets on the official release day. However, whether it's through pre-sale or on release day, the emotions experienced during this process can be similar and rather dystopian. 

Once the countdown to ticket sales begins, panic sets in, and you ponder the profound questions of the universe: Am I going to make it? How many people are ahead of me? Do I have to solve a puzzle to prove I'm human? 

When attempting to secure tickets for Olivia Rodrigo, “I was waiting for ages in the queue, and I suddenly got in, but there were literally no tickets available except for nosebleeds reaching closer to $1000,” said Laleh Haidary, an experienced Ticketmaster user and third-year student at the University of Toronto. “So I'm here refreshing and refreshing, nothing's working, my brother's playing Drivers License in the back to taunt me, it was so upsetting. But I kept on refreshing and somehow one ticket popped up that was around $500 and I was able to get it!” 

Instead of worrying about other fans getting tickets before you, the real opponents on Ticketmaster are bots and scalpers.

Bots run through automatic software programs that are able to purchase large amounts of tickets in only seconds. This leaves true fans in a heart-pounding race against robots. Scalpers, on the other hand, are individuals or groups who also buy large amounts of tickets at rapid speeds. Both then resell these tickets at extremely inflated prices.

“It’s horrible! There's so many people out there that want to see their favourite artists and are willing to pay the money, but they literally can't because there's others benefiting and profiting off of it,” said Haidary.

““So I’m here refreshing and refreshing, nothing’s working, my brother’s playing Drivers License in the back to taunt me, it was so upsetting. ”
— Laleh Haidary

With tickets vanishing and time ticking, it's truly a race against the clock. 

Act III: Mind Over Matter

With sweat beads rolling down your face, hands shaking, and eyes strained from staring at the loading circle on your screen, the Squid Games are now over. You have proven your adversity to withstand this Hollywood thriller-like process, even if it left you with scars and no ticket in hand.

“Convince yourself into thinking that even if you don't get tickets, it's not a big deal because you have a lot of other opportunities. It's not a make or break,” said Haidary. In other words, don't beat yourself up about it and focus on the future. 

Balachandran emphasizes that if you’re buying tickets, plan ahead and know your audience to anticipate how intense it might be and prepare for surprises. 

Though some surprises are unavoidable, such as bots, scalpers, or the never-ending puzzles identifying traffic lights, cars and other various mechanical objects, optimism is key to take you through this process… or delusion. Just remember you're never alone during this Shakespearean journey. 

And to all those who await future ticket sales, may the odds be ever in your favour.