Shopping is one of the best parts of the holiday season.

And although it can be the most… Shopping is one of the best parts of the holiday season.

And although it can be the most stressful and expensive part, we all know that we have to buy gifts for our dear family and friends. This makes shopping in December not only an important but also an imperative activity.

Shopping for the holidays isn’t just some dreaded, stressful task – it can prove to be quite a memorable part of Christmas. Picture cold, frosty nights, luminous ambience shining from storefronts and mysterious darkness warmed by strings of white Christmas lights in the background. It fits in with the old-fashioned holiday yuletide motif, an indispensable element of the season, like eggnog and Christmas logs.

Indeed, gift searching can be enjoyable, if you know where to shop. Many college students choose a traditional mall, which is sure to offer good deals and easy finds. Any regular, suburbanite mall can offer lots of opportunities for one to plough through that list in preparation for the big day.

The indoor, chill-free, food-court environment is comfortable and sure to please. Students have a few options in Pittsburgh: Ross-Park Mall, the Mall at Robinson and Monroeville Mall, all in close proximity.

However, for a true shopping experience, Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods offer a unique atmosphere and selection that escape the uniformity of malls and department stores. These special shopping districts are easily accessible to Oakland students, as they are easy to get to and closer than the malls.

Pittsburgh’s South Side may be the first stop of your holiday shopping, yuletide tradition. South Side Works spruces its shops and streets, adding pleasant decor and tasteful ambience. South Side Works is a great place to take a date, with its holiday hotspot status and South Side’s restaurants and bars.

For your seasonal shopping quests, there are stores with modern vibes, such as The Sharper Image. To slide into sleek gear, check out the walls of shoes and mounds of accessories at the Puma store. Urban Outfitters is a college student favorite, BCBG Maxazria is a girl’s castle in the sky and H’M is sure to have some cute attire at nice prices. There’s also a mammoth bookstore and a few coffee shops mixed in with the shopping.

Another favorite is the Waterfront in Homestead, which is also easy for Pitt students to get to. The Waterfront has a lot of the popular stores you’d find in malls, such as an Abercrombie ‘ Fitch, Gap and Hollister, which are set in an outdoor, town-square-like arrangement.

This makes for a nice place to get some good shopping done. Another added feature of the Waterfront is the big discount stores, including Filene’s Basement, T.J. Maxx and DSW. These stores specialize in marking down designer apparel. There’s also an Old Navy for those looking for winter style on a budget. As an added bonus to college students, there’s a Target and a Giant Eagle to pick up some virgin eggnog.

If either the South Side or the Waterfront fails to satisfy a picky shopper, Shadyside’s Walnut Street will offer sweet relief, serving as Pittsburgh’s showcase of couture shopping and style. Especially on weekends, Walnut Street is filled with people, and most of them wear scarves. For holiday indulgence, there is a Coach store, a Banana Republic, Sephora, small boutiques for men and women and an Apple store.

To take a break from pretending to have money, there’s the innovative and trendy Coffee-Tree Roasters and a few chic and fashionable restaurants that are great for lunch.

At Christmas time, shopping is a great way to take a break from or relax after finals, and embrace the holiday season with the material things that make Christmas Christmas.

Curious what’s on Derek’s holiday wish list this year? E-mail him at [email protected] to find out.