Holiday Gifts for Your Struggling Actor

Yay! Black Friday is coming and it's time to go shopping! Hooray!
But oh, what DO you give the struggling actor on your Holiday list? Well, here's some ideas:

When I graduated college, my Aunt (also married to an actor) bought me a beautiful horseshoe necklace for good luck for my auditions. Anything good luck related is fun. Horseshoes, wishbones, four leaf clovers, anything! It's a sweet thought. But take a look at this! Gold crutches! To always remind your actor to break his/her leg!

So cute!

Some of your actor buddies probably already have a smart phone. Lucky them! An iPhone or iPod Touch is a great tool for an actor to have because they can upload their headshots and reels to their smart device and always have their work with them to show off to potential employers, agents, managers, etc. etc. Plus, having googlemaps on their phone to help them GET to their auditions is also extremely helpful.

Every actress's face is a canvas! Help her get the looks she wants by going to Sephora and getting her a gift card. Yay! Makeup!




Now help her take it off with Albolene! This is my favorite makeup remover because I don't have to use water and mess up my sink and shirt. I'm messy so I love this because I smooth it on and tissue off! That's it! I bought mine at Cinema Secrets in Toluca Lake, but you can also buy it at pretty much any drugstore, like Long's, Wal-greens, CVS, etc. And it will last her several years.

Your beloved actor is going from audition to audition and sure needs help buying gasoline! How about a prepaid gas card? My dad, instead of commemorating my college degree in pretend with a watch I didn't want, instead gave me TWO years free gasoline. That was an amazing gift. And still is.

Are you a techno geek? Give your actor lessons in computer programs! Basic editing skills in FinalCut or PhotoShop will make your actor flip out with how cool you are. If you want to feed your actor for a lifetime, help them cultivate skills that they can use to help their own and their friends' careers. Actors are always creative in other elements as well. Lessons in this stuff are great.



And let's not forget giftcards to Target, Forever21, and those lovely Amex/Visa/Mastercard giftcards! (Love those.)

And a giftcard to any cafe, such as Starbucks, Coffee Bean, etc is always fantastic, as we always seem to catch up with peers, meet managers, and write our screenplays there.

And my lovely actor friends, what's on YOUR wish list? What could you really use?