Looking for unusual gifts? Try shopping on campus

Special sales and an extensive selection of gift options enhance holiday shopping on campus this season.

The gift of live music can be given with a little help from the University Concert Office. Tickets for Contemporary Chamber Players ensemble concerts, plus the debut of the Pocket Opera Company, are available for $45, $21 for students. Single tickets may be purchased for concerts in the Chamber Music Series and the International Early Music Series, as well as for the Contemporary Chamber Players concerts. For more information, call 702-8068.

Court Theatre is offering "The Mystery Package" this holiday season. A collection of items from the "Mystery Cycle" plays, the gift package includes a T-shirt, a poster and published editions of Bernard Sahlins' adaptations of "The Mystery Cycle: Creation" and "The Mystery Cycle: The Passion." The package is $25 and is available at the Court Theatre box office. For upcoming shows, a flexible ticket package that includes five ticket vouchers redeemable in any combination and for any performance is available for $80 to $104; prices for individual tickets range from $16 to $26. For more information, call 753-4472.

T-shirts for coffee lovers are available at three locations on campus. Classics Cafe in Classics 20 and Gargoyle Cafe in Stuart Hall offer T-shirts adorned with contemporary graphics and inscribed "Java Heads: Loyal Order of Bean Brains" followed by the name of the cafe. The T-shirts are $13. The Divinity School Coffee Shop, located in Swift Hall, offers T-shirts inscribed "The Divinity School Coffee Shop" on the front and "Where God Drinks Coffee" on the back. The T-shirts come in a variety of colors and cost $9.

Hillel Foundation is offering Hanukkah candles and menorahs for sale starting Monday, Nov. 29. For more information, call 752-1127.

The International House gift shop offers handmade wooden Christmas-tree ornaments and Wyler Children's Hospital holiday cards in addition to handmade jewelry, ethnic clothing and stuffed animals.

The Smart Museum of Art has expanded its gift shop this year to include a wide range of gift items and art books. Beaded and ornamented hat pins, photographic flipbooks showing scenes of Chicago, wooden boxes and jewelry are among the gifts available.

The Department of Special Collections is offering a selection of notecards. Boxed sets of 12 cards featuring six different images from Special Collections' holdings are available for $10. The cards may be purchased in the Department of Special Collections in Regenstein Library or in the library office.

One highlight among the gifts at the Suq -- the Oriental Institute Museum gift shop -- is "Sifting the Sands of Time," a 1994 calendar featuring photographs from the Oriental Institute's archives. Anniversaries of famous events in the recovery of Near Eastern history are noted throughout the calendar, which sells for $13.95. A postcard book of 30 images ($8.95) is also available. The Suq's annual holiday sale will run from Tuesday, Dec. 7, through Wednesday, Dec. 15. Members of the Oriental Institute will receive a 15 percent discount; nonmembers, a 10 percent discount.

The University Bookstore will feature a "Twelve Days of Christmas" sale beginning Friday, Dec. 10, and continuing through Thursday, Dec. 23. Each day, a selection of merchandise will be featured. Sale themes will include "the night before Christmas," featuring such items as U of C pajamas, robes and pillows, and "stocking stuffers," featuring U of C magnets, patches and key rings. Special discounts on a variety of items will be available throughout the sale.

Season passes to University Theater are also available. Passes good for winter- and spring-quarter shows are available for $40. Single-quarter passes are $20, $15 for University students.