E-Mail This Article to a Friend Laughter is the best medicine Prescribe these gifts to beat the holiday blues BY GENEVIEVE RAJEWSKI

Wal-Mart commercials and sappy television specials would suggest that the holidays automatically usher in a time of joy and good will toward our fellow creatures. But, truth be told, the holidays are usually a period of unsurpassed stress, thanks to the emotional strain of family gatherings and increased financial demands.

Of course, trying to find gifts that eradicate holiday stress completely is a futile task — one destined to end in a big case of the blues. But you can find gifts that will coax grins or guffaws from their recipients, thanks to a host of new DVDs and other irreverent offerings that are often laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Around Thanksgiving, high-school reunions are typically in full swing, no doubt leaving many attendees dissatisfied with their career, appearance, or romantic progress. To assuage feelings of inadequacy, give a DVD that will surely make anyone feel better about both their past high-school experiences and current situations. The recently released seasons one and two of Strangers with Candy ($29.99 each) put viewers squarely in the world of Jerri Blank (Amy Sedaris), a fortysomething self-described "boozer, user, and loser" who returns to high school after running away some 30 years ago. An exaggerated spoof of the after-school special, Strangers with Candy offers absurd situations, no morals or political correctness, and endings in which the grotesquely made-up Sedaris always learns the wrong lesson. Daily Show fans will relish Stephen Colbert’s turn as a callous history teacher.

Meanwhile, Choose Your Daily Disaster Magnets ($8) from Joie de Vivre (1792 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617-864-8188) serve to remind us that there are worse fates than gaining 20 pounds since high school. Each seven-panel set offers illustrations of amusingly subjective disasters, such as clowns, domesticity, the Bermuda Triangle, tornadoes, and "out of gin."

Sadly, the holidays seem to bring a rash of layoffs, as companies rush to improve their year-end fiscal pictures. To help buoy the spirits of the recently let-go, give a DVD that reminds them of the office politics they’re fortunate to be missing. The recent release of The Office: The Complete First Series ($29.98) introduces viewers to the employees of Wernham Hogg, a paper-merchant company in Slough, England. In the vein of The Larry Sanders Show or Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries, the BBC America program features interviews and "unedited footage" of David Brent (Ricky Gervais), the offensive and ineffective manager who fancies himself an inspiring and funny leader; Gareth Keenan (Mackenzie Crook), the sycophant who’s quick to talk about his stint in covert operations; Tim Canterbury (Martin Freeman), the "hero" and Gareth’s nemesis; and Dawn Tinsley (Lucy Davis), the demoralized receptionist torn between loyalty to her loutish fiancé and her affinity for Tim. The resulting cubicle vignettes are both frighteningly familiar and painfully funny. In addition to the first six episodes, the DVD contains a documentary on the show’s production, outtakes, Wernham Hogg news and personnel files, and a glossary of Slough slang.

At Despair.com, you’ll find gifts for the employed who’re fed up with being asked to embrace the company line in a climate of hiring freezes and no merit increases. The "demotivating" products put a new, more realistic spin on the inspirational prints that have long paired photographs of majestic landscapes with motivational adages. The 2004 Classic Calendar ($14.95) includes Mistakes — a photo of a sinking ship with the tagline, "It could be that the purpose of your life is to serve as a warning to others." Meanwhile, note cards ($16.95/10) feature gems like "Risks: If you never try anything new, you’ll miss out on many of life’s great disappointments" and "Demotivation: Sometimes the best solution to morale problems is just to fire all of the unhappy people." Sticky pads ($9.95) and a screensaver CD-ROM ($15.95) are also available.

If it’s the world and national outlook that will have a friend feeling low come the new year, consider treating them to comedian Jon Stewart on March 20, at the Orpheum Theatre. As host and a producer of the Emmy-winning The Daily Show, Stewart has built a large following through his brilliant, piercing send-ups of the latest newsmakers in foreign affairs and politics. Tickets ($36 to $50) go on sale on January 17. Call (617) 482-0650 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Although not a new title, Get Your War On (Soft Skull Press, 2002, $11) will also likely please anyone who’s mortified by the direction of world and national events. Written by David Rees and illustrated with clip art of office workers, the comic book illustrates the fear, shock, rage, and cynicism that followed the 2001 terrorist attacks and the Bush administration’s response. (For example, a woman asks a caller, "Did I miss something? Is it now legal to mail anthrax to people? Because I don’t see anyone getting arrested for it!") For those who are already Rees aficionados, opt for the new My New Fighting Technique Is Unstoppable (Riverhead Books, 2003, $10), a far-from-glossy and definitely less political comic book that pairs ass-kicking karate clip art with foul language and Snoopy.

Meanwhile, you can always count on the Onion to satirize the sad state of mainstream media reporting with articles such as "Mid-Level Manager Forced To Find Out Who Isn’t Flushing the Toilet." The Onion Ad Nauseam: Complete News Archives, Volume 14 (Three River Press, 2003, $17.95) collects every article that the Onion published between November 2001 and October 2002. Or you could give a subscription to the full-color printed newspaper ($49.95/49 issues). Call (866) 4-ONIONS or visit www.theonion.com.

Should you want to combat seasonal malaise of a more general nature, several new DVD releases fit the bill. For starters, there’s the first season of the wildly original but little-known Comedy Central show Upright Citizens Brigade ($29.99). On this subversive series, Saturday Night Live cast member (and Burlington native) Amy Poehler and the rest of the cast performed sketches on everything from Wolfman Jack novelty doorbells to the fascinatingly violent sport of Thunderball.

The December release of HBO’s The Ben Stiller Show ($26.90) features Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, and Janeane Garofalo — all of whom performed on this 1990s alternative sketch show before they were household names. The DVD contains all 12 episodes with comprehensive commentaries, alternate versions of the pilot, two early parodies made for MTV, five unaired sketches, outtakes, and an E! "Behind the Scenes" special. Fans of "Cape Munster" (in which Stiller plays a psychopathic Eddie Munster) and "Legends of Springsteen" have been waiting a long, long time for this.

Another The Ben Stiller Show performer was Bob Odenkirk, who (along with David Cross) has achieved cult status, thanks to HBO’s Mr. Show — the complete third season ($34.98) of which was released this fall. Follow the six degrees of alternative comedy a little further and you’ll note that one of the LA comics frequently on Mr. Show was none other than some guy named Jack Black. As School of Rock was one of the break-out films of the year, why not surprise a loved one with Jack Black in his other (albeit more adult) element, as one of the two members of the acoustic comedy team Tenacious D? In November, "The D," as their fans lovingly refer to them, released Tenacious D: The Complete Masterworks ($19.98). The DVD features live performances of classics such as "F.H.G." and "Double Team," as well as infamous sketches from their short-lived HBO series.

Finally, the Cartoon Network’s Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Volume 1 ($29.99) DVD includes the Adult Swim program’s first 16 episodes, commentaries, extended versions, original artwork, and a music video. Lest you be put off by its cartoon nature, rest assured that Space Ghost is a truly odd, very funny program. Between verbal sparring with the space creatures who serve as his crew, Space Ghost — a ’60s-era superhero turned vacuous talk-show host — awkwardly interviews guests such as David Byrne, Hulk Hogan, and the Ramones.

Overwhelmed just thinking about hunting down these gifts for the people on your list? If so, indulge and buy the Holidays on Ice CD set ($24.98) to listen to during your car trips to the mall. You’ll likely find excuses to go shopping just to enjoy David Sedaris’s wry reading of "The SantaLand Diaries," which chronicles his experiences working as an elf in Macy’s SantaLand. Also included on the CD is "Season’s Greetings to Our Friends and Family," which will strike a chord with anyone who has ever received an eye-rollingly obnoxious holiday newsletter.

Genevieve Rajewski can be reached at ticktockwordshop@comcast.net .