Instead of giving gifts this year, why not bet your friends that you can take them to a show that will make them double over, crying with laughter? It's much better (and potentially cheaper) than that Starbucks gift card you were thinking about. Thank me later as I walk you through This Week In Comedy...

SUN DEC 9 / HENRY PHILLIPS / COMEDY BAR / 945 BLOOR W / 8PM / $15

Henry Phillips got started doing the road with Doug Stanhope, who encouraged him to come with. Doug Stanhope encouraged this guy to do comedy. Doug freakin' Stanhope. Wowzers. Accordingly, Henry's done everything from Comedy Central Presents to appearing on Marc Maron's famed WTF podcast and garnering a listing in Billboard Magazine's Critics' Choice. Take a gander at the clip and see if you also find him, as one critic put it, "disconcertingly hilarious."

TUES DEC 11 / SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR DICKS / THE OSSINGTON / 61 OSSINGTON / 9PM / PWYC

This line-up makes my heart happy. Chris Locke's comedy is the kind that you remember on the subway and laugh to yourself, making the people around you think you're insane. If he goes into his joke about his bald spot being a sunroof for a sex machine, put down your drink. I've only seen him do sets that were five to seven minutes in length, and so I got excited when I found out he'd be doing more time on this show. The great thing is that Tim Gilbert, Tom Henry, and James Hartnett are going to light it up before Chris gets on stage.

FRI DEC 14 / AWKWARD / COMEDY BAR / 945 BLOOR W / 8PM / $8

Producer/Host Erin Rodgers brings us the latest edition of Awkward, the stortytelling show where comedians are challenged to tell tales that are 100% true. Your cast includes Sam Mullins (reigning Vancouver Story Slam Champion), Gerard Harris, Natasha Henderson, and Amanda Day. The great thing about this storytelling show is that comedians who are used to trying to inject laughter every 10-15 seconds get to breathe a bit, allowing things to develop slowly, which often serves to create a deeper emotional connection with the audience. The interesting thing is that it's often the emotional connections and digressions that get the most memorable laughs.

SAT DEC 15 / GILSON LUBIN'S ACTING UP / REVIVAL BAR / 783 COLLEGE / 7PM / $20

It's been a long and winding road for Gilson, who's comedic prowess landed him everything from a Comedy Now special, to MTV and opening for some guy named Dave Chappelle and appearing on Def freakin' Comedy Jam. Wowzers. But after you've reached the peak, where do you go from there? It's an interesting question, especially when you realize that the destination was, in fact, just a milestone on the way to something even greater. Gilson's new direction is that he's striking out for himself, doing things on his own terms, and anyone who's been an entrepeneur knows that the energy that comes with being your own boss almost always unlocks something magical within us.

He's joined by an all-star cast, but pay special attention to Nick Reynoldson. When a comic's material is golden, he can beat out 90% of the competition. When his crowd work and improv is similarly AUsome, you become part of an exclusive pantheon that few comedians ever join. Oh! and the proceeds will go the SickKids' Burns and Plastics Unit. Excelsior!

About the Author: This is Michael Jagdeo, and I refuse to write about myself in the third-person. My blog, Diary of a Stand-up Comedian, teaches you how to be - and how not to be - a comedian in Toronto.