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[Hip Check]

In house
In crazy times, turn to these stay-at-home pursuits

BY NINA WILLDORF

These days, just getting out of the house any night of the week is a triumph. After a harrowing month, an evening at home has lost its loser stigma; now it’s both a cash-saving necessity and a frayed-nerve soother.

But after weeks of watching " breaking " news scroll relentlessly across the bottom of the TV screen, many are choosing to turn off the dummy box and find alternative activities en casa, like playing games, knitting (yes, really), and the good ol’ standard, drinking. The nightclub Aria has even tried to lure locals from their couches with a free-cover club night called Sunday Living Room. The invite might sound tempting to some, but we’re sticking with these options.

Playing games

Asked how many games grace the shelves at Games People Play, owner Carol Monica responds, " Oh, come awhnn ... thousands. " Breeziness aside, it truly would be hard to quantify — or exhaust — the store’s offerings. Beyond a full supply of the old standards (Clue, Life, Othello, Risk, Jenga, and Twister), there are foreign board games, cards, chess and checkers sets, puzzles, and offbeat finds, like a hauntingly fitting build-it-yourself model of the Empire State Building.

Monica testifies that hard times are good times for game-playing. " I’m here since 1974, " she says. " Whenever there’s a recession, our business picks up. When people do stay at home, they tend to gather around a board game instead of, say, the television. "

1100 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 492-0711

Knitting

Over the past year, some young folks who like playing with yarn have formed self-explanatory groups called " Stitch and Bitch. " " The thing about knitting is that it’s so comforting, " explains Niki Bronstein, a theatrically made-up Liz Taylor look-alike who runs Woolcott & Co, a knitter’s haven in Harvard Square. The small, teeming store, which has a huge variety of shades and types of wool, is the place both young and old knitters go to swap success stories and stock up on supplies. " It’s good to be doing something, " says Bronstein, testifying to the hobby’s healing powers. " It’s not good to be watching that newscast over and over. "

61 JFK Street, Cambridge, (617) 547-2837

Drinking

Liquor stores have reportedly been swamped in the past month. And we’ve certainly been party to the mob scene. Indubitably, there’s controlled comfort in achieving the perfect balance of bitters and booze in a Manhattan. Or pouring a perfectly lukewarm Belgian beer with the optimal amount of head.

In any case, Urban Outfitters is, as usual, ready to doctor up the habit of the moment. For a playful take on glassware, there are pint glasses with beer emblazoned on one side and calorie info on the other ($6). Not to mention super-size shot glasses with level markings for " chickens, " " ladies, " and " men " ($4). Or you can just push the glassware aside and head straight for the bottle. Not that we’re at all familiar with that technique ...

361 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 236-0088, and 11 JFK Street, Cambridge, (617) 864-0070

Issue Date: October 11 - 18, 2001