2015 Gift Idea Thread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > 2015 Gift Idea Thread

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

The Blackest of all Fridays is here and so starts the madness of gift purchasing. I know your palms are sweaty just thinking about it.

Never fear, goons! Other goons are here to help. Please use this thread to ask for aid in all of your gifting needs. Whether it's for Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, SASSmas or for yourself just because, if you give us an honest description of your needs we'll give you honest feedback. (Or at least I will. I cannot make claims for other people.)

What you have to do: Fill out as much of the following information as possible to give the helpful elves as much background as possible. You know more about this person than we do.

Who is your giftee:
Budget:
Giftee's age:
Known likes/interests:
Known hates/allergies:
Type of gift you are looking for:
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past:

For Example:
Who is your giftee: My Mutha
Budget: $100
Giftee's age: 99
Known likes/interests: Being old, doing jazzercise, Taylor Swift
Known hates/allergies: Technology, bright sunlight, kids on her lawn
Type of gift you are looking for: Something practical but sweet
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: She loved that rocking chair I got her, until I nailed it to the floor

See, just that easy. And then we give you magical answers. We await your queries.

If, however, you're that type of person who only knows what to get people once you've seen it, here are some websites that you might find helpful for browsing purposes*:

Goon-Made Gifts in the SA Mart � Thanks, you were warned, for the updated link for 2015.
2014 Handmade gifts thread � Also archived, but basically the entire DIY forum is a great place to look for ideas
Perpetual Kid - for goofy, mostly gag type gifts
The Hunger Site - Funky gifts that are fair trade and support a cause that you can choose (literacy, ending hunger, support for animals, etc.)
Hipcycle - For the eco-friendly
Uncommon Goods - Bunch of random things that will usually spark a thought
The Grommet - Unique and innovative products and sellers (their description, not mine, but I have found some fun gifts on here before)
This is Why I'm Broke - Some serious gifts and some seriously awesome gifts for the billionaire in your life. Great place for ideas
Scoutmob.com - Homemade gifts from smaller/independent retailers
More sites to check

And in case there's anyone who hasn't heard of it, Think Geek is at least the starting place for geeky gifts

What not to buy

If anyone has other great sites that they want to share I'll be keeping a lookout in the thread and I'll edit them into this post.
And Googling �Gifts for 'x' lovers" will typically get you something as well.

Happy gifting!!

*I do not work for any of these companies, I'm just a friendly penguin who enjoys providing information. That being said, if you still don�t trust me and want access to a third party review from Consumer Reports, first, check your local library for both print or online copies, but if no luck there, PM me and I can get you access.

a friendly penguin fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Dec 15, 2015

# ¿ Nov 28, 2015 01:05

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 12:40

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Brennanite posted:

I'll go first, because I fear this is going to take a while. I need help, people!

Who is your giftee: Brother
Budget: ~$25
Giftee's age: 24
Known likes/interests: I don't know!
Known hates/allergies: Lots, but none relevant
Type of gift you are looking for: Anything!
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: I've given him fancy jerky and video games, but that time feels past. He spends his time working or going to class. He doesn't drink, has no beard, doesn't care about his appearance and my Mom still feeds him, so not interested in cooking.

It sounds like you need to get to know your brother better. Perhaps some outings with him would make a good gift. Perhaps you two could explore the local restaurant scene once a month. He gets interesting food and quality time with family. Or take him to an arcade or on a hike or anything. Have a snowball fight if you can!

Or, if you don't live close and can't do these types of things on the regular or since you seem to not approve of his not having a beard, perhaps you can shape his interests with a gentle nudge from The Art of Manliness

# ¿ Nov 28, 2015 20:13

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

cuntvalet posted:

Who is your giftee: My Mother in law
Budget: Around $20 - $30
Giftee's age: Mid-50s
Known likes/interests: Nutcrackers, Alice in Wonderland, Firefly/Serenity, cute animals
Known hates/allergies: Vegetarian since she was 11, clothes (hates receiving clothes as a gift, she doesn't hate clothing as a concept...)
Type of gift you are looking for: Something practical but sweet - that description nails it
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Large, acorn shaped candle holder

http://www.litographs.com/collections/all/title_Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland
?
Obviously the shirt wouldn't work since she hates clothes and the poster isn't very practical, but the tote bag seems dead on. The picture on each item consists of nothing but colored text from the classic book.

Otherwise: Cozy blanket with an adorable dog?
And even if you don't find anything here, you might get a laugh anyway: http://www.perpetualkid.com/pets/

# ¿ Nov 28, 2015 20:24

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

you were warned posted:

Hey OP, there's a 2015 goon-made gifts thread now. I have some little bobby pins with cloth flowers from Mountain Musings that my SASS santa gave me last year. They're beautiful!

For a while, I kept associating Angry Turtle jewelry with The_Angry_Turtle, who bitches and moans in E/N about girls not wanting to go out with him and life being so unfair, and I was suuuuper confused.

Thanks! I've updated the OP. Not sure how I missed the thread when I went looking since it's been up for a month.

# ¿ Nov 29, 2015 15:12

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Bollock Monkey posted:

Who is your giftee: Partner
Budget: �30 (looking for something small to complete a gift made up of a few bits)
Giftee's age: 27
Known likes/interests: Fifa, cooking, worrying, surreal humour, music/instruments, unusual experiences (not like the paranormal - more like activities e.g. we did 2.8 hours later, which he really enjoyed)
Known hates/allergies: Aniseed, organising things. He also never manages to finish books lately, despite loving to read.
Type of gift you are looking for: As I said, something to add to a little collection of small gifts. Preferably something practical or that won't end up as clutter in our small flat.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: A nice jumper, some spice sets/fancy oils. So far I have a beard grooming set, as he's bearded but has only recently been doing much to it other than the occasional trim when it's been unruly, a canvas tote bag (our country just started charging for plastic bags), and a silicone spoon rest.

https://www.mysteriouspackage.com/
If you're going for the "unusual experiences" part...

But if that's a little too amorphous: http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/incognito/product/creature-cups-triceratops

# ¿ Nov 30, 2015 16:09

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Amara posted:

Who is your giftee: Relatively new BF
Budget: $30-$50, flexible
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: Oldies songs, a capella, Dogs (but dislikes cutesy things done to dogs), D&D (he's a GM), social dancing, baking
Known hates/allergies: Uh, anise and cumin
Type of gift you are looking for: I usually try to go for gifts that are either not easy to find online (mostly custom made) or else very useful. I'm just drawing a blank this time since I don't really know this guy well enough.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: No prior gifts

Not being where you are, I can't really tell you what type of shops and cool stuff might be available. However, in the spirit of wanting to do things that are not easily found online:

Goon-made gifts are a good option since you'll be able to talk directly with the seller and get exactly what you want. And I'm willing to bet that there are some D&D related gifts to be found there.
Scoutmob would also be a good place to look around since this is a conglomeration of independent sellers who might not have had a website otherwise.
If you want to go the DIY route, you could Make a bowl out of his favorite oldies record. Well, maybe not his, but you could probably find a vinyl from a record graveyard or some such. If you're not feeling crafty, there are plenty of places online that will do it for pretty cheap.

And speaking as a baker, there's nothing more that I appreciate than a fully stocked pantry. Vanilla extract, yeast, sugar, cinnamon, etc. You could buy all of the ingredients to something that you want to make and then have a baking day together even. Just a thought.

Hope these help.

# ¿ Dec 1, 2015 14:00

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

sheri posted:

Who is your giftee:
My husband
Budget:
Unknown, could do one big gift or several smaller ones, no more than 200-300 in total
Giftee's age:
32
Known likes/interests:
Football, beer, video games, reading, star trek, outdoor activities, traveling, sleep, food
Known hates/allergies:
Type of gift you are looking for:
Practical, useful, something he will like. He's super hard to buy for. Everything he likes he buys for himself or is super expensive. I guess he could use new clothes, shoes, and socks but those seem pretty impersonal for Christmas. We also have a 2.5 year old son that sucks up most of our time.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past:
He wants a new wallet, he does a lot of the cooking so maybe some nice kitchen stuff? He likes video games but he has very limited time to play them. Our lives are basically work, child rear, sleep, repeat son anything that would make our lives more exciting or easier would be good.

If he wants to spend more time doing things outside, they make ways to take the kid along. It might be an extra burden, but also good exercise.
If he likes hiking: http://www.rei.com/product/828439/osprey-poco-plus-child-carrier
If he likes bicycling: This was a really long link

I'm actually not sure if these are gifts for your husband or for your kid... but there you go anyway! Otherwise, I think the wallet with gift cards as mentioned by Red above sound like at least a fun way to give gift cards.

# ¿ Dec 2, 2015 13:47

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Amoeba102 posted:

Who is your giftee: Girflfriend's male cousin - secret santa deal.
Budget: $A 50.
Giftee's age: About 25
Known likes/interests: Has traveled extensively, will be going to work in paris next year, has an Olympus camera, writes on their laptop. Fashion sense lies somewhere between trendy and surfer, doesn't surf as far as I'm aware of. No real helpful suggestions from family.
Known hates/allergies: Unknown
Type of gift you are looking for: Something they can take with them when they go overseas
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Liked an owl mug they got from a previous secret santa type deal. Think it was a yankee swap maybe.

Paris is a place for walking. His family will likely be outside going to the places that they need to go.
a sturdy messenger bag This is just one of many possible options
A sturdy umbrella Again, lots of options
Rain jacket
I'd say sturdy walking shoes, but it's unlikely you'll find decent ones for your price point. Basically think, "if I had to walk to work, to the grocer, to the museum or perhaps take the metro, what would I need?" And go for that. Especially if there's anything you know for making riding the metro easier... in French.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2015 14:54

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

moctopus posted:

Who is your giftee: Friend Guy
Budget: $50 give or take
Giftee's age: 29
Known likes/interests: Running, Soccer, Disc Golf, Board Games, and he is completely remodeling his bathroom from the ground up this year
Type of gift you are looking for: I'm not sure something he'll use and like
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: I got him yeast for brewing beer last year since he's done that a couple times, but he didn't seem too excited.

KanJam

moctopus posted:

Who is your giftee: Friend Gal
Budget: $50 give or take
Giftee's age: 27
Known likes/interests: Arts and crafts, Owls, Being a teacher, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Germany.
Type of gift you are looking for: Again just something that will be used or enjoyed.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Picture book of Owls? I'd also like to get her a book about philosophy (if that's the right word) for stuff like why are we here/why do we exist, but really light not in depth and avoids death as a theme.

Owls are kind of a thing at the moment. Just google owl craft or owl jewelry or owl anything and you will have options. But if you want to avoid the owls...
http://www.germangiftoutlet.com

# ¿ Dec 7, 2015 15:08

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Iron Crowned posted:

This one is going to be a doozy, as my family doesn't like or do anything

Who is your giftee: Brother
Budget: ~100 or so, can be combined for bday/xmas
Giftee's age: 32
Known likes/interests: Final Fantasy MMOs, unflavored and overdone meats.
Known hates/allergies: Uh, probably going outside
Type of gift you are looking for: no loving clue
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: A Nirvana Tshirt when he was 14

Who is your giftee: Father
Budget: ~50
Giftee's age: 61
Known likes/interests: Football, Star Trek, TV Procedurals, survivor, house hunting shows, unflavored and overdone meats, Star Craft.
Known hates/allergies: Flavor, effort in food, friends, all gifts ever
Type of gift you are looking for: no loving clue
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: A telescope 12 years ago that he never used

Who is your giftee: Mother
Budget: ~50
Giftee's age: 62
Known likes/interests: TV Procedurals, Survivor, House hunting shows, unflavored and overdone meats, Cracker Barrel, hoarding food.
Known hates/allergies: Flavor, effort (especially in food), anything that has to be washed/sorted by hand/drycleaned/etc.
Type of gift you are looking for: no loving clue
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Jewelry from Uncommon Goods has worked pretty well in the past.

Basically, I'm the blacksheep who didn't go to college, lives in another state and didn't grow up to enjoy sitting at home watching marathons of Blue Bloods on DVR every night. Also because they don't do anything, whenever they want something, they just go and buy it. It's really hard to gauge interests when they don't really show interest in anything that isn't super bland. Also all teatotallers, so no alcohol, tobacco, or firearms. In the end I'll probably just end up getting gift cards this year, but I figure I'll give it a try.

In addition to what Red said above, since anything may or may not work for these people, I might add
A George Foreman Grill so that they can all enjoy flavorless meats.
Get your mom All the food hoarding accessories she could ever need.

Or since they seem to love TV, have you thought about just buying them a subscription to Netflix/Prime/Hulu/DirecTV/ChromeCast/insert endless TV possibilities here?

# ¿ Dec 7, 2015 16:25

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Iron Crowned posted:

Unfortunately, they already have similar items, which is why they're so difficult to buy anything for. On a side note, I also rue the existence of vacuum sealers whenever I visit.

This is probably the only thing that will really work, I just don't know, I want to be able to put a little more effort into something. Then again I've gotten birthday cards before that weren't even signed, and the only reason I knew it was them was because of the return address.

Thanks for trying at least

What if you cooked for them? One day you just make a big meal and be done with it. You expose them to delicious food and that accounts for their gifts. They can't refuse to eat, can they?

# ¿ Dec 7, 2015 17:19

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

The answer is simple then: Fruitcake or coal.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2015 18:03

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Katyiah posted:

Who is your giftee: Female work colleague
Budget: $20
Giftee's age: 25
Known likes/interests: Cosmetic surgery (seriously), selfies, millionaires, cosmetics, stationery
Known hates/allergies: no idea
Type of gift you are looking for: secret Santa gift that is cheap but not tacky
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: something she won't bitch about

Bling Everything
Slightly more serious answer: https://www.papersource.com Your source for all things stationery and other cutesy poo poo.

Katyiah posted:

Who is your giftee: partner's daughter
Budget: $50
Giftee's age: 7
Known likes/interests: cats, zombies, Minecraft, spiders
Known hates/allergies: roller coasters
Type of gift you are looking for: something a bit quirky and different from the stuff normal 7 year olds like
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: no idea

It's never too early to start the Nerf Gun collection, especially if you use them to play Humans vs Zombies. Great for bonding time.
Or Gross Science kits?

# ¿ Dec 8, 2015 13:41

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Bloody Hedgehog posted:

Who is your giftee: Dad
Budget: $100
Giftee's age: 65
Known likes/interests: Literally nothing
Known hates/allergies: Literally nothing
Type of gift you are looking for: Literally anything
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Literally nothing

Then buy him literally nothing and burn the $100.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2015 13:05

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

powderific posted:

Who is your giftee: My wife
Budget: $50-$200
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: Theatre, cats, warm things, soft things, cute things, eating, wearing my cologne, flowers, clothes
Known hates/allergies: complicated things, sharp things, things that make her feel self conscious, technology
Type of gift you are looking for:
Something nice that she wouldn't buy for herself�� she only buys stuff on sale and often winds up with cheap stuff that doesn't work or last as well as it could. She's been experimenting a bit with makeup lately but doesn't feel confident enough in it to buy anything but $.99 sale stuff, so I'd love to get her some nicer lipstick, eyeshadow, brushes, skin care things, whatever, but I'm not sure I can navigate that world well enough to make good choices. She feels kindof guilty when I buy her too much so it'd probably better if I didn't spend a ton or at least it didn't seem super expensive. Was also thinking about fun tights as she had a bunch with patterns that she loved but wore out and hasn't replaced yet.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past:
Neat leather iPhone cases from 12South and now Pad and Quill, laptop and purse/briefcase thing from Jack Georges, Creed Imperial Millesime (she looooves this but watching her spray from a $300 bottle like it's Axe body spray pains me. She's down to about 1/4 bottle so maybe a cheaper something else.)

Others have already given you advice on make up more than I could ever understand. So feel free to go with that.
I'll just suggest a Tokidoki Bag but of course this might not be her definition of cute.

powderific posted:

Who is your giftee: My sister
Budget: $50-$100
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: Things that are highly rated on Amazon (seriously, she loves amazon reviews), coffee, traveling, music (I think she likes vinyl stuff), organizing things, the color black, tatoos, smoking. She was/is a cool party, music scene person who lived in a big city through college but recently moved to a 800 person home town to work in our family business. Not sure how that would inform the gift buying process but there you go. It's also her birthday on Christmas Eve so if there were TWO gifts in the budget that'd be cool.
Known hates/allergies: Bright colors
Type of gift you are looking for: Maybe some kind of home or office gizmo (I saw a staple-less stapler on her Amazon wish list, so she likes that kind of thing. Her wish list is all spoken for from my folks though.) Some kind of coffee accessory or neat music thing. I'm not sure what I'm looking for here. My wife wanted to get her the fruit of the month club from Harry and David but it's waaay too expensive and I'm not sure if anything other than the pears is actually any good (she used to work at Whole Foods and good produce is hard to come by in a town of 800. And apparently she hates the grocery store people so doesn't like going there anyway.)
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Aeropress coffeemaker, Bodum glassware, a selection of Origami paper when she was into that.

Go out together and get matching tattoos? Or just pay for her to get one. That's pretty awesome of you.
Otherwise, a Zippo or if you liked the idea of a subscription service NatureBox is another good one for healthy foods.

powderific posted:

Who is your giftee: female friend for secret santa
Budget: $40
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: vintage clothing, clothing that's made in the USA, Audrey Hepburn, smoking, philosophy, TV, recently graduated from law school and got a job in employment law, german cars, being catholic, social justice.
Known hates/allergies: Not a hating type of person but I don't think I could successfully pick out an item of clothing/accessory that she'd like even though that would probably be the perfect gift.
Type of gift you are looking for: I really feel like some kind of accessory would be ideal, but I've zero confidence in my fashion sense. So instead was thinking some kind of thing that would be nice to have either for the new job or maybe a smoking related accessory, like this electric hand warmer since it gets cold as poo poo here and she's outside smoking all the time: http://www.amazon.com/EnergyFlux-44...ric+hand+warmer
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: She's socially graceful and an excellent gift receiver so it's hard to say what she truly enjoyed, but I recall a seamstress friend made her some felt christmas pins and spats one year.

Cigarette cases are classy as gently caress if she doesn't already have one.
And just for fun, you could get her a Cigarette Holder a la Holly Golightly.
If she already has a cicgarett case, Zippos again!

# ¿ Dec 9, 2015 13:36

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Bloody Hedgehog posted:

I might do this after all. I thought somebody might have some amazing idea though for "the person with nothing, who wants nothing, who doesn't like or hate anything".

Well, as I said in the OP, put some effort in and so will we.

If he has nothing and wants nothing, the answer is to give him no physical thing. That doesn't mean you can't take him out for a nice meal or take him to the museum or take him to a park. Just spend some time together. Play him at checkers. Clearly physical things don't mean much to him, which usually means that the ephemeral things do. Go to a play, go to the library and talk books and the fall of society together (that's what libraries are for, don't you know), play a game of chess, drive around looking at Chritmas lights.

Give him a memory to cherish if you can't give him a thing.

Edit: I say this because maybe if you got to know him better you would find out what he actually is interested in. Because literally everyone has interests. And if he doesn't, he is suffering from anhedonia and probably needs to talk with a therapist or just other people. And that would be a fun gift.

a friendly penguin fucked around with this message at 13:51 on Dec 9, 2015

# ¿ Dec 9, 2015 13:40

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

I'm going to say that Powderific and Red have done a phenomenal job with survival/camping gear suggestions. I love the outdoors and basically they've hit all of the good points that aren't super specific to a person.

So instead cuntvalent I make a suggestion for your boyfriend's gift to him. I was looking into fishing reels, but those are extremely personal to the fisher. Whether they want tight or loose casting, reeling, salt, fresh, on and on. They also get pretty expensive. So instead, how about if he just takes care of the reels that he has with a nice, well priced Reel Cleaning Kit? Since he clearly likes working with his hands, this would be a nice meditative exercise. And probably help his fishing too.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2015 13:27

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

spwrozek posted:

Just my opinion but smartwool makes better socks then fox river. Not that FR socks are bad it is just smartwool is where it is at.

Truth.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2015 15:59

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

m.hache posted:

Who is your giftee: My Niece
Budget: $75 CAD
Giftee's age: 3
Known likes/interests: Coloring, Megablocks, Disney Stuff
Known hates/allergies: N/A
Type of gift you are looking for: Hopefully educational and fun.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: She loved the megablocks. We've also gotten her a customized story book based on her name

3 year olds are pretty easy. Because exactly as you said, their hates are N/A. They'll love pretty much anything. Especially if she loves coloring, there are so many coloring options especially for kids. Or if you don't want to buy it, make your own crayons! You could even do it with her. She might find that fun.

If she really likes building, I'm getting my 3 year old newphew these Stackadoos for Christmas this year.

But I think she'll like whatever. Young kids are great like that.

# ¿ Dec 11, 2015 12:47

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Iamyourking posted:

I could, but that would be defeating the purpose. I want to give specific games, just in a better way than only sending it to them.

What kind of game is it? Is it a game about spaceships? Give them a miniature spaceship. If it's a medieval game, put it in a castle. Just find a toy/action figure, or if you want to be classier, a model/collecible, of whatever represents the game the best and put the logo for the game atop it. Or in it if you can manage it. Then the person can proudly display the widget on his/her desk while they play all day. And it is a nice reminder of the gift.

# ¿ Dec 11, 2015 12:52

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Stinky_Pete posted:

Who is your giftee: Dude in my vidjya games clan
Budget: $25 American shekels
Giftee's age: 39
Known likes/interests: Deadpool, booze, music, jerky, is a combat veteran
Known hates/allergies: None
Type of gift you are looking for: This is a somewhat white elephant Secret Santa thing where most of us are expecting a dildo by default
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: I was thinking of that Duluth underwear that dad gay so what was talking about in GBS last week because it's something that I wouldn't want to spend that money on myself, but would like to be able to try them out if received as a gift and "haha underwear" and he seems like he's into that whole mans vibe. Yay or no way?

https://www.theworstthingsforsale.com

# ¿ Dec 11, 2015 18:18

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Faerunner posted:

Who is your giftee: Stepbrother and his wife
Budget: $25-$30 USD, I am le poor
Giftee's age: Mid 30s
Known likes/interests: He likes trivia (Big Jeopardy fan, can trounce anybody at 6 Degrees of [insert name here], etc), being smart, cooking maybe? She likes hand-crafted things, knitting, music. Both enjoy gothic-steampunk stuff, Edgar Allan Poe, and dry wit.
Known hates/allergies: I think she might be vegetarian?
Type of gift you are looking for: Something practical but funny/quirky. Think themed salt and pepper shakers, or matching ugly sweaters.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Handmade jewelry (for SIL), philosophical or poetry books (for brother), Target gift cards.

Philosophers, Poe, quirky... http://www.philosophersguild.com/

# ¿ Dec 13, 2015 05:09

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Red posted:

I need this thread!:

Who is your giftee: Father-in-Law
Budget:$100-200, Approximately
Giftee's age: 65-70
Known likes/interests: Handywork, trains, booze
Known hates/allergies: Dandiness
Type of gift you are looking for: A turntable that can easily burn a vinyl record to a CD
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Whiskey, various tools

Basically, what's the best possible turntable I can buy for someone who doesn't really want to fuss with a computer?

You've been so helpful in this thread that I really want to help with this query, but I have no idea about such things. So instead I offer you a link that you have probably already found: http://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/what-s-the-simplest-way-i-can-convert-vinyl-records-to-mp3s-579712/

Goonspeed.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2015 14:45

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

ishootudie posted:

Who is your giftee: My Sister
Budget: $50
Giftee's age: 30
Known likes/interests: Hiking, Climbing (indoor and outdoor), Traveling
Known hates/allergies: Vegetarian, things that don't work in the UK
Type of gift you are looking for: I live in the US, she lives in the London. It needs to be something that can be used in the UK, and can go back with her in her suitcase. Those are the main criteria.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Past gifts were climbing rope bags, gift cards to a gym she likes in the UK (which was a pain trying to buy internationally). She is also getting married next summer so something that can be used toward that might be good too, or something she can use during her week over here in the US. Things for climbing are rough, since they seem to be very specific and in the past entailed her basically sending me a link to what she wanted, which she has not done this year. I am open to all suggestions!

There are a few good posts about general hiking related gear starting at the bottom of page two if you want to look at that.
Some ideas for climbing related products for the climber who already has everything: http://www.ukhillwalking.com/gear/review.php?id=7997
It might also be fun to go on a few hikes while she is visiting. That's something she can't do while she's in the UK. Hopefully you live near some cool spots.
Subscription to a bridal magazine? http://www.brides.com or http://www.marthastewartweddings.com

Just some ideas to help you get started.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2015 15:01

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

dead lettuce posted:

Time for last minute Xmas gifts... these are my biggest challenges right now, I think I've got everyone else figured out. Would really appreciate any help. I'm usually good with gift giving but as you can all guess these people are somewhat difficult!

Who is your giftee: My mom
Budget: $50-$75
Giftee's age: 56
Known likes/interests: Cycling, cooking/home goods, drinking wine, cosmetics to an extent, nail polish
Known hates/allergies: She is not into fashion really at all, or decorative home items. She is all about function and utility.
Type of gift you are looking for: Anything she would like, she can be difficult.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Kindle, a cute top from Anthropologie that she didn't like at all at first but has ended up wearing all the goddamn time, an Epicurean cutting board. Candles have been received OK in the past but she almost never burns them.

Here are some ideas for your mother. I'l keep thinking for the other two.
All of them are bike related.
Stylish bags to attach: http://gravelandgrind.com/shop/gear/bags/ This place also has awesome coffee.
Upcycled products made from bike parts?
http://hipcycle.com/all-products?material=4
http://www.alchemygoods.com

# ¿ Dec 19, 2015 13:36

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

dead lettuce posted:

Time for last minute Xmas gifts... these are my biggest challenges right now, I think I've got everyone else figured out. Would really appreciate any help. I'm usually good with gift giving but as you can all guess these people are somewhat difficult!

Who is your giftee: My cousin
Budget: $50-$75
Giftee's age: 20
Known likes/interests: Final Fantasy XIV and literally nothing else. Truly nothing else.
Known hates/allergies: He feels apathetic about almost everything. He definitely hates anything his dad likes (guns, alcohol, golf, cycling, sports, home improvement).
Type of gift you are looking for: Anything at all, including gift cards. Our worst case scenario is just to give him cash money and a box of homemade cookies.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: We got him a Razr MMO gaming mouse for his birthday and that went over well. Aside from that, he liked when we made a bunch of homemade cookies/candies a few years ago. His parents are getting him a PS4 so we could get him a game or PSN credits, but he won't be getting the PS4 until the next day so either of those would ruin the surprise of his parents' gift.

Any chance you can get his parents to include your idea of credits or games with their gift and say, this is from us and your cousins? And then it'll all get delivered at the same time and everyone gets credit?

# ¿ Dec 21, 2015 13:36

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

dead lettuce posted:

Who is your giftee: My sister
Budget: $75
Giftee's age: 20
Known likes/interests: Kpop, a mix of Korean/hip/goth fashion, video games (esp Binding of Isaac, Final Fantasy XIV, and Life Is Strange), really soft/cozy things (she is lazy as hell -- for example, she has a onesie and a Spyro kigurumi and wears both at home regularly), hilarious joke items (i.e. anything from The Worst Things for Sale), dogs/cute dog stuff, Korean beauty stuff
Known hates/allergies: Nothing in particular
Type of gift you are looking for: Anything. I was thinking of buying her a gift certificate for sunglasses since she doesn't have any and we live in San Diego, but I'm not sure she will find any she likes at Warby Parker. She has a very specific style.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Fuzzy boots, don't remember what else... she is a poor biology student so something that she normally wouldn't be able to buy for herself would be great.

Does she need to be more cozy?!
https://www.perpetualkid.com might have some similar joke items that can actually be useful as opposed to WTFS.

But what I think you should do is get her a Kindle and load it up with a ton of those free self-published kindle books, the worst ones that you can find. Ones with terrible titles like the ones you see on WTFS. for example

# ¿ Dec 21, 2015 16:12

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Koivunen posted:

We are getting desperate and time is running out... Since my boyfriend and I both work on Christmas, both sets of parents are coming to our house over the weekend for a small family get together. We have no idea what to get them.

Who is your giftee: My parents and my long term boyfriend's parents.
Budget: $50 - $100, ideally the gifts would be similar in quality and comparison as we will all be together.
Giftee's age: Mid 60s
Known likes/interests: Antiques/collecting, travel, coffee, watching TV, quiet things, local things*, our parents have a lot of the same interests.
Known hates/allergies: Chain-anything (stores or restaurants), being social, alcohol, food that is not healthy/clean, clothing they haven't picked out themselves
Type of gift you are looking for: ANYTHING
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Ideally we want to get them something they can use. Both parent pairs already have everything they need, and since they've collected for years and are actively trying to downsize, we don't want to get them things that will just sit around. The only thing we have so far for all of the Rents is a fancy drinking glass where the proceeds went to charity. Last year they liked the "exotic" coffee we got them, I saw the French Press suggestion but I don't think they would use it. My parents enjoyed a camping package a couple years ago that had fire starters, cards, tin cups, etc in it but they don't need more camping stuff. We've done "recipe in a jar" before where you put stuff in a jar and all they have to do is add water, but that's kind of cheap and it was only three or four years ago. We got my boyfriend's parents a nice bird feeder last year that they really liked. We just want them to utilize our gifts.

*His parents live about 60 miles away from us, and my parents live about 150 miles away, so gift certificates to local places won't apply, but they are supporters of small businesses.

Is there a local resort/cozy lodge nearby? I'm not talking super fancy or anything, but a nice place where you can take them out to brunch and then spend an hour or so chatting on a porch overlooking a beautiful scenic view while everyone enjoys a cup of coffee/hot cocoa? Or maybe you could manage something like this yourself at home?

Then there are the "of the month" clubs where you can get coffee or teas or wines, whatever they might enjoy getting something new of every month. You could get them any of the fun television options that exist these days: Chromecast, Apple TV, Netflix, etc, etc.

You can also purchase livestreaming events for performances. If you knew that they liked goign to the opera or any certain bands, sometimes they have livestreaming of concerts. But you can also purchase tickets to an actual theatre in their home towns online usually easily enough.

Just some thoughts.

# ¿ Dec 21, 2015 16:24

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

wyntyr posted:

Who is your giftee: my father
Budget: $100-ish, can go up from there for the right thing but he's not terribly ostentatious (also he makes baller cash so anything expensive he's likely already bought himself)
Giftee's age: 59
Known likes/interests: gospel music (particularly like the Brooklyn tabernacle choir), yard decoration / renovation (he's addicted to getting free plants off of Craigslist). Loves Christmas to an almost pathological degree.
Known hates/allergies: not looking for anything in the knife / flashlight / outdoorsy category. I'm the member of the family with those interests and have already outfitted him with the best reasonable stuff.
Type of gift you are looking for: I'll be blunt - my mom has recently passed and all of his grandkids are hundreds of miles away. He's alone in a giant house with his dog. I want something that can give him some physical connection or reminder of his family (not Mom, we've got that covered).
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: the simplest things have often been the best. He really likes a stupid USB Christmas tree I got him off think geek years ago.

Have you thought about using a service such as shutterfly to create a personalized calendar with family members birthdays and photos? It's a good reminder of when to call and what everyone looks like do that he can feel a part of memories. There's a bunch of other useful stuff you can make with family photos too.

# ¿ May 30, 2016 14:53

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

Cowslips Warren posted:

I would like to add that this past Xmas I was in a stump for my nephew, who was 8 at the time, and I found out after I got him his Xmas gift (which was something I got almost everyone last year, ask my SA Secret Santa, a 3 foot tall stuffed Olaf plush) that everyone else had pitched in to get him a PS4 and games. Well gently caress, no plush can compare to that. But from what his family said, that kid did play some games...but he ended up wrestling with Olaf all day, dragged Olaf around the house, even fell asleep on him. Olaf for the win, bitches.

Aw, yiss. Nothing better than getting confirmation that you own at gift giving.

# ¿ Jun 2, 2016 01:14

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 12:40

a friendly penguin: Feb 1, 2007; trolling for fish

The most recent discovery of hiking related gifts that can be carried on:crampons

Hardly sentimental though.

My thought for sentimentality is to get a cheesy keyring that says Seattle and that can imply your future together.

Or perhaps a plane ticket back to you?

# ¿ Jun 24, 2016 12:03

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > 2015 Gift Idea Thread