I have to get some gifts and I have no idea what to get.
I have two nephews who I don’t really know very well. They are 12 and 8, being raised very religiously and are young for their ages. I don’t even know what kinds of things they like.
I also have to get something for my dad. This one’s going to be almost impossible I think. He has Parkinson’s disease, is not active, likes watching TV and sitting in the yard with the dogs. He likes boats and he can’t eat crunchy things. He is not into electronic gadgets.
A basic triops kit would a cheap hit with these boys I bet, I used to buy them at Wal-mart for under 5 bucks. If you want to spend more you could buy them a bowl or container for them too with some gravel.
That’s an interesting idea. I wonder what kind of magazines would be interesting to him. He was born 1947.
That’s a really good idea.
Ok I also have to get something for my brother. He loves fishing, hiking and doing stuff with his boys. I thought about maybe a really cool fishing lure but I don’t know what a really cool fishing lure is.
I also have to get something for his wife. She’s very religious and is a school teacher at a private, religious school.
Maybe a tape recorder and some books on tape for your dad?
For the boys, I like the triops idea. Wish I had seen that when my kid was younger. He would have been ALL over that!
For brother who loves fishing, a gift card to an online fishing store like Bass Pro Shops? Or Cabella’s?
For the wife, maybe a really nice Yankee Candle? (This one’s kinda throwin’ me.) OR - my mom suggested this, has she read the book, “The Shack”? You could get her a copy of that I guess.
That’s a good idea. I bet he’d like the James Harriot series.
The Shack sounds too sad. A really nice candle is a good idea.
I’ve always wanted to get my dad an autographed Don Cherry T-shirt or jersey. My dad really isn’t all that old but he is in very poor health and I don’t think he’ll be around for too many more years.
I also think my parents are lying to me about just how sick he is.
Books
Gipsy Moth Circles the World (1967). Chichester
Adrift, Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea. Callahan
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage. Lansing
The Rise & Fall of the British Empire. James
A Leatherman All Purpose Tool
If it is hard for him to walk, then having one of these in a kitchen drawer gives him pliers and screwdrivers all in one handy small tool. And his friends will ooh and aah over it. And us old guys love gadgets–not electric gizmos like iPods or iPads, but stuff that actually does something (ie. mechanical).
For Dad, books on tape and a tape player with big buttons. * He may be fine with CDs, but most older folks are more comfortable with tapes. Or any device which can download and play audio books and NPR-type stuff. (Hopefully a more informed person can elaborate.)
For the boys - how religious? Like, no Santa Claus-religious? Take away super hero toys because they compete with the omnipotence of God-religious? If it doesn’t mention _name of diety here it’s evil-religious? What religion?
In general, most fundamentalists will not argue with anything that has to do with survival skills building, and most young boys are into camping. Maybe ropes and a knot tying book, or other woodscraft related things? A pup tent and flashlights. . .
If their parents are not anti-graven-images types then a sketch pad, how-to-draw book and art supplies would give them an outlet.
Kazoos, harmonicas, recorders and guitars can also provide outlet for tightly bound children. Include a book of camp songs from the religious store to aid parental acceptance. Even an electric keyboard can be bought fairly inexpensively these days.
I looked there already, maybe he’d like a puck or something. I just know he’d love to have a shirt or something he could wear.
I’m making lists of all these suggestions and I’m so glad to have some ideas now!
If “raised very religiously” happens to mean Young Earth Creationists, would they have any strong opinions either way on the kids raising their own “prehistoric” animals?
