When you get to a certain age you don’t want more stuff, so giving experiences works well.
[/QUOTE]
I’m that age. Trying to unclutter has been difficult. Friends and family don’t think I have enough stuff and keep trying to clutter me up again. My wish list this year:
Replacement heads for electric toothbrush
One set of sheets and pillow cases
black socks
umbrella, so I can have one in the office, one at home and one for the car
Bath mat
Consumables to replace worn out items.
Other suggestions for difficult to buy for people:
A good flashlight. I like Pelican brand myself.
Single male? Check out his towels if you get the chance. Bet they need to be replaced.
Pocket knife
Jumper cables or emergency road kit.
I asked for and received fire extingishers one year. Great gift!
My grandparents hate every present given to them and have no problems telling the givers this. For instance, I know my grandmother eats a lot of toast with jelly/jam, so one year I found a nice set of 8 small jars of different jams and jellies. About 2 weeks after Christmas I asked her how she liked them. “Hated them, they tasted horrible” was the response.
Ever since then I just grab the first thing I can find and give it to them. I know they’re going to hate it anyway, so why put in the effort? Past gifts (not all from me) have included: a shoe tree, a toaster, a football dvd (when grandpap pointed out they don’t own a dvd player I grinned, winked, and said “maybe someone will get you one”, and a couple years later someone did!), car wax, cordless phones (they’re technophobes, and refused to use them), couch cushions, gifts I was given by someone else last Christmas and hated, etc.
And here I thought my grandma was the only one who did that. She has a long history of handing her gift back to the giver immediately after unwrapping, accompanied with a blunt “I don’t like it!” I’ve considered getting her a very simple DVD player and a couple of old movies that she likes, since she spends so much of her day in front of the TV, but my mom told me not to bother.
Today I spotted a potential gift for my 69-year-old father. It’s an indoor golf putting set (similar to this). My dad’s not a golfer, but he does like golf-themed video games. He also has a putter that my brother gave him for Christmas about 15 years ago. I’m going to call my mom tomorrow and get her opinion (and find out whether Dad still has the putter – no sense in buying the gift otherwise).
The box mimics the box that pops up giving you the stats about clothing/armor items in the game. I’m not sure if “Green Linen Shirt” is an actual item in the game, but I think it is. The box tells you that it’s made of cloth, you wear it on your chest, it gives you 3 armor points, and you need to be at least level 5 to wear it. A t-shirt must be a pretty low-level item :).