Some people are great at selecting gifts. I expect some of you may have received or witnessed the reception of such gifts. Would you share your stories for the benefit of those of us who are tired of picking up gift cards or picture frames or other boring items?
This doesn’t have to be just about Christmas, but wedding, birthday, graduation, anniversary - whatever. Bonus points for figuring out what to give the person who has everything!
The closest I can come to this was last year when I enrolled my mom in a beer-of-the-month club. When she travels, she likes to try local brews, and I figured she’d enjoy having random beers delivered to her thru the year - and she did. Turns out it was a really good gift for an 85-y/o who didn’t need or want any more knick-knacks or gadgets.
Nobody I know needs any “stuff,” so I prefer to give consumables lately. I’ve yet to meet anyone who dislikes getting free snacks/food delivered to them at home.
I’ve given cheese-of-the-month to my wife, who loves cheese and wouldn’t eat anything else if she could.
I gave my dad “international snacks,” some of which he enjoyed, others that they’re hesitant to eat have been set aside into a sort of “weirdness museum” in their kitchen.
I gave my mother audible.com credits because she’s been into audiobooks, but she had difficulty using them. She didn’t already have an account and didn’t want to sign up for an ongoing membership. I don’t think you need to to use gift credits, I believe the active gift membership automatically goes away after whatever time period has been prepaid, but still it was confusing for her. Could be a good gift for someone else.
IMO, great gift giving is a function of how well you know and care about someone. For example, to riff off of DCnDCs suggestion, a quick trip to the supermarket can bag a great gift. Many women I know love either Hennessy or Patron. A smallish bottle mixed with a couple of their favorite snacks and a gift card is sufficient to show you understand and care without having to jump through hoops.
I got a milk frother for $14.99 and it’s my new favorite gadget. It fluffs up a small amount of soy milk into a vast aerated topping for coffee or oatmeal. It’s going in several stockings this year.
Sam’s Club had something in the coffee aisle that jumped into my basket one trip. Called “Coconut Coffee,” I couldn’t help but be intrigued. I’m not an instant fan, but I figured, “Why not?”
O. M. G.
Not too sweet, good coffee flavor, and delicious coconut. But that’s not all! It is incredibly c-r-e-a-m-y, from the coconut.
Sam’s doesn’t always have it in stock. So the last time I saw it there, I bought four jars.
Four people on my list are gonna die from happiness!
~VOW
Last year, my work minion gave me a box containing a small bottle of Joy dish washing liquid, a small box of Tide laundry soap and a shot bottle of Southern Comfort. (Tidings of comfort and joy…) I loved it and am going to send one to my BFF this year.
Consumables are always a pretty safe idea as are pet treats and toys. Two people I buy gifts for don’t have pets, don’t want food and don’t want more stuff. I donate to Heifer, International in their names.
If you are looking for a 1-size-fits-all charity, Heifer is the one for you. Last year, they added bees to their list, which made my mother in law very happy.
Your mention of gadget reminds me of the year I gave everyone Ladybug Massagers. They were about $10 at WalMart and came in a bunch of colors. It was at a time when my husband was having back problems, and we found that this little gizmo really helped, plus it not only was less strenuous on my hands, but the vibrations loosened the stiff joints. And one friend discovered it made a fun dog toy - she’d turn it on and put it on the tile floor, and her dog would go bat-crap crazy!
Sadly, they didn’t last forever. I’d kill for one now - with all the knitting and crocheting I’ve been doing lately, my hands get really stiff. But I did find a variation on the design at WalMart the other day and I’m hoping it works as well.
And, please, spare me the vibrator jokes - it’s just too easy…
I tend to like giving experiences - like taking my brother to a play, but my family seems to prefer physical gifts, so I just think about them: who they profess to be, childhood memories, secret likes from years ago. I find that if you actually think about the receiver, you can often score a direct hit. And keep your eyes open all year around for the right thing.
Kind of along the same lines… did you know that you can buy Frankincense and Myrhh? We happened to be in the town of Frome (Somerset, UK, which you may know of because it was used in Poldark), and in the Oldy Worldy shops we came across a place that sold them. (I’ve seen them on line also). Get yourself a box of Terry’s All Gold chocolates as well, and you’re good to go. Hell, I’ve been buying for my brother for so many decades, what a joy when you find an original idea.
Other thoughts - small jokey presents for a bike (ie pedalling variety) enthusiast, if you have one to buy for: a valve adaptor - you really want Presta to Schrader* if usefulness matters, in my experience. They are useful and tiny - a small matchbox would be way to big for wrapping up. I actually made a tiny box to go with it, and wrapped it with a 5cm square piece of paper. For next year, there is something called a Schrader valve tool (tightener, basically), which is also very useful (when you need it…), and even smaller.
FCM - this is a brilliant and much needed thread, I will be monitoring it constantly. Thank you.
j
basically, Presta = high pressure = road bike; Schrader = low pressure = mountain bike. Most cheap pumps of the type you attach to a bike are for mountain bikes.
My niece, who had a toddler, was about to birth her 2nd. I gave her a chest freezer with 1/2 full of home cooked meals & the other side ready for her breast milk stash, as she calls it
My father’s friend was turning fifty years old, so we bought a gift. I think it was a sweater, but it was entirely unmemorable. There was a booth in town where someone was selling old books and magazines, and I came across the issue of Life Magazine from the week he was born, so we bought it for five bucks. I think he liked that, because he just stopped opening presents and just looked through the magazine. It helped that he was a shutterbug. (And then a couple of years later, he was looking for the same thing for his wife’s birthday, except she was born the week of the Pearl Harbor attacks and newspapers and magazines from that week were hard to find.)
One year, we gave my inlaws a season ticket to a local semi-pro theater in their area. They seemed to enjoy it. Unfortunately, at their advanced ages (88 & 89) and due to their multiple physical challenges, gifting them is really tough this year. We’ll probably give them a handful of restaurant gift cards since they like to eat out, and FIL is still able to drive. Maybe we could look into having meals delivered to them instead? Hmmmmm…
People appreciate it when I write a piece of music for them as a gift.
I also like making handmade crafts for people (decorations, ornaments, painted boxes, etc.)
My father-in-law was born and raised in England, and his father had served two stints in the Royal Navy, including during the war. A few years ago for my FILs birthday, I did some research into his father’s service. I found a copy of his service record, including his signature and dates showing that he lied about his age to sign up at age 14. I also found a photo of one of the ships he served on from the same time period. So I put both those into picture frames and gave them to my FIL for his birthday. They were VERY well received - although he’d never admit it, he may have teared up, just a smidge.
Best gift I got was an opportunity to drive one of these. Best gift I ever gave was to my grandfather who served in pre-WW2 US Navy. He had long since lost his utility cover so I went to the manufacture of the official ones and got him a USS Tennessee BB-43 cover.
I went on a serious butterfly-raising kick this summer, monarchs and swallowtails. Butterfly chrysalides make great gifts in the “Absolutely Minimal-Effort Zero-Commitment Pet Ownership Experience” category, as well as the “Communing with Nature and Helping Wildlife Experience” category.
If you manage your caterpillar housing so that they form their chrysalis in individual see-through containers (I use inverted 2-liter or larger clear plastic bottles, with the neck cut off and a cut-out panel covered with nylon mesh), then you can set the upside-down bottle on a paper towel in a little plastic tub and give it to the recipient.
Chrysalis care is super easy, especially for species like monarchs where you know they’re going to be in the chrysalis only about 2 weeks max. I have a little one-page instruction sheet that I hand out along with the chrysalis container, but you can also just direct the recipient to an appropriate website for information.
Then they have the anticipation of waiting for the butterfly to come out, and the really neat experience of being able to hold and photograph the new butterfly for a period of maybe an hour after its wings have dried but it’s still not energized enough to fly. After which the butterfly takes off, and the recipient’s responsibility is at an end! The chrysalis equipment can be thrown in the recycling or given back to the donor for future use.
Drawback: Only available for gifting late spring through early autumn unless you live in a fairly tropical climate where butterflies reproduce year-round.
