Christmas fliter: Need help finding a present for my brother.

December 16, 2008 5:14 AM

Christmas fliter: Need help finding a present for my brother.

hes 29. I've got a maxium of £50 to spend, Looking for somthing slightly intelectual. Can't be Media eg: books, music, videos.

any ideas welcome.

posted by complience to human relations (8 comments total)

National Trust membership.
posted by the latin mouse at 5:25 AM on December 16, 2008

A Metafilter membership!

But seriously, what does your brother like?

If he likes to build things, this guy sells really fabulous plans for wooden clocks that he designs.

If he likes puzzles, try some of these wooden brainteasers.

There are of course, other possibilities, but it would be easier if we knew more about your brother...

Good luck!
posted by Kimothy at 7:05 AM on December 16, 2008

An inexpensive telescope for star (or neighbor) gazing. Even under 50pounds (sorry, dumb yank, can't figure out the symbol) you should be able to get a decent one. They're loads of fun, even in a brightly lit city.
posted by nax at 7:33 AM on December 16, 2008

as an almost-29, slightly-intellectual, brother: if I ruled out books, music, and videos, I'd get nothing for xmas :)

seriously, though, ruling those things out makes it neigh-on-impossble to make a good recommendation without knowing something of his interests.

my slightly-intellectual recommendation is the Scrabble Deluxe Edition (though if you can find the Onyx Edition on that side of the pond, go for it.)
posted by namewithoutwords at 7:42 AM on December 16, 2008

Ask him if there is any software he'd like.

And Merry Christmas!
posted by atm at 7:47 AM on December 16, 2008

Would mildly silly intellectual gifts be okay? I use ThinkGeek for all my goofy and smart loved ones, check out their Science Toys and Gadgets, lots of great non-media ideas!
posted by nelleish at 10:38 AM on December 16, 2008

send him to a talk on a topic he is interested in
posted by koahiatamadl at 12:36 PM on December 16, 2008

In this thread, folks gave me some amazing ideas for my father - they are all so good I'm still weighing a couple of options. Not sure if you could US puzzles shipped in time, but some of these things are online.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 9:04 PM on December 16, 2008