What should I look for?

August 3, 2005 11:07 PM

A close friend of mine will soon be moving to another city to go to university. We're going to miss eachother like hell and I'm looking for a good going away gift—under $100 CND— to give her.

She's very fashion-minded, perhaps even a little vain, but I'd never chance buying her clothing since my taste isn't nearly as, er, refined as hers. I was going to start with 'Oh, the Places You'll Go' by Seuss(not so original, I know) and naturally a letter to go with the gift.

She likes music, singing, playing guitar and writing. I thought of getting a nice leatherbound journal but learned that she's already received one as a gift before. Any ideas would be very helpful!

posted by Evstar to Shopping (12 answers total)

How about a nice messenger bag? It's a bit easier to pick one than to pick clothes, and it's something that she could use a lot.
posted by sueinnyc at 11:18 PM on August 3, 2005

Something I decided not to give as part of a wedding gift because it seemed a little too odd and might be perceived as mainly for the groom, but then kicked myself afterwards when I realised too late it would have been really appreciated, is their own domain name, and matching easy-to-use paid-up server space, set up so they can easily post photos and stuff like that in their own website. In this case, perhaps a paid livejournal account or something - I find livejournal very easy and valuable way to keep up to date with all my friends back home.

Phone cards (or even cell phones) aren't very original, but they get that "you better damn well call me" message across :)
posted by -harlequin- at 11:45 PM on August 3, 2005

-harlequin- had some good ones, perhaps a subsciption to a good magazine that reflects her tastes. Both nice gifts, and are nothing that a receiver would feel some vague need to ?always keep around? lest the giver wonder where it went. Good liquor is a classic too.
posted by buzzman at 12:31 AM on August 4, 2005

What about a nice quilt? She'll need and and she'll remember you every time she uses it.
posted by k8t at 5:07 AM on August 4, 2005

A webcam for you and one for her plus a Skype account? It would make keeping in touch super-easy.
posted by MsMolly at 8:38 AM on August 4, 2005

If they don't already have a compact point-and-click, for around C$100, you can get a nice little digital camera. (You can find even cheaper ones than those linked to here.) Creative people love this kind of thing.
posted by Pseudonumb at 7:45 PM on August 4, 2005

Also, I received a nice guitar capo and tuning fork for my birthday awhile back. I really appreciate it and remember the giver everytime I use them.
posted by Pseudonumb at 8:03 PM on August 4, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks for the tips, everyone.
posted by Evstar at 9:39 PM on August 4, 2005

Best answer: If she's into music, she may appreciate some sort of sheet music journal. I think there's a Moleskine version but I don't know if that's fashionable enough for her.

Could you get her something personalized? Record her (perhaps without her knowing) and design+burn a CD for her, perhaps with her on the album sleeve?
posted by divabat at 10:02 PM on August 4, 2005

An iPod Shuffle? You could load it half-way up with songs you have in common.

One can never rarely go wrong with Bacon of the Month Club.
posted by nenequesadilla at 12:03 AM on August 5, 2005

Response by poster: Great idea, divabat! In fact, I've recorded a couple of her songs before while we were in our band's home studio working on some of our other material. I'll make up some packaging and I think she'll really enjoy that.
posted by Evstar at 7:59 AM on August 5, 2005

Ooh, that'd be great! I made up a mix CD for a friend's birthday last year and used his photo for the cover. He really got a kick out of that.

Hope it goes well.

(and squee! my first comment and it gets a best answer mark. XD)
posted by divabat at 6:45 PM on August 5, 2005