Please, sir, I want some more...gifts!
July 1, 2016 1:53 PM Subscribe
I'm doing a production of Oliver and am trying to come up with gift ideas for the production team. I need gifts for 5 or 6 men and women, that are either the same or comparable. Looking to spend less than $100. Bonus: small all-cast gift ideas!
Possibly relevant: I'm playing Old Sally and the Rose Seller, and will be in the ensemble in other scenes.
Current ideas:
-A fancy copy of the original Dicken's novel (haven't found any that I like)
-Copies of the book linked here: (I actually think it looks really interesting, but I think I'm nerdier than some of these people - this is probably my fallback if I can't come up with anything else.)
-Something.... rose related? rose tea blend, rose scented lotion, rose candle?
-light-up LED rose?
Bonus points: I would love to come up with something to give to each of the cast members - there's 22, not counting myself. I could go up to $50 for that.
I'm crafty and can following instructions well, I bake, I have access to amazon prime and whatever (I'm in NY state). Don't have too much time - I want to have these for opening night, which is July 21.
If there's a really strong idea, I would consider breaking my limits in either category!
Thanks for any and all ideas!
Possibly relevant: I'm playing Old Sally and the Rose Seller, and will be in the ensemble in other scenes.
Current ideas:
-A fancy copy of the original Dicken's novel (haven't found any that I like)
-Copies of the book linked here: (I actually think it looks really interesting, but I think I'm nerdier than some of these people - this is probably my fallback if I can't come up with anything else.)
-Something.... rose related? rose tea blend, rose scented lotion, rose candle?
-light-up LED rose?
Bonus points: I would love to come up with something to give to each of the cast members - there's 22, not counting myself. I could go up to $50 for that.
I'm crafty and can following instructions well, I bake, I have access to amazon prime and whatever (I'm in NY state). Don't have too much time - I want to have these for opening night, which is July 21.
If there's a really strong idea, I would consider breaking my limits in either category!
Thanks for any and all ideas!
I love this show because I love this book. It is one of the best of the wonderful works by Dickens. So I strongly second the idea of giving the book as a cast gift. This is a nice paperback version, and this isn't a bad hardcover version.
Another great item for a cast would be a gift certificate and download instructions for this book in audio format. (Anyone's smartphone can play it with the audible app.) This recording is very well reviewed on audible.
posted by bearwife at 3:40 PM on July 1, 2016
Another great item for a cast would be a gift certificate and download instructions for this book in audio format. (Anyone's smartphone can play it with the audible app.) This recording is very well reviewed on audible.
posted by bearwife at 3:40 PM on July 1, 2016
Best answer: for the cast - I would bake a "ripe! strawberries! ripe!" shortcake with "any milk today, mistress" whipped cream. And maybe sweet red (chocolate) roses.
posted by quadrilaterals at 3:50 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by quadrilaterals at 3:50 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
I still advocate the BOOK but this mug from the same museum shop myselfasme suggested is pretty cute too. If you feel like being fancy you could fill each mug with strawberry shortcake or some similar strawberry concoction.
posted by bearwife at 3:55 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bearwife at 3:55 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: * pulls up chair and sits down *
Over ten years of stage managing, I did about 40-odd shows, and made most of my cast/crew gifts. Here is my wisdom.
* For especially big casts, I went with food gifts. The only problem with baked goods is that you invariably run into someone who's gluten-free or something (I felt really guilty when one of my favorite members of one of my shows very gently explained that that was the reason she wasn't having any of the cake I brought), so I switched to homemade jam. They make little tiny four-ounce canning jars that are PERFECT for this purpose - you can get a dozen for about twelve bucks, and your average batch of jam goes far in jars that small. And one or two jars that size makes a satisfying gift. (Constance Wu, who is now in FRESH OFF THE BOAT, was in the show where I made a batch of ginger-peach jam for the cast and crew, and made a point of telling me how good it was when she finally tried it a couple days later.)
* Sometimes, too, I went the in-joke, behind-the-scenes route. For a show that had especially problematic lights, I got everyone in the cast some of those little flashlights that you can hang on your key ring. For a period play where all the guys had to grow elaborate facial hair, I got a bunch of cheap mugs from Salvation Army and some melt-and-pour soap, and made mugs of Bay Rum scented shaving soap for them all. And for a show that had had an especially accident-prone rehearsal period, I made little "offical production first aid kits" by decorating plain envelopes and stuffing them with things like single-dose packets of aspirin and goofy printed band-aids, and a couple squares of chocolate.
You would know if there is any in-joke you can run with; if that gives you any idea, super. Otherwise, some ideas for the Rose/Dickens theme:
* there is such a thing as rose petal jam. If collecting fresh petals would be time-consuming, this recipe has a way to substitute for dried. You may need to make a couple batches to fill up 22 of those 4 ounce jars, though.
* You could also hit up the dollar store for 22 little red bags and 22 little bottles, buy rose soap in bulk and get a big bottle of witch hazel with rose water, and decant the witch hazel into the bottles and tuck one bottle and one bar of soap into each bag. For extra crafty, make cute little labels for each bottle.
* Those 4 ounce jars would also be good for making rose-scented jar candles - the only fiddly bit would be the wicks, but they make a sticky putty that helps anchor a wick inside a container. Then it's just a matter of melting down the wax and making it smell pretty, and pouring it into each jar. You can get everything you need for this at your local Michaels' outlet.
* Or you could get a bunch of cheap plain-covered notepads and decorate the covers with rose stickers. Get a pack of pencils too, and some red or floral-patterned washi tape, and decorate pencils to go with them.
* A slightly-more upscale, or bigger, notebook may not be a bad idea for the production crew too - or give them sets of notebooks, one with the rose motif, one with a picture of Dickens, and one decorated with a printout of a movie still or one of the woodcut illustrations from Dickens' original printing.
* for kids or lighter-hearted adults, the toy/novelty manufacturer "The Unemployed Philosophers' Guild" makes a finger puppet of Dickens that you can also use as a fridge magnet. Those are only eight or nine bucks apiece.
I'll be curious as to what you do.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:18 PM on July 1, 2016
Over ten years of stage managing, I did about 40-odd shows, and made most of my cast/crew gifts. Here is my wisdom.
* For especially big casts, I went with food gifts. The only problem with baked goods is that you invariably run into someone who's gluten-free or something (I felt really guilty when one of my favorite members of one of my shows very gently explained that that was the reason she wasn't having any of the cake I brought), so I switched to homemade jam. They make little tiny four-ounce canning jars that are PERFECT for this purpose - you can get a dozen for about twelve bucks, and your average batch of jam goes far in jars that small. And one or two jars that size makes a satisfying gift. (Constance Wu, who is now in FRESH OFF THE BOAT, was in the show where I made a batch of ginger-peach jam for the cast and crew, and made a point of telling me how good it was when she finally tried it a couple days later.)
* Sometimes, too, I went the in-joke, behind-the-scenes route. For a show that had especially problematic lights, I got everyone in the cast some of those little flashlights that you can hang on your key ring. For a period play where all the guys had to grow elaborate facial hair, I got a bunch of cheap mugs from Salvation Army and some melt-and-pour soap, and made mugs of Bay Rum scented shaving soap for them all. And for a show that had had an especially accident-prone rehearsal period, I made little "offical production first aid kits" by decorating plain envelopes and stuffing them with things like single-dose packets of aspirin and goofy printed band-aids, and a couple squares of chocolate.
You would know if there is any in-joke you can run with; if that gives you any idea, super. Otherwise, some ideas for the Rose/Dickens theme:
* there is such a thing as rose petal jam. If collecting fresh petals would be time-consuming, this recipe has a way to substitute for dried. You may need to make a couple batches to fill up 22 of those 4 ounce jars, though.
* You could also hit up the dollar store for 22 little red bags and 22 little bottles, buy rose soap in bulk and get a big bottle of witch hazel with rose water, and decant the witch hazel into the bottles and tuck one bottle and one bar of soap into each bag. For extra crafty, make cute little labels for each bottle.
* Those 4 ounce jars would also be good for making rose-scented jar candles - the only fiddly bit would be the wicks, but they make a sticky putty that helps anchor a wick inside a container. Then it's just a matter of melting down the wax and making it smell pretty, and pouring it into each jar. You can get everything you need for this at your local Michaels' outlet.
* Or you could get a bunch of cheap plain-covered notepads and decorate the covers with rose stickers. Get a pack of pencils too, and some red or floral-patterned washi tape, and decorate pencils to go with them.
* A slightly-more upscale, or bigger, notebook may not be a bad idea for the production crew too - or give them sets of notebooks, one with the rose motif, one with a picture of Dickens, and one decorated with a printout of a movie still or one of the woodcut illustrations from Dickens' original printing.
* for kids or lighter-hearted adults, the toy/novelty manufacturer "The Unemployed Philosophers' Guild" makes a finger puppet of Dickens that you can also use as a fridge magnet. Those are only eight or nine bucks apiece.
I'll be curious as to what you do.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:18 PM on July 1, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks for the inspired responses so far! Unsure of what I'm going to do - at this point, I'm leaning toward making the 4 oz jam jars of rose jam (maybe even a strawberry/rose jam? not sure yet) for each in the cast. Still on the fence for the director and other bigger gifts! (EmpressCallipygos, thank you!!!)
LOVE the cake idea from quadrilaterals- will likely bring that in right before we start tech! :)
posted by firei at 11:06 AM on July 2, 2016
LOVE the cake idea from quadrilaterals- will likely bring that in right before we start tech! :)
posted by firei at 11:06 AM on July 2, 2016
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posted by myselfasme at 1:57 PM on July 1, 2016 [2 favorites]