Hermit Santa requests accommodating elves
December 18, 2016 3:46 PM   Subscribe

Secret Santa. $30 limit. Difficulty: Lives three time zones away. I am crap at this sort of thing.

She specified wine, whiskey, and coffee in her likes. I wouldn't have much of an issue with if it were someone close by. I also know that she likes cute things and purple things which might be easier.

She lives in the US, I live in Canada.

While this might seem a trivial problem to most of you, I am a reclusive and anxious person, and this is the first time in my life I've had friends* to do the whole 'gift giving' thing with. I live a simple, frugal life and know almost nothing about the luxuries normal folk afford themselves with.

*internet friends, whatever. baby steps.
posted by Freelance Demiurge to Shopping (14 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
How about a bag of coffee beans local to you and a cute purple mug?
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 3:51 PM on December 18, 2016 [7 favorites]


Aeropress coffee press? $29.95 on Amazon.
posted by Nerd of the North at 3:52 PM on December 18, 2016


Definitely coffee beans. You definitely can get some good, interesting, locally roasted beans for under $30; good/unusual/interesting wine/whiskey is little harder at that price point.

Googling "::your city:: coffee roasters" will pop up a number of places with people who would be more than happy to talk to you about options if you pop in and say "I'm buying beans for someone, I don't know exactly what they like in a coffee."
posted by damayanti at 3:57 PM on December 18, 2016 [2 favorites]


They may appreciate some Tim Horton's gear and/or coffee beans. It's a chain, sure - but it's a bit of Canadiana that they won't be able to easily get in the States.
posted by spinifex23 at 4:06 PM on December 18, 2016 [8 favorites]


Well appreciated by coffee snobs/hipsters: Blue Bottle Blend Box. Can't go wrong with this.
posted by Karaage at 4:08 PM on December 18, 2016 [4 favorites]


Also.. I presume you've considered this already, but ordering from a US-based merchant and having your gift shipped directly will be much simpler and faster than sending something across the border and through customs.
posted by Nerd of the North at 4:17 PM on December 18, 2016 [7 favorites]


Best answer: Your profile says you're in Vancouver. Send something straight from 49th Parallel or this cute gift set from Salt Spring Coffee. It checks the coffee box and it's something that represents where you are.
posted by atropos at 5:25 PM on December 18, 2016 [4 favorites]


Agree with coffee beans! And rather than buying locally and shipping yourself, if you're feeling anxious about it I would just pick a good U.S. brand and have them ship it for you with a gift note. I personally am a big fan of Philz, and you could afford to do a pound of beans + a mug with their pricing.
posted by rainbowbrite at 5:26 PM on December 18, 2016


You'll pretty much need to get a US merchant to deal with the shipping -- deadlines for reasonable shipping prices to the US in time for Xmas have passed.
posted by kmennie at 5:30 PM on December 18, 2016


Best answer: OK listen, I know this is hard, but your pal has a GREAT list and you literally can NOT go wrong with great coffee.

People saying you want to order from a US retailer are correct. You need this coffee shipped Monday. But that is totally cool because Peets. Peets is a) awesome, very popular, premium coffee; 2) has a fab sampler of four (!) coffees that is $29.95; c) orders over $25 qualify for free ground shipping right now as a holiday special thing; d) allows you to add a short gift note at checkout for no charge!

They take both PayPal and credit cards, so that makes things easier when shopping. I just did half a checkout, and they are totally cool with taking non-US credit cards (not everyone is, so this is good news.) You have to put in your friend's shipping address, and they ask for a phone number; it is for the ground whipper, who will NEVER use this, so you can enter 212-555-1212 if you would like... I do this ALL the time when buying for people in the US.

Note that they want you to choose "Ground Shipping: $8" when you are checking out, but you can see on the cart sidebar that they do NOT charge you for it.

If the note is causing you anxiety, here are some suggestions:

* Dear Name, here's hoping you have a merry Christmas and a caffinated new year! -- With affection, Freelance Demiurge

* Dear Name, Stay merry and warm with some coffee I hope you'll love! -- Freelance Demiurge

* Dear Name, wishing you the merriest of Christmases from your Secret Santa, aka Freelance Demiurge


I promise you that all of the above hits all of the marks for fluent gift giving, and all will be well.
posted by DarlingBri at 6:46 PM on December 18, 2016 [14 favorites]


Nthing that shipping coffee beans from a US roaster to her is the way to go. If she's a coffee fan, picking something from a more obscure roaster would be a great gift. This is a list of top San Francisco roasters that you can pick from.
posted by quince at 9:16 PM on December 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


Best answer: 49th Parallel Coffee! Or, if you feel a bit more like shopping, go somewhere like the Candy Aisle and ask for $20 worth of Canadian candies and chocolate bars. Throw in a box of Kraft Dinner and some Tim Horton's coffee.
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 9:33 PM on December 18, 2016


Response by poster: Everything worked out fine.

P.S. I love you DarlingBri
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 1:45 PM on December 27, 2016 [2 favorites]


Why thank you, Freelance Demiurge. I am glad it was all sorted out manageably.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:45 AM on January 1, 2017


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