What would be the perfect birthday gift for a 17 year old guy who loves soccer? (Non-soccer gift ideas would also be appreciated. A book gift that he wouldn't hate would be the most amazing suggestion imaginable.)
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posted by cessair
on Apr 18, 2013 -
17 answers
My eldest daughter (known here as Kinetic Jr.) is turning 21 this month and I want to get her a memorable present.
What would have been the BEST GIFT EVER when you turned 21?
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posted by kinetic
on Mar 12, 2013 -
42 answers
For work reasons, I'm spending this week far from home, which means I'm going to miss my girlfriend's birthday tomorrow. Boo! We're going to make up for it when I get home, but I still want to mark the occasion by having something delivered to her at work. The obvious choice is flowers, of course. But can you suggest something else romantic and sweet that would be less obvious? Something I can arrange remotely and have delivered to an office in Herndon, Va. tomorrow?
posted by Naberius
on Feb 27, 2013 -
13 answers
My cousin, who also happens to be my favorite little dude on the planet, is turning nine in a couple weeks. For most of his life, I've lived on the other side of the country so he really only knows me through infrequent holiday visits, but for the next few months we're going to be in the same city and I'm super excited for us to get to know each other better during this time. Because I've been a deadbeat cousin, I don't know specifically what he's into (although he likes typical high energy 8 year old stuff like wrestling his friends, reading books, video games, and exploding coke bottles with mentos) but I'd like to get him something completely awesome anyway.
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posted by justjess
on Feb 10, 2013 -
16 answers
I've been divorced for several years now. My ex-wife and I get along amicably. I am single and she has been involved in an LTR since the divorce became official. Everything's fine, everyone's happy. Our kids are thriving.My ex-wife's birthday is in three weeks and up until now I've been the one to coordinate helping the kids get her something for her birthday. It occurred to me that it's probably time for the New Guy to take this over, right? They're not engaged, he still has his own place, but he does spend a lot of time there in your standard domestic situations. I have no problem discussing this with my ex, I'm just looking for a sanity-check on this idea before I bring it up. Am I missing something? Is this even a good idea? (For the record, I am single and she will probably be responsible for
my birthdays (vis-a-vis the kids) for the forseeable future.)
posted by Setec Astronomy
on Feb 8, 2013 -
20 answers
Our son will be turning 11 during our trip to Germany in a few weeks. We're planning on traveling from Wolfsburg to Frankfurt by train that day, and we're flying home the next morning, so where should we go in Frankfurt for a memorable birthday dinner?
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posted by ulotrichous
on Jan 27, 2013 -
5 answers
I'm looking for recommendations for lounges in Boston for a birthday party with around 10-15 guests. We'll all be in our early 20s.
Ideally, the place will play livelier music but not blast it to the point where I have to shout to have a conversation.
Price range is pretty flexible. In terms of location, closer to the financial district is preferable, so nothing near Allston, brookline, etc.
This would be for a Saturday night between 8 and 11 PM and I'd like to be able to make reservations.
A decent sized crowd is appreciated, as we don't want to feel like we're the only group of people in the place.
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posted by 6spd
on Jan 23, 2013 -
3 answers
I'll be turning 30 in April, and I'm planning a trip in celebration. There are a lot of places in the world I'd love to go just to hang out and look around, but I decidedly do NOT want to do that for this trip. I want to travel somewhere and do something active. To give you an idea of what I'm looking for, my front runner so far is a one week stay in Jamaica learning how to make wood fired pottery. What similar "enriching" type experiences are out there?
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posted by Calicatt
on Jan 3, 2013 -
13 answers
I just got a great Christmas present from my sister-in-law, help me give back as good as I got.
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posted by msali
on Jan 2, 2013 -
10 answers
One of the downsides of being born in mid-January is that it's always snowing, which leads to a certain inertia when it comes to birthday parties. People don't like to expend the effort to come to a birthday until they think it's going to be exceptionally fun.
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posted by wolfdreams01
on Dec 3, 2012 -
11 answers
K. So my big 3-0 birthday is on Saturday, December 8th, and I'm looking for a good place in Portland (like a semi-private event room in a resturant/bar) to host folks for several hours. Let's say 7-10pm. More specifications inside...
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posted by redsparkler
on Nov 23, 2012 -
6 answers
I need a gift idea for my wife's birthday. She is a nurse and mom to five awesome kids, but her passion is making awesome cakes.
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posted by tacodave
on Nov 5, 2012 -
19 answers
I would like to surprise a friend in Washington, D.C. for his birthday with a special treat; however, it's a donut made in a mom-and-pop store here in Dallas, and I won't be flying up there anytime soon. Can you help me figure out a hack for this?
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posted by Unicorn on the cob
on Jul 12, 2012 -
21 answers
I thinking of giving
this as an 80th birthday present. But can it really be OK? I realise that in spite of being called 'vin doux naturel' it is fortified - but eighty years?
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posted by Segundus
on Jun 24, 2012 -
7 answers
My wife wants our daughter to have a makeover party for her 8th birthday. Manicures, pedicures, hair-styling and all that. Am I being overly-sensitive in thinking it's a bad idea?
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posted by ColdChef
on Jun 13, 2012 -
97 answers
Can you help me come up with alternative ways to say happy birthday? I'm tired of writing the same old things when I send friends birthday cards/texts/etc. Looking for creative, thoughtful, and/or poetic ways to send someone birthday wishes. Bonus points for literary references or foreign language translations that have a slightly different connotation than "Happy Birthday"
posted by robverb
on Feb 14, 2012 -
34 answers
It's my close friend's 30th birthday on Friday. She's in Asheville, NC. I'm in Brooklyn, NY. What should I get/do/order as a gift?
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posted by greta simone
on Feb 13, 2012 -
9 answers
Has anyone here traveled to Punxsutawney, PA to celebrate Groundhog Day? Does anyone live there? What kind of stuff is there to do? What are the sites to see? Places to eat?
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posted by mrzer0
on Feb 2, 2012 -
10 answers
My friend is turning 30 and thinks he's old. I'm getting him an old man starter kit: hard candies (Werther's Originals of course), Metamucil...what else should I include?
posted by echo target
on Nov 18, 2011 -
78 answers
Help me come up with a fantastic birthday gift for my husband. Special circumstances make this challenging. (Maybe a little NSFW).
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posted by lizifer
on Oct 15, 2011 -
5 answers
What should I buy my brother for his birthday?
I have a brother who's impossible to buy gifts for, and it's his birthday soon. I know the following things about him: He's a computer programmer and website designer. He loves Apple products, The Simpsons, Futurama, and XKCD. His heroes are people like Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs, and Dawkins style atheists/rationalists. He's a non-smoker and non-drinker. He's asked us not to get him a gift, but he's still my brother and I'd like suggestions for something more thoughtful than an iTunes gift card. My budget is pretty low, and he handles all his own tech shopping. Suggestions for quirky, fun or interesting gifts would be appreciated.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn
on Oct 9, 2011 -
25 answers
My son, a soccer player and avid Manchester City and Manchester United fan, is turning 17 on the date of the Man City vs Man United match (April 28th, 2012). Since we were considering a trip to Europe next year, the stars all seemed to be in alignment for us to schedule our visit around his birthday. I wrote to inquire about tickets for the match
. In return, I received a lovely reply...but I don't understand it! Please hope me.
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posted by misha
on Sep 7, 2011 -
15 answers
What should I do/get for my boyfriend's birthday when we've only been dating 6 months and I haven't met his friends?
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posted by Pomo
on Sep 1, 2011 -
14 answers
Does anyone know of a book or article that might be of help to a child and his family (he will soon be 12) whose mother died at childbirth. He is the nephew of a dear friend, the boy really values family and as he is maturing, realizes more and more, that each birthday also marks the anniversary date of his mothers' death. He is was adopted by a paternal aunt and is being raised in a loving family. If anyone has suggestions on how best to support the boy and his family, it is much appreciated. If anyone has first hand experience with this, your knowledge would be much appreciated. The issue is clearly much bigger than his birthday, but is there any way to help him emotionally to deal with this reality as he matures.
posted by jennstra
on Jul 23, 2011 -
10 answers
My birthday is on the 18th and I plan on taking Monday off to make it a long weekend. But that happens to be the weekend of
Carmageddon. Which, if you don’t live near Los Angeles, is when all hell will break loose because
10 miles of freeway will be closed for a Saturday and a Sunday. Truly the end of the world.
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posted by sweetmarie
on Jul 5, 2011 -
9 answers
How can my coworkers and I surprise our awesome receptionist on her 50th birthday?
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posted by lbo
on Jun 7, 2011 -
14 answers
What's the name of the sad short story where an old man's family forgets its his birthday?
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posted by Fiat124
on May 3, 2011 -
2 answers
I'm turning 18 on Saturday, and I'd like to commemorate somehow and/or what should I do in my last few days of legal childhood?
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posted by R a c h e l
on Mar 30, 2011 -
28 answers
I want to make a cake for a friend's birthday; but this friend doesn't like sweets. What's a good alternative?
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posted by girlalex
on Mar 29, 2011 -
28 answers
We want to send some balloons overnight via Fed Ex to our boss. Will he open a box of deflated, sad balloons and promptly fire me?
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posted by fillsthepews
on Mar 22, 2011 -
12 answers
What's your favorite birthday party on film? I can't think of any off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are some great ones...I'm looking for funny, dramatic, scary - anything, as long as it's great.
posted by bumpcat
on Mar 8, 2011 -
23 answers
Good gifts for a couple sharing a birthday party? Especially an "experience" gift located in or around Toronto?
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posted by oohisay
on Feb 16, 2011 -
4 answers
What's a book that is similar to
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, only less intense? My mom is into those 'blueberries will save the world' email forwards, and for her birthday I'd like to encourage her new obsession with healthy foods, teach her how to cook them, explain about health, etc.
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posted by andreapandrea
on Jan 1, 2011 -
9 answers
It's my girlfriend's birthday next month, and I'm looking for ideas. She absolutely freaks out in the presence of small, furry cute things, so I'd like to use that as a jumping-off point.
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posted by PM
on Dec 16, 2010 -
7 answers
I think I want to throw myself a 30th birthday party in NYC next month. Help me find the perfect venue.
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posted by miskatonic
on Dec 6, 2010 -
12 answers
"You hate your life; happy birthday!" Help me compose a message for a friend in need.
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posted by OLechat
on Nov 13, 2010 -
14 answers