My sister graduates college this week, and I want to get her a gift that will be useful for her at work. She'll be counseling homeless people at various shelters and other locations in Washington DC. Besides pepper spray (our running joke), what are some practical gifts I could get her? [more inside]
posted on May 14, 2008 - 10 answers

My sister is graduating high school and heading to Lawrence Tech. to study architecture. What are some gift ideas for things she'll find useful/necessary in her classes? [more inside]
posted on May 13, 2008 - 14 answers

What's a good magazine subscription for a 30-something guy who is really into watches and pens? [more inside]
posted on May 12, 2008 - 4 answers

My wife and I are expecting our first baby at the beginning of June. I want to get her an awesome "thanks for doing the labor" gift, but am not getting any flashes of inspirado. Any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated. I'm not really looking to get her anything for the baby, as that wouldn't really be a gift for her, however something that relates to her new role as a mother could be great. If it helps, she's not really into tech or gadgets (the horror!). Thanks!
posted on May 12, 2008 - 31 answers

1LFilter: My boyfriend's starting law school in the fall. What can I buy him so he'll be able to hit the ground books running? [more inside]
posted on May 8, 2008 - 23 answers

Giftfilter: In Los Angeles, need to get a single malt scotch for someone in Toronto. [more inside]
posted on May 7, 2008 - 7 answers

My partner is graduating from law school and I'd like to get a really nice gift for her. The caveat: she's adamant that she doesn't want a briefcase. Any ideas? [more inside]
posted on May 7, 2008 - 22 answers

For the past four or five years, I've worked as a dog-walker in New England. A family whose dog I've walked for much of that time is moving back to their hometown in the midwest. Because I dabble in photography (and because they live in a neighborhood with great architecture), I'd thought of putting together a scrapbook or photo album with pictures of their community, some of which would include the dog, as a going-away gift. The more I think about this, the more I see the potential for it to go horribly wrong or be misinterpreted by the family. What's the best way for me to do this? [more inside]
posted on May 7, 2008 - 22 answers

A great book about/of underwater photography, for the gifting? [more inside]
posted on May 4, 2008 - 6 answers

Can my great aunt make a $12,000 gift to me, my wife, and each of our two kids (for $48,000 total) without incurring the gift tax? [more inside]
posted on May 4, 2008 - 12 answers

My nephew turns 10 soon. I got him The Dangerous book for boys. What else can I add to make it more awesome? [more inside]
posted on May 1, 2008 - 34 answers

My brother is graduating from law school soon and my sister and I are looking for a gift or gifts. We usually spend around $50/person for things like this, although we'd be wiling to go a little higher. [more inside]
posted on Apr 30, 2008 - 9 answers

Gift Filter: I need help finding a nice gift for a co-worker. [more inside]
posted on Apr 30, 2008 - 6 answers

When undergoing an ministerial ordination ceremony, is it customary or common for the about-to-be-ordained person to gift the minister who is conveying the ordination? [more inside]
posted on Apr 30, 2008 - 5 answers

What are some good appreciation gift ideas for a thesis advisor who was kind when the project took far longer than originally planned? [more inside]
posted on Apr 30, 2008 - 10 answers

Friends are canceling a long-awaited vacation because one of them is ill again. She's been sick, on and off, for several years and both were looking forward to a respite in Hawaii, where until 2005 they traveled 2x a year. What can I do to show my love and support? [more inside]
posted on Apr 29, 2008 - 11 answers

Two parts: 1. Is it appropriate to give a gift to someone to thank them for donated services? 2. If so, what kind of gift? [more inside]
posted on Apr 24, 2008 - 17 answers

One of my dearest friends just got engaged (yay!) and I want to get her a little gift to mark the occasion. What can I get for the newly-engaged girl who hasn't started planning anything yet? [more inside]
posted on Apr 23, 2008 - 19 answers

Help me find a cool gift for my cousin's bed, bath and lingerie themed bridal shower. [more inside]
posted on Apr 22, 2008 - 10 answers

Gift Filter: Really awesome Kentucky Derby/Horse Races themed gift for my dad's 50th birthday? [more inside]
posted on Apr 21, 2008 - 8 answers

Hiring graphic novel artist to create professional graphic-novel-style portrait as gift? [more inside]
posted on Apr 20, 2008 - 13 answers

Help me think of a kickass gift for my grandmother's 100th (!!!) birthday. [more inside]
posted on Apr 17, 2008 - 19 answers

I'm looking for a nice, decently priced spa in Ashburn, Virginia... [more inside]
posted on Apr 16, 2008 - 2 answers

What date acquired and cost basis should I put for two items reported on a 1099-B, when there are several unknowns? [more inside]
posted on Apr 10, 2008 - 8 answers

This summer marks a big wedding anniversary. I wanted to surprise my wife with a car. She is now talking about wanting to travel. Since both ideas require advance planning, how do I open this dialog with my wife, while trying to keep the element of surprise? [more inside]
posted on Apr 10, 2008 - 24 answers

When I was a kid I could buy the world for $20 but now with $100 I can’t get crap. What can I buy for $100 that’s fun? [more inside]
posted on Apr 9, 2008 - 63 answers

I have unexpectedly been given $1,000 for a digital camera. What should I buy? [more inside]
posted on Apr 8, 2008 - 38 answers

My friend is getting married sometime this year, and I was thinking of doing a photo book, made up of my favourite recipes and my photos of the food (we are both into cooking). What else could I include in such a book? [more inside]
posted on Mar 31, 2008 - 13 answers

Looking for an outstanding, but deliverable, gift in Germantown, Tenn., area for new parents. [more inside]
posted on Mar 21, 2008 - 1 answers

My neighbor is very generous - too generous! Her young son and my kids play together fairly often, and each time my kids go to their house to visit, my neighbor sends my kids home with several gifts. Sometimes if she sees my kids playing in the back yard she just hands gifts over the fence. Last time it was a large tin of cookies, a box of Whoppers candies, and a Vitamin Water style drink. In the past gifts have included a hand-knit scarf, brand new clothes, a doll, a box of donuts, and a large plate of homemade fried chicken. At Lunar New Year she gave each of my kids ten bucks plus a box of sweet rolls. I don’t know this woman well at all. We’ve said ‘hi’ a few times but her English is limited and I don’t speak her language which I believe is Thai. I get the sense that our different expectations around gift giving are related to cultural differences (she’s an immigrant from SE Asia, I’m white, born and raised in California), and maybe also that she is just a particularly (or maybe compulsively) gift-giving person. [more inside]
posted on Mar 20, 2008 - 23 answers

Help me pick out the best wedding gift ever for my almost-husband. [more inside]
posted on Mar 18, 2008 - 17 answers

What's a good gift for my scotch-loving husband? [more inside]
posted on Mar 17, 2008 - 21 answers

It is my dad’s 70th birthday in a couple of days, and I need to buy him something super, tomorrow. But it’s severely complicated by my dad’s hard-to-buy-for-ness. Help me pick out the gift. [more inside]
posted on Mar 17, 2008 - 20 answers

NYCFilter: I'm in NYC for training for another 36 hours or so, and would like to find a nice, but not-too-expensive anniversary gift for my wife before I head home. Where should I go? Specific stores or general areas, either one. [more inside]
posted on Mar 12, 2008 - 11 answers

Which of these gifts should I buy my wife for her birthday, and which for our anniversary? Alternatively, how can I make one a little more romantic? [more inside]
posted on Mar 11, 2008 - 11 answers

I have a nontrivial balance on a gift card for a local retailer that has gone out of business and is filing Chapter 7. What are my options? [more inside]
posted on Mar 10, 2008 - 10 answers

What little treats should I get today after work to take home to my shaken-up-after-a-car-accident housemate? And what can I do to make his life a little easier/nicer in the days/weeks to come? [more inside]
posted on Mar 6, 2008 - 10 answers

Symbolic academic gifts for visiting scholar? [more inside]
posted on Mar 3, 2008 - 6 answers

Should I get a gift for someone I worked for for 3 days who tipped me generously? [more inside]
posted on Feb 25, 2008 - 7 answers

GiftFilter: Please help me cheer up my sister in law. [more inside]
posted on Feb 22, 2008 - 13 answers

I would like to buy my girlfriend a potter's wheel for her birthday, but don't really know anything about where to look, what to look for, or the price I can expect to pay. Any suggestions or recommendations? [more inside]
posted on Feb 21, 2008 - 13 answers

I need good quotes for a gift for my girlfriend! [more inside]
posted on Feb 19, 2008 - 11 answers

I want to get a nice gift for a lovely Vietnamese friend. She just gave me a Tet present - a decorated envelope with a lucky $2 bill. We've been flirting for several years, and now it looks like we might be about to get serious. I want to get her something that will have special meaning for her Vietnamese background... and will also (hopefully) melt her sweet southeast-asian heart. Any suggestions from Mefites familiar with Vietnamese culture? Also, I am willing to spend up to $50 for this gift.
posted on Feb 18, 2008 - 11 answers

Dad gift filter: Out of gift ideas for my Pa. He's disabled, lives in South Carolina, and doesn't get out much. [more inside]
posted on Feb 18, 2008 - 17 answers

This is a ridiculous question. It's 12:20AM Valentine's Day morning. I suddenly want to send flowers (or some other encouraging vday-ish gift) to a quite a few of my single girlfriends at their respective workplaces. Am I crazy, is this doable and how?? [more inside]
posted on Feb 13, 2008 - 18 answers

Help me give a great gift for my Aunt's momentus 50th B-day! [more inside]
posted on Feb 8, 2008 - 1 answers

Help with a Valentine's Gift. [more inside]
posted on Feb 5, 2008 - 13 answers

I've been dating a really wonderful woman and it seems we have fallen very much in love with each other. She doesn't wear makeup, or jewelry aside from two small, non-dangly earrings in each ear, and isn't particularly "girly" in any other respect, so I'm kind of at a loss as to what to get her for Valentine's Day. I'd like it to be something she can wear all the time, and since it's our first together, I'd like to make it something memorable, but any kind of flashy jewelry would probably be met with a luke-warm reception. I've been thinking about some kind of "butch" friendship bracelet, or something like that, but the ones I've found are generally pretty shoddy and cheaply made. She's been talking about wanting some color on her body - either painting her toenails or getting a tattoo - so something colorful without being super-feminine might be nice. Any suggestions? (BTW: She's in her 30's.) Thanks.
posted on Feb 3, 2008 - 33 answers

Suggestions for a birthday present for a one-year-old female cousin? [more inside]
posted on Feb 1, 2008 - 18 answers

A Valentine's day question - mea culpa! I'd like to go for something handmade and creative for the dude, but I'm afraid school is sucking up my imagination. Ideas? [more inside]
posted on Jan 31, 2008 - 12 answers