Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with gift and christmas

Earplugs for thirty, please!

Knowyournuts — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:35:12 -0800

ChristmasAngstFilter: What should I give to the workers at our day care? I am at my peak of Christmas shopping stress, and I just realized that I should probably do something nice for the workers at my daughter's day care. They are terrific, and underpaid, and deserve some recognition. If you are or have ever been employed at a day care center, what gift would you want?

There are about 30 employees, and at least half of them have had extended contact with my daughter since she's been attending. So I don't think it would be fair to just give private gift certificates to anyone. Plus, she's going to be there a while longer, and will be interacting with the other half of them pretty soon. Every last one of them knows her by name.

I am thinking of putting together a gift basket and having it taken to their break room. (There was a previous thread about gifts for daycare workers, but it was oriented toward personal, take-home gifts.) Is it holiday overkill to do candy and chocolate? Hot drink mixes? Headache medicine (ha ha)? What would have helped you get through your day as a daycare worker?

Help me find a poem!

nataliecay — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:34:49 -0800

Help me find a good inspirational poem to frame as a Christmas gift for someone going through a hard time. With the economy in the tank, my dad is going through a hard time with his company and I wanted to find a classic uplifting poem to frame for a Christmas gift. Something inspirational that makes you think. Googling fails me as it only seems to bring up the cheesy poems that don't have any deep thought behind them.

Not being one who studies poetry, I am kind of at a loss. Does anyone have any favorites that they feel might fit the bill?

Thanks in advance!

Honey Treats

mccarty.tim — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:07:58 -0800

Help me come up with candies and/or baked goods based on honey and/or comblike structures! This Christmas, I'm getting my sister a crocheted skunk doll, partly because she loves stuffed animals, and partly as an inside joke. Earlier this year, we had yellow jackets, and the ones under the ground were eaten by a skunk after we poured peppermint hemp soap down the holes, who left bits of comb on the yard. My mom and I were thrilled an animal took care of it for us, but my younger sister said that skunks were gross animals and that she didn't like having one near the house, voicing a lot of her concerns through her stuffed rabbit.

To complete the joke, I'd like to bundle the skunk with some kind of honey candy or other treat that's either based on honey and/or comb-like. I thought about comb honey, but that's not quite what my sister would like to eat (she's high-functioning autistic, so some more exotic textures like beeswax are daunting) and it's surprisingly expensive. If anyone has any suggestions for a treat that would be stable overnight under the tree (ie it won't melt/go stale), I'd like to hear it.

Bonus points if it can be quickly and covertly made, especially well in advance.

Help! I need some Beatles!

etc. — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:41:44 -0800

Making a Beatles DVD from YouTube videos. Looking for suggestions for clips. For our family's second annual MAKE our Christmas presents party, I drew my sister-in-law. She's a huge Beatles fan. She owns a fair amount of albums and reads every book about the Beatles she can get her hands on, so I was thinking of grabbing a bunch of YouTube videos and making a DVD compilation. (I'm also going to make a few other things, just in case you think this is too weak from a maker standpoint.) I realize they won't be HD quality (to say the least), but she won't care. She's not web savvy, so she'll never find this stuff on her own and would just be happy to have it.

The question is, if I want to make a 30-45 minute DVD, what YouTube videos should I grab? I searched YT for rare Beatles stuff, but I quickly realized--being only a casual fan myself--I don't really know what would turn a die-hard fan on.

I thought this would be a fun beginning, and I think this Lennon song would be great too, but after that I'd love to hear your suggestions. Rare stuff in general would be great, but fantastic clips of their more familiar stuff would be fine too. I'm thinking I'd like this to be more music video than a behind-the-scenes documentary, but I'm happy to hear all vid suggestions.

She's the kind of person who would put such DVD on in the background and play it over and over. If you were her, what clips would you want on such a DVD?

Much obliged for your help.

Gift advice, please!

traceymariel — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:17:08 -0800

What can I give my brother-in-law and his wife for Christmas? They really like ice cream but have a tiny kitchen so an ice cream maker is out. The limit is $100. My husband and I are doing a gift exchange with his siblings, and of course we got his brother and wife who are difficult to buy for. They both love ice cream but have limited space in their kitchen and wouldn't appreciate an ice cream maker. I thought about an ice cream of the month club but it's too expensive, we are only allowed to spend $100. Any ideas?

Uncle Scrooge presents

Secret Life of Gravy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:19:23 -0800

What to gift an 11 year old boy with too much stuff? My husband's nephew has divorced parents and doting grandparents, so every Xmas he makes out in the gift department. This year (as usual) we were given a list from his mother but the only things on the list are video games. We gave him 2 games last year. Undoubtedly he will get several games from others this year.

So we are left with a dilemma. Naturally we would like to give him a gift he would really be excited about and use, however my husband would like to give him something that will stand out and be memorable, possibly even give him something that won't be too exciting at Christmas, but will prove enduring. So my question is twofold: Should we just give him what he wants? If not, what are some ideas for something around $50.00? Bear in mind that my husband gave him one of his old guitars for nephew's birthday and is fixing up a used bike to give him just to have around.

What gift(s) could I request for Christmas that would make my life more interesting, social, or creative?

Kirn — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:41:00 -0800

What gift(s) could I request for Christmas that would make my life more interesting, social, or creative? I've been asked by my mother for suggestions of what she could get me for Christmas. Recently I've realised that I spend too much time reading books, watching movies and playing video games, and not enough time doing creative or interesting things, attending cultural events, or being sociable and meeting new people. This is particularly daft as I live in the interesting city of Brighton, an hour outside the even more interesting city of London.

What gift(s) could I ask for that would help me to have a more interesting, social, creative 2010? There's infinite interesting stuff happening in London (and Brighton), so what would give me an excuse to see/do more of it? There's infinite new creative activities I could get involved in (none of which I really engage with currently) so what would give me an entry into them? What would get me out the house? What would get me outside my comfort zone? What would bring a bit more culture, a bit more social scene into my life?

Absolutely any and all suggestions welcome, I'd love a wide grab-bag of ideas. Thanks!

Merry Christmas, Baby

bunji — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:48:07 -0800

New nephew! Yay! But what to get him for Christmas? He's the first baby in the family, so this first-time auntie and uncle are clueless as to what would be great presents for a six-month-old. Please, experienced givers-of-baby-gifts, share your wisdom!

- Have any gifts to your baby been especially big hits?

- Is there anything that you parents WISH someone had given them?

-Has anyone received anything when they were a baby, whether sentimental or practical, that they especially appreciate today?

-Or does anyone simply have a really good idea?

(I saw this earlier thread, but it's almost five years old, so new things might be all the rage and babyland these days.) The world's cutest little nephew thanks you in advance!

Flesh not an option

Rallon — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:26:40 -0800

Help me have the most awesome themed gift this Christmas! A pound of _______ So my extended family gets together for a tricky sort of round-robin gift giving event every Christmas, and everyone brings a gift. To spice things up the past few years we've added themes. Last year we had to do a gift with the same first letter as in our first name - I Asked MeFi for that one, too.

This year, the theme is "A pound of something." Clearly, things like food are boring and lame. Flesh, probably not an option. Please, help me think of something awesome and clever!

Spendiness should probably be under $25 or so, and the company is age 5-85. However, trading is a part of the game, so it's not necessary that everybody like everything. Also, booby-prizes are part of the show, so it's cool to either have a pound of something really amazing that everyone will trade FOR, or hilarious to give a pound of something terrible and laugh at whoever gets stuck with it.

Thanks, AskMe!

Gifts for my Conspiracy Theory Obsessed Friend!

batonthefueltank — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:05:41 -0800

Every year I am at a loss of what to get my best friend for Christmas. He is a man who really has everything. He likes electronic gadgets but they are usually fairly expensive, and he usually wants something very specific that he ends up buying himself. When I ask him what he wants, he hems and haws and just says, “Nothing, I don’t need anything.” I always struggle for material things to give him, so last year for his birthday I wrote him a very heartfelt letter detailing some lovely memories I had of him from our times together. He loved it!

He is not into reading a lot, but loves watching tv and movies. He loves science fiction and tv dramas. He likes movies like Contact, The Last Mimzy and Braveheart and tv shows like Battlestar Galactica, The Closer, 24, Big Love, Law & Order and Burn Notice. He listens to music by Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen and Jewel. He enjoys spending time with his family, and eating out. He is not very active at all. Every once in a great while he plays a game on the Wii.

His big interest of late is conspiracy theories (and the like). I am thinking that this may be the way to go regarding the gift(s). He is big into people like David Wilcox, Alex Jones, David Icke, Keith Olbermann and Ron Paul. He likes watching movies online about 9/11 truth, preserving the US republic, one world government, the Bilderbergers and radio shows about “The Creature from Jekyll Island.” His latest acquisition is the movie “Zeitgeist”.

I may just resort to a gift card or offer to take him to dinner, but I wanted to see if you all could help me come up with something creative. I'm open to any and everything in the $50-$150 range. Thanks!

If she loves Yo!Ville, will she love the Sims?

chndrcks — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:41:27 -0800

My wife loves YoVille, farm town, farmville, etc. on facebook - will she love the Sims (2 or 3) for Christmas? She loves all these games on facebook where you build a house/farm/etc. Design and decoration are important, as is getting new items to place in said house or farm. When we used to play MMORPGs, she spent a lot of time on character creation and choosing outfits.

I was thinking about getting her the Sims 2 for Christmas - does that sound like a good match? Sims 2 is a little more in our Christmas price range, but I'd be willing to go to Sims 3 if it's significantly better. On the other hand, a lot of the reviewers on Amazon seemed to prefer Sims 2. I haven't played either, so I'm not sure.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Giving the gift of deliciousness

sararah — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:32:56 -0800

In previous years I've made a lot of cookies to give away to friends and family around the holidays. This year I'd like to do something a little different, but still make it a gift of food. So I've done my holiday-cookie-palooza for the last three years or so, and I'd like to change it up a bit this year. For one, making all of the cookies tends to be a lot of minutiae since it is like 10 different recipes. Also, a lot of people (including yours truly) are trying to eat better, and there are more than enough holiday cookies that will make their way on to our plates throughout the season. I recognize not all of the ideas below are "healthy," per se, but some of them will last a lot longer, are used in small quantities, or are freezable for enjoyment after the holidays.

I'm not ruling out cookies entirely, and I may still make a few favorite batches. I'm not really interested in making the jars of brownie mix/cookie mix or whatever, I feel as if those often go unused.

Some ideas I have rolling around in my head:
-Breads: either a sandwich-type loaf or a sweet fruit bread
-Jams: I have recently learned how to preserve and have successfully made strawberry jam and apple butter. Considering making pumpkin butter, cranberry jams/chutneys or some sort of citrus jam/marmalade as oranges, etc hit their peak.
-Frozen baked goods: fully prepared pies, scones, chocolate chip cookie dough or cinnamon rolls that you would just have to bake.
-Granola
-Would be awesome but also a lot of work: homemade bacon

So I'm wondering what you would personally like to receive in a holiday-themed gift basket of food? Have you ever done anything like this or received one from a friend? Ideas on clever packaging are also welcome.

It's almost holiday time - let the neroses begin!

pointystick — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:59:19 -0800

Holiday gift giving going out of my comfort zone but I don't wanna be a scrooge. Please hope me. Longish explanation inside. My family Xmas list is feeling unmanageable. I know some big families draw names, but I have 2 medium sized families (dad/stepmom's & mom's). It has been tradition in both families to exchange gifts between everyone with couples generally giving a gift jointly and sometimes receiving jointly and adults give gifts to the kids too.
Mom's side used to be manageable but family has grown. Xmas includes gift giving between all my grandmom's family (grandmom's kids and spouses, my cousins, and cousin's kids). Dad is remarried now (stepmom, half sister & kid, stepsiblings & spouses). So I'm up to 20 people or so without even getting into my close friends (my non-blood family). I'm the only single person (besides the young folk) and I have no kids and no full siblings so I can't even use the excuse of "only exchanging gifts with a nuclear family".

Now for the questions:

-How do I do gifts without being chintzy? I like to buy nice gifts (especially for mom & dad) but I can't afford to splurge on everyone. What's reasonable? I can't afford what I used to be able to when I was in a 2 income family.
- Am I scrooge? I do make a decent living and I could afford more gifts if I cancelled my upcoming vacation. (OTOH, since my divorce a few years ago, I have been enjoying traveling to places I enjoy & having hobbies so I'm loathe to do it. Is that awfully selfish?)
- I like to give gifts to my close friends, too. Is it appropriate to spend more on my best friends than on stepsiblings I see a few times a year?)

Gift Ideas for my Super Girlfriend

moonroof — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:45:20 -0800

My girlfriend wants superpowers. What should I get her for Christmas? My girlfriend is pretty into Heroes. And X-Men. And Harry Potter, Piers Anthony novels, that superhero game on Facebook, and pretty much anything with people who have super or magical powers. I asked her want she wanted for Christmas several weeks back, and she said, "Superpowers."

Now, instead of taking a chance on some radioactive waste, I've decided to put together a little kit. I've already ordered a copy of this book and , and I want to put together a box of little things like a glove with magnets in it for magnetism power, a little handheld fan for wind power, etc., for her to "try out" different powers.

So, what other things can I put in this kit that will give my girlfriend super/magic powers? Budget-friendly a plus.

Everyone wants to give the money to the other person - what is fair?

true — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 06:32:17 -0800

14 years ago I was given a baby grand piano for Christmas, where it lived at my mother's house until now. She recently remodeled and sold it (with my full agreement) since I have no room for it and interstate moving would cost as much as a new piano. She wants to give me the proceeds since it was my present, but I think we should at least split it since it was a really expensive gift and it has remained at her house. What do you think? Both parties could make good use of the money but neither one really needs it more than the other. Everyone is amicable here and we'd like to here what other people think, so please favorite any answers you like.

This is such a crazy long shot

Aubergine — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:17:56 -0800

Heroin addict decides to face her habit so she moves to the bucolic Scottish (or Irish, somewhere in the UK at any rate) countryside, meets a (decades-older) blind farmer, falls in love, kicks the habit, eventually has to grieve his death, starts writing luminous poetry, publishes... but what is her name, or the name of her book? (last-minute, last-ditch Xmas-gift-filter) Hive mind! If you folks can't answer this, no one can, and at least I will feel like I really tried. Anyway:
I was in the car with my mother coming back from the airport a few days ago, talking about poetry, and she mentioned a poet that made a huge impression on her two years ago at a reading. Of course, she doesn't remember the name of the poet, or the name of her book, but she does remember some especially unique details about this poet's life (see above) on which basis alone I thought it might be possible to identify her.

Also, if this helps narrow it down, this is in Western Mass, so the reading was somewhere around here (Pioneer Valley/Easthampton/Westhampton), it was two years ago (sorry, no specific date), and the poet was not on a book tour by herself- my mom had actually gone to see some other poet read, and it turned out he was on tour with this woman who was also reading her poetry. Needless to say, her poetry really made an impression on my mom, but she didn't buy her book because she was broke. I would love nothing more than to find this book for her, because I have a feeling that the more time goes by, the less my mom is going to remember anything about her and be able to find it. The only things I have to go on, aside from the very general time (2 years ago) and place (Western Mass) that this happened, is this woman's incredible biography, which you'd think would narrow it down.

As my mother remembers it, she was a heroin addict who, in order to face her habit, moved to a very remote area in the countryside of somewhere in the UK, probably Scotland or Ireland (if you are wondering, like I did, what kind of heroin addict has the wherewithal and extra cash to up and move to the bucolic countryside, it seems that she lived somewhere in the UK already so it wasn't an overseas move). While she was living there, she met a man (a couple decades older than her, and blind, I think) that lived there and they fell deeply in love, and she overcame her addiction, but at some point he died, and she started writing poetry.

I am not sure if this is the subject matter of the poems or not (I imagine that at least some of them are about that experience) but the woman's story is pretty incredible and so on that basis alone you'd think it'd be easier to find her name. Unfortunately, all my google searches along these lines have failed. My mother did mention that the book might have been called something like "A Sheepherder's Calendar" but again, I've had no luck with this or any variations (Shepherd's Calendar, Sheepherder's Almanac, etc). I've asked around at a couple of bookstores in the area, and this doesn't ring any bells with anyone, so it seems like it's pretty obscure. If you know who this woman is, then I will be very grateful, and impressed with your wonderful taste in poetry.

Non-Union Square Xmas gift for my mom?

Viola — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:30:31 -0800

I was a dolt and missed the deadline to ship my Mom's potential Christmas gift to my parent's house before I left town. So now I'm left with one weekend in NYC to find her something pretty for the home that's also small enough to fit in a carry-on suitcase. I need recommendations for classy, inexpensive stores in NYC that carry unique and/or handmade bowls, candle holders, tableware, etc for under $80. The centerpiece was sort of perfect for my Mom, but I can live (sob) with a substitute. Other possible gifts I considered from the same online store were this tray and this bowl, but alas, they won't make it to the house in time unless I shell out another $40 for 2-day shipping.

I swear I tried my darnedest to find a relevant question from the Ask.Metafilter annals, but nothing popped up. I know NYC has tons of stores like this, but many are very expensive or dull.

Thanks in advance!

Snowboarding Gift Ideas

adustum — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:40:28 -0800

I'm looking for gift ideas for a family member who is into snowboarding. He already has all the basics but I do know he needs a new pair of goggles (which shouldn't be hard to find). I'm also interested in any cool accessories that you could recommend beyond the basic stuff your average snowboarder would have. The price range I'm looking for is around $50. Thanks in advance!

RandomUnder$30GiftFilter

mistikle — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:23:17 -0800

Best gift for under $30? I realize this has probably been done here before, but I figured at this time of year, such a question may be helpful to others as well.

What is the coolest thing you can think of that is available for under $30? This would be for a Yankee Swap type gift exchange, so the recipient is unknown. Therefore, what sort of sub-$30 item would you pick, that just about anyone could use/enjoy?

No thank you

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:52:57 -0800

Holiday gift giving dilemma: I have two half-sisters. One always thanks me for gifts. The other rarely does. How to remain on good terms with both, but not feel like a chump? I have two half-sisters (full sisters to each other), with whom I would like to remain on good terms. Let's call them Abigail and Tracy. We don't know one another very well-- they are much younger than me and our father divorced their mother when they were young, so we haven't spent that much time together. Our father is now deceased. We're all adults--I'm 42 and married, Tracy is 32 and married, and Abigail is 30.

I often send them each a modest gift for Christmas; for example, the last two years it has been a cookbook. I don't expect them to reciprocate, and in fact some years I don't give them a gift. Abigail always thanks me and sometimes sends a gift herself. Tracy virtually never thanks me. In earlier years I thought "Well, she's young, I was pretty bad about thanking people when I was younger," or "She just started a new job," or "She just got married." But, you know, she's 32, she's married, she's obviously responsible in other areas of her life and I am running out of excuses for her. I feel like a chump. Abigail says Tracy never acknowledges her gifts, either.

So, what to do?

- If I stop giving gifts to Tracy and only give them to Abigail, I am sure that Tracy will know and will feel slighted. I really don't want this to happen. I want things to be good between us, that's the whole point. Plus, our dad always did shitty things to play us off one another, and I just don't want to get near that issue.

- On the other hand, I don't want to keep giving gifts to both like this. I'm afraid that perhaps Tracy perceives me as the weird distant relative who wants a relationship when she doesn't want one. I have a cousin like that, and I don't want to be that person. But I'm not sure that's it--she does occasionally e-mail and send pictures. I really don't know how she feels. Anyway, it seems stupid to keep giving gifts to someone who is saying loud and clear "I don't care."

- And I don't want to stop giving gifts to both of them. Abigail seems kind of into it. We've started to talk a little more by e-mail, and sometimes by phone. This is another little point of connection, an excuse to communicate.

I know some people will say "why don't you just talk to them about it?" Well, it's not like that. It's hard to explain, but that really isn't an option. I feel that in our particular circumstance it would seem too overt, too confrontational--too formal. We don't have enough of a relationship to have that conversation.

Thanks for reading. What do you think I should do?

What's cool in England this year?

K.P. — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:07:23 -0800

Christmasgiftfilter: I am in England. I'm looking for suggestions for little gifts to take to the American family. Or generic gift suggestion lists. I'll be leaving England in under a week and doing Christmas with the American family. I need gift suggestions for those adult relatives (and a few kids) that one only sees at Christmas--some "neat thing from England" that one wouldn't have already seen at the mall or World Market.
Previously I have brought them fancy Christmas tree ornaments, souvenirs from the local football team shop, locally made gourmet chocolates, and mounted photographs of local landmarks.
I'm hoping to come up with something along those lines that I can fit a dozen or so of into my luggage. I'm in a smallish city and not able to get to London in time to shop there. Relatives on the list are mostly baby-boomers and 3 teen/preteen children.

Alternately, if you know of any good gift-suggestion-lists that are better than Amazon's, pointers to them are appreciated as well.

I want to give my father a written piece to go along with his Christmas present. Help!

parkbench — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:55:28 -0800

This is the first time that I've bought my father an unsolicited Christmas gift and I want to attach something to indicate its emotional weight for me. I'm thinking of written pieces. Suggestions? This is the first time that I've really consciously bought and prepared my father a present for Christmas that wasn't somehow coerced by another family member. Now I'm looking for something to attach to the gift to point towards its emotional weight for me.

I write. So I was thinking of attaching a little something by me; maybe a piece of fiction, but it could just as easily be a non-fiction personal account. I might end up doing this, but I also thought of attaching a short story/essay/etc. that might even say it better than I could.

So I was wondering if people had any ideas for written pieces about fathers. I want something emotional but honest; I'm not looking for Hallmark, here. Hopefully the piece is easy to find or at least, if in a book, not a rare and esoteric one.

What are your favorites?

How to gift wrap certificates?

ultraultraboomerang — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:57:54 -0800

Clever/pretty ways to "wrap" gifts that are just pieces of paper? For Christmas this year, I'll be doing a few of these sorts of things as part of my presents for my family. Since the actual gift is intangible, I'll just have certificates printed from my computer to physically hand to everybody. I could of course just roll the certificates up like scrolls and tie with a ribbon, or stick them in envelopes, but can you incredibly clever people think of some prettier/more interesting ways to present them?

Thanks muchly!

A is for Apples to Apples, J is for Jelly Bellies...

Rallon — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:45:09 -0800

Looking for a $15-25 white elephant gift that starts with the letter D My extended family holds a white-elephant gift exchange on Christmas Eve, and this year the rules have been changed so that your gift must not only fall in the $15-25 range but must also start with the same letter as your first name. The evil trio that is myself, my father, and my brother start with "A," "J," and "D," respectively. We've had no trouble with A and J, but somehow we're stuck on a good "D" gift.

Basically, I need ideas for something either incredibly awesome or incredibly not-awesome that starts with D and can be acquired within the price range. The participants are family, and while most are delightfully liberal and open-minded, keeping things family-friendly is a must.

Also, the "D" name should apply as closely to the gift as possible. Categorical things like giving a "D"VD will invite mockery and ridicule, so something with a more specific title/name beginning with D would be preferable.

Book-Hungry Mother

Weebot — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:23:23 -0800

[Xmas Filter] I'm doing my Christmas shopping, and I'm a bit stuck on what I need to get my mother. She likes culinary-cultural history books, preferably with recipes. Suggestions? She's been really into these books for a while now, and I was hoping to get some suggestions. She's gone through Salt, Cod, and all the other Mark Kurlansky books, as well as Lizzy Collingham's Curry and David Kamp's The United States of Argula.

She has also been a fan of food memoirs like Tender at the Bone as well as travel books with a strong culinary bent. You get the idea. So, any suggestions?