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Spending a $200 gift on the family

sagwalla — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:05:24 -0800

I'm looking for a fun and unique way to spend a $200 gift on our family. Mum, Dad, girl 7, boy 5. Dad put $200 in my checking account and I'd like to buy or do something fun with it that the kids will remember. We've thought about tickets to a musical. We'd like some other interesting suggestions. We're in the UK where this amounts to about £140 today.

Thank you for being my personal Geek Squad.

variella — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:45:14 -0800

Appropriate gift for a volunteer computer techie with fantastic interpersonal skills? Over the past 3 years my sister's boyfriend has been very generous with his time, patience, tech support, and minor computer repairs (former job, now a side gig). He recently spent several hours helping me research and purchase a laptop, followed up with me to see how it went, and when he came over for dinner yesterday offered to 'set it up'.

Not only did he go through the basics with me, without being asked he did several other things he knew would be helpful while I made dinner for all of us (networked our home computers, linked to work accounts for research I do at home, and several other tasks I'm not quite certain how to explain ;) )

I have the two of them over for dinner fairly often, but I'd like to show my appreciation specifically to him- we aren't particularly close, but he's been dating my sister for 3 years (they're planning on getting engaged after June convocation) and I'm very fond of him. Patient, kind, even-tempered, enjoys doing things for other people- all of this was done with no influence from my sister. He has declined to be paid for his time, and tends to appreciate thoughtful gifts more than things with specific monetary value (like gift certificates).

I'm planning on also writing a note, but what would be a great "thanks for everything, particularly the past few days" gift (max $50) to show my appreciation?.

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.

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.

Help find our family a new board game!

olinerd — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:51:06 -0800

Help me find a new board game to gift my family of sore winners. Every Christmas is quality family game time. All four of us are extremely competitive and very sore winners and there is no better Christmas gift than rubbing a big win in the face of another family member. Really, we all get along famously.

So this year, I'd like to get us a new game to play, since we haven't had one in a while.

Games we like include Tripoly, Upwords, Hearts, Uno, CatchPhrase, and Sequence.

Games we kind of like, but probably don't need any more of, include Scattergories, Guesstures, and Pictionary.

Games we don't like include Monopoly, Risk, and Trivial Pursuit.

It would ideally be something that's over in an hour and offers opportunities to screw over another player in a very satisfying way. Doesn't matter if it's a team game or not. Players are all adults (brother and I are in our 20s). Given all this, what would we like? Are there new games out I haven't heard about yet?

Dad-day gift filter

t0astie — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:46:07 -0800

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. Complications: my dad is the original grump. He does not like anything except reading and watching TV. Dislikes include but are not limited to: gadgets, games, food, alcohol, computers, the internet, new clothes of any kind, expressing feelings, and right-wing politicians.

He does like (well, tolerates anyway) riding his bike, reading the newspaper, current affairs mags, watching the news and documentaries.

Usually, I’d just buy him a book. But he’ll be 70. That’s a pretty big deal. He’s also quite ill and might not be around for long, so I want it to be something special.

Also out: book vouchers (he still hasn’t spent the last two); magazine subscriptions (I’ve already subscribed him to just about everything I can think of/afford/that he would like); stuff for the bike (see above, gadgets); DVDs (he won’t watch them); music (he hasn’t listened to the CDs I’ve bought him in the past and really only listens to news radio now); travel (too frail and won't go anywhere without my mum, also frail); ''experience'' gifts like hot air balloons (he might like this actually, but way too frail now); non-money gifts like vouchers for hugs or a day together (feelings, uncomfortable with).

Yet more complications: I am far, far away in another, remote, part of Australia. I will be visiting in a month’s time, but won’t be there for his actual birthday day. Whatever it is has to be buy-able where I am, in the next nearest city, or over the net. And it needs to be postable. Also, I have limited finances - $100 tops for a gift.

And some more: it will be my mother’s 70th a few days later. I’m planning to buy them *both* a fairly freakin’ expensive gift together(a family portrait). So this is sort of like a mini-gift before the big gift, later. Which thankfully, I will have some time to save up for.

I feel really gridlocked - everything I think of, it seems there's a reason he won't like it, or can't do it, or it's not special enough. Fresh ideas would be much valued.

An interesting gift for Random Young Bachelor?

booknerd — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 09:17:01 -0800

Looking for gift ideas for A Single Guy, with essentially no other information. What to get my dad's wife's son for the gift exchange? For our family gift exchange, we each give a gift to two people. This year, I'm giving to my dad's wife, and her mid-30s bachelor son. Gifting to my dad's wife isn't tough - she's very into cooking, and we share a lot of common interests. However, her son is a bit of an anomaly. I don't know him well at all. He lives in Aliso Viejo, in Orange County, CA, and I don't know that area well, so I can't think of any location-specific gift certificates that might be nice. He's currently unemployed, and lives in his mother's condo, while she lives in San Diego with my dad.

He seems like a nice enough guy, but trying to engage him in conversation always sort of reaches a dead end. I'm not very good at small talk, and he doesn't seem to have any specific hobbies or interests to speak of. He's just a sort of average guy, shaved head, medium-large build, and may or may not have a general sort of dude interest in sports and cars. I asked my dad for ideas, and this is all he could come up with:

· Cologne

· a dress shirt

· a tool (I can pick one out if you like)

· (His mom) is buying him a desk, so how about a desk accessory

· Something from Costco (I’ll check with (his mom) on our visit there tomorrow)

None of those really seem like great ideas. If possible, I'd like to try to get him something unique that he'd appreciate, that says I actually put some thought in to it. I know he feels as though my side of the family doesn't like him very much, although I don't think we've done anything specific to give him that impression. We've just never been very involved in each other's lives, which is making this difficult.

As far as budget, somewhere around $50 is probably good. Is this an impossible task? Should I just go pick out [insert random man-tool or cologne]?

You go, my brother! How to help?

mkim — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:53:50 -0800

My brother is about to achieve his dream and open a musicvenue/ restaurant / nightclub . I'm so very happy for him and want to offer encouragement. What would be a really good christmas gift in this vein? He has some books - is there a good trade magazine I could subscribe him to? I just am at a loss as to what I can do to show my encouragement. I have already offered my personal help in whatever way.

Should I get either of my step-siblings baby-warming gifts?

drycleanonly — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 20:22:38 -0800

My two stepsisters each recently gave birth. Should I get either of them a gift? It gets a little complicated. Background: I have two “stepsisters”, daughters of my father’s long-term girlfriend. One gave birth to a boy last summer, and the other gave birth to a little girl last week. I’m not particularly close to either of them, and although we are fairly close in age (all in our mid- to late- twenties) we’ve never spent much time together and don’t know each other particularly well. I now live across the country from them, and the last time I saw either was about two years ago, though I spoke to both on the phone recently (but don’t regularly).

I’ve always felt like they think of me as a bit of a snob because I tended not to spend a lot of time with them when we were teenagers even when we had weekends or holidays together, and also, primarily, because our lives have taken different paths - they are now both single mothers at low-paying jobs, but previously have had problems with drug use, abusive relationships, and various illegal activities. I’m currently working at a fairly well-paying job, in grad school across the country, and I travel a lot; this part of my family (including my father and his girlfriend) have, I think, generally gotten the impression (probably because I don’t visit often) that I somehow feel that I’m better than them. I don’t, I love them all, but I’m having trouble convincing them otherwise (I’ve made a few missteps, like getting them Christmas gifts from a trip overseas, which I think was interpreted as rubbing their faces in my ‘lifestyle’, if that makes sense. I truly felt like I was getting them nice gifts that showed I was thinking of them. Also, I don’t visit as often as I probably should.)

Anyway, stepsister 1 gave birth last summer and I didn’t get her any sort of “congratulations” gift because I was still feeling bad about how my Christmas gifts were received, wasn’t sure what to get her, and was very aware of the fact that she was (and is) a below-the-poverty-line single mom, and anything beyond essentials might be interpreted as frivolous, while essentials are kind of hard to gift from across the country. I didn’t even send a card or anything, which I feel pretty guilty about. I don’t know how my lack of gift/card was received, or if it was even noticed.

However, stepsister 2 gave birth last week, and I hadn’t planned on doing much beyond sending a card until I received an email from my father that casually mentioned that the baby was given my name. I have no idea why my stepsister would have done this (beyond just liking the name, but the email gave the impression that it was done with me in mind. My name is, while not unusual, not terribly common, so I doubt it was a coincidence).

Now I feel like I should get her something beyond a card. Should I? And if I do, should I get something for stepsister 1, too? Or should I just keep it simple, and maybe send them each a card? Do I need to acknowledge that the baby and I have the same name? If I do get either of them a gift, what should it be (keeping in mind that I don’t want them to think I’m showing off)? The next time I could conceivably see either of them would be next September, but I could always send something in the mail. I’m sure I’m over thinking this, but I’d like to try to smooth things over and not offend anyone.

Does anyone know the kind of book I'm aiming for?

Ash3000 — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 12:03:52 -0800

Are there any books you think a smart, grieving preteen would find comforting or of use? More details inside. I'll try to get what the situation is with as few details as possible, unless further information is really needed.

I have a relative, who is 13 years old to my 22. We'll call him Bobby. Bobby is a smart, shy and sweet kid, who loves all sorts of standard 12-year-old-things (e.g. the red sox and the star wars prequel trilogy) and is very quietly perceptive of people around him. He's a great kid, and the oldest of three.

I was planning, for this holiday season (the end of chanukah, specifically, when I get back home from college) to give everyone a book as a gift this year - nothing too bank-breaking as I'm a starving student, but something I thought each person would genuinely enjoy and perhaps find thought-provoking, suited to their interests. Thinking of the books I might have wished someone handed me in the 10-13-year-old area, I was originally going to go with either
Surely you’re joking, Mr. Feynman!, Culture Jam, or Good Omens.

In the past three weeks, his grandmother, whom he is close to (and who is way too young for this) has gotten very sick, very quickly, and is likely to pass this week. All of a sudden, my suggested books seem a little lacking somehow - each is either flippant or political, a little empty under the circumstances.

I don't want to give him a book which is blatantly like, "So you're a grieving preteen, eh?" or anything transparently about a grandparent's death, etc etc. Nothing pat and tacky and thoughtless. But maybe something which, though it's not on the surface "about death," can provide some measure of comfort to a person in this situation. I guess it's more a feeling than a theme I'm thinking about. I have come up with three that seem somewhat what I'm aiming for:

Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary,
Danny The Champion of the World, by Roald Dahl, and
The Little Prince, by Antoine St.-Exupery

I guess the best way to put it is a book which has both wonderfulness and melancholy, though the former ultimately triumphs; a book that as a smart pre-teen makes you both grin and cry but ultimately finish feeling like the world is an okay place. Does anyone have any thoughts on this matter, or even know what I'm trying to get at? This might just be a stupid idea, I'm in the middle of grieving myself.

Help with buying a potential family heirloom

Ekim Neems — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 15:54:39 -0800

As strange as it sounds, I need help picking out a gift for myself from my dead brother. My 19 year old brother passed away 2 years ago, and my father informed me there's one last bank account in his name with $600 in it. He'd like me to pick something out for myself that would be a gift from my brother... something that would potentially become a future family heirloom and something I would use/wear all the time.

I was thinking at first to get a nice watch (I will probably not wear a chain or ring, or most other jewelery). Any other suggestions?

What are good cheap gifts for kids this year?

killThisKid — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 17:19:33 -0800

I've got too many nieces and nephews to buy christmas gifts for this year and not enough money. Please, oh great and wise collective hive mind of the metafilter abyss, grant me some wisdom as to some great cheap gifts. Ages range from infant to 18 years old. I'm even willing to make things myself at this point. I'm crafty, if need be. I'm not going to limit any further than that as I don't want to cramp anyone's creativity.

Don't let distance become a barrier to the love of my grandfather

furtive — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 19:14:57 -0800

My seventy-seven year old grandfather, maker of pierogies and violins, will have his bladder removed this Friday to help stop the spread of cancer. What can I do to keep him positive? Details: He's out west and I'm out east He's not alone as his lifelong wife and several of his sons and a daughter will be there with him, but I'm so far away. I saw him less than two months ago but that was before any of this happened.

If I phone him what should I say? If I send something what should it be? I'm open to everything.

Gag Gift For Odd Boss

aburd — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 08:56:16 -0800

I need help with a gag Christmas gift for a father/boss... I have been working for my Dad for the past year and honestly we have never gotten along better. The problem is that he is impossible to shop for because he has everything he wants. At the same time I would love to give him a gift that shows I appreciate the opportunity while also being funny and semi-cheap.

The quality we are looking to mock is his habit of giving vague and odd instructions that are impossible to comprehend. He is aware of this habit of his and is ok with us giving him a hard time about it. My problem is I can't think of any quality ideas for the gift. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.