Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with gift and giving

Suitable gift for Irish teacher

KTrujillo — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 07:43:44 -0800

My children are finishing the year at a primary school in Ireland. Their teachers have been wonderful and I want to give them an end of the year thank you gift. In the U.S. gift certificates are popular but I'm unsure of the etiquette surrounding gift giving in this situation. Please advise. Thank you!

Help me give a great gift for my Aunt's momentus 50th B-day!

iam2bz2p — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:33:52 -0800

Help me give a great gift for my Aunt's momentus 50th B-day! My wonderful and lovely aunt is turning 50.

She has, materially, just about everything a person could need.

She also is a giver and receiver of the usual "pampering" gifts of massages, spa treatments, theatre, show tix, etc... So I'm looking for something more original.

Her taste and style trends toward Oprah-like fashions, books, and world-view.

Help me find a GREAT gift! THANKS MeFi's!

What to get friends for agreeing to be godparent types?

pomegranate — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 08:39:06 -0800

Gifts for godparent-types? We've asked about a dozen people to be "mentors" to our rugrat, in an area of their choice. What do we get them to say thanks and that they have a special bond with her? These people are all friends who are passionate about one thing or another - sports, reading, cooking, etc. They've each agreed to share their passion with our daughter, and take her on at least one outing a year related to their "thing." We want to give them something to honor that commitment, but everything we think of is too cheesy (a certificate, a picture album.) Cost should be less than $50 if possible. The baptism and Mentor Party is in two weeks, so we can't get too customized, either.
Any ideas?

Grandmothers, "presents" that aren't really presents, etc.

danny boy — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 09:10:04 -0800

I need a little help on a petty family argument . . . So, we're married and have an infant baby. One of the grandmothers showed up from out of town and gave us some presents, including--and here's the rub--a Halloween costume for the baby's "first Halloween" in a few months.

Would you find this 1) kind of sweet, 2) slightly annoying but would just go along with it, 3) boundary-overstepping behavior but would passively aggressively not use the costume and otherwise leave sleeping dogs lie, 4) so annoying that you would make a big issue out of refusing the costume and making your own, which will make everyone upset but will stop this from happening again.

a box inside a box inside a box inside a box

777 — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:00:51 -0800

I've already got the xmas gift figured out, now I'm trying to figure out how to give it...so what are some creative/clever/funny ways you've given gifts? I've got a digital camera and various accessories, and I'm looking for a fun way to wrap them or otherwise present (*cough*) them...

Also, what are other creative gift-giving methods you've come up with for gifts not necessarily digital-camera-sized?

No idea is too big or too small...

thanks!

$50 Gift suggestions for: A clarinettist, a violist, and a cellist

sirion — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 23:28:41 -0800

Gift suggestions for: A clarinettist, a violist, and a cellist(who is also a composer). ~$50 each, I have 12 days to get these gifts. Prefer online ordering. 3 (student) musicians are playing for my senior undergrad recital, and I want to get them thank you gifts. This is often done around here in the form of gift certificate cards, which definitely works, but I could use suggestions on vendors if I go that route.

I'm thinking of a big fat gift certificate to tismusic.com (obscure piano and vocal music vendor) for my pianist, but I imagine a violist has little use for piano and vocal music.

Other note: The cellist is a composer by trade, and the other two are aiming to be professional musicians.

Should I give my boss a Christmas present?

u.n. owen — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 12:50:12 -0800

WorkplaceEtiquetteFilter: I plan to give my boss his Christmas gift tomorrow. But now I've seen some people on some other sites (fark, ahem) saying that getting a gift for the boss is "ass-sucking" (they sure have a way of talking over there!). So I'm wondering: is my rather nice gift going to be perceived as my being an ass? [+] He is basically the reason I got my job - even though my qualifications were somewhat lacking, he believed in my talent from the beginning and made my moving here possible. And so, the gift is pretty nice (he likes old books, he likes Mark Twain, so I got him a first edition of my favorite Twain book).

Other notes: he has literally no family and this will probably be pretty much the only gift he gets. Also, I am the only employee under him - I am not having to deal with other people at my same employment level. He and I are the only 2 people in the department.

Holiday gift giving games?

Caviar — Fri, 03 Dec 2004 06:59:05 -0800

What kinds of holiday gift giving games do you play with your friends? [More Inside] I was unhappy with Secret Santa, so I invented Total Information Awareness Santa. "Not only is it not a secret, but you have to follow your target around for a few days and conduct interviews with their associates, collecting evidence about what they really need and want."

Any other ideas for fun holiday games?