Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with gift and holiday

Walnut-Sized Gifts of Awesomeness?

Kattiara17 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:21:32 -0800

I absolutely LOVE the idea of the walnut advent calendar that was mentioned here. Help me figure out what to put in them! Money is tight, and I've been looking around for various homemade gift ideas. There are some awesome threads, but what really jumped out at me was the idea of a walnut advent calendar. I've even managed to find a couple neat tutorials on putting one together.

Now my question is.. what should I put in them?? Most threads on fun gift ideas are either too expensive or (more often) just too large to fit in a walnut.

I'd love ideas covering all sorts of gifts.. if I can do different walnut advents for a couple different family members, that would be awesome!

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?)

Can one order up a miracle?

faineant — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:23:34 -0800

Online shopping in Calgary - help! ACK! I just got notified that a gift I'd ordered to be delivered in Calgary is on backorder (I am in the US). I will kill someone at the original company eventually, but for now I need need need (please, please, please) online shopable Calgary stores *that can deliver before Christmas* to a downtown office. I am willing to look at anything quirky, fun, geeky, motorcycle-ish, art, office toys, any cool stuff - even willing to do food (although that is low on the list) - if you know of a place in Calgary that does online ordering and can delliver - especially if it is one of your favorite places to shop - please tell me about it.

I already know Lee Valley, I have ordered from them before, and while they are great, their non-tool selection is a bit limited from the last time I looked, and nothing jumped out at me as a great gift for my friend. I have had horrible luck with Amazon Canada, and am not willing to do them again.

Any help truly gratefully received - thank you!

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!

Name my supergiftguide

striker — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:26:22 -0800

nameFilter: new blog of holiday gift recommendations/guides needs a name/domain. I cannot turn a phrase, Help! So, I'm making a list of lists of sorts, gathering links to all of those 2008 holiday gift guides from sites like engadget, tuaw, etsy, and others. It's all ready to go, but I have little creativity when it comes to thinking up names and could use some help. Preferably something I could get a domain for. Much Thanks!

Where are the awesome flat, non-fragile gifts?

shesbookish — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:24:27 -0800

What should I get my kind, but difficult to shop for in-laws for Christmas? More details inside. My in-laws are visiting us in early December and we'll be exchanging gifts at that time. The number one requirement is that the gift be something that can travel back with them. We've done gift cards a few years in a row now, but they do the same for us and it's getting kind of bland. I would like to do something different, but I can't think of other options.

My in-laws are well off and don't really need anything. My father-in-law is a former naval officer and likes to be handy around the house. My mother-in-law loves super healthy things and is a bit of a world traveler.

Any suggestions for suitcase friendly gifts?

Gift Baskets: Ideas and Alternatives?

chudmonkey — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 02:14:29 -0800

GiftBasketFilter: I've been tasked with prototyping a holiday-themed gift basket that a high-end car dealership will present to car buyers during the season. The contents of the baskets will be mostly wine and wine-related objects. I'm having difficulty coming up with a presentation that will be "classy" enough to satisfy the audience but easy enough to mass-produce. Have you ever received a gift-basket-type thing you really liked? Whether basket, box, bowl or bag, I'd love and very much appreciate some suggestions on presentation for a wine-heavy gift assortment.

Anything that could be purchased in Alberta, Canada or online in relatively short order would be terrific; non-denominational "winter holiday" type themes would be best, but full-on Christmas stuff won't be ignored. Most of the gift content is already established, but if you have any ideas along those lines, I'd be glad to know them.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

How to spice up a gift exchange?

FergieBelle — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 06:34:13 -0800

Ideas for twist on traditional holiday gift exchange? My family wants to do something different for our yearly holiday gift exchange. We normally draw names and set a dollar limit, but we want to shake it up a bit this year. There are 7 of us and we are spread out across the country (so we can't do a Yankee swap, for instance). Does anyone have any ideas of interesting things to do with a holiday gift exchange?

Spreading cheer with festive food

nnk — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 12:10:12 -0800

(not cookies) food gifts. I'd like some recipes for not too expensive, not too hard to make, but stunning food gifts that are easy to package and give away for the holidays. Got any gems you'd be willing to share? This year I am committed to making what is turning out to be a pretty expensive cranberry chutney that I am going to package in french jelly jars and give away as gifts. But for next year, or this year if I am feeling ambitious, I'd like to have some other alternatives. This is a bit of a tall order, so if you have something you love that fits one or the other criteria (easy to make or not too expensive) please share those too.

Where can I buy fancy sausages online ?

duckus — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 08:18:16 -0800

Where can I buy fancy sausages online ? My in-laws have recently moved out of state, out of the San Francisco Bay Area. They are German foodies and are missing the type of fancy meats and sausages provided by Drager's and the like.

During our last visit, they mentioned ordering some meats from a retailer, which they said they liked, but was too expensive to do regularly. I thought it would make a nice Xmas gift.

Of course they didn't mention a name .. and my vegetarian self has no prior knowledge of where to buy this stuff. A gift basket would probably work. Is there such a thing as a Sausage of the Month Club ?

They have a taste that goes toward Euro-Cosmopolitan. Any suggestions on where to get this kind of thing online ?

Calling all passive-aggressives

sfkiddo — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 17:37:17 -0800

What are some good examples of gifts that are anything but? I know the obvious classics--drums for a 2-year-old, liquor for an alcoholic--but am looking for ones that are more insidious. Oh yes, there's As the holiday season is upon us, I've been thinking of the ultimate "fuck you" gift: the one that keeps on giving anguish and annoyance. The ideal is one that does not insult upon opening, that, in fact, seems like a great gift until living with it for a couple months. Examples:

- For kids: a super-cute plush toy that they love and that incessantly repeats the same phrase (think Barney, "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family"), rendering the parents insane;
- For adults: an organizer that charts their successes and sends daily (hourly?) reminders on progress; the end result is that they feel like a loser.

Disclaimer: note that this is for a fiction project and that I do not intend to give any of these "gifts" to anyone nor do I accept responsibility if you do (unless the recipient really, really deserves it. In that case, hats off.).

Good Gift for Haircutters?

davidmsc — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 07:34:47 -0800

I'd like to get a small gift for the lady that cuts my hair -- ideally, something to share with her other five employees (all female). They are all very sweet ladies, and take good care of me, so I'd like to get something for her/them just to say thanks and show some holiday cheer. Ideas?

How much to spend on office holiday gifts

cushie — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 12:22:53 -0800

How much should I spend/what should I buy for support staff/secretaries at work for the holidays? There is no collective gift given by my department, and I'm not in a position to organize one. I work in a professional environment, the admin staff are (predictably) very good and not very well paid. There are two to whom I should give a gift, and one doesn't drink. Suggestions? Gift certificates (good, bad, how much, what stores)?
I'm especially interested in how much it is appropriate to spend.

Gifts we can make for daycare caregivers?

chr1sb0y — Sat, 05 Nov 2005 04:34:16 -0800

What can we make to give as x-mas/holiday gifts to 6 "floater" daycare staff who take care of our kids sometimes, without breaking the bank? Or alternatively, what can we buy them for 10-15 bucks each that is nice and/or useful? Each child (ages 2 and 5) has 2 fulltime caregivers in their room, but this year there are about 6 additional "floater" staff members who help out, fill in on sick days etc. who we really feel deserve something too, to show our appreciation. In the past we have given 25 dollar gift cards (to Target or B&N) plus a heartfelt notes of thanks to each fulltime caregiver - nothing for floaters. (2 x 2 x $25 = $100) This sometimes feels like a lot (more than we spend on some family members), until we remember that these folks are taking care of our kids, and we know they don't make much - even though the center has very low turnover and so likely pays better than some. And compared to our monthly daycare bill, it's nothing. And we know it's more than many of the other parents give (mostly professional/upper middle class). But I don't think we can do $25 x 10 this year. So, any useful craft/gift ideas that we can put together? Oh, and feel free to tell me we're cheapskates, or whatever...

Unique Mother's Day gifts

NickDouglas — Tue, 03 May 2005 20:01:14 -0800

With Mother's Day around the corner, I'd like to find something around $30 for mine (I love her but I'm poor). I don't want something uber-specific, but a token of affection about as ornamental as flowers, while being just a touch more unique. Something available online would be ideal, as I will still be away at college on Sunday. Thanks to a recent question (about gifts for a new mother) for prompting me.

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?