Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with presents

Affordable Luxuries

Miko — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:45:30 -0800

What are some great gifts for Holiday Season that convey a sense of luxury, yet cost between about $25-75? Everyone's had a hard time for the last couple years, and nobody's got a lot of money in my family. In the past when in this position I would sometimes go for quantity in my gift-giving, and get a bunch of littler, less costly, sometimes kinda jokey gifts to really stretch my budget.

But this year I was thinking that the last thing most of us need is more piles of middling-to-cheap stuff, and that rather, it might be nice to get people some gifts that are true luxuries. By "luxuries" I mean things that are a level of quality up from the everyday/discount item - things you might look at, and consider for yourself, but then reject in favor of the cheaper and more ubiquitous version. Things you wouldn't splurge on yourself but would love if someone did it for you. An example might be a really nice pair of leather driving gloves as opposed to drugstore stretch knits.

Specific suggestions of things you love welcome. A variety is fine, given that I have men and women of varying ages to think about.

But even with this philosophy in play, I won't have a ton of $ to spend, so I'm willing to spend what I have on fewer items that feel like they contain a lot of value. I'm just wondering what might be out there that I can afford but will still make the recipient go "OOoooooh!"

Gifts of an "Adult" Nature

Diagonalize — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:40:26 -0800

What kind of stuff does a 20-something "grown-up" not know he needs/wants? No surprise, my boyfriend's birthday is coming up. He's turning 27, and his parents have been needling him to add things to his wishlist. Gifts are a big deal in his family, and the Amazon wishlist has been a crucial part of that for years. In the past, his list was populated almost exclusively by video games and the occasional movie, but lately, he's been trying to move towards a more grown-up selection. Well, that's super, but when he sits down to try to add "grown-up" stuff to his wishlist, he gets this panicked, "deer in the headlights" expression. I know there are plenty of things he likes/wants, but he has no idea where to start.

Him: scruffy, quiet, socially-capable, 27-ish, physicist

Likes: adventure/RPG video games, reading political and science blogs, puzzles (a la MIT Mystery Hunt), food (eating, not cooking), and Philip Seymour Hoffman films

Dislikes: mushrooms, Will Ferrell movies

Mostly clueless about: fashion, cars, power tools, professional sports, fine wine/booze, and any music other than classical or showtunes

Clearly, he's not a guy's guy, and I've had little luck finding a "manly, but not too manly" guide that wasn't just all gadgets. We'd love to point his family in the right direction, but with the lone exception of an iPhone, his wishlist looks about the same as when he was 14 (video games and Star Trek). He doesn't want to be viewed as the eternal teenager, so what do you want/need when you're "all growed up"?

Help me make my boyfriend's birthday awesome with fiendishly delightful present wrapping and delivery!

t0astie — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:32:15 -0800

It's my boyfriend's birthday soon, and I want to make the present giving AWESOME! Have already purchased presents and booked flights to be with him. Am organising special birthday meals for him, and a couple of activities too, so most of the day is pretty much sorted. But I really really want the present giving/opening experience in particular to be super fun for him. I'm thinking along the lines of a treasure hunt with clues so he has to hunt for the presents... Or wrapping the presents in a giant box and painting it like a cake with sparklers on top! Or multiple layers of wrapping disguising the present...Or, um, something else. But I don't know what exactly. I just want to make it a completely excellent fun surprise for him. Some background

Him: mid-thirties engineer. Likes:dinosaurs, robots, sci-fi, machines, beer, puzzles, poker.

Me: mid-thirties journalist / photographer. Handy with glue, cutting, drawing, writing, pics, collage and general crafty stuff. But even simple woodwork or electronics would be beyond me.

Equipment available: minimal. Can go to the hardware store, and there's a not-very-good craft store in his town too. I don't have a sewing machine. Everything basic like glue, paint etc is easily available where he lives, but more complicated stuff not so much.

Finances: low. Am broke after present and plane-ticket buying. Could go $20-30AUD extra. Aiming for ingenuity and surprise over extravagance.

Location: Outback Australia. Really.

Timeframe: Nine days til I catch the plane and another eleven days in his town before B-Day. If it's going to be massive in size, must be constructed in 11 days. I won't be bringing a papier-mache fort or birthday banner on my discount flight, for example.

Help me hive!

He is really the best boyfriend in the world and deserves the Best Birthday in the History of the World Ever.

What takes good photos that takes good photos?

cincinnatus c — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:30:40 -0800

Help me find a good-looking (retro?) and affordable camera for a present. I'm looking to buy a digital camera as a present for someone who is not so much into photography as she is into lovely-looking objects.

Therefore, I'm looking for a retro-styled point-and-shoot camera. It should take decent pictures (I don't want a novelty toy) but shouldn't be too complicated to use.

This is the most stylish camera I've found in my searches, but I don't think it's available yet and anyway it'll probably be beyond my budget. I can afford to spend around £200, maybe slightly more.

Simple Easter game for the whole family?

banished — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:13:46 -0800

I need a simple Easter game that my whole family can play. The winner needs to be determined quickly. Any ideas? I have a whole bunch of little presents for my family, and I need a fun way to distribute them. (A card game maybe?), but I couldn't think of any that weren't a long drawn out process.

Firepit

jenfu — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:24:31 -0800

Quality firepit recommendation? I want to buy a firepit for my boyfriend. I should say another one, because I bought him one a couple years ago that is something of a piece of crap. It's shallow and doesn't have room to burn stuff well, plus it corroded with the elements and the cover is flimsy.

Anyone have good luck with a firepit that burns well, holds up under use, and looks nice?

This is the one I already have:

Thanks!

Doronophobia?

Sova — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:11:12 -0800

Is there a name for the dislike of the anticipation felt on receiving or opening gifts? I know this is perhaps a bit of an out-there question, but I'm looking for further information on people who dislike or even fear receiving or openings gifts. It's not the dislike of what the gifts are themselves, or strictly the fear of having to participate in a strained social situation when the gift turns out to be undesirable. I'm thinking of the specific idea of having this unknown 'thing' which causes anticipation, and those people who refuse to commit emotional energy to it.

Any ideas? Examples ranging from downplaying the opening of presents all the way to keeping them unopened for years would be great, as well as some explanation or even - holy grail of this question - a name.

When should Santa Claus Come to Town?

Point n Click — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:28:53 -0800

When does your family open Christmas presents from each other? My husband and I have only been married a few years, and haven't yet been able to find a good time to open Christmas presents from each other.

My husband's family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve, so we travel to spend all of Christmas Eve with them (decorating the tree, Christmas dinner, etc.) and then leave to travel to my family's Christmas on Christmas Day (again, all of the traditional Christmas things). Since we both typically have to work the days following Christmas Day, we have been celebrating "our" Christmas the following weekend, but it feels cheap and anti-climatic after having returned to work, and spent all of the Holidays with family.

My husband suggested opening presents on Christmas Eve morning, but that feels like cheating. (Santa still visits both our parents houses.) And we could stay up late and open presents after getting back from my parents house on Christmas Day, but that doesn't seem like a good idea right before returning to work.

What does your family do? If it isn't Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, how do you keep it feeling "Christmas-y?"

Christmas fliter: Need help finding a present for my brother.

complience — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:14:58 -0800

Christmas fliter: Need help finding a present for my brother. hes 29. I've got a maxium of £50 to spend, Looking for somthing slightly intelectual. Can't be Media eg: books, music, videos.

any ideas welcome.

Have yourself an internet little Christmas

nax — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 07:07:41 -0800

Help me send virtual gifts to my kids overseas. A big part of our family Christmas tradition is Christmas stockings. This year both of my kids are working abroad in jobs that I can't mail a package to. So I want to stuff a Christmas stocking on line. I'm looking for something interactive along the lines of various online advent calendars like this one, but where you open presents instead of dates.

Does anyone know of a site or app (google? yahoo? facebook?) that will let me do this? Suggestions for what to put in it would be good too: I could stuff it with online gift certificates for games or music (assuming it's secure), fun websites, what else?

I know I can do this via a simple email, but I'd like a fun graphic interface as well. Tried googling it, but only got commercial sites. Thanks, hivemind.

Self-links welcome, if you do this yourself, or MeMail me to stay within the site rules.

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?

His name is MacGyver. He can fix anything.

dejah420 — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:09:43 -0800

Help me create a MacGyver.-theme silly present. In a conversation about old TV, my husband mentioned how much he had liked MacGyver.. As an xmas present, I got him the first season CDs, but I thought it would be really fun to wrap up a bunch of MacGyver.-y type things to go with it. For instance, I already have duct tape and paperclips.

But, I never watched the show, so I don't know if there are some particularly iconic things I should include.

Hope me, MacGyver. fans!

The perfect slippers

arcticwoman — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:27:26 -0800

Please help me find (online, or in a major Canadian store) some slippers that fit the following strict requirements: fluffy on the inside, thick comfy sole, and, most importantly, are closed around the heel without being a boot. It seems that everything I find that fits the first two requirements is clog-style, and that absolutely won't do. The closest I can find are moccasins, but the gift recipient doesn't like leather/fur. Any suggestions?

Help me find a Christmas gift for my brother!

I_love_the_rain — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:12:01 -0800

I need creative Christmas present suggestions for my brother! I want to find a creative or cool gift for my brother, and need ideas! A little insight into my brother: he's very environmentally friendly and extremely health conscious (no candy or sweet treats for him, he's all natural), he is a cycling enthusiast (read: bikes everywhere, doesn't own a car), and he enjoys unusual and simple things. For example, he enjoys vinyl records/cds with interesting or unusual music, likes watching rather obscure cartoons (Danger Mouse and Count Duckula are among some favorites, although I've already tapped into those ideas), and he's quite interested in new things; he's pretty open minded. After a few years of struggling to find what I consider GOOD gifts for my bro., perhaps the hive mind could give me some ideas? For me, I don't have a lot of money to spend, but am willing to travel around to acquire a neat gift. Thanks!!

What would you give Lord Byron?

Skyanth — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 01:25:40 -0800

Special gift for a special gentleman? I'm looking for gifts for a gentleman. The gentleman in question likes special/pretty/tasteful things that are to do with (Napoleonic) history, cats, dracula, dandies, dueling, books, the romantics and goth. I got him a sword cane once and he loved that. I really don't want to give him clothing. I was going to give him cufflinks but I made the mistake of showing them to him to make sure he liked them and he loved them so much he got them himself, robbing me of the one solid idea I had. Bah. I would also prefer not to give him shaving equipment (he already has a nice set).

I've seen this, but the answers are much too clothing/shaving oriented.

What else. Oh yes, there will already be a bottle of some gentlemanly drink to go with the gift so no alcohol suggestions either. Sorry. :)

There's thought behind it, sure, but also twenty hours of knitting.

carbide — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 13:52:23 -0800

What are the most memorable, awesome or useful handmade gifts you've received or given? I'm in search of some inspiration, as well as cautionary tales. My extended family has been very polite in enduring handmade gifts from me year after year, but I think only a few people have really enjoyed what I've made them, and the pleasure in giving gets a bit lost that way. The success rate is better with friends but inspiration would still be handy.

I'd love a wide variety of suggestions so I won't say too much, but here's a few details:

- I can cook, sew, take decent photographs sometimes, bind books, knit, make prints, draw, etc, so anything goes.

- Previous gifts have included screenprints, cold-process soap, shortbread, cookies, handmade journals, and a roaring success in a portrait of my grandparents. Current plans include blank cards with suitable photographic prints on the front, some knitted hats for a few people who will definitely wear them, one well-targeted mix cd.

- Particular areas of difficulty are: teenage boys (not bookish or alternative, damn!), professional glam women in their mid 20s to early 30s (ditto!).

Any stand-out gifts you've made or received?

(Warnings about the chasm between intention and reception would probably be good, too. And weirdly, I can't find any previouslies.)

Bookfilter: what book(s) would my father love?

Acer_saccharum — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:40:59 -0800

Book filter: Getting a head start on Christmas presents - what books would you recommend for my kung fu instructing, deadwood watching, social work teaching freemason father? The last books my father really enjoyed were The Poisonwood Bible and The Davinci Code. He joined up with the freemasons shortly after he read the D. Code. He is a social work prof with special focus in aboriginal issues and community mental health organizations, has been teaching martial arts since before I was born and runs his own studio, and he and my mother ADORE the show Deadwood and have watched the entire series repeatedly.

I want to buy him a few books for Christmas that he will adore. I do not read up on these subjects and am at a loss. Help!

PS - If a movie/show/gadget/weapon is coming to mind, feel free to throw that suggestion in also. Much appreciated!

What do you wish you had when you graduated?

AceRock — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:13:27 -0800

What (item) do you wish you had when you graduated from college? My brother is graduating from college after this semester and I want to get him a present he will end up really appreciating. So, what (item or items) do you wish someone had given you when you graduated from college, or otherwise entered the real world for the first time?

I don't want want to limit ideas in any way, but if it helps to inspire: he's graduating with a degree in engineering, but he loves writing fiction.

How to continue the fun in Oahu

omnigut — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:49:16 -0800

Oahu filter: If you could only hike once, where would you go; where would you buy tiki objects to bring back with you (some sort of cross between cheap and beautiful?); and is tonight, 08/08/08, special in Chinatown? So I'm going hiking tomorrow or Sunday, I need to buy some tiki presents for some people in New York (not really wanting to spend more than $40 on each one, less if possible), and I would like to go out tonight.

Previously I posted this question. Update; I almost killed the new guy in her life, but didn't. Came here, made this photo, and then had an amazing time going from Smith's, to Amy's, to O'Toole's, back to Smith's, to Bar 35, across the road to the Golden Gate Lounge (against the advice of many), then onto the bus to fall asleep outside the dreadful Señor Frog's. A good night. Repeat tonight?

Random act of kindness

HotPatatta — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:51:41 -0800

What item do you use all the time and wonder how you ever lived with without it? I want to show someone special how much I care with a killer gift. Inspired by this essay, I'm in the mood to spend a bit of money on myself (aren't I thoughtful?) but I don't know what to buy. It should be something practical that I can use often, but it can be a luxury item or something cheap. I live in NYC, so I don't have a yard or much space to put something large.

Onward Unitarian soldier, marching as to the interconnected web of humanity of which we are all a part

harperpitt — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:55:43 -0800

What's a nice goodbye and good luck present for a former boss of similar age and temperament? My supervisor from a previous job is leaving the team that both she and I loved a lot, to head out for new and exciting opportunities. She is close to me in age and I'd consider her a friend, albeit not a super-tight one. She's not moving out of town or anything - just searching for new work.

Do you have any recommendations for a lovely, sweet, simple gift I could get her that shows my appreciation without being over-the-top and gushy? She doesn't actually *need* anything, so it's a question of finding her something nice she wants.

About her: she is 27 or 28, and very kind/earthy/liberal. We are both Unitarian Universalists, and the work was in progressive faith, so things with a spiritual - though probably not overtly Jesus-y/Buddha-y/Allah-y - bent would be OK.

(Quick PS - we have both gone through Anne Lamott's books, which we both enjoyed, if that helps any. I'm certainly not limited to faith-based stuff or to books, though.)

awesome present for an awesome kid?

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:54:34 -0800

What present should my mother get for her 13/14 year old nephew? Complications within. Mom is visiting Russia tomorrow for a month. She hasn't been there or seen the family since 4 years ago and she doesn't really know his interests (other than that he likes chocolate). Also, his parents give him everything he wants/needs generally.

She needs to buy this present today and I'm guessing wants to spend less than $60 (she rejected my iPod suggestion). Any ideas, metafilter?

What to get the guy I just started dating for his birthday?

blithely — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 10:59:35 -0800

What is an appropriate birthday gift to give to someone you've only just started dating? His birthday is next week. Although we've only been dating for about a week, things have been going well so I don't think I'm getting too ahead of myself by assuming I'd see him then (at least I hope not!).

Maybe at this early stage of dating a gift wouldn't be necessary, but I would like to give him something anyhow. However, I'm kind of at a lose as to what to give someone you've basically just met. I would like to give him something a little more thoughtful than a giftcard. Would something like a book, CD or mixtape be appropriate?

Thanks guys!

gift for a skaterboi?

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:39:47 -0800

My bf's birthday is in two weeks and well I have no idea what to get him. He has been skateboarding for a long time in the NYC area (his spot is the Globe and some parks in the city) and very much into the culture, which I don't know too much about. I would like to get him something skate related but don't know what exactly where to look or for what. I'm thinking of possibly dvds (he likes watching skateboarding videos) or clothing. He has his own board so I won't be getting him another unless he is there to pick it out, but I want to surprise him so.....any suggestions?

What should I get for my friend

nimkip — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 13:34:13 -0800

Gift ideas for a friend who's really into Native American culture? Around $50 or under, please.