looking for a netflix surrogate for opening

December 18, 2008 12:45 AM

I bought a netflix subscription as a Christmas gift and I'm looking for something tangible/creative to put under the tree for them to open instead of just a card with the certificate.
posted by woolylambkin to Shopping (8 answers total)

Best answer: If you have artistic skills, create a custom DVD case insert. Maybe you could photoshop several of their favourite films together; or put a picture of the two of you or the family, if that's relevant; or just some really nice artwork.

Then put it in a DVD case, with no DVD, and a handwritten note inside saying "I couldn't decide which film to get you, so I got you all of them". And the certificate.
posted by emilyw at 1:13 AM on December 18, 2008

Netflix Origami?
posted by shaun at 1:26 AM on December 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

Best answer: A tin of popcorn?
posted by imjustsaying at 1:40 AM on December 18, 2008

For a couple years, I had fun hiding gift cards. One time I took a small cardboard box, hid the gift card in the false bottom, and then filled the box with (useless) packing material. Another time I bought foam balls of various shapes that are used for holding flowers. You could saw through the foam using the gift card, with the result that the card was stuck in a slot in the foam, and it looked like I had just given them a foam ball. Maybe similar ideas could work for you.

Although I do like the empty DVD case idea.
posted by sesquipedalian at 1:42 AM on December 18, 2008

taking the popcorn idea up a notch:
Jiffy Pop
Milk Duds
Junior Mints
....you get the idea
posted by peace_love_hope at 4:13 AM on December 18, 2008

I wish I had read this earlier. I wanted to do the same thing (get something tangible to open), so I got them a Roku player along with the netflix account. Milk Duds and popcorn would have been SO much cheaper!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 6:37 AM on December 18, 2008

A CD-R with the latest copy of HandBrake on it.

Add DVD Shrink to that CD, plus a spindle of blank DVD-Rs.
posted by shinynewnick at 7:17 AM on December 18, 2008

Having had netflix, it might be a good gift to get them something to put the envelopes in next to the dvd player. Me and my wife used to lose envelopes all the time because we just set them down wherever. You could maybe get something like a desk organizing mail sorter from the dollar store.
posted by jefeweiss at 7:28 AM on December 18, 2008 [1 favorite]