Good ideas for a gift bucket?
March 27, 2010 2:12 PM Subscribe
Can anyone help me out with ideas for a college gift bucket?
I'm a university student, and I'm in a fraternity. Fraternities here do an event called a woodser, which is basically a camping trip with more drinking than usual. It's customary to bring a date on these events, and even though I'm gay, I'm bringing one of my female friends. Now the question: It's also customary to give your date a gift bucket to bring to the event, and therein lies the problem. The buckets usually have stuff like chasers, mini bottles of liquor, and little toys, but I want to make mine a little better than "let's drink till we puke". So does anyone have any ideas as to decoration, what to include, etc?
The only thing I absolutely want to pack is a couple of glasses made from wine bottles, as per the article here http://bit.ly/arsOv9.
I'm a university student, and I'm in a fraternity. Fraternities here do an event called a woodser, which is basically a camping trip with more drinking than usual. It's customary to bring a date on these events, and even though I'm gay, I'm bringing one of my female friends. Now the question: It's also customary to give your date a gift bucket to bring to the event, and therein lies the problem. The buckets usually have stuff like chasers, mini bottles of liquor, and little toys, but I want to make mine a little better than "let's drink till we puke". So does anyone have any ideas as to decoration, what to include, etc?
The only thing I absolutely want to pack is a couple of glasses made from wine bottles, as per the article here http://bit.ly/arsOv9.
Hand sanitizer...TP if really rustic.
posted by beachhead2 at 2:31 PM on March 27, 2010
posted by beachhead2 at 2:31 PM on March 27, 2010
Response by poster: I should have clarified. The trip is only for a night, though a blanket is a good idea.
posted by nickhb at 2:33 PM on March 27, 2010
posted by nickhb at 2:33 PM on March 27, 2010
Best answer: I'm thinking in broad categories because I'm not sure what is typical for this event or what you're aiming for:
-Things to Use at the Woodser:
Drinks (You've got this covered; you can always decorate things with paint pen)
Snacks (you can bring trail mix type stuff or her favorite foods or something "romantic" for humor like chocolate-covered strawberries)
Playing cards for drinking and non-drinking card games
Glow-in-the-dark stuff galore (if you google you can find glow-in-the-dark almost anything)
Disposable camera (if these even exist anymore?)
-Souvenirs from the Woodser:
The glasses made from wine bottles (these sound awesome--can you repost that link?)
College memorabilia (not sure if she goes to your school)
Fraternity memorabilia (things like bottle openers or koozies with your frat's letters, etc)
Woodser-specific memorabilia (like t-shirts with some inside joke between the two of you--like some that say Woodser 2010 on the front and your nicknames for each other on the back--customink.com is one way to get stuff like this)
Mix CD
As for decoration, depends what you want the vibe of the basket to be. Paint pens are your friend. I'm not sure how big these baskets are supposed to be, but I suggest using something like a nice metal trash can or bucket, and either finding one without your school/frat emblem on it or writing "Woodser 2010" on it, so she can keep and use the container after-the-fact.
Have fun!
posted by sallybrown at 2:33 PM on March 27, 2010
-Things to Use at the Woodser:
Drinks (You've got this covered; you can always decorate things with paint pen)
Snacks (you can bring trail mix type stuff or her favorite foods or something "romantic" for humor like chocolate-covered strawberries)
Playing cards for drinking and non-drinking card games
Glow-in-the-dark stuff galore (if you google you can find glow-in-the-dark almost anything)
Disposable camera (if these even exist anymore?)
-Souvenirs from the Woodser:
The glasses made from wine bottles (these sound awesome--can you repost that link?)
College memorabilia (not sure if she goes to your school)
Fraternity memorabilia (things like bottle openers or koozies with your frat's letters, etc)
Woodser-specific memorabilia (like t-shirts with some inside joke between the two of you--like some that say Woodser 2010 on the front and your nicknames for each other on the back--customink.com is one way to get stuff like this)
Mix CD
As for decoration, depends what you want the vibe of the basket to be. Paint pens are your friend. I'm not sure how big these baskets are supposed to be, but I suggest using something like a nice metal trash can or bucket, and either finding one without your school/frat emblem on it or writing "Woodser 2010" on it, so she can keep and use the container after-the-fact.
Have fun!
posted by sallybrown at 2:33 PM on March 27, 2010
Two-way radios (make sure to charge them before you leave): always a ton of fun for backpacking trips.
posted by halogen at 3:21 PM on March 27, 2010
posted by halogen at 3:21 PM on March 27, 2010
Fancy little hors d'oeuvres? World Market is great for these. Mini crackers, cheeses, jams, meats, whatever - so you can drink with some style.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 3:29 PM on March 27, 2010
posted by Solon and Thanks at 3:29 PM on March 27, 2010
A badass laser pointer, if you've got the funds. You can probably keep it afterwards, too!
posted by Sam Ryan at 3:49 PM on March 27, 2010
posted by Sam Ryan at 3:49 PM on March 27, 2010
Class IIIb lasers (can cause eye damage if viewed directly) + a drunk frat party? What could possibly go wrong, right?
Dan's Data is, as ever, exhaustively informative in reviewing Wicked Lasers' product. (Which he does in fact recommend, but with some "know what you're getting into" caveats...):
Dan's Data is, as ever, exhaustively informative in reviewing Wicked Lasers' product. (Which he does in fact recommend, but with some "know what you're getting into" caveats...):
Wicked's products are all in the modern Class IIIB, which tops out at 0.5 watts and is the "Eye Protection Required" category.posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 4:28 PM on March 27, 2010
The problem, of course, is that most people who buy these things don't also buy eye protection. To their credit, Wicked sell quality safety goggles at cost on their accessory page (along with a fancy storage case, and a lightsaber hilt in which you can insert a pointer...). But they don't encourage you to buy goggles with your laser, and they didn't provide me with any, either (apparently they love these guys more).
Nor do Wicked go out of their way to warn people that although their pointers look and feel much like a harmless Class II laser, all but the weediest of them can actually, arguably, be placed somewhere on the danger spectrum around an X-Acto knife (though probably a fair way below a sword).
Wicked mention "the rules of laser safety", but don't bother to actually tell their customers what those rules are.
What girl doesn't like ribbons? Also, party hats. If you can finagle it, manage to decorate your bucket with ribbons and include hats that can be decorated with said ribbon and placed on heads for maximum festivity.
posted by Mizu at 7:47 PM on March 27, 2010
posted by Mizu at 7:47 PM on March 27, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rmd1023 at 2:29 PM on March 27, 2010