I have a box about the size of a microwave. Please help me come up with thirty small gifts that will fit inside.
November 11, 2010 4:49 PM Subscribe
I have a box about the size of a microwave. Please help me come up with thirty small gifts that will fit inside.
Precious, funny, thoughtful, creative, handmade, wonderful, cute, awesome, interesting, intelligent, delightful, tiny or insubstantial gifts, and I have a budget of around $300.
Precious, funny, thoughtful, creative, handmade, wonderful, cute, awesome, interesting, intelligent, delightful, tiny or insubstantial gifts, and I have a budget of around $300.
tiny rubber chickens. now you just need 29 more ...
posted by msconduct at 4:58 PM on November 11, 2010
posted by msconduct at 4:58 PM on November 11, 2010
Response by poster: It is kind of hard to target this well without more info; is this a 30th birthday or something? What is the recipient like?
Yes. I'm not really looking for targeted responses though, more scattershot. The recipient matches all of the descriptives in the post except insubstantial. I included that one for ideas like donations or poetry.
They can be romantic things too.
posted by saguaro at 5:04 PM on November 11, 2010
Yes. I'm not really looking for targeted responses though, more scattershot. The recipient matches all of the descriptives in the post except insubstantial. I included that one for ideas like donations or poetry.
They can be romantic things too.
posted by saguaro at 5:04 PM on November 11, 2010
Lee Valley Tools has a bunch of neat, handy & small gifts at a range of prices. Check their Christmas gift catalog. Also ThinkGeek.
Does the box have to be shipped or densely packed? Things I've sent to my friends and family by mail:
- Chocolate. Fill extra space with individually wrapped chocolates or non-melting candy. Lindt balls have worked ok for me.
- A scarf or pashima (good to use as a wrapper too).
- Earrings.
- Gift cards e.g. to the book store or coffee shop.
- Other flat things like books, blank notebooks, cloth napkins, change purses, mini-calendars...
- Soaps: come in varying sizes, & make the box smell interesting. There's a lot of novelty soaps in shapes like sushi, candy, animals...
In general Etsy might have some good small gift ideas and I've had good experience with them. Check out their gift guides (e.g. Under $25, Under $50)
posted by SarahbytheSea at 6:50 PM on November 11, 2010
Does the box have to be shipped or densely packed? Things I've sent to my friends and family by mail:
- Chocolate. Fill extra space with individually wrapped chocolates or non-melting candy. Lindt balls have worked ok for me.
- A scarf or pashima (good to use as a wrapper too).
- Earrings.
- Gift cards e.g. to the book store or coffee shop.
- Other flat things like books, blank notebooks, cloth napkins, change purses, mini-calendars...
- Soaps: come in varying sizes, & make the box smell interesting. There's a lot of novelty soaps in shapes like sushi, candy, animals...
In general Etsy might have some good small gift ideas and I've had good experience with them. Check out their gift guides (e.g. Under $25, Under $50)
posted by SarahbytheSea at 6:50 PM on November 11, 2010
30 bouncy balls.
rubber duckies.
squirt gun
sidewalk chalk
silly putty
wind up toys of all sorts
an assortment of strange candy
bubble wrap
foreign coins
kazoo
make some origami cranes/origami paper
confetti or crepe paper streamers
go to a good news stand and buy some magazines that just look interesting
flower seeds or bulbs to plant now (depending on location and garden availability)
membership to a museum
silly colored nail polish (if appropriate)
mix CD
deck of cards
posted by sciencegeek at 6:51 PM on November 11, 2010
rubber duckies.
squirt gun
sidewalk chalk
silly putty
wind up toys of all sorts
an assortment of strange candy
bubble wrap
foreign coins
kazoo
make some origami cranes/origami paper
confetti or crepe paper streamers
go to a good news stand and buy some magazines that just look interesting
flower seeds or bulbs to plant now (depending on location and garden availability)
membership to a museum
silly colored nail polish (if appropriate)
mix CD
deck of cards
posted by sciencegeek at 6:51 PM on November 11, 2010
I did a "30 gifts for 30th birthday" thing for my husband last year, though I didn't have the box size constraint. Some ideas:
- I found Urban Outfitters had all kinds of small, cheapish unique items. Start with their Stocking Stuffers section.
- tickets: lottery, movie, play, etc.
- Favorite candy
- books, magazines
- gift cards for favorite stores
- unique coffees or teas, if they're into that sort of thing
- mugs to go with coffees or teas
- LED flashlight
- USB thumb drive, loaded with favorite photos?
- a notebook of your favorite memories / things about the recipient
- flower / garden seeds
- clever or cool t-shirt (see Threadless)
- a fancy pen set or stationary
- Nintendo DS games
- lotions, creams, soaps
- coupons for chores you will do for the recipient
- framed photos
- ThinkGeek has all sorts of fun stuff for geeky types
- small LEGO set
- iPod shuffle loaded with favorite songs (or not)
- something cute and handmade from Etsy
- Crate & Barrel $10 and under gifts
That's about all I've got for now. It's hard to get more specific than that without knowing anything about the recipient.
posted by geeky at 7:06 PM on November 11, 2010 [4 favorites]
- I found Urban Outfitters had all kinds of small, cheapish unique items. Start with their Stocking Stuffers section.
- tickets: lottery, movie, play, etc.
- Favorite candy
- books, magazines
- gift cards for favorite stores
- unique coffees or teas, if they're into that sort of thing
- mugs to go with coffees or teas
- LED flashlight
- USB thumb drive, loaded with favorite photos?
- a notebook of your favorite memories / things about the recipient
- flower / garden seeds
- clever or cool t-shirt (see Threadless)
- a fancy pen set or stationary
- Nintendo DS games
- lotions, creams, soaps
- coupons for chores you will do for the recipient
- framed photos
- ThinkGeek has all sorts of fun stuff for geeky types
- small LEGO set
- iPod shuffle loaded with favorite songs (or not)
- something cute and handmade from Etsy
- Crate & Barrel $10 and under gifts
That's about all I've got for now. It's hard to get more specific than that without knowing anything about the recipient.
posted by geeky at 7:06 PM on November 11, 2010 [4 favorites]
Good places to browse:
Edmund Scientific (better than it sounds)
Cool Tools
posted by BoscosMom at 7:51 PM on November 11, 2010
Edmund Scientific (better than it sounds)
Cool Tools
posted by BoscosMom at 7:51 PM on November 11, 2010
teapot or coffee press + tea or coffee
pepper grinder
owl pellet
little plant
stripey socks
funny underwear
fancy chocolate
favourite candy
alcohol of choice
funny medicine they always seem to need (gas-x, pepto bismol, antihistamine, etc)
nice soap
a toy they'd be nostalgic for (look on ebay for toys from their childhood decade- ie, rainbow bright or he-man from the 1980s, etc)
joke gift to play with at work- whoopie cushion, funny teeth, little magic trick type stuff
treat for their pet (catnip, laser pointer, kong, etc)
mix cd with liner notes explaining why you picked the songs
football, baseball + glove, or LED frisbee (very fun to play at night), with a promise of lessons to throw it if needed
mementoes of things you did together, assembled into a booklet or frame (ticket stubs, etc)
this is a great one- collect bits of things you wrote about the person, if you ever did- entries from your journal, or excerpts from emails you wrote to friends when you first fell for this person. things the recipient would never otherwise know you said. *swoon*!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:08 PM on November 11, 2010
pepper grinder
owl pellet
little plant
stripey socks
funny underwear
fancy chocolate
favourite candy
alcohol of choice
funny medicine they always seem to need (gas-x, pepto bismol, antihistamine, etc)
nice soap
a toy they'd be nostalgic for (look on ebay for toys from their childhood decade- ie, rainbow bright or he-man from the 1980s, etc)
joke gift to play with at work- whoopie cushion, funny teeth, little magic trick type stuff
treat for their pet (catnip, laser pointer, kong, etc)
mix cd with liner notes explaining why you picked the songs
football, baseball + glove, or LED frisbee (very fun to play at night), with a promise of lessons to throw it if needed
mementoes of things you did together, assembled into a booklet or frame (ticket stubs, etc)
this is a great one- collect bits of things you wrote about the person, if you ever did- entries from your journal, or excerpts from emails you wrote to friends when you first fell for this person. things the recipient would never otherwise know you said. *swoon*!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:08 PM on November 11, 2010
Specific Etsy faves of mine:
Mini mohair bear
robot pouch
A set of letterpress cards, tags, or bookmarks
Sushi you can hug
Art soaps that look like gems
A book of Moo cards or stickers either from your photos, your friend's photos, or Moo's art
A party cracker
A blind box of weird/cute Japanese vinyl figures or miniatures
Also seconding Think Geek items: App Magnets, a USB device, something bacon-y, cube toy
Miracle Berries
American Science and Surplus
a kit to grow a novel plant: redwood tree, carnivorous plant, cacti
posted by artifarce at 8:36 PM on November 11, 2010
Mini mohair bear
robot pouch
A set of letterpress cards, tags, or bookmarks
Sushi you can hug
Art soaps that look like gems
A book of Moo cards or stickers either from your photos, your friend's photos, or Moo's art
A party cracker
A blind box of weird/cute Japanese vinyl figures or miniatures
Also seconding Think Geek items: App Magnets, a USB device, something bacon-y, cube toy
Miracle Berries
American Science and Surplus
a kit to grow a novel plant: redwood tree, carnivorous plant, cacti
posted by artifarce at 8:36 PM on November 11, 2010
Off the top of my head:
Any of the stuff on this page, for making cute or fun lunches or snacks.
Candied flowers.
This little book called "I Like You."
This version of the old Spirograph toy.
"Actual Size" stickers from XKCD.
The Under $10 category at Vat19.
"Borrow My Pen?" pens... or anything else from this interesting online shop.
posted by houseofdanie at 9:13 PM on November 11, 2010
Any of the stuff on this page, for making cute or fun lunches or snacks.
Candied flowers.
This little book called "I Like You."
This version of the old Spirograph toy.
"Actual Size" stickers from XKCD.
The Under $10 category at Vat19.
"Borrow My Pen?" pens... or anything else from this interesting online shop.
posted by houseofdanie at 9:13 PM on November 11, 2010
-A pair of quality athletic socks
-Tim Tams
-A pack of nice pencils (I'm partial to Staedtler Lumographs)
-Trade paperbacks (the Penguin Classics Deluxe editions are really nice)
Basically: Things you see in the store and say, "Why would I pay $10 for one of those when I can get two of these for $8?"
posted by clorox at 1:37 AM on November 12, 2010
-Tim Tams
-A pack of nice pencils (I'm partial to Staedtler Lumographs)
-Trade paperbacks (the Penguin Classics Deluxe editions are really nice)
Basically: Things you see in the store and say, "Why would I pay $10 for one of those when I can get two of these for $8?"
posted by clorox at 1:37 AM on November 12, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Without knowing very much, maybe Archie McPhee ?
posted by cestmoi15 at 4:58 PM on November 11, 2010