Christmas in Prague gift ideas
December 5, 2011 9:08 AM Subscribe
Please help me find a nice Christmas gift for someone living in Prague
My Dad has been in Prague for the last 2 1/2 years and is spending his last Christmas in town before moving back to Canada next summer.
I've been trying to think of a good Christmas gift to send him but just started wondering if there was anything cultural that I could make arrangements for from overseas that would make his last Christmas in Prague memorable. He's done of lot of sightseeing locally during his time there but he's only spent 1 Christmas in the city and I don't think he and my Momd did anything extraordinary that year.
I need to act quickly on this because my mother is flying to Prague on Sunday to spend the holidays there. I need to either get something arranged or find a gift to send over with her.
If anyone can think of a really cool idea that they could enjoy as a couple and that I could arrange for from Canada I would be very grateful. As they have friends coming over to visit as well, anything that another couple could make arrangements for on short notice would be ideal.
My Dad has been in Prague for the last 2 1/2 years and is spending his last Christmas in town before moving back to Canada next summer.
I've been trying to think of a good Christmas gift to send him but just started wondering if there was anything cultural that I could make arrangements for from overseas that would make his last Christmas in Prague memorable. He's done of lot of sightseeing locally during his time there but he's only spent 1 Christmas in the city and I don't think he and my Momd did anything extraordinary that year.
I need to act quickly on this because my mother is flying to Prague on Sunday to spend the holidays there. I need to either get something arranged or find a gift to send over with her.
If anyone can think of a really cool idea that they could enjoy as a couple and that I could arrange for from Canada I would be very grateful. As they have friends coming over to visit as well, anything that another couple could make arrangements for on short notice would be ideal.
Best answer: Lots of good concerts here.
posted by davidjmcgee at 9:57 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by davidjmcgee at 9:57 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: TooFewShoes: hadn't really thought about budget, maybe $100-150.
posted by smcniven at 10:25 AM on December 5, 2011
posted by smcniven at 10:25 AM on December 5, 2011
My suggestion would be to arrange a gift card to one of the cafes below for a coffee outing. Cafe life is one of the best (and most integral) aspects of Prague, and all three of these are historically significant--and, more importantly, do very good coffee and cakes. They're all pretty different, so I've added a couple of notes. It should be no more work than firing up email or Skype, asking to arrange a gift card which you can charge by credit card over the phone, and then alerting one/both of your parents to pick it up.
Cafe Louvre is an old, elegant cafe (a little touristy, now) in the center of town where Einstein (among others) used to think great thoughts: http://www.cafelouvre.cz/en/
Grand Cafe Orient is in an architectural gem, the House of the Black Madonna, also in the heart of town, and was lovingly reconstructed a few years ago to restore its Cubist-era detail: http://www.grandcafeorient.cz/index.php?id=kontakt&lang=en
Cafe Savoy--my first choice for an afternoon of coffee and cakes. Excellent apple strudel. They are probably the most likely to be able to handle a phone request for a gift card with ease, as their clientele is fairly international: http://www.ambi.cz/ambi_cafesavoy_menu_eng.php This is certainly where I'd take or send my parents. :)
Cafe Slavia is another historic cafe (restored in part thanks to Vaclav Havel) worth a visit, but I don't think it's as elegant and impressive as the others (sad to say). It's also completely overrun with tourists, and the service is nowhere near as good as at, say, Savoy.
The Prague Symphony Orchestra's Concerts in the Obecni dum (New Town Hall) are usually very good: http://www.obecni-dum.cz/web/en/programme Some of the concerts in churches around town can be hit-or-miss in terms of musical quality.
I have no connection or stake in any of these, FYI. Good luck! I'm sure your parents will appreciate the gesture. I also think a cafe outing is fun, not least because it allows your dad to show off his knowledge of Czech and familiarity with the culture. Plus, it's a relatively low-key gift that won't give your parents apoplexy when they begin to calculate how much you spent--as opposed to, say, dinner at Degustation La Boheme Bourgeoise, or somewhere similar, which would run close to $100/head.
posted by SmazenySyr at 3:20 PM on December 5, 2011
Cafe Louvre is an old, elegant cafe (a little touristy, now) in the center of town where Einstein (among others) used to think great thoughts: http://www.cafelouvre.cz/en/
Grand Cafe Orient is in an architectural gem, the House of the Black Madonna, also in the heart of town, and was lovingly reconstructed a few years ago to restore its Cubist-era detail: http://www.grandcafeorient.cz/index.php?id=kontakt&lang=en
Cafe Savoy--my first choice for an afternoon of coffee and cakes. Excellent apple strudel. They are probably the most likely to be able to handle a phone request for a gift card with ease, as their clientele is fairly international: http://www.ambi.cz/ambi_cafesavoy_menu_eng.php This is certainly where I'd take or send my parents. :)
Cafe Slavia is another historic cafe (restored in part thanks to Vaclav Havel) worth a visit, but I don't think it's as elegant and impressive as the others (sad to say). It's also completely overrun with tourists, and the service is nowhere near as good as at, say, Savoy.
The Prague Symphony Orchestra's Concerts in the Obecni dum (New Town Hall) are usually very good: http://www.obecni-dum.cz/web/en/programme Some of the concerts in churches around town can be hit-or-miss in terms of musical quality.
I have no connection or stake in any of these, FYI. Good luck! I'm sure your parents will appreciate the gesture. I also think a cafe outing is fun, not least because it allows your dad to show off his knowledge of Czech and familiarity with the culture. Plus, it's a relatively low-key gift that won't give your parents apoplexy when they begin to calculate how much you spent--as opposed to, say, dinner at Degustation La Boheme Bourgeoise, or somewhere similar, which would run close to $100/head.
posted by SmazenySyr at 3:20 PM on December 5, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks everyone. I ended up getting them a Loge at the State Opera to see The Magic Flute. They had a fanstastic time.
posted by smcniven at 6:12 AM on January 18, 2012
posted by smcniven at 6:12 AM on January 18, 2012
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posted by TooFewShoes at 9:40 AM on December 5, 2011