Best Seattle-themed Gift for Mom?
August 9, 2006 1:40 PM   Subscribe

I want to get a great Seattle-themed gift for my mom's 80th birthday.

Mom is turning 80 next week, and is in the process of selling her house on Long Island (where she has lived for 60 years) and moving to Seattle to be with us, her kids. I want to get her something that will get her excited about coming to Seattle, but realize that she doesn't need another "thing" right now to pack and move. I was thinking about a pound of great Seattle coffee, or a picture of Seattle (like the one on the right here), or (ideally) a Seattle-based "map" in the vein of the classic New Yorker cover.

Other ideas?
posted by noahv to Grab Bag (9 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
If you can put off the gift giving until she arrives, maybe you can take her on one of the underground tours mentioned in the comments of this thread.
posted by maryh at 1:54 PM on August 9, 2006


Metsker's could probably help you with the map.
posted by milkrate at 2:08 PM on August 9, 2006


this antique map of Seattle is pretty nifty.
posted by nomisxid at 2:40 PM on August 9, 2006


What about smoked salmon? The Made in Washington store may also be able to provide some inspiration.
posted by pricklypear at 2:51 PM on August 9, 2006


Does she like to eat? Seattle (and the northwest) has an abundance of wonderful food; you could make her a gift basket of 'typical' NW foods - some really good smoked salmon, blackberry jam, a half-pound of real coffee, some Beecher's cheese, a loaf of bread from Macrina Bakery, some Dilettante chocolate, some dried Chukkar cherries (too bad the season is over for fresh cherries), a bottle or two of nice NW wine (to go with the food basket) etc. Maybe she'd feel better about it if she knew there's good food here!
posted by dbmcd at 2:52 PM on August 9, 2006


Beecher's Flagship cheese would be enough to make me move to Seattle, if I didn't already live here.
posted by rossination at 3:02 PM on August 9, 2006


How 'bout a comprehensive tourist-type book? They're usually chockfull of all sorts of fun stuff to do.
posted by deborah at 3:07 PM on August 9, 2006


Aw, that's awesome. I'm jealous. I am in Seattle and miss my mom, who's back in Minnesota.

Simply Seattle is the best place I've found for touristy things. They gift wrap and include a card for free. Favorite things I've bought there:

A Space Needle Christmas ornament
Seattle skyline snowglobe
Seattle landmark afghan

All those would need to be packed, though none of them are giant. If you want to stick to something she could eat before she moves, these chocolates are pretty.

I've already gotten my mom the ornament and snowglobe, so I'd likely get her either the afghan (she can use it as a blanket on the plane!) or a good book, like "Wet and Wired," a pop culture guide to the city, or "Food Lover's Guide to Seattle."
posted by GaelFC at 7:03 PM on August 9, 2006


kurt cobian tee shirt
posted by baker dave at 9:42 AM on August 10, 2006


« Older How to get in shape in one month?   |   What?! You eeediot. Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.