What do you get the person who already has everything they want?
4I've got a Christmas conundrum and I'm hoping y'all can help (and feel free to post your own picky-present-receiver).
I need to get a present for my brother. He doesn't like tchotchkes. My mom always gets him books. Generally if he wants something, he'll either get it or decide he doesn't want/need it. He enjoys handmade things but I'm not good at making utilitarian things. He's a workaholic who could use time off (without things at work collapsing without him) but I can't give him that.
He likes Calvin and Hobbes so one year I got him the complete collection (that big-ass book). He loves Star Wars but already has a ton of Star Wars stuff and I think more would drive his wife nuts. He loves MST3K so I was going to contribute to the kickstarter for him, but then it closed. He plays D&D and follows baseball and has a pool table that he loves. I'm pretty poor and he always gives me amazing presents so I always feel like crap when I can't give him something he'll love. Last year I hand-etched two wine glasses for him and my sister-in-law because they love wine. For his birthday I got him wine. I'm running out of ideas. :(
I'd love to give him something that's in some way an experience he wouldn't otherwise get, but it can't take up too much time because he's a busy person.
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Well, if I recall correctly, you are one hell of a storyteller. Why not type up a few of your favorite stories of him and put them in to a little homemade book? It's cheap, he likes to read, gives him something to look at in his free time, and comes from the heart.
A gross of pool cue chalk.
Gift card for the appropriate app store of his phone.
Baseball cap or jersey from his favorite team.
Framed family photo
Wine glass charms
Chia pet (ok, I'm out of ideas now too)
Something purple?
@Barney
@Barney You are so dependable. <3
@HELLOALICE And not much help. Sorry.
@Barney Purple cue stick chalk?
@magic_cave Do you suppose he has a purple felt pool table?
@Barney If not, one can be arranged, I expect.
@Barney It's red! I could dump blue dye on it. What a present!
@HELLOALICE I'd like it, but your brother probably wouldn't. :(
A complete set of big daddy ed roth revell models
@cranky1950 Oh, lordy, speaking of Shades of Days Past! I recall my very first high school boyfriend assembling one in, um, 1965.
Tickets to a baseball game, or to something else he likes
Some food or trail mix/snacks that you make yourself
Foot Cardigan sock-a-month club for a few months
Frame a really nice photo that you have taken . . .
Please let us know what you end up doing?
He likes games, it seems. Check this out from The Oatmeal: http://shop.theoatmeal.com/products/exploding-kittens-a-card-game-about-kittens-and-explosions-and-sometimes-goats
@KDemo Looks like a fun game. (I think I've heard of it before, though never saw it with my own 3 eyes) Plus, who doesn't love it when kittens and explosions collide? (My guess: probably not the kittens)
If you act fast you can get a good deal on a quadcopter. Or maybe get him a speaker dock. Who wouldn't want one of those?
If he happens to be a Dr. Who fan, there is a special 2 night event in theaters coming up at the end of the month (Dec. 28th and 29th) - check this link for details.
OR (and maybe even better) - there's this on January 14th - A special re-broadcast of the August 2013 riff of Starship Troopers.
The stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 are bringing The Best of RiffTrax Live back to select cinemas nationwide. On Thursday, January 14, join Mike, Kevin, and Bill for a re-broadcast of their hilarious take on Starship Troopers.
Originally riffed in August 2013, this fan favorite features the guys hurling their wisecracking humor at what has become the king of modern campy sci-fi epics. If you missed the show the first time around, or just want to relive the laughs, don’t miss The Best of RiffTrax Live: Starship Troopers back in cinemas for only one night!
If there is a cinema near him that participates, I'd bet he'd love it.
@Pavlov Damn. That's legit a great present and there aren't any theaters near him. :(
@HELLOALICE Bummer! I'll keep thinking!
One of the subscription boxes from the Meh staffers?
@jqubed That is a very good idea.
Edit: But it's too late for Christmas delivery.
Scribe Delivery: http://www.scribedelivery.com/
@Barney Yeah, but she could show that the subscription is coming?
Eucopia: http://www.eucopia.com/
@jqubed Which one are you buying me? :)
@Barney If it were up to me; I'd get you the one with the least amount of purple ;)
@FroodyFrog Is your other name @juststephen, because I thought we were finished with the purple hate?
@Barney 1. No 2. I don't "hate" things. 3. Even if I did, purple would not be on the list. I just feel that by more people having the opportunity to get purple stuff, they'd come to love it as well.
@FroodyFrog That's exactly the type of logic Stephen would have used . . . :-P
@Pavlov
I'm me. Not anybody else. I am unique and am not willing to share my uniqueness.
@FroodyFrog That possibility could never justify depriving a true purple lover like @Barney of something that could bring so much joy.
@Barney You summoned me from my Meh absence? I still hold no grudge against purple, indeed, I love purple still. :)
@christinewas
@christinewas @Pavlov Thanks, but I'm just in a cranky mood after having another of a string of bad days. For some reason or another, @FroodyFrog was just irritating me tonight and I'm sorry.
@juststephen Hey, it's so good to see you! How are you feeling? Believe it or not, I've been missing you. :)
@Barney
It's weird, I'm more annoying when i DON'T try...
@FroodyFrog No problem. However, I think I should probably take a bit of a break from here for a while and go and find my sense of humor.
@Barney I'm sorry you've been having such a rough time lately. I hope things lighten up for you.
@Barney How about a hug on my current budget?
@jqubed Aw, sweetie, just having you around is good enough for me.
@Barney -- Feeling any better today, I hope?
@magic_cave Better, thanks.
It's a little late to this Christmas, but maybe it would be worth considering for next year: My BIL is a big fan of his alma mater's football team, especially their coach. Several years ago my sister acquired a great photo of the team with the coach, sent it and a return envelope to the coach with a letter asking if he'd be so very kind as to sign it for her husband. He not only signed it, but he also wrote a lovely note on his personal/office stationery to accompany it. The framed items have had pride of place in their home for many years. Perhaps your brother has a fondness for some kind of organization? (It has the added benefit of being pretty inexpensive.)
@magic_cave Do you ever check your email?
A gift certificate for a massage.
Aren't you good at papercraft? (iirc)
If so, I really like @MEHcus' idea of the book from you. I like that idea anyway - but if you can make it kick ass with papercrafting skills, it'll put it over the top.
Aside from that, can you cook/bake? I've done different types of homemade gifts over the years and the one that makes people lose their shit is a bag of oatmeal cookies - they were a bigger hit than the 6 kinds of fudge that went out last year. So uh - bake!? Maybe?
@Thumperchick
6 kinds of fudge???
@FroodyFrog yup. They were a delicious pain in the ass.
@Thumperchick
I can only think of 2; edible, and non-edible...
@FroodyFrog fudge can be made in almost any flavor you can think of...
@Thumperchick
Hmmm... I did not know that.
@FroodyFrog Dude...
@Thumperchick
Those look good, however, the companies which i eat from only make a few kinds.
Oh well, at least i still learned something.
(At first i thought the sound i heard was my mouth salivating, then i realized it just started pouring outside)
@Thumperchick There's a place at the beach that makes a fantastic mudslide fudge (made with real Kahlua!). I try to keep some in my freezer at all times for emergencies.
@jqubed "I woke up today" = emergency. Please tell me which beach so I can plan a road trip.
@Thumperchick dude, fudge is the best.
@Thumperchick I second the notion that food is the best gift for humans who consume nutrients
@Lotsofgoats
And what about for humans who don't consume nutrients?
@FroodyFrog those are called plants and they should be given sunshine and water
@Lotsofgoats
I may not be well versed in biology (that category in my mind is filled with "other stuff",) but don't even plants survive on nutrients?
@Pamtha It's called The Topsail Island Trading Company in Surf City, NC. Fortunately, they have a website and ship anywhere.
@jqubed Weekend trip shall be planned! I've been there a few times. Thank you!
What do you get the person who already has everything they want? ... BRICKMAS!!!! 😂 It is a tradition in our family to give the person who says they don't want anything for Christmas a red brick, yes the kind you see on the side of buildings. DON'T FORGET TO WRITE. .... MERRY BRICKMAS! AND THE YEAR ON IT!!!
If he's into D&D, a gift certificate to his local game shop? Dicebags- there's always nice ones on Etsy. Dice towers- ditto on Etsy.
@koalamoo He manages a game shop!!! DO YOU SEE MY DILEMMA???
@HELLOALICE Sweet Cthulu, you're going to have to end up giving this man one of those homemade coupon books.
If he loves the pool table, maybe a set of themed/patterned billiard balls? Some fun stuff out there -- marbled, blacklight, faux-stone, clear, sports teams, etc.
@Turken This could be a good idea. Hmmmmmm. I wonder if they have STAR WARS BILLIARD BALLS OMG DO THEY????
@HELLOALICE They don't TT_TT
@HELLOALICE You can customize a cue ball though!
Pandemic Legacy and block off time on his and your calendar to play it once a month.
Forgot to add what it actually is...
It's a cooperative board game that evolves as you play it. It is based on one (if not the) most well-received co-op games out there, Pandemic.
What follows is from http://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/27405/how-many-plays-of-pandemic-legacy-until-it-is-complete
The Pandemic Legacy campaign runs over a single year. You play a game for each month, but if you lose then you play that month one more time before moving to the next one. So if you win every game, you will have 12 games, but if you lose each month then you will have 24. Before you use any of the Legacy components, you can also play an unlimited number of games of "standard" Pandemic (or something very close to it), but once you start opening packets and putting on stickers you're in for those 12-24 games.
@JerseyFrank That's pretty neat, I've played Pandemic, but was unaware of this…
@JerseyFrank I love pandemic. they have an app also!!! We stream it to the chrome cast when we have too many people to comfortable play the board game.
@JerseyFrank This would probably be more of a present for me than him!
@HELLOALICE isntthat what gift giving is all about?
consumables. limited edition cask beer, a hand-curated basket of his favorite goodies from far and wide, people will always need more consumables.
@connorbush In fact my husband and I are doing a Christmas beer fuku instead of exchanging gifts.
@connorbush "hand-curated" is another one of those marketing terms that makes me cringe.
Hugs. You can never have too many of those. And they come with documented health benefits.
@joelmw We always exchange plenty of those. :)
coffee or booze
@Cerridwyn @HELLOALICE Coffee is a thought. I love this crowd- small batch, fun themes. Coffee Shop of Horrors
@koalamoo OMG I love it!!
If coffee or tea works maybe http://www.outofthegreycoffee.com/
You can create your own coffee blend or over 200 teas are available.
My favorite from other ideas is the create your own book idea, though. Work for you but worth it. Make a fancy "Your gift is in progress but worth the wait" type card to give for Christmas if you want a bit more time to complete it. Maybe gift it on New Years with a nice evening drink to sip while reading? Don't forget to sign and date it!
My favorite gifts are the handmade ones. I am one of those awful, hard to buy for people, myself.
You're an artsy&craftsy sort, right? Perhaps illustrate (or whatevs) his character, possibly integrate into some custom character sheets?
This is what my wife gets me every year, and I love it.
We've been using Blue Apron for a few months. It's gotten us out of our meal ruts. You could send a week's worth of dinners. It's pretty reasonable, kinda fun, and a bit unusual.
https://www.blueapron.com/gifts
@HELLOALICE so what'd you end up doing (if you don't mind sharing)? Run with any of the suggestions made here?