What do you get them?
5So I realize that most people probably have much if not all of their shopping done. However, there may be some people still struggling with one or two difficult people and what to get them or they have a “what do get for someone who has everything?”
So list some info about your difficult person below and people can try and assist by offering advice what you might get them.
- 11 comments, 38 replies
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Let me know if you figure it out. I’m lost.
@sammydog01
@sammydog01 Not for me, for you or anyone else that just have no idea what to get someone.
Why, the gift of mehmbership!
https://meh.com/membership
My husband. He’s particular.
@sammydog01
@CaptAmehrican I think he’s going to give me a list of woodworking tools. I hope so anyway.
@CaptAmehrican @sammydog01 I don’t know much about work working unfortunately. What about a wood working class online? Something he might not know how to do?
@CaptAmehrican @Targaryen There’s a place in town he can still take classes in person. I guess I could do a gift card. Whenever I go off list it’s usually a failure.
@CaptAmehrican @sammydog01 @Targaryen is he new to woodworking?
https://www.youtube.com/user/stevinmarin
This guy has a list of how to get started for under 1k. He also has online woodworking courses but a ton of videos that are free.
Many people I know buy everything they want when they mention they wished they had… - which makes it almost useless to then buy something they said they wanted as they will have already gone out and bought it.
In cases like that I try to think of things that are helpful, save them time and often that means it isn’t a material item… Or I look to see what is a chronic irritation for that person and try to find a solution.
Examples with my mom who doesn’t want anything: She can’t shop easily and so this year I bought and sent her individually wrapped christmas chocolates so she can hand them out (so told her they were coming this week and to open the package). Because of no space and no desire for more stuff I look for consumables (be it food or something else she can use up). When I can see her I also offer a bunch of “job coupons” to do things I know she needs done and hates to do/can’t easily do, or just says things like: “good for one hour of doing anything you want me to do”… Once I planned and pull off a special event for her with friends her friends. A couple of times I baked many of her christmas cookies she likes to give away… A couple of years ago I saw she kept knocking her pencils fall out of her pencil holder (a jar that was the wrong size) so bought her a really pretty pencil holder (actually it was a fat candle holder with filigree cut outs that was perfect size) and some matching round tray like ones to put plants on instead of assorted disposable foam plates or tin foil she was using.
And then there is the entire extended family we get token gifts for. The problem is it is expensive because so many people and I really don’t have a clue what some of them want. As a result I buy meh (generally, once it was from a liquidator store going out of business) things in bulk cheap. This year it is the monster screen cleaning spray stuff. Another year it was something else that was something like $1/each. They are now trained to know I try to find the same thing for everyone and if at least more than half find it useful/like it then I view it as a success. My nephew’s wife gave everyone a scratch off ticket. One won $10, 3 won free tickets and the rest of us were losers.
Several people are of the “a person can never have too many flashlights” or in another case screwdrivers. So I give flashlights of various kinds. Or screwdrivers that are strange and weird like a keychain one that doesn’t look like a screwdriver or that wallet flat multi tool thing. Gives some laughs and if I am lucky might even be useful.
@Kidsandliz See I keep a list of ideas for Christmas when people ask what I want. That way it’s like stuff I REALLY want or need I buy myself but stuff that is lower priority I list it for Christmas.
get them a pleasant coffee mug
@carl669
I get them the fucking best coffee to go in that mug that can find right now.
and preferably something they either didn’t know existed or wouldn’t buy for themselves.
for the rare friend who doesn’t drink coffee, i have gifted hand blended teas, craft olive oils / balsamics, or even hand made pasta or spices.
@Cerridwyn there’s people that don’t coffee?
@carl669 Yup and some of them are even on this forum. Chocolate is a much tastier way to get one’s caffeine. (In my opinion tea and soda pop suck too).
@carl669 @Kidsandliz
My heart bleeds for you
@carl669 @Cerridwyn Hopefully we can make chocolate from your blood then
@Cerridwyn @Kidsandliz
http://www.emikodavies.com/blog/blood-chocolate-sanguinaccio/
@carl669 @Kidsandliz
oh my
/giphy my heart bleeds for you
@carl669 @Cerridwyn Ummm no. Just no.
@carl669 @Kidsandliz
so …
neither blood pudding nor bloodwine are on your holiday menu?
@carl669 @Cerridwyn Nor a Bloody Mary.
To keep costs and stress down, we started a drawing for adult and older teens in the family. Everyone who wants to enter their name buys a gift for one person. It might be a bit late to try this year since many people shop early but suggest for next year. I have a large family and most do not have the financial means to buy gifts for all or skip paying something else to exchange gifts. Most of the gifts end up being gift cards or wine because they don’t know what to get.
One year we tried the game where you bring a gift and you choose names to unwrap a gift one at a time and the next person can steal your item. That was fun because one of my sisters wrapped a few gag gifts that had the teens giggling.
For adult friends, we usually go out for a drink and visit instead of exchanging gifts. We can’t this now but hopefully soon.
Suggestions for teens and older kids - movie theater gift cards was a big hit. They could go see with friends or take a date. As CaptainAmerica noted somewhere the experience later is an excellent gift. This year maybe the thought of better times in the future?
@speediedelivery A book gift exchange sounds like something that would be up your alley then.
@Targaryen books are good for all ages but finding the right book that has not been read can be hard.
Edibles are good gifts too. Some of the cheese or fruit assortments and of course candy and cookies.
For people like that, I usually get them something related to their hobbies
Santa has a gift for everyone in my family. For “difficult to shop for” people, often it’s a gift card.
For picky spouses: that’s special personal knowledge.
For the kids: parents, grandparents, and Santa do gifts. I presume that parents are the knowledge source. For teenagers, gift cards might be involved.
For persons coming up in a life change such as college, marriage, parenthood, a big move, etc;
or for persons dealing with tough situations: often they get a few extra gifts or gift cards relevant to that.
This year we’ll do only pod gatherings at most. No get-togethers for all.
Here’s my eternal question, especially for people hard to buy for and/or who need little or have space for little. Why is a general gift card considered less considerate than a specific gift card? Like, here’s $50 to use at this specific place vs. here’s $50 to use however you want. The first is seen as “thoughtful” while the latter is seen as crass… I realize not by everybody, but this is sort of the rule in my family.
@lehigh Speaking from my own experience I don’t mind gift cards but I think it’s the expectation for one to put thought into a gift or care enough about a person to think what they’d enjoy based on what you know about them (which to the shock of no one can backfire). Gift cards are easier.
@lehigh My kids got gift cards one year and they got mixed in with the wrapping paper to be thrown away. I wonder how often that happens. I send distant relatives Amazon gift cards that are virtual, so that can’t happen.
@lehigh First of all, I don’t think there is anything wrong with a generic card, other than you might pay more for it than its face value. If you mean something like an Amazon gift card, that also could be considered generic, and I welcome them. When I was a kid, my grandmother would tuck a $5 bill into a Christmas card, and I was delighted to have the equivalent of ten weeks’ allowance. A generic gift card is a modern version.
That said, a store-specific card shows that you know the recipient’s tastes and needs. When they open it, they are more likely to instantly imagine what they will buy.
Too late this year, since they’re in England, but a lot of ideas here: https://www.grand-illusions.com/
The Vortex Dome in particular. Hand made in England.
@blaineg I love the vortex dome. It got me one step closer to an item I’ve been trying to find.
I once bought this item during a layover in Iceland. It was a glass vial with a wooden cage to help protect it. The fluid inside looked like the vortex fluid, but it reacted to the heat from your hand finger. If you touched the glass the fluid rippled.
The one I had eventually dried out. It’s been over 25 years and I still haven’t found it.
@RiotDemon If it helps any, it’s called rheoscopic fluid. There are probably other variations, but this is basically fine mica powder suspended in fluid. It was originally a scientific visualization tool, like a wind tunnel. The device may be called a Kalliroscope.
I bought a ball filled with it less than 2 years ago, but it’s already lost half its volume and collapsed to a lumpy, dented hemisphere. Looks like the plastic they used is very permeable. That product has vanished, strangely enough.
https://www.instructables.com/Making-Rheoscopic-Fluid/
http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/diy kalliroscope.html
I haven’t done it yet, but I picked up a multicolor pack of makeup mica powder on Woot to try making some.
@blaineg yeah, I’ve done many a futile search for a rheoscopic fluid that responds to touch or heat, etc.
When he had uploaded that video I felt that I was at least one step closer.
@RiotDemon Is “thermochromic pigment” the magic phrase?
https://www.amazon.com/Thermochromic-Temperature-Activated-Pigment-Powder/dp/B06XPTLKG3/
@RiotDemon Or maybe liquid crystal?
https://www.amazon.com/American-Science-Surplus-Liquid-Crystal/dp/B002V05RWI/
@RiotDemon All sorts of cool stuff here:
https://www.sciplus.com/
@RiotDemon I had one of these as a kid.
https://clickamericana.com/eras/1970s/space-fidgit-the-magic-color-disc
@blaineg @RiotDemon I had something similar once, when I left some pudding in the refrigerator too long.
@blaineg definitely not liquid crystal or thermochromic. It just looked like the standard mica but something caused it to ripple away from touch.
The thermochromic definitely looks like an interesting addition to one of these toys though.
@blaineg @RiotDemon I don’t suppose it was ferrofluid?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrofluid
@blaineg @RiotDemon
nteresting - right after reading about all this I found this photo I took in July highlighted on my phone’s home screen; the clouds kind of look like the vortex patterns.
@blaineg I have to give Grand Illusions a plug. I placed a order with them on Monday, at what was around 11pm their time, and it was delivered to an England address today! And that wasn’t paying for rush delivery.
I’m very impressed.
@blaineg @Kyeh not ferrofluid even though it’s cool!
I might of gotten one step closer:
I wonder if it’s sensitive enough to react to the heat from touch.
@blaineg @Kyeh turns out the tetrachloroethylene is dry cleaning fluid!
Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
@Kyeh @RiotDemon You may have cracked it. That would explain both why it dried out (volatile) and why you haven’t been able to find another (hazardous).
If you can get some dry cleaning fluid, you could try replicating it. If you’re enough of a mad scientist to try.
@RiotDemon Hand boilers use a low boiling point liquid (Methylene Chloride) to do their trick.
https://www.scientificsonline.com/product/hand-boilers