Xmas/Boxing Day gift ideas

[[Q]]

so xmas was ruined for me as a child and i don't enjoy the holiday. it's always been a "too lazy/have no idea what to give & don't expect anything back" type holiday for me. but i'm feeling extra merry this year so i could use some cool gift ideas for my sister and 2 cousins (females, ages 18, 24, and 27), preferably costing me less than $10 each. i was thinking about dvd movies as a last resort if i couldn't think of anything else. any ideas? i have no idea what an adult female would want

[deihatein]

I am thinking of buying that cheap cellphone that looks like calculator as the only thing I will buy and give to my special someone.

[NovU]

i have no idea what an adult female would want

Try apron or recipe book on sandwiches.

I am gonna pick up couple USB flash drives that are on-sale for general gifts. Shouldn't cost more than $10 each.

[dare]

Good thread, hope too pick up a couple of gifts because my girl and I are close to our 3rd year anniversary.

[benji]

Bees.

[Andrew]

Bees.

"Girls like swarms of things, right?"

[Tupik]

Anything that smells good.

[Patr1ck]

Do you even know anything about your sister and 2 cousins?

For instance, I am never sure what my oldest brother wants, but a couple years ago I was in Best Buy and saw MS3TK dvd's and remembered that he used to record that show onto vcr tapes. So, I got him several of them. So, if you go for a dvd, make sure it's something they love, not just a movie that they liked.

I know my other brother's 5.1 pc sound system died, and I am using his older one. So, I could try and buy him a new one or buy myself one and give him his old one back(lol).

Don't think about them being girls, just think about what you know about them. If all else fails, gift cards to where they like to shop will suffice.

[shadowgrin]

If you really have no idea what to buy, buy something that you would use yourself. In case they return it to you, you could use it.

I am thinking of buying that cheap cellphone that looks like calculator as the only thing I will buy and give to my special someone.

Dude. You're cheap.
It is really inexpensive though. You could probably give her 3 of those, one for each network here.

Try apron and recipe book on sandwiches.

It's not a bad idea for women who love to cook. Fixed it also.

Bees.

That are on fire.

[Fresh8]

I don't like gift cards cause it the recipient knows how much you have 'spent' on them.

Last Christmas I bought perfume for my sister. As for cousins, don't have any close to my age nor in my area so dunno. I guess a christmas card and chocolates should suffice. What about soaps (from the Body Shop or Lush - they're aussie stores but sure there are American equivilents). Someone mentioned a cook book, I like that idea. Or even semi old school and get a calender... No idea if people even use them anymore.

[cyanide]

Body Shop or Lush - they're aussie stores but sure there are American equivilents

I've seen both stores in Canada, and I'm sure they're all over the US as well. They're popular stores, and makes good gifts to the ladies, except Lush is pretty expensive.

[el badman]

A snuggie.

Best way to show you care about their self-esteem.

[Fresh8]

Body Shop or Lush - they're aussie stores but sure there are American equivilents

I've seen both stores in Canada, and I'm sure they're all over the US as well. They're popular stores, and makes good gifts to the ladies, except Lush is pretty expensive.

Ah sweet. Didn't know if they were overseas.

They're great for girls. They even got special (cheap) Secret Santa packs the other day. Was telling my friend it'd be funny if everyone gave eachother that gift for secret santa this year cause all of her co-workers are female and set the price limit for gifts at 10 bucks which was what the packs cost.

[benji]

I don't like gift cards cause it the recipient knows how much you have 'spent' on them.

So you'd rather saddle them with a good where they will still know the cost but they might hate and can't do much more than trash just for the illusion you spent more? Especially since most people would just buy a gift card for what they would have spent anyway?

I'd personally rather be given essentially a statement that says "I'm not sure what would bring you the most happiness, but here is what I budgeted for you and can be used for anything you desire at any time!" Instead of a good that someone else decided I might want (probably through some kind of random process) that I must fake pleasure about while we pretend everyone is happy about the situation where in reality neither is truly happy and the recipient has to be double unhappy because they know the actual cost of the product anyway but can also recognize that not only did the gifter devalue their money through a poor decision making process but the recipient has lost utility.

And if you don't know anything about someone, picking a stereotypical gift because of their age and gender, especially for many tweens through twenty-year olds becomes actively offensive. (And complete idiots do this farther into their lives.) I was not that way, but I've known plenty of people resentful over GIFTS they received because of this.

If I get a handful of gift cards (increasingly more and more common) I don't have to use the gift cards for gifts, instead I budget out the same amount of my own money to potentially buy something grander and then just use the gift cards on food and such instead. This increases my capabilities of multiple gifts. If I got say (never have, but this is an example) four $25 gift cards, I could theoretically utilize my existing funds to buy two video games or something which brings me more than any four gifts selected by other people at $25 would bring, and then I can use those cards to buy food. (In my actual personal case, I mostly use any gift cards I get for fancy meats or ingredients or liquor. But I'm a fat black Christian chef.)

If you know the person the cost is irrelevant. My best received gifts are ones I probably all spent less than $10 in monetary costs and far more in equivalent labor/time costs. Identifying the gift and how it would best maximize happiness of the person will always be superior to raw monetary costs.

Just throwing money at the problem never works as well. If it did, DPS wouldn't graduate 25% or less of its students.

That said. If you have all soured on the bees idea. I would recommended something that really helps anyone:

[shadowgrin]

That said. If you have all soured on the bees idea. I would recommended something that really helps anyone:
[video]

Testify!

phpBB [video]

[benji]

If your problem is hearing (such as to hear what that guy who keeps walking back and forth is talking about on the phone, or perhaps people in your life like to snoop on their neighbors or people at the beach/gym) instead of seeing there's also these:

phpBB [video]

phpBB [video]

[Fresh8]

Benji, it's more for the fact that giving a gift card sometimes feels like 'oh, I couldn't be stuffed to think of anything better to get you' or 'I don't know you well enough to think of something to give you.' And if you got that feeling, why are you even bothering of getting a gift for said person in the first place?

[benji]

You feel you have to for completely illogical reasons? Such as "they're family"? They feel entitled to a gift from you? For the same reasons?

Do you buy them junk they don't want and condescends to them as a member of some random "identity" group? Do you get them nothing causing more resentment? Or do you throw cash at them in our new wonderful capitalist "gift" device that says "I limit you to this store, but we've degraded pure wealth transfer as somehow beneath us and plus it has some images on it, go forth for equivalent enjoyment"?

At least the gift card says "I couldn't figure out shit about what you could really like, take this and get something for yourself" or "I remembered at the last second, take this and get something for yourself" instead of "who are you again?"

Actually, a better question to respond to from your exact post is:

it's more for the fact that giving a gift card sometimes feels like 'oh, I couldn't be stuffed to think of anything better to get you' or 'I don't know you well enough to think of something to give you.' And if you got that feeling, why are you even bothering of getting a gift for said person in the first place?

Because you're a selfish douchebag who is only giving because of how it makes YOU feel to be the benevolent overlord of bestowing yourself upon others.

The point is to make other people happy. Yes, finding the perfect gift is the best way, but when you can't because well, you have no clue what they really want (maybe, you don't really know them but would like to get to know them better and want to show some form of this) or for so many other factors (like say, you can't afford getting them something they may really want), instead empowering them to go forth to acquire what they may want for the equivalent amount of funding is vastly superior. You may not be winning WINTER HOLIDAY and getting all their love forever, but you're giving them a chance to get something they want even if it's 750 ml of disgusting bottom shelf tequila. But at least you aren't saddling them with something they either have to find a use for or somewhere to dispose of it, and when you come back in three months and ask "how did you like your [whatever]?" it reduces their original pleasure factor of you thinking of them (since the gift was, in the first place generic and last minute as any gift card may be) as they attempt come up with some plausible lie to reinforce YOUR feelings.

And when they sit around in that horrific hoodie that's falling apart instantly that grandma got them and the leisure drawers Aunt Steve and Uncle Leslie got are also not containing the warmth, well, that liquor they bought with your gift card is going to give them the illusion of warmth and at that point it's Cousin Sit who wins WINTER HOLIDAY. And when next year it's socks, scarves and candy that's been sitting in grandma's cupboards for five years she has to find a way to pawn off onto other people because she lived through the last Depression and you can't throw shit away, little Amanda is going to looking forward to that booze money from Cousin Sit. Even though it's on a gaudy gift card.

And if they're pissed at you because you only can afford to drop $20 on them and the gift card makes that clear. Fuck them. They aren't entitled to your riches either.

Then again, if you've got $20, that's enough FOR HD VISION WRAP AROUNDS!

[Fresh8]

Sorry mate but when I said that you shouldn't be giving a gift in the first place - I was referring to giving gifts to others in general and not specifically family.

EDIT: As for family giving family gifts, I've never really been given gifts on Christmas. I also have cousins here and uncles and aunts but we've never exchanged gifts. So if you ask me, I don't think there is really any real expectation or obligation to give a gift to a family member. But maybe thats cause I'm asian or something

[[Q]]

And if you don't know anything about someone, picking a stereotypical gift because of their age and gender, especially for many tweens through twenty-year olds becomes actively offensive. (And complete idiots do this farther into their lives.) I was not that way, but I've known plenty of people resentful over GIFTS they received because of this.

i remember when i was a kid, especially age 10-14, people in my family had no idea what to give me and it was highly offensive to get generic gifts from them because it made it obvious they had no idea what i would want plus it seemed like they didnt want to give me one anyways but felt obligated to get me one

If you know the person the cost is irrelevant. My best received gifts are ones I probably all spent less than $10 in monetary costs and far more in equivalent labor/time costs. Identifying the gift and how it would best maximize happiness of the person will always be superior to raw monetary costs.

example?

and if you took the Listen Up! to a sporting event, wouldn't the crowd cheering get amplified too?

[volsey]

I hate christmas.
- I hate going through the whole, who do i have to buy for, what should i buy for them
- I'm always asked what i want, i never really want anything to be honest, not that I could legitimately ask for
- the only thing i really need is money for school, and for food/hookers
- i hate when they realize that money, gift cards for useful places, is just uncreative, and give me some shit that even IF i did like, i have absolutely no use or room for. It then ends up stuffed away somewhere or thrown out/given away


There is maybe one or two gifts per year that I give out and actually get a good feeling about giving. Gifts that I really know are thoughtful and that the person will appreciate.

Bottom line I hate receiving stuff i dont need, adding to the clusterfuck that is my house, and hate spending so much money when reallly only about 1/4 of the shit i buy is actually a good gift.

[Tupik]

But maybe thats cause I'm asian or something

It's probably because of that yeah, and this applies to pretty much everything you'll ever do.

[benji]

i remember when i was a kid, especially age 10-14, people in my family had no idea what to give me and it was highly offensive to get generic gifts from them because it made it obvious they had no idea what i would want plus it seemed like they didnt want to give me one anyways but felt obligated to get me one

Exactly.

example?

Well, you have to know about them in the first place. If you do, you'll know exactly what they want, and if not you won't. For example, someone I know loved Full Metal Alchemist and wanted the whole series to watch. I accidentally came into possession of the entire series despite the lack of full release of it at the time, and I then completely accidentally created DVDs that accidentally also had menus and chapter stops and so on inserted. And then I accidentally burned these and accidentally gave them over to the person who then enjoyed them far more than more expensive gifts given to them during the period without any prior or continuing knowledge that the data contained on these DVDs may or may not have been accidentally acquired. Data which I continue to have no knowledge of how I came to access.

and if you took the Listen Up! to a sporting event, wouldn't the crowd cheering get amplified too?

Carl: "Shh! Shut up!"

[Fresh8]

But maybe thats cause I'm asian or something

It's probably because of that yeah, and this applies to pretty much everything you'll ever do.

Yeah. I'm posting on these forums cause I'm Asian.

[NovU]

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php? ... omoid=1261

Was looking to buy gifts and shit from this site and look what's on sale. Lolz... What's next, USB powered Coffee Maker?

But I'm really tempted to get one just outta curiosity.