So we don't end up with 20 bajillion "omg what do I get my _________ for Christmas" threads

My mom is really into cooking and baking but literally has every cooking gadget in the country. To the point I think my dad might kill me if I buy her another one. I was thinking of maybe making her a gift basket that has some fancy/heirloom ingredients in it or something.

Any ideas?

11/15/2010 11:41:22 AM

Does she have any ingredients or types of foods she particularly likes or would like to expand on? My co-worker loves pumpkin stuff and was saddened by the shortage in canned pumpkin earlier this year. So when I saw some I grabbed her a few cans of that and compiled a dozen or so fairly nontraditional pumpkin recipes (so things like pumpkin mousse, breakfast casserole, pumpkin butterscotch muffins that aren't just the normal things you'd make with it). I then put a couple of the ingredients from those recipes in there and she really liked it.

11/15/2010 11:45:32 AM

I'm in the same boat... I think this weekend I found a good gift. This lady sells homemade pepper jelly (and salsa, and other jellies/jams) and makes big and small gift baskets.

So I guess if I were you I'd look around the Farmer's Market... or if you get really desperate I can send you a pic of this lady's stuff

11/15/2010 11:45:52 AM

I'd like to buy my wife a robe to wear in the mornings in the winter since we don't keep the heat high at all

any suggestions on where to look? she's also really small, wears 0 or double 0 in like everything, what size should I be looking for

11/15/2010 11:49:25 AM

My mom used to work in catering so she makes just about anything. Lately she's really gotten into bread baking so I was thinking maybe some nice flours and what not could be good.

A friend of mine was waving about Anson Mills grits so I might put a bag of those in there somewhere as well. http://www.ansonmills.com/products-page.htm

^ I saw some nice robes at Macy's the other day. Maybe try there?

[Edited on November 15, 2010 at 11:55 AM. Reason : a]

11/15/2010 11:49:52 AM

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=604714

11/15/2010 11:55:53 AM

^ That's for when you already know what you're buying people, not when you're at a loss

11/15/2010 11:56:44 AM

all my presents this year are courtesy of spicecubed.

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

11/15/2010 11:59:45 AM

Quote :

"I'd like to buy my wife a robe to wear in the mornings in the winter since we don't keep the heat high at all any suggestions on where to look? she's also really small, wears 0 or double 0 in like everything, what size should I be looking for"

Robes can be very expensive, so if you want something comfy without breaking the bank, check out Marshall's or TJ Maxx before trying a pricier option.

Of course, I'm pretty partial to the Restoration Hardware plush robes. They're super comfy and they're on sale for just $59 right now!

http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1209001

11/15/2010 12:01:36 PM

Gerber Diesel

If you know someone who is outdoorsy, in the military, or just needs a handy tool in general, I'd recommend this one. I got one a while back, and use it all the time, and keep it on my belt whenever in uniform.

11/15/2010 12:06:12 PM

Quote :

"I was thinking of maybe making her a gift basket that has some fancy/heirloom ingredients in it or something."

One year, my husband and I made gift baskets for my mom and his dad that we filled up with stuff we got from A Southern Season. We filled his dad's up with stuff with food that is local to NC (since he lives in FL). We filled my mom's up with different kinds of teas and sweets.

11/15/2010 12:15:57 PM

Yeah I should drag by butt over to A Southern Season and see what they have. You usually can't go wrong there.

11/15/2010 1:12:20 PM

I have ZERO idea what to get my sister for Christmas. What do hipsters like for Christmas?

11/22/2010 2:53:03 PM

ammunition is pretty much the perfect xmas gift

11/22/2010 2:53:27 PM

2^dreidels

[Edited on November 22, 2010 at 2:55 PM. Reason : .]

11/22/2010 2:55:16 PM

^^^ Trucker hat with a PBR logo on it. Oh, and a case of PBR. Wrap it in old newspapers.

[Edited on November 22, 2010 at 2:57 PM. Reason : f]

11/22/2010 2:56:58 PM

haha unfortunately I know she does not like PBR. She is a fan of Big Boss though...

11/22/2010 2:57:37 PM

How about the Three Wolf Howl shirt, roller derby tickets and a chia pet?

11/22/2010 2:59:28 PM

You know, she would probably actually love that

11/22/2010 3:02:18 PM

My father-in-law is impossible to buy for. He's an IBM lifer who loves wine (but has every gadget imaginable for drinking wine, perserving wine etc)

I was thinking maybe getting him an e-reader like a Kindle or the one that Barnes & Noble makes. And maybe a gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble so that he can buy e-books for it.

I'm really lost for ideas. He complains when we get him anything that requires him to shell out any money for it in the future. We got him a Tassimo coffee maker 4 years for Christmas and we bought him tons of coffee/tea pods for it. All he does is complain about how expensive the coffee pods are So I'm thinking that an e-reader would probably warrant the same response from him. No matter how much of a gift card we give him for buying e-books, he'll complain about the price of the books as soon as the card runs out.



I am also at a loss for what to give to my dad.

12/1/2010 12:45:06 PM

Give him a giftcard. You don't know what he wants, a $25 giftcard will be more appreciated than $100 of junk he doesn't want.

12/1/2010 12:51:46 PM

^^ He probably doesn't have EVERY wine gadget imaginable. There are so many cool things to choose from. Or you could get him a very, very nice bottle of wine. If he has a wine cellar, consider getting him software that will help him track his wine collection. Or, get him a gift certificate for a wine tasting dinner at a nice restaurant.

An e-reader is nice as well ... do you think he'll use it?

[Edited on December 1, 2010 at 12:52 PM. Reason : s]

12/1/2010 12:51:54 PM

They live down in Melbourne, FL

Maybe you could suggest a nice restaurant in Orlando that does wine dinners?

12/1/2010 12:56:43 PM

chicken nuggets

i mean, who doesn't love chicken nuggets

12/1/2010 12:59:29 PM

I doubt he's ever eaten chicken nuggets

Maybe for Christmas, I can introduce him to the deliciousness that is chicken nuggets

12/1/2010 1:02:32 PM

gift cards, no thought required

12/1/2010 1:03:35 PM

Quote :

"My father-in-law is impossible to buy for. He's an IBM lifer who loves wine (but has every gadget imaginable for drinking wine, perserving wine etc)"

My grandfather does this yearly membership thing to some winery in Napa that sends him a bottle of wine a month. I have zero idea what something like that costs but he always gets excited when his box of wine shows up, even if it ends up being crap Maybe you could get him something like that for a year?

12/1/2010 1:15:21 PM

I like the idea of [insert something cool here]-of-the-month clubs. what else is out there besides wine?

12/1/2010 1:35:03 PM

i have NO idea what to get my dad. i was going to get a picture of my brother and i professionally done, because we haven't had one of those in years, but i dunno if he (dad) would like it. and he works from home so it isn't like he has an office to put it in or anything.

HALP!

^ i like the month clubs. i thought about that for my dad last year, a pie one (he loves pie)...but most of them are super expensiveeee. i need like a <$200 gift haha.

[Edited on December 1, 2010 at 1:38 PM. Reason : .]

12/1/2010 1:37:28 PM

^^ flowers of the month are awesome for a significant other or mom.

Can get pricey though

[Edited on December 1, 2010 at 1:38 PM. Reason : .]

12/1/2010 1:37:58 PM

Quote :

"They live down in Melbourne, FL Maybe you could suggest a nice restaurant in Orlando that does wine dinners?"

If they make it to Orlando every so often then there are some great options for them. My favorite wine-centric venues are:

1) The Wine Room on Park Avenue (Winter Park). This place has enomatic wine dispensers. You load a card with money and choose from hundreds of wines ... and select a 1-oz, 3-oz or 5-oz pour. http://www.thewineroomonline.com/

It's a REALLY cool spot. You can rent a wine locker. There's a wine vault and a rare room. It's pretty awesome.

2) Luma on Park (Winter Park) does some pretty awesome wine dinners. $45 per person for a three-course wine-pairing dinner. http://www.lumaonpark.com/

3) Norman's at the Ritz Carlton. http://www.normans.com/
AMAZING dining experience. Great wine list. Probably the best restaurant in Orlando. Norman van Aken is the chef. It's a AAA four-diamond recipient.


Additionally, many restaurants offer some pretty cool chef's table options. For $100 per person, you can get a pretty amazing dining/wine experience.

[Edited on December 1, 2010 at 1:47 PM. Reason : ,]

12/1/2010 1:40:18 PM

i helped out some twwer's with ideas last year. wolfpackgrrr you beat me to making this same exact thread!

soooooo if anyone needs help with ideas, feel free to post in here or send me a PM and i can help out i'd like to think i did a pretty good job last year helping out some folks get ideas about gifts.

12/1/2010 1:44:49 PM

^ Maybe you can help me with my sister.

Honestly what she needs for Christmas is one of her bills paid off. She is so damn bad with money but I can't chastise her too much because all of her bills are school and medical related.

Anyway, in lieu of helping her pay off her debt because I have no damn money myself, things my sister likes:

- coffee
- music like they play on WKNC
- the internet
- hipster clothing

Basically she's a hipster that is hard as hell to shop for

aha I just got this email from Crate and Barrel:

Quote :

"Gift ideas for the wine lover. Free Shipping details... http://news.crateandbarrel.com/a/hBM9nb8AcG6ClB8WFA2Di03Pmek/winegifts2"

[Edited on December 1, 2010 at 2:10 PM. Reason : wine]

12/1/2010 2:06:15 PM

does she have an ipod/iphone/mp3 player? you can buy her a giftcard to iTunes so she can buy music to download.

or maybe scope out her fb page and see if she lists any of her favorite bands/artists. then maybe you can check to see if any of them are coming to the area in the next few months - you could probably score a couple of tickets.

i don't know what your price range/limit is for your sister but you could get her one of those really cool individual coffee makers (keurig i believe its called). you pop in the little container and it brews that specific kind of coffee right into your mug. i think those are kind of expensive but maybe if you think it's a good idea, you and a few family members can go in on it together. my friend got one of those for her dad and then they went through amazon to buy a bunch of the individual coffees to last her dad for a while.

let me know what you think

[Edited on December 1, 2010 at 2:15 PM. Reason : name of coffee machine]

12/1/2010 2:13:35 PM

another good gift for coffee lovers (if they don't already have one) is a french press!

12/1/2010 2:20:27 PM

She uses a French press so I can't see her changing to anything else. That's a good idea of seeing about concert tickets.

Hell probably what I should do is just ask her what she wants for Christmas. Will probably save me a lot of trouble

12/1/2010 2:20:39 PM

lists/ideas definitely help but i know its always fun to think of something yourself and truly surprise someone

is there anything for her apartment/bedroom she needs? new towels? maybe some new lamps or picture frames?

you could always buy some picture frames for really cheap (think marshalls, tj maxx, target, walmart) and get pictures printed and you can put them in the frames.

12/1/2010 2:21:57 PM

She's living with my parents right now so she doesn't really need anything. I could hire her a maid service for her room lol.

I thought about getting her a doggie spa pampering for her dog since she never really has time to give her a proper grooming but then I wonder if she'd feel slighted that her dog got a pampering and she didn't Guess I could always get her and her dog some spa services haha.

12/1/2010 2:23:52 PM

Quote :

"For the one in your life who appreciates luxury collectibles and decadence, we have crafted the Luxe Marchesa Casati Collection. Twelve 85% dark chocolate caramel truffles are dusted with real, edible pearl dust and suspended in a Lucite box swimming with freshwater pearls. Long after the truffles have been devoured, the box will guard jewelry, cufflinks or your most treasured potions."

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/luxe_marchesa_casati_truffle_collection/gift_ideas_75_and_up

12/1/2010 2:25:25 PM

God I love Vosges chocolate.

12/1/2010 2:27:01 PM

^^ the spa thing would be good. you could get her a mani-pedi gift certificate and some doggie spa services too

12/1/2010 2:28:31 PM

what should i get my dad??? i have no idea.

he likes wine, doesn't drink much anymore (blood thinners). i was thinking wine tasting classes, but the problem with that is, he has no one to do them with and that is kinda sad. like...i don't want to get him classes (cooking, wine, whatever) or a restaurant giftcard because it only highlights that he is alone.

he likes golf, but rarely plays.

he has all the tools, etc he needs.

i guess i could get him clothes or something, but i don't think he really needs any of that.

this is really, really, REALLY hard. i thought about an hd video camera, but i don't think it'd get much use because...we don't really go on family vacations anymore, so no use for a video camera. blahhh. so hard.

[Edited on December 1, 2010 at 2:29 PM. Reason : .]

12/1/2010 2:28:56 PM

Anyone have recommendations for good dog grooming places around Brier Creek? That's the area she's in now.

12/1/2010 2:29:34 PM

What kind of coffee does she like? Just black coffee or specialty drinks?

12/1/2010 2:32:02 PM

Quote :

"he likes wine, doesn't drink much anymore (blood thinners). i was thinking wine tasting classes, but the problem with that is, he has no one to do them with and that is kinda sad. like...i don't want to get him classes (cooking, wine, whatever) or a restaurant giftcard because it only highlights that he is alone."

why don't you get him some classes and tell him its something you guys can do together.

12/1/2010 2:33:20 PM

^ Agreed. I was going to suggest that a daddy-daughter date package sounds in order!

12/1/2010 2:40:03 PM

^^^ Mostly black coffee. She works in a coffee shop so she makes herself whatever she wants most days

12/1/2010 2:57:08 PM

^ Go on a shopping spree at Urban Outfitters. That place is a hipster paradise!

Personally, I like the sock monkey wine caddy.



I do love the idea of a hipster gift basket:

Old English trucker hat
Fake mustaches ... hipsters love mustache parties
Sock monkey
Crazy leggings
Gift card to cafepress.com
A mixtape
Chia Obama

[Edited on December 1, 2010 at 3:08 PM. Reason : k]

12/1/2010 3:02:00 PM

^ hahaha I like that idea a lot. Even if she didn't like the crap in the gift basket she'd think it was lulzy.

12/1/2010 4:14:26 PM

Srsly a mix tape with the smiths would be teh winz ... and cheap! hahaha

ironic t-shirt + mustache + urban outfitters crap = one happy hipster!

12/1/2010 4:19:45 PM