OT good gift ideas?

Tell us your greatest hits. Here's mine. Years ago, I started giving the ladies in the family really neat cooking stuff instead of jewelry they might not like or something else that I thought was pretty and they tucked away in a drawer, never to see daylight again. I wasn't certain that they would go for the idea but they have all LOVED it. Every one of them. Isn't it awful that brides attempt to cook with cheap junk and stuff from granny's attic? ( I used to have cookie sheets that wouldn't be good for a 1958 Studebaker oil drip pan.) Last year's great hit? I gave each of them a mezzaluna. It is a curved chopping blade with a handle and a bowl to match. They've all turned into chopping maniacs - making salsa and topping all manner of stuff with pecans and assembling fine salads. It really is such a cool tool that all of them have been searching high and low so they could make a hit with mezzalunas for their friends. You can see one at

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Hoping you have a great idea - there are two twenty year-old guys who will have nothing under the tree here unless you can think of something. We'll give them money, of course, but can't think of anything else. Help me? Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther
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I need to mention - the KitchenAid mezzaluna comes with a plastic ( or something dishwasher-proof) bowl. There are others that come with no bowl or a wooden one. I think a wooden one would be nice but might absorb happy seasoning such as garlic - which wouldn't be so good with pecans, dates and others. Polly

"Polly Esther" Tell us your greatest hits. Here's mine.

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Hoping you have a great idea - there are two twenty year-old guys who > will have nothing under the tree here unless you can think of something. > We'll give them money, of course, but can't think of anything else. Help > me? Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

One year I made up gift wrapping baskets. I put in things I thought might come in handy for wrapping. Scissors, tape, ribbons, wire cutters, pliers, and other things I've forgotten. They were very well recieved but buying them presents would have cost less in the long run. For twenty-something men...how about cooking equipment, say a messaluna. Guys have to cook too. Donna in Bellevue

Reply to
ddean

Where I'm from in Michigan, nearby is a place called Gwen Frostic's, named after the artist and author, who passed away years ago. Her cards and other items are printed on old German presses with wood and linoleum blocks. Nature and flowers were her topics. I give the small size calendars to the secretaries and a few other co-workers each year. The same thing every year but they are still excited to get them, even after about seven years. In fact, I forgot to put one in the counselors mailbox last year and she sheepisly came up to me and asked if I was mad at her because I gave them to others but not to her. We had a good laugh at that one. Something pretty they can look at everyday, all year long.

Here is a link.

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Check out the other items too. Steven Alaska

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Hoping you have a great idea - there are two twenty year-old guys who > will have nothing under the tree here unless you can think of something. > We'll give them money, of course, but can't think of anything else. Help > me? Polly

Reply to
Steven Cook

Right on, Donna. When I struggle with the 'girls' list I always add the son-in-law who loves to cook. Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

Gracious, Steven. I hope HOPE you had an extra 'just in case' for the counselor. Polly

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> Check out the other items too.>

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> Hoping you have a great idea - there are two twenty year-old guys who >> will have nothing under the tree here unless you can think of something. >> We'll give them money, of course, but can't think of anything else. Help >> me? Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

I have a really old one of those knives..has a wooden handle and can be sharpened with ease. There's an opening between the top of the blade and the handle so you have a good 2" of extra cutting room if you have something that is thick. I've really used it especially with the artie. safer for me than regular knives at times.

Butterfly

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Hoping you have a great idea - there are two twenty year-old guys who > will have nothing under the tree here unless you can think of something. > We'll give them money, of course, but can't think of anything else. Help > me? Polly

Reply to
Butterflywings

Polly, do the twenty year old guys like beer? I was in a quandary one year when our son was that age. A beer making kit was just the ticket. He's had fun brewing his own beer for several years since and has started collecting related items like old brewery posters and antique beer bottles. Maybe a beer making kit and a nice beer mug would appeal to them. Donna

Reply to
dealer83

Reply to
Roberta

Many of our friends tend to the hungry side of life, so food is usually a big winner. Often I will include recipes, and sometimes the instructions for how to put up certain things, particularly jams and jellies and such that can be made from things you can get cheap or free in season. Last year I included a gift certificate to my favorite mailorder seed place to those who have a yard and might pull off a garden. Turned out to be a gift that kept me giving the year long as they all called for advice several times over the course of things, but more than half succeeded admirably and their cupboards are not so bare this year.

My puzzler this year is the friend who is visiting from China with his wife. He is not a problem, my DH and he have been friends since elementary school. I have no idea whatsoever what to get for his wife, who is from Shanghai. This will be the first time I have met her. They will be going back to China so I don't want to give something that will be a problem during travel.

NightMist

Reply to
NightMist

On Thu, 9 Dec 2010 19:37:58 -0600, Polly Esther wrote (in article ):

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I'm not sure if this is exactly what you mean, but several years ago, while I was in line at the Apple store waiting to pay for something else (can't remember what now), I saw what I thought was a computer game for David called X-Planes. It wasn't very expensive and Dave loves planes, so even though it wasn't part of what I was planning to get for him, I bought it anyway.

It turned out to be a flight simulator. And it is the one thing (other than the set of kitchen knives MSM gave him last year) that he uses constantly and still talks about. Even he will tell you it is the best gift I've ever given him. I have never been able to top it.

Maureen

Reply to
Maureen Wozniak

On Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:54:25 -0600, NightMist wrote (in article ):

Wow, that is tough. My go to gift for people I don't know well is some kind of local food specialty. But that won't work in this case. Is there something special that your particular area is known for? Our park district has one of the few carillons in the world with a full set of bells. They make up CDs of the bells for fundraising. We've given several of those over the years, especially the Christmas ones.

Maureen

Reply to
Maureen Wozniak

What a great idea!! I'd never heard of a mezzaluna until just now. I think I will go hunting for one (or better yet...drop a hint that I'd like one for Xmas LOL)

As for your young men....I need help there, too. DD's BF will be with us at Xmas and I am blank on ideas. I was planning on asking her what he'd like but it would be more fun to do it "on my own" with the group's help.

Allis> Tell us your greatest hits. Here's mine.

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Reply to
Allison

Several years ago we gave our niece and nephew a gift card to a local movie rental place, along with some microwave popcorn and some "movie candy": Milk Duds, Good 'N Plenty, Mike and Ike, etc.

The candy makes for a pretty heavy package, and since we have to mail presents to our grandchildren, we changed it up a little for them. We still sent a movie rental card, but instead of candy, we put in a big package of popped, flavored popcorn. We have a place in town where you can buy a bag that combines plain, caramel, and cheese corn (all mixed up together), and the kids love going there when they visit.

Today you might have to replace the movie rental card with a card for iTunes downloads or something like that, but you're creative - you'll figure something out!

Reply to
Louise in Iowa

We have a gourmet food shop near, so I buy everyone 'something different' as a stocking filler. Today I got 'the boys' a barbeque sauce but more upmarket from the usual supermarket one, DSis has an Elderflower and Apple sauce for the top of her icecream. DD has a supply of chocolate suitable for vegans - one is orange and geranium and the other chilli which I am assured is acceptable! They have lots of tempting things, including striped spaghetti! Its a shop attached to a tourist attraction so things seem to be a bit expensive, but Christmas comes but once a year - and it saves stocking filler dilemmas.

Christmas sh> Tell us your greatest hits. Here's mine.

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Reply to
Sally Swindells

That curved chopping blade sure looks like the ulu knives that we bought in Alaska! However, I really like the idea of the chopping bowl that goes in the mezzluna set. My daughter has been asking me what I want for Christmas - I may tell her I want a mezzaluna!

Donna in Idaho

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Hoping you have a great idea - there are two twenty year-old guys who > will have nothing under the tree here unless you can think of something. > We'll give them money, of course, but can't think of anything else. Help > me? Polly

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Reply to
Donna in Idaho

My favourite one is the Bernina one:

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Reply to
Kate XXXXXX
20 yr old boys? T-shirts. There are some with some really witty slogans on that are always a hit. Google and enjoy. They do mugs (you can never have too many mugs as a student) and so on, too.

Chinese visitors? May be a picture or plate of your local area, or a calendar showing the same. Think what you would like to remember a visit to another country. It's the simple things that remind us whilst we use them. When I visited the States I ransacked the supermarkets. I bought disposible chopsticks (I'd never seen those before... I know...), a street artist drawing; a wind chime. OK daft things, but every time I look at them, the memories flood back.

Perhaps even a cowboy doll or a snow globe; it doesn''t have to be fancy.

Oh, and I raided ever LQS I could trap anyone into taking me to... lol

GADGETS! =D

Nel (Gadget Queen)

Reply to
Sartorresartus

On Fri, 10 Dec 2010 09:03:31 -0600, Allison wrote (in article ):

For those of you looking for gifts for young men, try T-shirts, mugs, calendars, etc. from

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The company caters to "disaffected college students" and similar types. Actually, the "demotivators" are very popular at my office where someone has hung those silly motivational posters in every conference room.

I wish they still made post-it notes.

Maureen

Reply to
Maureen Wozniak

Those are some great suggestions. As gadger queen I hope you raided LQS for gadgets. It is your duty! : )

Reply to
Taria

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