Gift ideas

• Books, books, books. I tend to give a lot of books for gifts. My favorite authors to give are Jennifer Louden, SARK, and Elaine St. James, but then I'm kind of an earthy-crunchy sort anyway. I recommend the book Why Cats Paint if you're looking for subtle humor. If you know someone who does not yet own a full collection of Douglas Adams, his books are also good gifts.
• More books. Cooking, traveling, gardening, home remodeling, learning a new language, sports, writing, movies, collecting fine wines, whatever the hobby, there's probably a good book to go along with it.
• Clothes. Hard to do if you don't know someone's size, so it helps to have a spy who can find out this info for you. There's lingerie if that's appropriate for your relationship.
• Music. Sometimes I make mix tapes as gifts. Think of what radio stations they listen to, where they tend to listen to music (it's pointless for me to get CD's for my mom who only listens to tapes, in her car), what music they have already that they enjoy.
• Food. I like receiving food as a gift, because it doesn't clutter up my house! Cookies and quick breads are great on one end of the spectrum, or go healthy and make a fruit basket. Great for college students who could use more fresh fruit in the diet and who need to grab food between classes. Nuts, candy, snacks, that sort of thing balance it out so you don't have to make it all fruit.
• Which reminds me, one of the most clever ideas I've seen in a while: a couple ice cream sundae dishes, some gourmet sauces, and some toppings.
• Alcohol. (If both you and the gift giver are of age, of course... don't want Santa haulin' you off to the police station.) This has the added advantage of avoiding the mall. Wines come in quite a range of prices, other alcohols like Chambord or Kahlua might be nice, or perhaps even beer - maybe someone would like a sampler pack of some exotic beers they've never tried.
• Other beverages. Tea, chai, gourmet coffee, or anything by Reed's (ginger beer, sparkling apple cider). A bottle of sparkling cider and some cheese makes a nice treat, but DON'T OVERDO IT ON THE CHEESE (I may never eat brie again! *grin*).
• Theme gifts. This is harder, but if you can think of one small thing to give, perhaps you could come up with a whole set of things. For example, if you see a funny mug, but you don't think that's enough, then try a mug, some gourmet coffee, a box of tea, and an electric mug warmer. If they like to cook, try every weird kitchen gadget you can find. This is a bit easier for froofy women - I once got my best friend's mom some soap, hand lotion, candy and tea all in raspberry. Once I did a sort of kit for my dad (I think it was for father's day) where I went to CVS and bought every little tiny useful item I could find. I've also written someone a short story that just happened to use restaurant gift certificates as part of the illustrations...
• Experiences. Another thing that won't clutter up the house! Movie passes, ski passes, theater tickets, concert tickets, a night at an inn, a gift certificate to a spa, sporting events tickets, a coupon for a massage. Back on the food tip, try dinner out (though this borders on generic for some people - not me though! indian food. yum.) or breakfast in bed.
• Magazine subscriptions. Select this option with care, many folks are already overloaded with information. OTOH, I've been the happy recipient of a Consumer Reports subscription in the past.
• Services. For my dad's birthday, my mom arranged for some professional lawn care. This could also work with car washing, house cleaning, or even cooking - I know someone who has given home delivered meals as a present (this btw can be an excellent thing to do for someone who has just experienced some kind of loss). Doesn't have to be professional, either.
• Toys. "Adults" still like to receive toys. I don't mean the "toys" of places like Brookstone or Sharper Image (massaging implements, talking alarm clocks, etc. although this is another possibility.) I mean brain puzzler toys that descended from the Rubik's Cube, a stuffed animal to sit on the desk at work for company, an "action figure" from their favorite TV show, card games, LEGO sets, puzzles, coloring books, and so on. Many educational stores are right on track here. I might put the magnetic-fridge-poetry-words in this category as well.

Some questions to ask yourself:

• What hobbies does this person enjoy? What do they spend their free time doing?
• What would make their work life less stressful?
• What kinds of gifts do they give others?
• Have they dropped any hints?
• When they shop, where do they usually go?
• What do they do to treat themselves?
• What, in an abstract way, do you want to give them? Peace, laughter, comfort, relaxation, adventure, challenge? How can you translate that into a gift? For example, comfort = a big blanket or a professional massage, laughter = a funny book or tickets to a show, perhaps.
• What color is their kitchen? This is something I try to note about someone's house when I go to visit (I'm not usually successful). Sometimes that can spark ideas ("hey, this would look really cute on their windowsill!")
• What do you admire about this person?
• What has been going on for them recently?
• Do they have young kids/pets around the house to whom an item would be toxic/dangerous AND easily accessible? I mean, the parents can probably keep Baby away from the whiskey, but they might not be able to keep Kitty away from the poisonous plant. Also consider if the item might be damaged by young ones or pets in their home - do they have anywhere to keep that fragile vase?

"Listen, I don't even know this person. I just want to get something that won't be offensive in some way." Sometimes people wind up in a situation where they have to get a gift for their cousin's new spouse or a grab bag gift for a holiday party or an office "Secret Non-Sectarian Gift Giving" or some church thing where they don't even know the recipient. Here are some ideas.

• If you go to a grab-bag party with me, chances are good that I'm the source of the blank book or journal. It's pretty hard to offend someone with that, especially if its cover can't be construed to be for one gender only.
• Note cards or stationery.
• A nice pen or pen/pencil set.
• A book with lots of photographs of nature.
• A calendar - again, go for natural landscapes.
• A picture frame or two.
• Practical: a nice flashlight. Who couldn't use another?
• Somewhat risky: a scented candle (sensitivity to scented stuff)
• Somewhat risky: a teddy bear (toys are just out in some families) I'd go for one of the Gund polar bears. No decorations whatsoever.
• Gift certificates. *sigh* The last resort of all gift givers?

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This page last revised Thu Jul 13 21:49:51 EDT 2000 by leaf