My immediate family does big Christmases with lots of gifts. And my dad is the type who says he wants a new Corvette and world peace, and when people keep insisting, points to a $5 bag of candy… while I’m getting my mom and brother $200 of stuff each.
This year though, I sympathize with my dad. I’ve refused to pad out my wish list with things I “might” like and don’t actually need. I’ve decided I’m no longer going to collect things that collect dust, I’m not really going to start any new hobbies, and I really can’t leave clothing choices to other people to make.
That leaves:
Books. I have a huge backlog already and enjoy shopping for books myself, but it’s probably going to be the bulk of what people get me. That’s okay. The best books are ones that I didn’t know about but are in my areas of interest (fantasy, SF, well-written nonfiction about various things (particularly specialized areas of science), books on electronic music history and musical thought).
Computer games – one of my hobbies but maybe not the best gift; I tend to latch onto one or two games for several months in a row with another two or three more casual games occasionally thrown in. There’s nothing out there I really want, and Steam sales and Kickstarter have me covered. If there was such a thing as a Kickstarter gift card, that’d be pretty great, but Steam will have to do.
Electronic music – my biggest hobby by far. It’s a very specialist-oriented hobby with expensive gear and a limited need for any accessories that I don’t already have. I buy used, trade, or wait for big discounts, and aside from specific items I can list, nobody else is going to be a very good judge of what I might like. Often I’m not either until I’ve had the chance to use the thing for a few weeks, which is where trading comes in. There aren’t any accessories I need that I haven’t already bought myself (because I needed them). I did manage to put a few things on my list, and the complaint is that they’re not from Amazon and shipping can be slow. Heh.
Anyway, having a better idea of why my dad is difficult to shop for is making it easier to choose things for him. He’s curious like I am and a reader, so I expect he’ll appreciate getting some books that weren’t on his list that I think he might like.
I used to do a budget - $x on this person, $x on that. I found it really limiting. Now I just focus on giving the perfect gift. Sometimes it’s pricier than I would have budgeted, and sometimes way under.
Bump (and maybe not the original intent of the thread, but it seemed an appropriate place.)
So one of my jobs is I work as the lighting director in the performing arts department at a mid-size high school. I design the lighting for the play, musical, & all the dance concerts. I also teach the students who are interested how to work with the lights, how the process works, etc… I’m also one of the only adults that these students work with who is not a faculty member.
Anyways, starting a couple of years ago I started getting the student crew of the dance concerts little gifts for closing night. Something to memorialize the experience, to commend the work they had put into the production, to maybe impart some kind of lesson. The first time I got all the crew the same small LEGO locomotive set and said something about being adaptable but all working together. Since then they’ve gotten knockoff Rubix cubes (for an 80’s themed show) and fake snowballs (for the winter concert).
This time I’m struggling to think of a gift. The upcoming concert is themed on the music of Hollywood, so I could go with something in that direction. It will also be the final concert for several of the graduating seniors so I kind of want to get them something memorable or useful. My initial thought was a Utili-Key but there are all kinds of problems with giving students a blade of any kind. Any thoughts? Ideas?
Hmm. The best cast gift that I’ve received was a pair of fuzzy dice for Guys and Dolls, but that wouldn’t really be thematically appropriate for your crew.
Since it’s the music of Hollywood, maybe something like this:
If you’re set on “useful,” maybe a USB drive with pictures/videos from the concert, that can be erased after the fact (I got a cool USB drive wristband from a music course I took like this). Or a USB battery (teens will never not need extra juice for their phones) with something embossed on it.