The Gift Suggestion Thread

[Deleted]

What is a good stocking stuffer for a two year old? Ten dollar limit.

[laurel]

Hi Greecies. My husband needs a gift for his Secret Santa at work. He picked his boss, one of the owners of the company. the spending limit is $25. I'm the one who'll get the joy of shopping for the gift and I have no idea what to get.

I asked my husband for ideas and he has none. His boss has been good to him, helped finance his education and wants him to become a partner at the firm. The boss is an older man who does not play golf and likes to play tennis.

Help?! Thanks for any ideas.

[batmom]

I don't think that you can err with a nice bottle of wine. Even if he doesn't drink, he can regift it at some point during the holiday.

borokat, if it's an active, jockish type kid, a mini hockey stick (souvenir style of the local team; easy enough to find at a sporting goods store) and a foam ball should come in at $10 and fit nicely in a stocking.

[laurel]

Thanks Batmom.

I have another question, about winter coats. I want to get my husband a nice, warm, formal winter coat. He's an accountant and has to dress formally for work. He has a nice-looking black coat for winter now but it isn't at all warm.

what materials, linings, brands, etc. would be good for this? Also, he's short and it's difficult to find things that are proportioned correctly. Any advice?

[WitchyPoo]

We have Secret Santa at work. $10 limit. The co-worker I picked is female, 20 years old, lives in a nice suburb of Seattle, only child, smart, very funny. I'm much older than her (amost 20 years older) but we get along well. I'm just starting to get to know her better. I was thinking of getting a silly gag gift. Something kitschy. I'm a bit stumped. I don't know what else to think of besides something stupid and funny.

Any smart, funny 20 something ladies out there want to throw me a bone?

[fairfox]

Thank you sooooo much, littleblacksheep.

I am going to get him one of the following:

#1 (the price on this one is kind of killing me, though!)

#2

#3

If anyone has any opinions, please offer them.

Also, are there any southern/well-bred types here who can give me the rules of monogramming? I want to have this wallet personalized (Smythson offers up to 10 letters for $12/letter) - my boyfriend's initials are J (first name) M C (2 second names) R (surname). What should the order be? Is it different in the UK? Would only his first name be appropriate? Etc. Please help!

EDIT:

Witchypoo - I don't know her taste but here are some cute/fun/not too expensive suggestions:

bracelet

ring

earrings (these are so cute I just bought them for myself)

heh heh - wouldn't want her taking this the wrong way, though! (i.e.: "you ho!")

[india7]

whatever said:

Library of Congress

This is the address of the Library of Congress website where you can order archival, exhibition quality photographs of just about any subject, town, and interest imaginable in the US. A lot of photos from the Farm Security Aid Administration, ranging in date from 1900-1950.

I'm buying my dad 2 vintage photos (1930s era) of Jersey City for Christmas, because it's where he grew up, and he still works there. Of course, I will not actually get them delivered by Christmas at this point. But, 'tis the thought that counts. I will be wrapping up 2 computer printed pages depicting what he can expect in January.

They have amazing shots of a lot of towns, even my mother's tiny 1-square mile hometown. So, if you ever want a cool gift for someone, check this site out.

And they are not outrageously pricy either. You can get an 11 x 14 photo plus shipping for around $100.

That is SO cool, whatever! Thanks for the link, I've bookmarked it. First thing I did was look up old photos of Atlantic City for both of my parents.

[WitchyPoo]

Thanks for the help fairfox. It is hard to judge a person's taste sometimes. We work in an environment where we don't wear too many nice things. They'd either get dirty or get in the way. I'm going to try to ask her some not obvious questions about things she likes.

[littleblacksheep]

Those are all gorgeous wallets fairfox- he's a lucky guy! I am drawn towards the 3rd one you posted, with the photo window, so he can put a photo of you in there and always have a reminder of what a great girl he's got! They are all great though so whichever one you go with I am sure he is going to love!

I embroider monograms occasionally and always have to refer back to this page to remember how to do it. It should only cost you three letters anyway.

[chonies]

fairfox, if he has four initials, I would just go with surname initial. This save you money and also prevents the collapse of symmetry. My boyfriend doesn't have a middle name, so when I choose an initial for him, I just choose first or last name, depending on the item.