Monday, December 20, 2010
PUBLIC SERVICE OR SHAMELESS MISUSE OF BLOGGING RESOURCES? With fewer than five days left until Christmas and a handful of people likely left on your (my) Christmas list (if you are my brother, STOP READING RIGHT NOW), let me ask this question: what is the best commercially available gift you have ever (or recently) received, with a value no greater than, say, $100 or $150?
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I'll start: I love my Kindle, $139 last birthday. I have also loved a variety of tools (secondhand chisels were very nice; a biscuit joiner has been indispensable). The novel "Room" was not a gift for me, and yet it felt like one.
ReplyDeleteI've got nothing (save for to agree wholeheartedly with Isaac about "Room," which I wholeheartedly reccomend, especially to fans of "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"), but am very interested in hearing thoughts from y'all (not that I have any shopping still to do--no, not at all).
ReplyDeleteI'd say my cordless drill. I'm also having fun with my new Vado, but that wasn't a gift.
ReplyDeleteKindle. Apple TV. KitchenAid stick blender (easily my favorite kitchen implement).
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there things that I liked better at the time, but I think I've gotten the most use/enjoyment out of my Better Off Ted Season 1 DVD and Arrested Development Box Set (although I assume that the people who like those kinds of things already own them).
ReplyDeleteMy Mark Bittman cookbooks (How Cook Everything, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Best Recipes in the World) and a good chef's knife.
OK, this is going to make me sound incredibly old and lame, but here goes anyway. I'd been having some foot pain recently, and my cousin who is a podiatrist basically told me that I'm a moron for walking around barefoot all the time on my house's hardwood floors. So I asked for and got a pair of Tempurpedic slippers from Brookstone. They're around $50, which seems insane for slippers, but they are incredibly comfortable and seem like they are going to hold up for a long time.
ReplyDeleteOff to apply for AARP membership.....
I absolutely love my Kindle. The other gift in that pricerange that I recently received, which I may like even more is a Sodastream. Of course, your enjoyment of that may depend on how much you drink seltzer, but carbonating tap water feels easier and more environmentally conscious than buying and lugging home individual seltzer bottles. Plus, with NYC tap water, it tastes better, too.
ReplyDeleteI love my KitchenAid Stick Blender too. It is an awesome kitchen implement during the winter for soups and for the summer herb chopping.
ReplyDeleteI also really loved last year getting tickets to shows. Particularly the Melbourne Comedy Festival and also the Melbourne Theatre Company.
Finally, and I know this maybe sacreligious but really good quality socks. I hate buying socks they seem like such a waste of shopping experience but sock presents are a lifesaver.
I also got the new Nook Color, which at $249 is way over the limit Isaac prescribed, but it is really cool. I just started reading my first ever e-book (The War for Late Night by Bill Carter) and I'm loving it.
ReplyDeleteKind of a specific gift but a garmin 305 gps (for running, $140) was something I wanted for a long time, and just received recently. I'm getting my husband a kindle this year and will probably receive a food processor in return, which I plan to enjoy. But would have gotten him a soda maker instead if he didn't want the kindle so.
ReplyDeleteI read Room on Jenn's recommendation, because I loved The Opposite of Me. I am currently rereading TOOM, but will not be rereading Room.
ReplyDeleteAs for gifts, last year my mom found a website called perfectday.com or something like that, and got my dad a flying lesson for about $150, I believe. You can give it price perameters and it has all kinds of experiences on it. The one I looked at was for Canadian locations, but I can't imagine there isn't an American version out there on the Interwebs.
See, this one is a hard one, because some of my favorite presents have been very personal and reflected the fact that someone really knew me. Like when my older brother noticed that I didn't have anything to organize my spices and had to hunt through them, and then gave me a spice rack for Christmas. I wouldn't necessarily put "spice rack" on the top of a gift list for everyone around, but it was a thoughtful gift for me at that time. Or when my cousin noticed that I had no brandy snifter glasses, and gave me some, along with a recipe for chocolate mousse that could be served in them. (Snifter glasses---not just for alcohol! Who knew?)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite gift that I ever gave someone? Riedel scotch glasses to my dad. My mom is not so fond of them (given that they have to be handwashed), but when he has a good scotch in the house, my dad loves to pull them out. It's incredibly hard to buy presents that dad will actually use, so I felt a real sense of victory there.
Perfect Day experience actually sounds perfect for the brother-in-law in question, aka the Last Gift Standing. Thanks, D'Arcy! Off to the Interwebs.
ReplyDeleteWhat was it about Room? Just too painful to read as a mom? I get that, but I just tuned the emotional part right out. I loved it so much I want to let Tracy Jordan make an inappropriate joke about it.
I loved Room and have pushed it on lots of people. It was painful to read as a new mom, but it was also an incredibly wonderful book.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great suggestion. I might steal it and buy a sodamaker for my husband.
ReplyDeleteThe Complete Far Side and the Complete Calvin and Hobbes. Hours upon hours of enjoyment, and lots of good exercise from lifting them.
ReplyDeleteThe Complete Bloom County is coming out volume by volume and I will eventually own it all, but the two above can be had in one very swell foop. Well, two swell foops.
On the recommendation of severalpeople you know, Jenn, I got those glasses for my husband for his 40th birthday. Exceedingly well received.
ReplyDeletei used this site to get a sailing outing in chicago for my brother, but they have many US cities
ReplyDeleteI bought my mom Riedel wine glasses a few years ago. They are also to be handwashed, but she puts them in the dishwasher! I yelled at her the first few times, but in 4 years, they've always come out perfect (top shelf only).
ReplyDeleteAnd spacebrother is getting an xperience gift. Thanks, Guest!
ReplyDeleteJust give everyone all of the Hunger Games books. If you read the first one, you'll need the next two IMMEDIATELY.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea and yet am unsurprised that the ALOTT5MA crew is as obsessed with ROOM as I am. I usually do not care much about a given year's offerings from the adult book world, but this year...obsessed.
ReplyDeleteLast year I asked for 10" Shearling-lined Bean Boots ($149) and they are awesome.
that was me. glad it worked out!
ReplyDeleteAs above: Kindle. SodaStream.
ReplyDeleteSpa gift certificate! Mmmm, massage.
Heh. I could see where several people you and I both know would recommend those, Marsha. My first foray into buying Dad Scotch also involved a consultation with some of those folks.
ReplyDeleteI actually had a Riedel glass break from overall hot water in the sink, so I'm pretty careful with mine. Also, my mother has an incredibly strong need to follow care directions.
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes. Frankly, I've only read about a quarter of it so far (and this was a gift last Christmas), but I love having it.
ReplyDeleteYou guys!! Why did this thread not come up earlier when I was trying to come up with presents?
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the KA stick blender is so well liked - bought one for Mom for Christmas. My Kindle was one of my favorite presents but my absolute favorite of all time was, as Jenn. said above, a bit more personal in nature. I am a single mom (always have been) and it was a bit of a struggle in the early years - having to leave my career and take a job with a little more flexibility but a bit less pay. I was 24 when she was born and needless to say, getting out did not happen much the first few years. So, one Christmas around that time I received a gift from my brother and sister-in-law that was a notification that they had made a donation in my name to pay for a babysitter for a single mom in their community. I cried when I opened it. I just couldn't think of a better gift from someone who was really thinking about a way to make a difference in a way that would be important to me.
ReplyDeleteYes, and then they'll complain that the books were simultaneously (a) expertly plotted, at least through the first two books (but not the third); (b) poorly written even if compulsively readable; and (c) ultimately kind of embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteSomebody recently told me that they bought a year's worth of once-a-week housekeeping services for their son, which is way too much money, but maybe a month's worth for somebody who doesn't have the help would be nice.
ReplyDeleteI listened to ROOM which may have made the whole thing even more emotional. Hearing it in a kid's voice-- very powerful.
ReplyDeleteI love my kindle. Also, my Chase Utley jersey.
I've had a few very personal presents that would not be advisable for most people's brothers-- the Molly doll from American Girl-- when I was 22. My parents couldn't afford it when I was a kid but bought it for me when my sister was pregnant and I kept announcing that I hoped it would be a niece so I could buy the doll. My grandparents had my favorite book from when I was a little girl (a big nursery rhyme book) re-bound for me for my 20th birthday. I had loved that book to death! It's now my most prized possession.
Excellent, excellent gift.
ReplyDeleteMr. sed is working overseas, and my mom paid for the first few months of housekeeping services for me. The maid comes every two weeks -- not too often, but often enough that I know everything has been cleaned recently. It's the best feeling in the world, walking into a clean house on those days.
ReplyDeleteI never got one when I was younger either and just got my three month old tiny niece a felicity before she gets archived (I and the tiny niece are both redheads) AND well felicity might have to stay at my house for a while.
ReplyDeleteI should have gotten my dad a Sodastream, after reading all the recommendations here. Ah, next year!
ReplyDeleteI'm actually really hoping there's a KitchenAid stick blender under my tree, because there's a tomato sauce cooling on the stove that desperately needs pureeing.
ReplyDeleteI'm blanking on gifts I've actually received, but I got my dad the Johnnie Walker collection one year - four 250ml bottles of each of their blends, for about the cost of a bottle of Gold. Well worth it for a couple glasses of Blue.
One of my friends recently suprised me with bike gear to keep me warm should I choose to continue bike riding in the winter: gloves, balaklava, and two weather-resistant shirts. Everytime I wear them I think of her and how we agree that we are warriors when we brave the cold in the name of fitness (she's a runner). That being said, I've only put the gear to use a few times so far because I can deal with cold, but I can't deal with cold and darkness.
ReplyDeleteThe best gift prior to that was my bike, but that was over the price limit here. Love, love, love it...makes me feel like a kid again.
I asked for cold-weather jogging gear this year. Still trying to figure out what to do about the dark, though. Maybe go from work at lunchtime...not sure.
ReplyDeleteGREAT thread!
ReplyDeleteChristy...a few stores have organized running groups (like Nike and The Running Store on 3rd Ave bet. 62nd and 63rd, and the Road Runners Club, of course). Running in the dark with a crowd is far less threatening.
ReplyDeleteI looooove my Tempurpedic travel pillow - rolls up into a leather(like?) cylindrical carrying case, and as such, serves as a back pillow en route. Has made travelling a million times better.
ReplyDeleteBest unexpected gift I got: a standing clothes steamer. I loathe ironing, my husband knows this and thought of getting me a steamer, and every time I use it I think how much I love it.
Also, this year he got me a Playbill organizer - I keep my playbills loose on a shelf and I'll like this so much better.
Changing my gift for my brother and his wife to the Sodastream after this thread. And the three of us have now been put into a last minute present panic by Mom, who we bought a new blu-ray for asa surprise, and who called last night and in conversation mentioned that she just bought one for herself. She has a kindle, Sodastream isn't right for her, so we're in debate. We may get her an ipod touch, as her nano is a few years old. Or maybe a Flipcam. Regardless, the one thing we know she's getting is a stern lecture not to buy herself anything nice immediately before the holidays.
ReplyDeleteWe just did our Christmas this past Sunday (how we balance out the families) and some of the good gifts were:
ReplyDelete-Sodastream (my sister gave it - she has one and LOVES it)
-Wusthof 8" chef's knife- desperately needed by me
-A coffee kit for someone to make a cappucino at home
-A toaster
Of course, everyone knows the #1 gift is Smencils this year!
I second/third/fourth/whatever the Kindle mention, but also have to bang the drum for Apple TV, which is 99 bucks and lets you stream Netflix and anything you've purchased on iTunes through your TV (for those of us, like me, who find watching anything over 2 minutes on my computer just unbearable). NOTE: I'm aware that people who have a Wii or a PlayStation or an Xbox can do this through those devices - so don't get one for someone who's got one of those already.
ReplyDeleteI feel like all of a sudden in the last few weeks, I've become more aware of "Room," maybe because it's on a lot of year-end "Best of" lists. I'm waiting a few weeks to get it in paperback, so I'll just have to be patient.
ReplyDeleteBack on topic... the best gifts I've ever received don't fit the bill here. They're not items and not commercially available. (i.e. when I was in college and an aspiring stage manager, my sister got me the opportunity to go backstage at a Broadway show and shadow the stage manager. Best gift ever.) So I think the best gift I've gotten was last year when my friends got me a bunch of books for my birthday that they had picked up at some used book store, and were all incredibly random - one was about caring for snakes, one was about "what would McGyver do" in certain situations, one was a reference book on birds. Opening them up - one at a time - was hysterical, and I still laugh when I see those books on my shelf.
There was a stick blender under the tree! Pureeing to begin in 5.. 4..
ReplyDeleteD'Arcy, I'm friends with Sarah Pekkanen. (I have worked with her husband in one capacity or another for almost a decade.) Glad to hear you liked The Opposite of Me, and I assume you know that her next book comes out in February. (Room is inches away from me, on the shelf. I could take it with me for the holiday, I guess...)
ReplyDeleteI'm way too late to cite the Kindle, but here's something that I really like that's right in the price range. (I fear Isaac will think it's too... something, because I don't have any sense of fashion, but here goes.) It's Levenger's Bomber Leather Folio ($129). I often walk a bit for lunch, and like to sit at a sandwich shop and read. Often I wind up bringing a few things -- maybe a magazine, some cases (or other legal docs), a printout of an article from the web, a Kindle... I don't really like taking my briefcase with me for lunch. So I use this zip-up folio, which is lighter, and less formal, and perfect for carrying a few items of this sort.
ReplyDeleteHTTP://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=category=322-521|level=2-3|pageid=5733
Another great gift I once got (after asking for it, but whatever): Richard Goode's 10-CD complete Beethoven piano sonatas box set (this was before the days of iTunes). http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Complete-Sonatas-Box-Set/dp/B000005J2D
ReplyDeleteMy sister and cousin bought be a bowling ball and bowling shoes for Christmas one year and I LOVED that gift. it was something that I needed and have used very often but I would never think to even ask for it for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteFolio is perfectly fine. I mean, it's not a lanyard or a cell phone holster or a see-through pocket on your wallet for your ID.
ReplyDelete