People who are hard to buy gifts for-solutions, etc

Post by **Sades** » Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:35 pm

What's your solution? Have you found a nearly-foolproof "safe" gift for those who are hard to buy for?

Mine is holiday scratchcard packs, usually... but I'm stumped when it comes to children. Or my father. In the case of the kids, it's not the lack of possibilities, but the GIANT WIDE SELECTION of possibilities! How could I possibly choose just one awesome thing when there's tons of awesome things to choose from? And parents I think just tend to be notoriously hard to shop for, don't they?

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:16 am

My Mum is easy to shop for thanks to her love of Snoopy but my Dad is really boring and any books of dvds me or my brother get him sit unread or unwatched for ages. I got him Band of Brothers for xmas 2009 and he only recently started watching it so I'm getting him The Pacific (it's on sale and it'll give him something to watch in 2013). Brother is easy cos he'll tell me what he wants (Rastamouse).

Hard thing this year is what to get my housemates? I might have one sorted but not sure on the other two. One likes rowing so my other housemate got him a rowing hipflask and the other just likes stuff so I guess I'l just have to wait til I find something cool.

Post by **Hound** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:49 am

My Dad is like that too. I'll buy him something. I know he'll enjoy it. It'll just be years until he actually does. Soooo frustrating.

So now I just buy one generic holiday type gift for the both of them. It will probably be food of some kind.

The rest of my family are easy to shop for. My Sis an' her hubby will get gift cards and my nephews will get TFs.

Having a fiance to buy for is new, but am finding that getting gifts for her is exceptionally easy.

Post by **Sades** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:50 am

Yeah... you're getting scratchcards, sorry...

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:35 am

I'm sure I'll appreciate whatever you get me.

Post by **Sades** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 7:14 pm

Riiiight. I'll see what I can find on the walk to the grocery store.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 9:30 pm

Sades wrote:Riiiight. I'll see what I can find on the walk to the grocery store.

If you find a bag full of money I'll hold you to that.

Post by **Denyer** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 10:31 pm

Hound wrote:Having a fiance to buy for is new, but am finding that getting gifts for her is exceptionally easy.

Sades wrote:Yeah... you're getting scratchcards, sorry...

Belated congrats.

Post by **Sades** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:56 pm

Thankyoo.

Post by **Hound** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 12:00 am

Thanks D.

Post by **Sades** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 5:34 am

Back on topic... anyone have any ideas what I should get my dad? He likes TV... hunting, snowmobiles, quads... um, hats... sports, sleeping and driving too damn fast.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:14 am

Sades wrote:Back on topic... anyone have any ideas what I should get my dad? He likes TV... hunting, snowmobiles, quads... um, hats... sports, sleeping and driving too damn fast.

Some Top Gear DVD's? IIRC it's got a cult following over there so at least some of the challenge and special DVD's should be out over there. Though that may be too obvious for a blokey bloke present.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:48 am

If I struggle with gifts, I buy people things I would like. Sounds weird, but I've found that its a good approach - it means folk tend to get something a bit more unusual and (hopefully) interesting. I bought my mum the Tamara Drewe graphic novel a few years ago and that was a successful gift, because my mum had never read a graphic novel and just thought comics were all superhero things. Its also meant i've got some similar interesting stuff in return (Charles Burns X'ed Out for one).

Tetsuro · Post by **Tetsuro** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 5:39 pm

I'm not hard to buy a gift for - just expensive.

Vin Ghostal · Post by **Vin Ghostal** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:41 pm

I own the first five exact items and use them regularly, and I've also given them as gifts with great success.

If you know anyone that likes to travel like yours truly, the travel wedge is money every time.

http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail. ... 6981577&c=

If you know anyone that likes to cook like yours truly, a proper paella pan is money every time.

http://www.tienda.com/paella/products/p ... 4AodHUBp_w

If you know anyone that likes to lift like yours truly, a set of high-weight resistance cables is money every time.

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/famil ... Id=4417803

If you know anyone that likes to drink like yours truly, a bottle of Glenfiddich 12, 15, or 18 year old scotch is money every time.

http://www.glenfiddich.com/lda/?h=www.g ... ich.com&u=

If you're buying for a kid, the Lego Architecture series is money every time.

http://architecture.lego.com/

If the person you're buying for doesn't fall into at least one of those five categories, a bullet to the head is money every time.

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/tpabm ... on-whi.jpg

angloconvoy · Post by **angloconvoy** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 8:54 am

iTunes cards are always appreciated these days too, at least, they are over here where everyone and his mum has an iPhone, iPad, both, or several of each.

Oh, and belated congrats from me too.

DrSpengler · Post by **DrSpengler** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:44 pm

Gift card to a gas station is usually what I do.

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 7:07 pm

Me and the gf swapped presents today, I was a bit worried about what to get her cos if she likes something she normally has it (resulting in a very un-sly text asking what Game of Thrones books she has so when she asked why I managed to throw her off the trail with some story about re-shingling the roof). Anyway I got her 3 Game of Thrones books, a book about dragon keepers and Lego Batman on Wii. She got me a new hoodie as I lost mine in Venice when we met and a Joker mug.
Twas a good day then we went to do some more xmas shopping and I got my housemate a Deadpool book.

Paul053 · Post by **Paul053** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:21 pm

Me! With all those "things" displaying on my shelf, my wife still keeps saying "I haven't got anything for you and I don't know what to get for you".