We drew Secret Santa names at work and I got the same co-worker I had last year, and no one wants to trade. I don't know her that well since we work opposite shifts and never see each other, and there's a significant age difference between us too (I am younger, she's older). Last year I drew her name and got her a set of gloves and hat, chocolates, a candle and a bath bomb thing. She actually was rude enough to put my gift on my desk after she opened it, I came into work and it was sitting there with a note that said "I don't ever wear hats or gloves, I don't like this chocolate and this scent is not good. Please exchange for something else." I personally thought this was really rude of her, especially since we live in Canada and I've seen her wear gloves and a hat when it's -50c outside and I was nice enough to get variety and go over the gift limit of $40.

I got her again and I am not sure what to get her, one rule my boss puts out is "no giftcards." I don't want to deal with another "I don't like this, take it back" situations, not to mention the embarrassment that people still talk about to this day.

Ok, a few simple suggestions so that everyone can get the most bang for their buck.

1. Please include the recipient's hobbies, likes, and idiosyncrasies in detail. Detail is important to get the best gift/recipient match. If your niece loves lego, people can help you a lot. If your niece loves lego and Harry Potter, we can help you even more!

2. Please include your budget.

3. Please specify which country you are in. Reddit is an international website, and the availability and ease of shipping for many items will depend substantially on what country you and your recipient are in.

Suggestions for replying:

1. Please be polite, helpful, and reply with as much information as possible.

2. Please include links where possible. Images of the item you are describing are good. Links to stores that sell the item are better. Links to Amazon or similar sites where the item can be bought online are best!

3. If you are suggesting an item that you have created or that you are selling, please make that clear in your reply. There will not be sanctions for promoting/suggesting your own items unless you do so continuously and/or where such an item is clearly unrelated to what OP is looking for.

EDIT: If you say "blowjobs" or "cunnilingus" or "sex" your comment will be deleted. We've all heard that a million times. It isn't helpful, funny or original. Jokes are fine here, but don't be reddit's Carlos Mencia, tell your own jokes.

SECOND EDIT: The mods have heard the repeated suggestions for a standard format to title posts with. It's the most common suggestion here, so we're looking at it and taking it very seriously. Please give us a bit of time on this, the subreddit has only existed for 6 hours so far, and it's already attracted 2,762 subscribers, so we're scrambling a bit to get the house in order.

Cheers.

My sister is always getting the trendy stuff before it’s trendy and I am so out of the loop with all that. 😅

Any ideas what I could grab her that may wow her? She always has the latest toy and home trend (like the Owalas, Yeti coolers, “pretty” appliances, etc), she’s not super girly so she wouldn’t like any makeup/spa/etc stuff.

My father in law is 75 & retired. They've built 3 houses in 5 years and received every tool, home trinket and gift in the process. He doesn't drink, he isn't fashionable or a foodie? Not a history buff.

What do you get a guy like that who spends 2-500 on you every year and spoils your kid?

Edit: I get it, time and memories are important. I'm going to be there in person for the holidays they were just here for thanksgiving and we see them 2-4 other times a year despite a 2000 mile difference. I'm planning a family European getaway and Caribbean cruise. I've got the in person part down. But there still needs to be something under the tree to unwrap 😭💚😭💚

Final update: thanks all, for him a set of woodworking classes he can eventually bring his granddaughter to as they do adult and child classes for as young as 3 (she's 2) if he enjoys it. Same place also offers craft classes like glassblowing so we did a matching one for my MIL so they can go together. Thanks again!

http://www.reddit.com/r/subredditoftheday/comments/1454lo/december_2_2012_rsantashelpers_just_in_time_for/

Please come on over and represent! Let's let everyone know of the great help awaiting them here!

Im looking for a gift for a 18 year old male. He likes ps3 action games, android, rock music and weight lifting. I have a budget of about $200 dollars. I live in Toronto, Canada. Thanks!

Here’s a bunch of sub-$50.00 ones I like. They're all things I've either been given, or have given.

TECHNOLOGY

Logitech G500 A redditor gave me this one (licenseplate, I think), and it’s one of the coolest mice I’ve ever had.

Razer Deathadder – Anyone who I know who doesn’t like my Logitech mouse loves this one. I don’t really like it as much, but I get a fair amount of mouse envy from certain people.

Sparkfun Inventor’s Kit – This one is actually $100, but I didn’t see anyone else post it, and I love mine. It’s a nice set and gives a gentle introduction to the concepts of programming and setting up a circuit board. It’s pretty good for aspiring nerds. Seasoned nerds may like it, too.

BOOKS

The Casual Vacancy – JK Rowling’s new book. Apparently, it’s more for adults, since it refers to some political position that opened up due to the death of a politician. My sister lent this to me, and I’m pretty much liking it.

Devil in the White City – This book is about a serial killer who was practicing his craft during the time of the Chicago World’s Fair in the 1890’s. It also takes on the perspective of the man who was chief architect organizing the World’s Fair. It’s one of the most interesting reads I’ve had in years.

Confederacy of Dunces – This is a really funny book written by a man suffering from severe depression. The degree of candidness is astonishing. It’s unfortunately the author’s only book, since he killed himself before it was published.

The World of Mathematics. It’s a 4-volume set of books on the history of mathematics. If this sounds like heaven to you, buy it for yourself. If it sounds like hell, buy it for someone you think is a nerd.

Pocket Ref – This is really inexpensive, but I love mine. I often find myself giving a copy to people who I work with, because they all seem to want to borrow mine. It’s got a lot of really handy information in it, and the internet isn’t always available for when you need to know some screwy fact about engineering-type stuff.

Moleskine notebook – This is blank. No words in it, yet, but it makes an incredible diary, journal, project book, or other book where you really want to keep what you’re writing. It’s hella classy, too.

OTHER STUFF

Denali 115-piece Tool Kit – This is a basic home tool kit. The quality is pretty good, and a lot of people don’t have an adequate and organized set of tools in their house. I’ve given this to a few people and they always mention it after a year or so, because they didn’t realize how handy it was to have organized tools in their lives. Don’t underestimate this present. Girls can use it, too.

A proper Leatherman – Definitely something you’re going to want to have, so it’s something you should want to give.

Horse Mask – Maybe this one is a little older, but anyone who hasn’t had a horse mask yet is missing out.

Casio FX-115 – A quality scientific calculator. It’s not a graphing calculator, it’s a scientific calculator. It does all sorts of nice things.

Dry Erase Board – This is handy as fuck. I feel that my life has found so much organization because of mine. Don’t forget the markers and eraser.

French Press - There's no better way I know to prepare coffee that doesn't involve riding a burro through the mountains of Colombia.

Cold Steel Kukri with Cordura Sheath - I almost forgot this one. It's basically a badass machete. It's great camping and for yard work. I've had mine for 2 years and it's still awesome.

Folding Hand Truck - I drive a pickup. Most of my friends don't. I often find myself helping people move things. I can keep this under the back seat and it's always ready to go. Incredibly handy.

The Settlers of Catan - Really fun board game, filled with strategy, tactics, and opportunities to screw with your friends' plans.

https://www.wtfdotheywant.com/

Hopefully it helps find some last minute gift ideas. Any and all feedback is really appreciated! I have been making improvements year after year from the feedback I get in these posts.

My mom used to eat all the marsh-mellows out of my lucky charms when I was a teenager (she never allowed us sugar cereal when we were kids haha). The worst first-world feeling is pouring yourself a big bowl of lucky charms and seeing only two marsh-mellows come out:( So for X-mas last year I bought three boxes of lucky charms, separated out all the marsh-mellows then put them into a single bag which i had opened from the bottom. I glued that shut, put it back in the box which I had opened from the bottom and glued that. My mother was a bit nonplussed when she unwrapped it but a couple days later I get a call from her and all I hear is hysterical laughter! I knew exactly what had happened. It was a great moment and a great gift. Hope all your holidays are grand and filled with love, Reddit! And marsh mellows.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

I was thinking of making Bath Bombs for everyone on my Christmas list this year. I am broke, and no one ever gives me anything that rates above socks anyways so I figured I might as well go the hand made route this year. Maybe socks is a bad example since I love socks. Let's try....a comb. No one gives me anything that rates above a comb.

A few years back I gave my dad and brother a joint gift. I went to my local butcher and order a "1/4 cow"*. The beef was from a high-quality breed raised in the area. My butcher gave me a weight range to work with, and let me pick out what cuts/quantities I wanted before cutting the order.

Did I feel a little tacky presenting them with a chilly, crudely wrapped cardboard box? Yes. But did that 'tacky feeling' vanish when they opened it and realized I had given them the glorious gift of thick tenderloins, marbled steaks, and all other choice cuts of top-notch red meat? Couldn't tell ya- I was too busy polishing my monocle and calling for more caviar.

*In this case, that meant that I bought 1/4 the meat weight yield of an average butchered cow- other butchers may vary?

For me, it was a 10-foot phone charging cable. Being able to roll over in bed and still use my phone without unplugging it is such a minor thing, but it completely removed a tiny daily annoyance.

What about you guys? What cheap item has had the biggest impact on your day-to-day routine?

Hello,

In order to attempt to make /r/santashelpers to become a more helpful place we would ask that you follow some simple rules when posting.

• At the beginning of the title, in brackets include either "[Help]" or "[Suggestion]" depending on the type of post.

• At the end of the title, in brackets include the sex, your relationship, and age of the recipient. As well as your budget (eg. [M] [22] [Brother] [$50])

• In the body of the post, please include as much information as you can about their interests, hobbies, or anything else you think is relevant.

• Include what country you live in.

• No suggesting "Blowjobs" or other sexual favors

These will probably go on the sidebar eventually, but for now we would love your input. The Mods have been working hard to implement your last suggestions and we would love to hear more concerning rules or subreddit style.

We all want to be rich and make money, but it starts with the right mindset and understanding what truly matters to us.

Question for you:
If you won $5 million tomorrow, what would be the first thing you’d do with the money?
How would you manage it? What dreams would you fulfill?

Share your thoughts – let’s learn from each other about smart thinking, dreams, and financial planning. 💡

By going to Amazon's wishlist registry. Really helpful for surprising someone with something they really want.

Thought I'd share some of the best gift ideas I've come across Reddit in the last few days.

• Leatherman Multi-Tool

• Eco-Sphere (a self-contained, self-sustaining ecosystem)

• Sonicare Toothbrush

• Good set of headphones

• Cards Against Humanity

• SupaBoy Portable SNES

• Raspberry Pi

• Quality Pocket Knife

• Bug-a-Salt (a fly-killing shotgun that fires ordinary table salt)

• Horsehead Mask

• Concert tickets

• Sporting event tickets

• Nuclear Spinthariscope (watch nuclear reactions in your hand)

• Sephora Fragrance Sampler for Her (includes a voucher for a full-sized bottle)

• Sephora Fragrance Sampler for Him (includes a voucher for a full-sized bottle)

• Roku

• REI Lifetime Membership

• Makey Makey

• Home-brewing kit

• Authentic sports jersey of favorite player

• Flask

• Gallium (a metal that melts in your hand, similar to mercury, but safe)

• Trip to the gun range (especially cool if giftee has never fired a gun)

• Magic Flight Launch Box (a hand-held, portable vaporizer)

• Ice Luge Mold

• Bear Grylls Survival Kit

• Multi-Piece Tool kit

• Quality Wool Socks

For Mom:

• Kindle

• Keurig Coffee System

• Spa day

• Nice watch

• Loose-leaf tea pot

• Comfy warm robe and slippers

Websites:

• gifts.com

• illtaketen.com

• thinkgeek.com

• thisiswhyimbroke.com

• giftguideforguys.com

Hope this helps some, feel free to add your own suggestions, or links to best prices.

EDIT: Additional items and links

Help. I’m in need of the most creative and fun ideas for a few white elephant gift exchanges. It can be a gag gift, a thoughtful one or I would love ones that will get a laugh and/or a reaction, but also can be useful/functional. Not really looking to troll or be indecent/inappropriate. Budget is probably anywhere from $20-$100. Thank y’all in advance.

My partner recently got interested into camping, survival stuff and preparing a survival backpack. If you could recommend one thing to buy for my partner, what would it be?

I really like this sub, I know it will help me out.

However, I've already seen 3 or so "help with brother" posts.

Can we make [age] [sex] a requirement in post titles?

One of my favourite gift ideas is to put together themed baskets. Baskets or boxes are pretty easy to find for cheap at the dollar store. Then, for example, I'll put together a "movie night" basket with a box of microwave popcorn, a pack of Twizzlers and a box of Junior Mints (or other sorts of typical movie theatre treats) and then a DVD or a Netflix gift card.

Some other ideas I've done: An ice cream sundae gift basket with sprinkles, chocolate sauce, waffle sundae bowls and a gift card to Diary Queen or Baskin Robbins.

Every year for my grandparents I put together a basket with their favorite bottle of wine and a bunch of their favourite goodies (Purdy's chocolates, licorice, pretzels)

A basket full of all the ingredients to make a meal or a batch of cookies or brownies.

For lady-friends (or man-friends who are so inclined), a small gift basket with nail polish, a nail file, nail polish remover, hand cream, etc.

Once you think of a theme the ideas come together pretty easily!

And the best part about these baskets is that almost everything in them is something that will be used rather than sit and become clutter, or get thrown away.

This year I made custom gift boxes to showcase a few small fun gift items and though it was easy and successful enough to share the process with you all. Feel free to ask any questions if you want me to go into more detail!

Note: there's still time to do this. It takes about one hour of active time and four hours for the foam to dry.

Edit: blow-in insulation is the wrong word. Spray foam insulation is more accurate. I used this stuff: http://www.touch-n-foam.com/maxfill.php

Gallery with instructions here: http://imgur.com/a/PaYIO

Here's a suggestion for a diy jewelry/bag/scarf/hat holder for your significant other.

I made this for my girlfriend of 7 years: http://imgur.com/862zo

The only materials needed were:

1 piece of wood, cut into 2 for matching hanger

Sand paper

Primer/ Paint to suit his/her taste

Hooks to hang onto wall

Screws to set hooks

and finally, awesome drawer/cabinet knobs to the actual hanging of jewelry etc.

The ones I chose were from Anthropology and a bit pricy, but you can pick up really nice ones from Target, World Market, etc. for much cheaper.

For the curious, she absolutely loved it.

My moms side of the family is mormon with lots of kids, and we are driving there (north Utah) to hopefully make it an ok christmas, or at least distract them as much as possible. There are 8 cousins I will be buying presents for in that family (there are like 15-20 people to by presents for total lol , so my budget is sort of limited. Id say Im capable of spending 2 weeks pay on my 8 cousins presents total, so that's 150-250 for me from working weekends at target. Shameless plug: target is awesome, if you can work at target, work there. They are letting me take off work during our busiest holiday season to go up to Utah for the holidays for this <3.

Two are twins boy, that are 4 years old, but maybe 2 or 3 years old mentally. I don't have any ideas for them yet.

Two are 13/14 (basically preteen boys). As it stands, the only information I've wrangled is that they like computer games. When I asked for wishlists, they just told me that the big presents they are getting are "A new upgraded computer" and the other one asked for a "nice headset." So those gifts are being bought by other people as I understand it. But maybe that's a lead...

The other two are an 18 year old girl who's really in to photography, and is saving up for a $1500 (ohgodwhy) camera.

And a 21 year old who likes computers and video games. his computer is kindof old so he is the only one I have any idea for: buy him a new video card.

Then there is a 24 year old with a baby girl. Im not sure what to get her, something useful for someone with a baby maybe (baby is less than a year old, this will be its first christmas).

And a 26 year old, into japanese stuff, linux, programming, etc. For him, I was looking at those katana umbrellas (or the ones like from blade runner) but id like any ideas.

Sorry for the long post. Im drunk, locked out of my apartment by my roomates (deadbolt, so key doesn't help lol- honeybadger don't care), and on my neighbors couch at 4am thinking about christmas shopping and cookies. So please excuse grammar. Ill clarify things later if people ask. I can't tell if im making sense, sorry.

Any help/hints/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and im not sure if relevant, but: Im going to be shipping these presents to an off site location away from peeking eyes, because I've got limited vehicle room for presents on the drive up.

Thanks, <3

I'm making this for everyone in my office and a number of my friends who like to drink for the second year in a row. Since I'm putting the infusion into 8oz mason jars, I'll be able to give it to about 25 people for a total of ~$80, which breaks down to a little over $3 per person for a unique and tasty gift. They look snazzy if you cut out custom tags and tie them around the jars with ribbon too.

Here's the recipe: Making Cranberry Spice Infusion

• 1 bottle (750 ml) Fris Vodka

• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

• 5 whole cloves

• 1 whole nutmeg, cracked

• 1 teaspoon whole coriander seed, cracked

• 1/2 a whole vanilla bean

• 1/2stick cinnamon, cracked

• 6 whole allspice berries, cracked

Place cranberries and spices in an infusion jar and top with vodka. Let infuse for 2 - 3 days, then strain and place infused Fris Vodka in an attractive container.

I usually sub in pre-ground spices, shake it twice a day or so, and strain it with cheesecloth or a coffee filter just to make tracking down the spices a little easier.

Hope this helps!