Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Holiday Gift Ideas.

With Christmas around the corner, I was wondering if anyone has any cool or unique gift ideas for the family.
My boys are 2 1/2 and 5, so far I've only bought some pop up books and the Stars Wars Battleship game, I'm trying to stay away from all the advertised TV junk that they break in a day.
For the wife I'm stumped, she told me several years ago she has enough jewelry , this year I'm really at a loss as what to get her.
If any of you guys or gals have any ideas they would be greatly appreciated.

Go to Target and buy some Hot Wheels Sizzlers . I ordered 3 sets for myself...... errr my 3yr old and 6 yr old. I had them when I was a kid and they are great. The originals went for about 3-5 minutes on a single charge.

As for the wife..... her own set of Axioms! Maybe a day at a spa.

If your wife is like mine (mind you we have only been married a year on Nov 12) she will like things that take your personal time to get.

I gave her a hand painted ceramic oversized mug that took me 3 lunch hours from work to complete at the store for our 1 year...to say that she loved it is an understatement, and I reaped what I sowed

It has a personal touch that women love.

I am not a sissy boy by any means! What I actually suggest is you take your kids with you to the ceramic place (if you can find a time when she is busy and won't know) and get them to make her something too. I am sure a Mom of 2 would love hand made products from her kids and her husband.

In addition to that, you can never go wrong with slippers! (if you live in calgary...-41 with windchill yesterday)

She got a trip to Europe. So did I.

But seriously--Hutz has it right about the handmade stuff. I'm also fond of wooden jewelry boxes, although those can get pretty expensive.

Do something that she normally does for a week. Something that she doesn’t really like to do. That’s usually worth a few points.

Or you could just get her that new power tool you’ve always wanted. Then you can ‘borrow’ it from her when you need it.

Oh don’t listen to me. I’m horrible at this crap. My girlfriend wanted a wedding, but she’s getting some sheep skin seat covers and a roasting pan. Not sure what I’m getting my son. He’s so friggin spoiled I can’t think of anything. Maybe a PS3.

Hey, you should cook her a nice leg of lamb in the roasting pan to tie the two gifts together.

Could get a little smelly under the tree, though.

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Could get a little smelly under the tree, though.

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Not if you get one of those food savers and store it in an air tight bag.

Wives are difficult to shop for. I'm at a total loss, there. Some nice clothing always seems to be appreciated. When my eldest was little, one of the Christmas presents I bought him was some alphabet fridge magnets. He would spend hours sticking the letters on, knocking them off, and do over. Blocks are good, also. That way the kids will have something with corners to whip at one another. Safety pins are bad, they seem to make little lips bleed. It's easy to shop for me, guys. I want a wall of sound. You can all chip in and send me as many pair of M80s that I can get through the front door.

About 2 years ago I bought my wife a "Personal Chef Service". Basically, you get to choose between 2 and 5 different entre's from a fairly large list. They do all the shopping, show up at your house, cook 10 meals (each serves 2-3 people), and then package 9 of them for the freezer. You and the wife sit down for a nice hot meal that night, and they do all the clean-up afterward. Pretty sweet.

Google "Hire a Chef", "Chef on the Run", "Personal Chef", etc.

Hmmmm, I think a nice set of headphones for the wife. Yeah that's the ticket the ticket to the dog house that is.

Really I have no idea on what to buy for who. The kids are grown so it's cash for them. I have no idea on what to buy the wife, maybe some nice chocolates from the uncles store.

Some good and of course some funny ideas so far, the Sizzlers looks like a great gift fo me, oops the kids. I really like the Chef at home idea but since I stay home and do the cooking the wife could argue it was for me
The nearest mall is an hour away and they don't have much good stuff, most my shopping will be done on the net. Any more ideas or interesting web stores keep em coming. Thanks

How about some fancy, not too expensive, hand-made soaps?

http://www.moondancesoaps.com/

That's the kind of unique gift I'm talking about, you can't go wrong with luxury bath stuff for women I'm going to order up a basket tonight. Couple more gifts and I'm set. Thanks

I'm buying myself a custom logo this year. I think it's about time I had a logo that represents me.

As for other people, last year I bought everyone Snow Peak titanium sporks and Sharpie Magnums. Everyone seemed to like those. I don't know if I'll buy anyone anything this year. Maybe I'll give them all shirts with my logo on them.

C.V.

I picked up 2 Picoo Z mini helicopters from Rat Shack before they jacked up the prices another $10. These are cool little machines that actually do fly (I didn't believe it, so I unboxed one and tried it out.)

Picco Z

We are also (my wife's idea) getting the "family" a nice foosball table. That should be fun.

I'd say get the family a Flowbee, it is the gift that keeps on cutting.

OK, here's my confession, umm, I mean list for the wife(from prior years and this year):
- Sewing machine (her request)
- Vacuum cleaner (Dyson -- that thing really sucks! ) (again, her request)
- Dance lessons for the two of us (this year, will be a huge hit since it's really the gift of time commitment from me, and something we can do together without the kids)
- Tickets to see The Lion King (coming here in March), or any other concert, show, etc. that's of interest to her
- Scrapbooking doodads (this is one where she just appreciated me taking the time to buy a large assortment of small things for her since it is strictly her hobby)
- Assorted cooking/baking & cake decorating classes, then followed up with various decorating tools.
- The most amazing Barefoot Dreams bathrobe (to go along with the luxury bath stuff!)

OK, that's it for the wife for now. When my boys (now 12 and 14!) were younger, they really enjoyed Duplos/Legos, and were able to build those collections up over time. Also, don't underestimate the value of games you can all play together. Sometimes those inexpensive old classics (Kerplunk! Hungry Hungry Hippos, Battling Tops, etc.) yield the biggest laughs and best bonding experiences.

Rich

Lightbulb! It just occurred to me that you may be able to help! I have a very young 65-year-old on my list who is absolutely impossible to buy for. Everybody either gets him a collection of unusual imported beers (but I can't imagine trying to pick some out of that thread!) or scotch, and frankly, that's gotten old. He's retired, loves to go on long drives (like from here to Newfoundland long), is traveling to New Zealand in February for a month, and doesn't need any travel books on said country. Two years ago I bought him a vintage Leaf's jersey which he wore till it was holey. He plays hockey twice a week, and spends the rest of his time volunteering. *What* does this man really want for Christmas?!?

I bet he would enjoy something that he could use on his travels, a travel kit or even something for the car depending on your budget, car seat covers, seat warmers lots of cool stuff out there. I liked this one Rubbermaid 4.2 Quart Seat Back Cooler Organizer & Warmer

A willing traveling companion?

Hey, that's a goody! I'll see if I can track it down north of the 49th parallel - thanks!

Peter, I'm pleased to say he has a lovely travelling companion, so no need to supply one!

I was thinking of getting my wife a Parrot Bluetooth Handsfree Car Kit. Okay, it might not be applicable, but hear me out.

If he spends a lot of time in the car AND has a reasonably modern cell phone AND has the appropriate Roaming features on his plan, this thing allows him to talk on the phone while driving without using a headset. It also - wait for it - mutes the radio when a call comes in. They have a higher model with GPS, too.

I just thought it was a cool combination of auto, cell phone and audio technologies, so I'm trying to find a rationalization for *somebody* to get one.

UPS just delivered the Moondance Soap that Peter recommended for my wife, very nice.
The only problem is I could smell it coming up the driveway, I guess I'll have to bury it until Christmas

That thing is very cool indeed! Unfortunately it won't work for 'my guy' - he's still in the mode of cell phones being for outgoing calls only, turning it on only if he thinks to make one. But I love the integrated GPS - good idea!

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he's still in the mode of cell phones being for outgoing calls only, turning it on only if he thinks to make one

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That would be me , my wife complains every month about the bill and asks when was the last time I actually turned it on. But I know the minute I get rid of it I'll need it for an emergency.

That would be my girlfriend too...Didn't y'all know that cell phones are for people to reach you, not the other way around??

Amie,

Do you know if he had a little travel camera? I like to take pocket sized cameras when I travel.

HomeDad, the soaps (and lotions and bath salts and...) that I ordered for my wife arrived, too. They were too aromatic to hide, so we exchanged our gifts early.

His wife has picked up a pocket-sized digital camera for the trip, so that idea is taken, but good suggestion. I went to the airport to pick Ian up from a trip, and while I was there I bought a few travel gadgets that he doesn't have, which will be helpful on a 24 hour flight!

Dan, the skatesharpener is a very, very cool idea. Off to see if I can find it up here - no luck with the Rubbermaid car seat cooler / organizer, which surprised me a lot.

Thanks everyone!