With just days until Christmas (and Hanukkah) and a handful of people likely left on your (my) 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 or would like to receive, with a value no greater than, say, $100 or $150?
Friday, December 16, 2011
COULDN'T MISS THIS ONE THIS YEAR: By Maret's request, a (slightly edited) repeat of a question Isaac asked last year at around this time:
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I have a lot of cookbooks but I usually just look at them for the pretty pictures. But for my birthday this year the husband got me the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook and it is already well worn. I've made a tin of stuff from it--all amazingly yummy and the hit of every dinner party, cookie exchange, and office gathering I've brought them to. The recipes might bu complicated, but they aren't hard. And it's written in a breezy, not intimidating voice.
ReplyDeleteThis wasn't at Christmastime, but I think the best opening a present and being super excited present I ever got was shortly after I moved to Baltimore, I got a giant box in the mail from the Tastykake factory. I don't know if they still do it, but it was this big box that had I believe four of every kind of chocolate Tastykake (which made a lot of my friends happy). This one really only applies to people who grew up in the Philadelphia region and moved away, but it's a hell of a winner.
ReplyDeleteCuisinart 6 quart electric pressure cooker, under $100. Got it 2 years ago and use it at least once a week. Risotto in minutes, stews and stocks in under an hour. The crock pots gather dust while they sit in the corner scorned and ignored.
ReplyDeleteI was given a similar Mid-atlantic food gift when I moved to San Diego. My mom sent me a giant tub of Utz Salt and Vinegar potato chips. I'm ashamed to say that I couldn't finish them.
ReplyDeleteAnd Jordan, Bmore had Tastykakes when I grew up there, so I hope you can find them! I'm a frozen Butterscotch Krimpet and Chocolate KandyKakes (I remember when they were Tandykakes) girl.
As for the holiday gift, I'm going to mention one that I would like to receive. If anyone wants to get me a present, I'd like a Roku please.
I swore I did not want an e-reader. I was old school. My boyfriend got me one anyway. I was kind of annoyed with him at the time but now I don't know how I lived without it!
ReplyDeleteSo, if you know any readers who are adamant about not wanting an e-reader, I say get them one anyway! They will thank you later.
That's what I was going to say. My husband asked repeatedly and I said, "No, I don't think so. No, I don't want one." Then I got one. So worth it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, anecdotes are not data, but add me to this list. Love my Kindle. And it's probably letting us put off buying a house for another year!
ReplyDeleteThis is what we're doing for my sister this year, and I hope it goes over. I think it will. Last year my husband got me one--I'd said no before not because I'm old school but because I thought of it as a work tool and I like to keep work and personal life separate. But it has proven to be useful and fun to use for both work and pleasure reading, and my world has not turned upside down as a result.
ReplyDeleteMy last year answer of Bean boots (specifically the 10" shearling-lined ones) holds up as well. Lifetime guarantee on both the boots themselves and the gift idea :)
The best gifts I've gotten are often the non-commercially-available kind (thanks for the stage management experience, Marsha!), but in the correct category, I always love getting a book that I haven't heard of but someone who knows me thinks I would love. Also, I've gotten gifts of a nice edition of a treasured book (like a good hardcover of Little Women when my old paperback was all worn), and that's always thoughtful and appreciated.
ReplyDeleteIn this day of digital photos, I like it when someone takes the time to print out a photo and put it in a frame. (And I hope my best friend likes that, because that's what she's getting...)
And I will add to the e-reader chorus: I love my new Nook (the "simple" or whatever they're calling it).
For people with an iPhone 4 or above and who like to take pictures but are not avid SLR photographers, I recommend, without ever having tested, the iPhone zoom lens from photojojo.com. It's basically a cradle with a zoom lens that fits over the camera eye. It can't be great (because it's only $39), but neither are iPhone pictures. But an optical zoom that is optimized for the iPhone is a pretty great idea. I see that photojojo.com also has a 360-degree lens for the iPhone 4, which could be pretty cool both for time-lapse pictures and for videos. Either one would be a surprise but pretty darn cool addition .
ReplyDeleteOnly works for the iPhone 4 because the cradle is shaped to fit that body.
Last year everybody in my family basically got Kindles from someone or another, and we all read them constantly. I recommend against the Fire because it has gotten so many technical complaints -- next year, maybe -- and against the Nook because who knows how long B&N is going to be in business?
ReplyDeleteLast year I got folks these, had them engraved (for free), and loaded slide shows of pictures from over the years. My dad loved his b/c it was practical but during downtime he could look at slideshows of pics from his childhood as well as the obligatory love-you-grandpa-here's-lots of photos of me! versions.
ReplyDeleteSame here. My mom got me the Kindle last year (the plain ole not fancy one) and I thought, really? Now--I'm totally hooked. Still love my regular old books but the Kindle is so awesome in totally different ways: sampling books, instant gratification, reading the Game of Thrones series with one hand on a very crowded subway train. I adore it.
ReplyDeleteI gave my sister a cotton candy machine, like one of these: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=cotton+candy+machine+maker&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=6313037301&ref=pd_sl_7duy2grrcl_b
ReplyDeleteTo say it was a hit would be an understatement.
I really haven't had a Christmas list in years. I will occasionally put random stuff on a list for my mother, if asked, but I'd probably be happy with gift cards to a local Brooklyn bookstore or Bliss spa.
Thanks, Adam, for doing this post and for the comments that have been and will be written! I got many of my gifts from last year based on Thing Thrower recs and they were all hits!
ReplyDeleteHey, you just reminded me that I *have* a gift card to Bliss that I have been forgetting about for like 3 years. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteI love the term "anecdata."
ReplyDeleteI would love a gift certificate for car detailing. I can't justify getting it for myself, but would love it. (I did buy a groupon for a full detailing, but the place went out of business long before the coupon expired.)
ReplyDeleteLove my Roku.
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of my shopping for my wife this year. We have a $200 limit for each other (which includes our anniversary gift, since our anniversary is a week later). I got her a pearl earring/necklace set for $120-ish and a bread machine. People are using those more often, but they're hard to find.
ReplyDelete"went out of business" or 'was driven out of business by its Groupon deal"?
ReplyDeleteI got a SodaStream for graduation from my brother and his fiancee, and it's the best present I've gotten in a long time. I used to buy cases of seltzer from FreshDirect, and the SodaStream has saved me a lot of money and a lot of ecological waste from the plastic bottles (it has a reusable bottle component.) I also bought the sugar-free water flavors, so I can make flavored seltzer. They sell soda syrups, but I find them not great (better to buy some higher-end syrups from Williams-Sonoma or something.) The Sodastream is under $100. Love it.
ReplyDeleteZojirushi hot water dispenser for the tea drinkers in your life.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me of the Zojirushi bento box thermos I got one year. Excellent gift.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds boring, boring, boring, but I have been delighted over and over by my meat thermometer that has a counter display readout. It's so nice to not worry about killing my guests with undercooked meat. Or insulting them with overcooked. But this is probably not a fun gift to most people.
ReplyDeleteAnd this was something I bought for myself, but oh how I love my Logitech Universal Remote: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/remotes/universal-remotes What I love is that you program it to do certain activities, keeping actual button-pushing to a minimum. For instance, when I press "Watch TV" it knows to 1. Turn on the satellite box, 2. Turn on the A/V Receiver and set it to Satellite, and 3. Turn on the TV and set it to the Video 1 input. And you can even set up soft keys to do what your regular native remote would require several buttons to do. I programmed mine for Closed Captioning, meaning that I press one button and it knows to 1. be a remote to the TV, 2. Activate the settings menu, 3. Scroll down it to the CC menu, 4. Turn on the C1 captioning. And then I can press "Turn off CC" and it does all that backwards.
ReplyDeleteOh, and thing about setting it up is that you do it all through software on your computer. No pressing five digit codes while pointing it at the TV. It's drop down menus and guided setup on the computer screen of your choosing, via USB.
Do I worry that it might be secretly programming ME in my sleep? Sure. But I'm willing to pay that price.
I got this for my brother and sister-in-law last year and they also love it!
ReplyDeleteHuge fan of my Logitech as well, particularly since my AV setup gets complicated, since I change channels on my cable box, video sources on my TV, and volume/audio source on my Blu-Ray/HTIB. Means I'm only dealing with one remote rather than 3, and it's all effortless.
ReplyDeleteMy husband got one of these for us and he loves not having to lug bottles home. I'm recently off of aspartame and most of the Sodastream flavors had it (even some of the non-diet flavors), so we bought some from Flavrz - love the tropical flavor, very peachy. And look at http://pittsburghsodapop.com/page3.html for some well-reviewed flavors that we haven't tried yet.
ReplyDeleteThat was me. Also, you can make taste ginger ale with the Sodastream -- add a little of Whole Foods' Ginger Soother (ginger juice with a little lemon and honey) and a bit of agave syrup to sweeten it (since the honey in the Soother isn't very apparent). Love this, since I used to drink tons of diet ginger ale whenever I was sick.
ReplyDeleteChristy, if this thread had been up a couple weeks ago I definitely would've put shearling-lined Bean boots on my Amazon Hanukkah list! But I may have to get them later this winter, now that I've looked them up and they look terrific. Or wait till next year and let someone get them for me then (but now I covet them . . . )
ReplyDeleteFor my birthday, my mom got me a lap desk thing to put my laptop on. I love it because it's fairly large (but not so large it doesn't fit between the arms of the La-Z-Boy) so I can also use it for my marking and lesson planning.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love the offers of free babysitting for an afternoon or evening, but those are better if they come with a definite time (as in, I'll take the kids next Saturday afternoon, not I'll take the kids sometime). The trick is to be sure the time works for the recipient.
I think I may breakdown and buy one of those cotton candy machines for my daughter with a Bed Bath and Beyond 20 percent.
ReplyDeleteI have a few gifts I've loved:
ReplyDelete- the food scale. I got a Salter version, and if your loved one is a baker, it really transforms the process. Use it ALL the time
- also for cooks, I received the perfect apron last year. I know that sounds silly, but really, it rocks. I think my mom got it at a craft fair. It's not too long, made of thick washable fabric, has big deep pockets, and the neck and waist cords are the perfect length. Also, it's a very attractive stripe, not one of those cheesy ones with sayings on them
- for knitters, the KnitPicks interchangeable cable needles - THESE ROCK. I craved them for 2 years, and finally got a set last Christmas
aaand with that I realize I have become my grandmother.
My wife is a baker, that scale sounds like a great idea. What model of Salter scale do you have?
ReplyDeleteMy friend gave me this a few years back, and it's just the greatest. Then again, I always wanted a magic wand...
ReplyDeleteOh, and GinnaD, the KnitPicks interchangeble circ set is on my wish list for my February birthday.
Bobby I have http://www.amazon.com/Salter-3003-Aquatronic-Electronic-Kitchen/dp/B000698A66/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1324072144&sr=8-10">this one, but there are some other options. Cleanup is really easy. I think any of the Salter ones would be a good choice.
ReplyDeleteThe Mr. Bento? It is awesome!
ReplyDeleteThere are a bunch of lap desks, book/iPad rests, etc. that look good at Levenger.
ReplyDelete1) Love this instant read digital cooking thermometer -- not only can you insert it into the food to check temperature, but you can also use the scanner to check the temperature of a pan. $90, great for the avid cook!http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Professional-9306-Thermocouple-Thermometer/dp/B000XS7WTG/ref=sr_1_20?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1324074390&sr=1-20
ReplyDelete2) Love to listen to music as I fall asleep. Love classical and jazz and rock and pop . . . . These audio-technica headphones were perfect for me. GREAT sound, particularly for the $150-ish price, and durable. I've listened while falling asleep for months and haven't destroyed them yet. Love the spring reinforced end of of the cord near the plug. http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000ULAP4U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324074497&sr=8-1
Thank you for letting me know that such a thing exists! It lead to the following exchange with my wife (via email):
ReplyDeleteMe: <span>You are always complaining that I don't want enough things. I want this (link).</span>
Her: <span>You want a wand? Really?</span>
Me: <span>Not 'a wand', this wand. It's a UNIVERSAL REMOTE CONTROL WAND!!!</span>
Not sure - I assume the latter.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 different cheapo ones, and they're both great. Also, you can keep them in a big ziploc bag to make cleanup even easier.
ReplyDeleteI love my kindle and my roku. I might need the kindle to live. I broke my old 2nd gen kindle in October and survived about four hours before ordering a new one (the kindle keyboard). Also got the roku and a Netflix subscription for my brother and his wife last year (they had a newborn and no cable just two channels!) and they love it. Can't stop talking about it. My sister got them this year and our present will be hard to beat.
ReplyDeleteI feel museum or zoo memberships or whatever place with their interests that charges admission thing are great for people who live near one. You go more often because you can just go. And here in Chicago a music venue (the empty bottle?) is doing something like that for $150 for most shows all year and in Seattle ACT I think has a similar go as much as you want pass. We have a membership to the art institute and I love it!
I LOVE my scale. (I also have a cheapie one.) Yes, it has transformed my baking, but honestly the two things I didn't even know I needed it for were (1) doing weird size-up and size-down calculations (2.5 timesing a recipe, for example) and (2) making double the cake batter in the mixer and evenly dividing it into 2 pans. Greatest thing ever. You can get cheap ones for $20, and it's so, so worth it.
ReplyDeleteI must second (or third, or sixth) the Kindle and the SodaStream carbonator. The latter was something I'd always wanted, and the former something I never knew I wanted til I had one.
ReplyDeleteI am also a big fan of the spa gift certificate. Massages you don't pay for yourself are the best kind.
There was a corner store, formerly a WaWa, that had a couple, but I think my fondness for it was a mix of the whole Noah's ark of it all and the something from home aspect. I'm back in Philly now, so I don't have to worry about it, but the logic still applies. And if we want to get Charm City about it, I've got a friend who's only asked her parents for one thing since leaving Baltimore: Berger cookies.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm a real Baltimore anomaly (hon) since I do not like Berger cookies. However, I have spent way too much time thinking about pit beef now that I don't have regular access to it. I miss pit beef.
ReplyDeleteWhen I opened up the package, I giggled like a nine year old and then I laughed my ass off.
ReplyDeleteThis is the sort of present you never, ever expect to get...but, every once in awhile someone gets it right.
Well, if you want to get technical, from my time there you could tell the locals by their desire to put old bay on everything.
ReplyDeleteI got a Pandora gift subscription from my dad this year (he sends things early), and I love it. So much more enjoyable to listen to Pandora without the commercials (at considerably louder-than-music volume) breaking into any relaxation the music had established.
ReplyDeleteIt may be too late in the thread for a question, but does anyone do Netflix anymore? We've never tried it, but my husband has hinted about the streaming subscription, so I'm considering signing up for at least a few months. Good? Bad? Hints?
ReplyDeleteThe streaming Netflix is awesome. Definitely do it - then immediately watch the BBC Sherlock Holmes.
ReplyDeleteI shipped some Old Bay to friends in Germany for just this reason.
ReplyDeleteThat's the one. I hum "LIttle Boxes" when I reassemble it.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying it so far (it's been 2 months). Thanks to Netflix, I was able to enjoy the splendor of "Downton Abbey." It's one of the reasons I want to get a Roku.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely still use it. Their streaming selection has greatly improved. And I second the Sherlock Holmes viewing, along with a viewing of Terriers.
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