The best gift you've given [Archive]

Mr. Anderson

Dec 1, 2003, 10:09 AM

Originally posted by tazo
I once gave my mom a 75 dollar water/spa/foot massager thingy for mother's day. most i ever spent on a gift for anyone!

ah, well, that's nice, but you're totally missing the point. Its not about how much you spend, its about the gift itself.

I bought my wife a necklace for her wedding gift. Several months prior to our wedding we went to an estate jewelry sale and she tried on all sorts of things that we could never afford (one bracelet was priced at $450,000). And she found so many things that she really liked and looked good on her. Most of them were really pricey, but some more reasonable. I went back a couple weeks later to get a pair of diamond stud earrings and the jeweler pulled out this one piece that my wife really liked, but was more than what I wanted to spend, more than the earrings. But she knocked down the price a little and after agonizing over it for a while I went ahead and bought it.

When my wife opened the gift she was so surprised, amazed and then mad at me for spending the money. Occasionally she'll bring that up, but the thing is its not about the money - its about having something like that that she cherishes and will become an heirloom. It will always remind her of the wedding and know how special she is to me, how much I love her.

I've done a few other things that cost almost nothing that are just as special as well. I'll post them later if I have the time. :D

D

eyelikeart

Dec 1, 2003, 10:27 AM

The second trip I took to DC to visit my then girlfriend.

It was the week leading up to Easter in 2001, and the trip had been planned for about a month. She got me a ticket for $125 from priceline.com, which was super cheap.

It also happened to be during the time when my grandfather was in his last days. He ended up passing on Holy Thursday, the day before I was set to jet off & spend Easter with my girl. That Thurs night, after his passing, I felt torn & told my girlfriend I wasn't coming up. She was really disappointed, but fully understood.

It was at the very last minute on Friday that I decided to just go anyway. So, I grabbed my stuff & headed without letting her know. I managed to get thru the Metro from the airport to where she was without getting lost, and shocked the hell out of her when I showed up at her door. :D

monkeydo_jb

Dec 1, 2003, 10:27 AM

My dad is the biggest Navy SEAL fan, ever.

However, being a minister he can't really afford a lot of the things he would
like to have.

Last year my brothers and I chipped in and got him one of their official
dive watchs (Luminox). The thing can go down 200 meters and has gas
chambers on each of the numbers and hands. They stay lit constantly,
negate the need for a push light and are brighter to boot!

It was like $400, but worth the look on his face, and the pride he has when
he tells the story to friends.

-jeff

P-Worm

Dec 1, 2003, 10:29 AM

Well, when I do gifts, I usually do joke like gifts instead of the serious ones. I'm just not a serious guy, and I think it drives some people nuts.

Well one day, my family was sitting together. My dad looked up at the bookcase and said to himself "I think I'm going to start a book." By what he said, i thought he meant to start writing one an asked him what it will be about. Everyone laughed at my stupidity and that was that.

Until christmas when I bought him a book about writing, some notepaper and a pencil. Everyone got it immediately,

I guess you had to be there...

P-Worm

monkeydo_jb

Dec 1, 2003, 10:39 AM

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
ah, well, that's nice, but you're totally missing the point. Its not about how much you spend, its about the gift itself.

I bought my wife a necklace for her wedding gift. Several months prior to our wedding we went to an estate jewelry sale and she tried on all sorts of things that we could never afford (one bracelet was priced at $450,000). And she found so many things that she really liked and looked good on her. Most of them were really pricey, but some more reasonable. I went back a couple weeks later to get a pair of diamond stud earrings and the jeweler pulled out this one piece that my wife really liked, but was more than what I wanted to spend, more than the earrings. But she knocked down the price a little and after agonizing over it for a while I went ahead and bought it.

When my wife opened the gift she was so surprised, amazed and then mad at me for spending the money. Occasionally she'll bring that up, but the thing is its not about the money - its about having something like that that she cherishes and will become an heirloom. It will always remind her of the wedding and know how special she is to me, how much I love her.

I've done a few other things that cost almost nothing that are just as special as well. I'll post them later if I have the time. :D

D

That's awesome.

Sure she may give you grief about the price,
but deep down she is so blown away by your sacrifice.

-jeff

Mr. Anderson

Dec 1, 2003, 10:45 AM

Originally posted by monkeydo_jb
but deep down she is so blown away by your sacrifice.

ha, thanks...and I'm still paying for it, but it was worth it and I'd do it again just to see the smile and reaction one more time :D

D

eyelikeart

Dec 1, 2003, 10:47 AM

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
ha, thanks...and I'm still paying for it, but it was worth it and I'd do it again just to see the smile and reaction one more time :D

Absolutely. ;)

There was also the time I went to the "Bead Store" to actually make a necklace for said girlfriend. It may have cost me $20, but it was such a big deal to her for me to go into the store & make the thing.

sonofslim

Dec 1, 2003, 12:01 PM

i gave a friend a 1st printing of her favorite book, which had gone out of print and was a little rare, and had a custom slipcase built for it. it helped that at the time i worked in an antiquarian bookstore and was able to track down a first and get it at a substantial dealer-to-dealer discount.

chrisnturkey

Dec 1, 2003, 12:05 PM

Hiya Folks:

Been looking for gifts myself. Here is the coolest damn thing I could find. A robot vacume-cleaner. As a bachelor, and a lazy one, I can't think of anything cooler. Do you know anyone who LIKES to clean their floors?

http://www.roombavac.com/homepage.asp

Plus (free and no extra charge) my best gift story:
My girlfriend (now ex but such is life) wanted a fancy dress ever so much so ... after I got paid I got her best girlfriend to get the right size and I bought it. I was waiting for a special occasion to give it to her. I was broke afterwards and a bunch of people were going to see a very stupid movie (Striptease I think) and she invited me. I told her I couldn't afford it (which was pretty much true) but as she knew I just got paid - she interrogated me about what I blew my cash on (drugs? mac peripherals?). After much abuse, I went to my room and produced the dress .... to her sheepish amazement and some well earned lovin'. :)
Happy here-comes-shopping-season to all!

SiliconAddict

Dec 1, 2003, 12:20 PM

Gave my mom a new Webber grill. She uses it all the time.

wdlove

Dec 1, 2003, 12:44 PM

To me the greatest gift has been in sharing with others. My mother lives a great distance, she really enjoyed my phone calls. A former head nurse and now a great friend that live in Nebraska, I call her on her B-Day and Christmas each year. She said that I really look forward to your calls.

I'm not a shopper, so my wife purchases whatever she needs and desires. What is really meaningful is our time together.

I also enjoy my volunteer time. To see the faces on the children at the "Angel Tree" party makes all the work enjoyable. They are children of fathers that are in prison. For some it is the only party and gifts that they get.

sonofslim

Dec 1, 2003, 12:48 PM

Originally posted by chrisnturkey
Been looking for gifts myself. Here is the coolest damn thing I could find. A robot vacume-cleaner.

i've really been interested in one of these, mainly because it would be pretty cool to have a robot do some housework for me.

but also because i'd love to aim it at the cat, let it rip and watch the fun.

Stelliform

Dec 1, 2003, 12:53 PM

The most recent best gift that I have gotten anybody, was for my 2 year old. My kids were being very good in the store, and my oldest had $2 that his grandmother had given him. So he was shopping and bought a little rubber Lizard.

Anyway, my youngest was feeling left out, so I bought him something he wanted. He picked a plastic cow. (Doesn't look like a normal cow, kind of like a cebu.)

Anyway it cost 15 cents because it was on clearance, and he has worn out his "Buffalo/Cow". That thing is constantly running around the house.

Goes to show it isn't the amount of he gift.

P-Worm

Dec 1, 2003, 01:03 PM

It just goes back to the you buy them a really nice gift and they play with the box. Oh the irony.

P-Worm

joker2

Dec 1, 2003, 02:54 PM

I had been talking with my (then) fiancee` (now husband) and we'd discussed all the little things that we'd always wanted as kids but never got... (odd topic, I know) and one of those things was one of those Lifesavers Story Books with all the different flavors that Lifesavers makes. So, the next time I saw him, I gave him the little package (wrapped), he opened it, and the way his face lit up was really special :)

yellow

Dec 1, 2003, 03:05 PM

Herpes.. and it keeps on giving.

krimson

Dec 1, 2003, 03:13 PM

I tricked/begged my ex into signing her name on a DMV form, and I got her a personalized license plate with her nickname on it...

The plates took too long to get there, so when our anniversary came around I gave her a card with the DMV printout inside.. and she gave me this pissed off look ( you know, that "What the heck is this?" look).. then i asked her to read it over, and then finally she realized what it was, she gave me another wonderful present.. for most of the night.

best $35 i've spent, and yes, she still has it :D

Mr. Anderson

Dec 1, 2003, 03:29 PM

Originally posted by shadow95
I had been talking with my (then) fiancee` (now husband) and we'd discussed all the little things that we'd always wanted as kids but never got...

oh damn, I forgot about this one....one of my ex-girlfriends was never allowed Barbie dolls as a kid. So one Christmas I got her a Barbie doll as a gift - but I put a pair of diamond earrings in the Barbie's ears ;) It was great - the total shock from her (I think she was 35 at the time) at getting a Barbie doll....same sort of reaction - what kind of gift is this...;)

It wasn't until a little while later that she saw the oversized Barbie earrings (over sized for Barbie, they weren't that big) and then she got an excited look on her face, asking incredulously "Are they real?"

It was great!

D

kiwi_the_iwik

Dec 1, 2003, 04:24 PM

I always liked to make a big deal of my wife's birthday - I'd have some form of surprise for her one way or another.

One year, it was a trip to Paris for a romantic weekend - she had no idea...

Another time, it was a trip to Melbourne, Australia, to see "Fiddler on the Roof" with Topol performing (the original, and the best!) - she had no idea...

Again, for her birthday, I took her to New York, where we stayed at the Waldorf Astoria for the long weekend and saw "Miss Saigon" on Broadway - again - she had no idea...

(There's something of a pattern forming, here, don't you think?!?)

Eventually, she ran off with the lead singer of a pub band, and left me with a 2 year old - of the kind of person she'd turned into, I had no idea...

:mad:

Now, I'm considering getting her a "Solo Parachute Jump" for her birthday - who knows? Might get lucky...

Heh! Heh!

;)

As far as CURRENT presents go, there are always a couple of cool options to get your betrothed.

1) An early morning Hot-Air Balloon flight, complete with champagne picnic basket...

2) A trip to the local observatory, where you can pinpoint in the heavens through the telescope a certain celestial body which you'd named after your loved one...

3) or perhaps, a plot of land on the moon?

Just a few ideas I'd toyed with...

kevin49093

Dec 1, 2003, 04:44 PM

Well, about a week before V-Day our car breaks went out and they had to be fixed right away. I just happened to have the cash on hand. My wife didn't really understand why I had the cash to fix the car, but let it drop.

I had the cash because I was going to pay for and pick up the ring I had made to propose to my wife. I couldn't afford the ring after the car fiasco and went with flowers instead.

After Valentines day had come and gone, and after I had gotten the ring and proposed to my wife, my wife and her friend were giving me a hard time about just giving her flowers that year. (My wife really didn't care, but was just having a bit of fun.)

I decided to tell them the whole story and it made them both break down and cry!

I guess that would have been my best gift given...

Macmaniac

Dec 1, 2003, 05:59 PM

I wowed my sister with an iPod for her birthday in may. Most expensive present ever, but I had given her next to nothing in other years so I had to make up for it.
I also got her a gift certificate to one of those girly clothing stores, I felt so out of place buying a certificate surrounded by pink shirts and underwear.

themadchemist

Dec 3, 2003, 04:49 AM

I gave the gift of receiving.

janey

Dec 3, 2003, 10:41 PM

a psuedo-blowjob.
yeah. sorta. **** :P

tazo

Dec 3, 2003, 10:55 PM

how does one give/receive a pseudo blowjob. seems like u would either be getting one or not ;)

mc68k

Dec 3, 2003, 11:00 PM

i bought a decent dvd player for my dad for father's day

we have used it many times...before that we had a mono, top-loading VHS from the early 80s as the main movie player

now we have stereo sound ;)

phrancpharmD

Dec 3, 2003, 11:06 PM

Actually, the best gift I've ever given won't happen for about another month when my wife turns 30 in early January. Several months ago when we went to Chicago for a wedding, one of the guests had a remarkable pair of antique-y looking costume diamond earrings on that my lady just RAVED about all night. So, I did a little digging, and was able to find a very similar style with real diamonds. I think she will be blown away, and I can hardly wait! I wish I could give them to her for Christmas. . .

themadchemist

Dec 4, 2003, 12:06 AM

Originally posted by übergeek
a psuedo-blowjob.
yeah. sorta. **** :P

oh man, that's too much for me to stomach. The sex acts of 14 year-olds are not exactly what I want to read about...Jeez. Please, spare me next time. :eek:

But I do recall conflicting statements you've made in these forums about your sexual involvement in the past. Of course, none of them was as explicit as the above, but I do recall the fact that you've tried to be provocative about your sexual exploits. So I'm going to guess that was a joke.

Because if it wasn't, it was, again too much for a little ol' me to handle.

judith

Dec 6, 2003, 02:04 AM

Here's one for Mr.A:
My 9 yr old and I spent a considerable amount of time and loving effort creating herbal soaps for gifts last X-Mas. We thought we'd do something laborious; hand-crafted with love, as so many in my family are the "What do you get for the person who has everything?" types. Namely, my mother.
Well, it was to our great disappointment that when opening our gift basket, my mother was just astounded at our, and I quote: "pathetic little gift" (They actually looked and smelled very nice and were chemically correct in every way. They did however contain a large percentage of hempseed oil, which is fantastic for the skin, but some are completely ignorant of this fact, and think it is incorporated into soap for the sole purpose of supporting marijuana - but that's another can of worms..)

My daughter's heart was broken, it was so incredibly sad for me, trying to find words to express to a nine year old what I felt, how it was OK, because some people don't appreciate things like effort and time, or even love - that there are people like that. (Actually, as I recall I was thinking something more along the lines of.. you materialistic, disingenuous, ***** bi*ch!)

On the flip-side, a girlfriend of mine was extremely pleased with her gift. She raved on and on for the next several months about how wonderful they were, and how much she loved and appreciated her soaps!

We had decided some years ago on what was most valuable to us as a family at Christmastime, and it sure wasn't presents! So rather than put my children through this yet another year, we concluded that the time had come to place a thousand-plus miles or so between ourselves and 'that aspect' of the holiday.:D

I personally think a big chunk of hand-crafted herbal soap is perfectly heavenly!

MattG

Dec 6, 2003, 04:09 PM

Your mother called it a 'pathetic little gift' in front of your kid, knowing that the two of you handmade all of it? I'd never get her anything again!!!!

yellow

Dec 6, 2003, 05:12 PM

To all humans, I gave the knowledge of how to slice bread.

janey

Dec 6, 2003, 10:17 PM

i'm sorry.
i was joking about the blowjob thing.
btw, i know preteens/teens who have actually had sex and some have even become pregnant. Oral sex is nothing for them, so i'm guess i'm not that bad compared to them...
The best gift i've ever given someone is a computer. It was an old PC, but the family I gave it to for Christmas couldn't afford to buy a new one. So i upgraded some of the stuff and gave it to them.
That made me feel really good for some reason, perhaps because many just throw away their computers instead of considering donating it to some less fortunate people. Of course there are people who donate computers, but most of them just dump their old 286s or Apple ][s at a local school or something where it goes to waste because its worthless. :rolleyes:

Nermal

Dec 6, 2003, 11:25 PM

Originally posted by übergeek
Of course there are people who donate computers, but most of them just dump their old 286s or Apple ][s at a local school or something where it goes to waste because its worthless. :rolleyes:

And then my brother goes to the school and gets the old computers. Our garage is filled up with 386s and 486s :eek:

jefhatfield

Dec 7, 2003, 07:25 PM

the best gift i have ever given is an ibook for my wife...if i had asked her first, she would have said "no", so i just went out and did it

and later i bought her illustrator and photoshop for it

other than that, i have never bought an expensive gift like those items in my whole life...but she is just as happy if i get her a real feminine gift and something she can appreciate sentimentally...for some reason, computers/software is not something she can get that touchy-feely about ;)

trebblekicked

Dec 8, 2003, 01:34 AM

my ex is dutch, and her dad died right before christmas. all of her dad's side of the family still lived in holland, so i bought her a trip to see them.

jxyama

Dec 8, 2003, 12:37 PM

i got my parents an eMac. i'm driving it back to their place for the holidays.

they had been using my P1 100 MHz (:eek: ) i bought 6 years ago for a while before it broke down. since then, my mom only checks her email when my dad's home with his work computer.

needless to say, a brand new 1 GHz eMac will be a significant upgrade...