Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Share some gifts you are giving this year. Inspire some last minute shoppers.

I just bought this for the boyfriend's bro's g/f. She is hard to shop for, does not cook and is kind of minimalist but we bonded over cotton candy. You can use hard candy to make cotton candy fluff, so I am including a giant bag of Jolly Rangers!

http://www.amazon.com/Nostalgia-Electri ... andy+maker

Bought a set of these speed bumps for Mar:

https://www.catpods.com/?q=node/11

My dad asked for a Lamborghini - so I bought him a Hot Wheels version, some Kahlua coffee and a bottle of Kahlua...He is hard to shop for, all he likes is to gamble...

I bought my sister a guinea pig shaped money box and a book of Jarvis Cocker's lyrics.



Dad asked for a book, so I bought him 'The End of Mr Y', 'Professor Moriarty, The Hound of the D'urbervilles' and 'Edinburgh Dead'. I like to try to get him reading genres he wouldn't normally choose for himself, in case he loves one of them.

I got my husband a Wii U. My 4 year old's big presents are a drum set and 3-D puzzles. (Shes obsessed and freakishly good at puzzles. She does 100+ piece ones by herself without blinking an eye.) The baby is just getting teething toys and sensory balls. I got my mom two books. My dad is getting a can of vegan haggis from me. He is super obsessed with his Scottish heritage and spends half the year in Scotland. My brother is getting an IPad from my parents so I got him a cover for it. We got my MIL a necklace that has my girls birthstones on it. My BIL and his wife are getting a gift certificate to a fancy tea shop. My FIL and his mother are just getting candy. They always return gifts. It's pretty lame.

A teapot, tea cups and an assortment of really gorgeous teas for my brother.

Live at 02 Stadium Led Zeppelin DVD/CD and 2 craft beer homebrew kits for my father-in-law (my immediate family secret santa)

Trevor got spoiled as usual, since he doesn't buy himself anything, ever:
Bern bike helmet
Travel mug
Handmade vegan moustache max and beard oil
Some undershirts
How Music Works by David Byrne book
Aeropress coffee gadget thing
Moleskine day planner

I bought my brother a lot of a tea blend he'd been eyeing at Teavana (Youthberry and Wild Orange Blossom) in a nice tin and an infuser from Modcloth:


I got my mom a coffee mug with a Scrabble board print (she's the queen of Scrabble and I am afraid to play against her) and I'm pitching in with my brother, best friend and dad to buy her an iPad as well.

My other brother is getting a handmade scarf, and my best friend is getting a pair of fingerless gloves. I should probably get started making those...

For my dad, I was thinking a cookie jar that is a bust of Mr. Spock, but the counters in the kitchen are really cluttered already, so my mom would hate that. I think I'm taking him to see The Hobbit as a present, but I want to get him something else too.

Mom - Kate Spade sunglasses and a custom address stamp from etsy
Bro - 2 books (the god delusion and a book about how the BCS sucks) and fancy almond shave soap
Sis in law - breaking dawn soundtrack and this calendar thing I know she wants
Man friend - kindle fire and a book (I didn't think that one through)
Dad - aftershave

Mom: donation to kitty shelter, probably Charlie Harper calendar (I bought a plane ticket to go see her in Dec, so that's part of the 'gift')
Dad: electric pour-over kettle, thermos pitcher thingy
Sister: 1-yr subscription to Birchbox
Boyfriend: ice cream maker + scoop, conical burr coffee grinder, whiskey ice ball molds, Walking Dead Xbox 360 game, reusable produce bags, $50 Moo Shoes gift card, $50 J Crew gift card
Boyfriend's brother: whiskey ice ball thingy, pastry cutter, Hario ceramic pour-over and filters, outlet plug in thingy that has USB ports as well
Boyfriend's mom: ??? something smartphone related, I think.

Haven't purchased anything for the kitties yet, but I'm thinking remote-controlled mousey.

What do you get for someone you don't even like but are expected to get them stuff?

Amazon.com gift card. Doooone.

Who doesn't have a computer. (sorry, should have added that).

Coffee gift cards are a pretty neutral gift. Unless of course they don't like coffee.

Maybe I'll just buy her a pack of coffee or one of those little coffee gift sets. Thank you!

wow, writing this out makes me realize what a crazy huge list of gifts we get for people (and dogs!):

for my husband: vintage tie bar from etsy, engraved collar stays (red envelope has really tacky "sexy" pre-engraved ones, or you can pay a little more for custom engraving), and a new watch (one of the j crew/timex ones). He has all these fancy clothes but no accessories to go with them.

my dog: probably one of the tree stumps with squirrels inside and the tennis balls with fluffy tails attached

for my mom & dad jointly: a le creuset pan they've been wanting
mom only: some pjs that are only sold around xmas that she really likes
dad only: who knows, he's impossible since he buys everything he wants for himself, maybe some trader joe's giant chocolate peanut bars and a cake pan that would actually be for my mom.
my parents' exchange student: mall gift cards & beginner's chopsticks
my parents' dogs: probably multiples of whatever toy I get for my dog so they don't fight on xmas

sil: jacket she asked for
bil: probably amazon gift card, but i want to try to find him something fun to open also - graphic designers, do you have any suggestions for inexpensive design-related gifts or books he wouldn't think to pick up for himself (he's trying to start his own web/graphic design business)?
mil: theater subscription & something to open on xmas
mil's best friend/roommate: robe or gloves or some other fancy accessory sort of thing

cousin & her husband: restaurant gift card
cousin's kids: personalized coloring books
aunt: fancy chocolates
uncle: fancy alcohol

guys who work in my building: cash

mom: two cute red scarves, one warmish, and one that's more sheer/fashionable. That's it so far, so hopefully I can think of something more thoughtful.

mom's partner: exercise tights! She specifically asked for these, so that's easy.

dad/stepmom: thirstystone coasters! They have these 20 year old cork coasters that are all shriveled up and nasty looking. And they're crazy about using coasters on their early 90s furniture.

husband's mom: also a cute scarf! trying to think of something else for her too.

husband's dad: socks and sweatpants. He always tells everyone not to buy him things, and means it, but I can't imagine he'll get upset over new socks.

husband's sister: a teal cat and some cute Christmas ornaments

husband: a tibetan singing bowl, some skinny levi jeans, a eurorack module kit, cords for his modular synthesizer, socks and undies. He'll get some stocking stuffers too.

brother & his wife: a big cast iron skillet. I got them a cast iron enameled dutch oven last year, and they supposedly use it all the time.

roommate: a fancy wicker laundry basket so he can stop throwing towels on the bathroom floor. Passive aggressive? Maybe. But it's fancy!

Everyone else is getting cookies.

The hubby is getting: 2 pairs of fleece pajama style pants for lounging around the house, a pair of gloves for running, the new Call of Duty Black Ops 2 game, and a new computer.

Everyone else is getting items my hubby picked up while in Ukraine earlier this year.

Friends and coworkers will be getting cookies.

Mom: Scrabble board so she'll stop taking mine.
Dad: fancy sweet corn whiskey
Sister: Shutterfly photo book
BIL: Homemade booze (kahlua, amaretto, butterscotch schnapps)
Nieces: Not sure? Non-crappy music, dress up clothes, and books?
Brother: No idea, he's really hard to buy for. He likes hunting, beer, and reality tv.
SIL: No idea as well.
Boyfriend: Fancy cycling jersey and the book "The Joy of X" about math
BF's brother: Bike tires
" " 's girlfriend: Penzey's Spices gift box
BF's Mom: Neat spoon ring and a mug with her kids pictures on it.
Friends: Dead Feminists prints from Etsy.

Also, everyone in my family is getting a calender I made on Shutterfly with pictures from our recent trip to Mexico. I love making photo things and it's super fun now that I figured out how to grab photos off facebook.

What can I get for my 30 year old brother? I usually buy him a shirt for the football team we both support, but my sister has stolen that idea this year. The only other thing he does is go to raves and takes drugs. I don't know the first thing about the music he listens to, he doesn't read, doesn't cook, doesn't really like gadgets, lives with my parents so doesn't need things for the house, HELP?

Buy him his favorite drug!

What about headphones or something related to music? Nice earbuds? Maybe he has some he already likes, but an upgrade is always nice.

glow sticks, neon pants and ecstasy?*







*everything I know about raves I learned about from Dawson's Creek

Hmm, that's an idea and would no doubt please my Mum too! I'll have to find out what he has currently. While I do that, if anyone has any other ideas
please keep them coming.

ravers used to be into sneakers - maybe a fun pair of brightly colored sneakers?

I finished most of my Christmas shopping yesterday! Feels good to be done, except for the stuff I have to finish making and one thing that I'll pick up a few days before Christmas when we get to my home town.

For parents: A basket of homemade food stuff- I've done a couple of jams, some mustard and a couple of curry powders, and I'll also make some pasta sauce, marmalade, salsa and some nut brittle or something. I'll also throw in some nice tea towels to pretty it up.
For mum: A hand mixer and a set of Indian copper curry bowls from Oxfam.
For dad: A cookbook (he retired recently and is trying to get into cooking, so I got him a cute book aimed at 'beginners') and some kind of fruit tree- I'll pick this up a couple of days before Christmas, but we'll probably get a fig or lime tree.
For my brother: A Cleveland Browns football jersey, a book of the first 48 (or something) Walking Dead comics, and I'm making him this Breaking Bad cross stitch. It's his birthday a few days later, so for that he's getting the 2013 goats in trees calendar and a cookie jar shaped like a zombie head (which I'll fill with homemade cookies).
For my grandma: Homemade jam.
For Boyfriend's mum: Flight vouchers (so she can visit us or her boyfriend who lives interstate- probably the latter) and a framed photo of Boyfriend and I from his sister's wedding.
For Boyfriend's sister and her husband: Not sure, Boyfriend is meant to sort this out. Probably a Slip n' Slide.
For our best friend: This Liz Lemon tote bag and a copy of Please Don't Feed the Bears.
For our best friend's husband: A mug with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker on it, that says 'Galaxy's Best Dad' (he's not a dad but we didn't know what to get him, so we decided to get something hilariously confusing).

Not necessarily for Christmas, although it'll probably arrive around then- our friends in Canada just had a baby so we're sending them some clothes and a baby blanket that I knitted for them.

I'm not posting what I got for Boyfriend because he lurks here occasionally and will totally read this. THAT'S RIGHT, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE UP TO.

I'm saving for something important, thus I am a bit strapped for cash this year, and mostly everyone is getting homemade cookie jar mixes, chocolates and cookies.

The only people I'm buying actual stuff for are my baby nephew, and I'm not sure what he's getting yet, and my boyfriend who I have got some Victorian books about nature and wildlife, real fossilised amber with bugs in (for recreating Jurrasic Park, obvs), this nice vintage owl pin, some vegan chocolate coins and other goodies, and I still plan to get a couple of other things... maybe a nice bento box for lunches... maybe something else, I'm nt sure yet.

I got my brother this:



He is almost 20 years old.

LET'S SEE HOW THIS PLAYS OUT.