I need gift suggestions for that guy I'm married to!

[SugarPlum]

Help! Help! Help! It's 2 and a half weeks until Christmas and I don't have anything for McNutty! He's such a good gift giver! What should I give him?

Also, um, if anyone has any ideas for a couple of somewhat lame people in their mid 60s I could use suggestions for my parents, too.

[Random Precision]

You can't go wrong with socks or a chainsaw. And either gift is equally appropriate for either party.

[Zombies!]

Your parents need Snuggies.

McNutty needs one of those Hannibal Lecter masks and probably a couple of temazepam

[Jeff]

A son!

Or a nice bottle of scotch/poison of his choice.

[Zombies!]

Daughters are the new sons. Women can keep their family names and inherit stuff these days!

[Qwisp]

A nice keyboard with a backlight. Never have to fumble to type in a dark room again. I got my father one, and it's still his favorite present
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Illum...1980684&sr=8-1

[Parthenokinesis]

Bottle of lube and a devious expression. Not sure for Nuttie though.

[shamrock]

Aren't you present enough?

[wring]

thick cut peppered bacon!

[Solfy]

Last year we got my MIL (late 60's) a digital picture frame, which she liked. Fortunately we pre-loaded it, since she has yet to figure out how to add pictures. I need to update it for her.

This year my parents suggested a joint gift of a Blu-ray player with WiFi, but they're only in their 50's and they're rather tech savvy.

I'm having trouble with the spousal gift ideas, too. Besides a new pair of slippers - that one's a given. The man wears the hell out of a pair of slippers.

[wring]

Originally Posted by Solfy

The man wears the hell out of a pair of slippers.

:hijack:
How does this happen? Every year sister in law asks for slippers, every year she gets at least 2 pair new, repeat annually. I don't get it. /:hijack:

[Solfy]

Mr. Solfy, a SAHD, lives in his slippers. He never wears shoes in the house, so it's all slippers all the time when he's at home (we have a drafty house with hardwood floors). He wears them year round. There's nothing sexier than a man in a t-shirt, jorts, and brown leather clog slippers in July. By the time Christmas rolls around he's usually walked a hole in them (it doesn't help that he won't stop SHUFFLING! For the love of Pete PICK UP YOUR DAMNED FEET WHEN YOU WALK! How heavy can feet be?! I can hear the fibers in the rugs screaming in agony!). I've also learned to stay away from the loafer kind with the leather ties that go around the slipper because they come unsewn halfway through the year.

Mine from last year are looking a little grotty, actually. They're not worn out, but I could use a new pair, too. And good luck finding decent slipper selection after Christmas - they'll be gone.

Thanks to a heads-up from a local blog, I did just order one husband gift - a t-shirt, all proceeds from which benefit the Mario Lemieux Foundation for pediatric cancer and neonatal research.

[Wolf Larsen]

You can never go wrong buying tools for a man. Maybe a nice chainsaw or tablesaw.

For the parents, a case of the prune juice and viagra energy drink is always a sure fire hit.

[Solfy]

Real men already have chainsaws and tablesaws. And a circular saw, a jigsaw, and a compound miter saw. (or their wives do)

[Lucifer]

Dremel Tool! High speed rotary tool? No can defense.

[Giraffe]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Or a nice bottle of scotch/poison of his choice.

I agree with Jeff, definitely go with poisoned scotch.

[Sleeps With Butterflies]

Cheese

[Zombies!]

Originally Posted by Sleeps With Butterflies

Cheese

YES.

Nutty needs cheese. Preferably in log form. Better if it has a black and white label with no graphics that just says "CHEESE"

[Sleeps With Butterflies]

I did a google image search for GIANT CHEESE LOG and found this



I do not know why but had to share

[Jeff]

There's still enough time before Christmas to prepare a nice trunk-ripened block of cheese.

[SugarPlum]

Thanks for the ideas! Why didn't I think of Cheese before? Duh!


Other than that, I won't be expressing too much enthusiasm about any ideas in this thread, because I don't want to ruin any potential surprises.

You all are awesome!

[Solfy]

Can someone critique a gift idea for me for the guy I'm married to (who conveniently doesn't read this board unless you count checking out the boobs thread over my shoulder)?

He honestly can't think of anything personal he needs/wants this year. I'll get him the customary slippers, and probably some chocolates or other related goodies, but all the things we both need/want tend to be "a repaired ceiling in the playroom" or "a dumpster rental." Not practical for gift giving.

We're always working on projects and our tools are all over the place. More than once we've discussed setting up a workbench in the basement to centralize everything. I'd love to buy him a pre-fab one, but a good one is out of the budget right now and the ones that are in my budget tend to be flimsy.

Would it be a crazy idea to get him the workbench vise he's mentioned many times before that we need and package it up with a promise to build a workbench over the holiday break? I've got the skills and can carve out the time (I'm off the whole week after Christmas), but he's home too often for me to build something that big on the sly.

[Taur]

If he's mentioned it a few times, then I say get it but I'm wondering if you've considered something like the Workmate 425.? It operates as a vise and you can bring it to the area you're working on at the moment. Very handy, that.

[Solfy]

We need something heaftier with storage space. The workmate wouldn't give us much more space than the table on the portable table saw, though it would be great for people with limited space situations. We've got a huge basement, or at least we will when we get the damned bathtub out of the way. But the saws are on this shelf over here, and the sander is tucked in this bin over there, and the drill is goodness knows where, and the bits are MIA again. I know he wants somewhere to put it all. He's talked about bringing his wheeled toolbox in from the garage*. It would go nicely beside a bench.

I found some kits online that have legs and they're "add your own lumber" but the legs are plastic which doesn't thrill me. There's a hardware connector kit for $50 that seems handy, but I'm not seeing $50 worth of hardware there when it's only corners and screws. I found a nice DIY plan online that will enable me to do the attached pegboard on the back, which is a necessity because our basement walls are stone so there's no joists or cinderblocks to connect to.

*We have no (functioning) garage door, so the very nice Craftsman toolbox is out there half full of tools with no security. I questioned this decision when we moved in, but he said tools belong in the (detached) garage for working on vehicles. But vehicle work is minimal out there, particularly with no electricity. Meanwhile the house is under constant construction, so we have to make 12 trips out to the damned toolbox for every project, and half the tools are floating around the house because they haven't made it back to the garage.

The more I talk about it, the more I think this is a gift for me.

[Dragonlady]

Talked yourself right into it, haven't you?

It sounds like a great plan.
Would you like to try an experimental model in MY garage?

You know, just to be sure you've got it right???

[Taur]

G'wan. You deserve it.

[Solfy]

I'd love to! You supply the materials and the airfare. I'll be there in two weeks.

[Dragonlady]

Drat! I knew there was a flaw in my plan...

[Mako]

To SugarPlum, what about a 3G Kindle?

Even if he has many tech things already - and I'm sure he does - it's an inexpensive ebook reader, has free 3G/GPRS/EDGE connectivity for life, and the Series 3 even has a web browser.

Not as cool as an iPad, but at the price point, you could risk dropping it in the bath without crying over it.

[SugarPlum]

Originally Posted by Mako

To SugarPlum, what about a 3G Kindle?

Even if he has many tech things already - and I'm sure he does - it's an inexpensive ebook reader, has free 3G/GPRS/EDGE connectivity for life, and the Series 3 even has a web browser.

Not as cool as an iPad, but at the price point, you could risk dropping it in the bath without crying over it.

Sadly, McNutty has lost the ability to read books. It's the cause of much marital discord. It would have been a really good suggestion though!

[MissJeanLouise]

Originally Posted by Qwisp

A nice keyboard with a backlight. Never have to fumble to type in a dark room again. I got my father one, and it's still his favorite present
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Illum...1980684&sr=8-1

I'm curious about this. It might make a good gift for my husband, but he does tend to pick out his own electronics.

[McNutty]

Originally Posted by Solfy

Would it be a crazy idea to get him the workbench vise he's mentioned many times before that we need and package it up with a promise to build a workbench over the holiday break?

If he doesn't like it, I would gladly trade him a large block of cheese for it.

[Zeener Diode]

Hey! You're not supposed to be listening here!

[SugarPlum]

Originally Posted by McNutty

If he doesn't like it, I would gladly trade him a large block of cheese for it.

Wait. You are giving up a large block of cheese for the chance to build a workbench with a lady you've never met IRL?

I mean, that's fine, and whatever, but I think I may have seriously overestimated your love of the cheese.

[Sleeps With Butterflies]

He must be drunk.

[SugarPlum]

Well, it is Wednesday.

[Solfy]

:swoon: She called me a lady! :swoon:

[Harry]

...Wait. You are giving up a large block of cheese for the chance to build a workbench with a lady you've never met IRL?

I mean, that's fine, and whatever, but I think I may have seriously overestimated your love of the cheese.

Or seriously underestimated the Lure Of The Workbench™...