My grandparents, who are functionally my parents (Grandpa is 90, Grandma is 75). They just moved from their big old house to a one floor place in a senior community, and it's a big, hard change for them. Gramps is 100% Sicilian and loves classic Italian American food. Grandma is old-school glamorous. They used to love going out to eat most nights and had really active social lives, but health challenges make that very difficult now. Grandpa loves plants, gets three different newspapers every day, and watches a tremendous amount of news. Grandma does a lot of caretaking and is exhausted but would never admit it. They're both somehow still super liberal. We usually get them plants, booze, or a newsy magazine subscription for Grandpa and a mani pedi for Grandma, but would love to do something different. Could do about $250, split up however it makes sense between the two of them.
My 65 year old father in law who buys himself everything he wants. He loves cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, exercise, and science. He has every kitchen thing he could ever want and I already bought him a sciency cookbook in prior years.
We are doing secret santa this year and he’s my person and budget is $300. He lives near the Detroit area - are there any experience type gifts I should consider??
My cousin and her husband who just had a baby (5 mo) and are still, even with a young baby, a lot more sophisticated and put-together than I will ever be. They like the outdoors, live in Michigan and have completely renovated their house on their own, and travel. They always seem to have the top-of-the-line brands of everything, and are preppy but also conservationist? Like, they do hot yoga and take long walks/hikes and work in sustainability and their house is decorated perfectly at all times. If she were a candle scent it would probably be something like pumpkin spice and he would be smoke/leather/wood. This sounds like I hate them but I actually love them and feel uniquely underqualified to figure out anything to get for them. Budget for the couple is $150-200.
My brother, sister in law, and almost 2 year old niece. Budget for the whole family is $150. Brother is a firefighter, likes to do house projects, triathlons, and play video games . Sister in law is an EMT, fan of matching family outfits, leopard print, her pit mix dog, and romance novels/reality TV. The whole family has recently gotten into camping. They live in the upper part of a duplex in Indianapolis and don’t like clutter.
My father-in-law is a half retired lawyer who loves golf, traveling, and falling asleep in the first 5 mins of show. He and my MIL have a precious King Charles Cavalier who ranks higher than any of the grandkids but won't wear cutesy dog-themed stuff. We've gotten him books, but we're not sure he reads them and he's into drinking cocktails but not making them. Budget up to $100
My wife, 42. We are from St. Louis Missouri but now live in Barcelona Spain. We have two boys (12 and 9), a cat, and a dog. I feel I have tapped out most of the easy gift areas (chocolate, board games, art supplies, gardening, plenty of soft comfy pajamas). She is brilliant and talented at anything she decides to do. Excellent at crafts, building, and creating. She is practical, but enjoys a sense of whimsy. She enjoys art and architecture - with a preference for Art Nouveau. She used to enjoy video games, but plays less often now. Wonderful mother and partner who loves spending time with her boys & me doing activities. She used to enjoy reading, does so less often now but engages a lot with audiobooks (free via the library). We have traveled around Europe quite a bit with more trips planned for the next/last year here - she hates flying but loves train trips. She appreciates quality, but is not 'fancy". She is devastated by the election results and feels the existential threats. My budget would be around $200 but she is extremely frugal and would be most impressed with a nice gift at a reasonable price - but she deserves the nicest things in life.
My Mom, early 70s, native New Yorker that has lived in Oregon for the past 40+ years. This will be her first Christmas without my Dad, who died this summer. She loves Christmas, looks forward to it all year, has piles and piles of decorations, and shops 365 days a year so that she can have many gifts for everyone under the tree. She has a lot of stuff, loves a classic California Chardonnay, her grandkids, and dotes on her two elderly mutt dogs. Loves all forms of art and most movies (yes to romcoms, no to thrillers). She loves heirlooms, high quality everything, and has a few pillows with words on them like: 'sleeps with dogs' and 'BEACH'. She is a dedicated Rachel Maddow fan and has just gone through another major loss this year in the form of the 2024 election. Passionately dislikes the degradation of women's rights and talks about it constantly.
This will be a hard Christmas for her and I just want to make it a tiny bit less hard with a thoughtful gift. Budget is flexible but aiming for something in the $300 range.
My "aunt" by choice (mom's best friend of 40+ years) whose birthday is in early Dec (she's in her early 70s). She is a human rights lawyer who loves her work and keeps considering retirement but can't leave it behind. Divorced in her 60s, lives in a lovely apartment with her middle-aged, mid-small sized, mid-high-energy dog. Loves watching k-dramas, LOVES movies (sees all of the Oscar nominees in every category every year) and likes going for walks, loves her family, loves peppermint tea. Dislikes particularly adventurous eating but appreciates good food, doesn't enjoy the act of cooking. She has a reputation for buying generous but very odd gifts for others and my parents always ask me for help in ideas for her. Past successes include: a pocket-sized Korean-English dictionary, a lego flower bouquet she built with her adult daughter during a visit, and a year-long Criterion Collection subscription. Budget: $50-$150 .
I also forgot to mention, she doesn't eat sugar (at all, no sugar in her tea, not a bite of a baked good, not honey-glazed carrots, nothing except for fresh fruit, no sugar substitutes either) except once a year on her bday when she has ice cream cake. :)
My dad turns 65 in Dec, and it was just my parents 35th anniversary. Would love to do a splashy joint gift for them, considering they protest if we buy them more than pizza. Thought about replacing their wine fridge but curious what else you’d suggest! Both retired, splitting time between NJ and SC. Love coffee, wine, tennis, and their granddaughter. $200-300?
My aunt in her late 60s lives in Tudor City (NYC) and has always been the “cool aunt.” She took me to Mars 2112 and to see De La Guarda and Blue Man Group when I was growing up overseas and only the States in the summertime. She is in sales for high-end fixtures and is so tired and so close to retirement—I just want all the best things for her because she’s done so many nice things for me. She (Italian-American) loves pasta and the beach and wine and silly treats and has a studio apartment so I don’t want to buy anything big (experience gift? Restaurant?). Budget $300. (She buys the novelty Oreos and takes three from a pack to try for herself and mails me and my kids the leftovers so she won’t overindulge—I love her. 😂)
hi! Can't say it enough: I am so grateful for you and The Grudge Report. Please let me know if this is too out of scope--I'm a new business owner in the nonprofit fundraising/philanthropy sector and want to get small holidays gifts for our current clients, who are mostly in the performing arts/arts space. I want to send something that says "You're special to us and I've thought this through, but I'm not trying TOO hard." A goldilocks client gift for under $30/piece and I'd love if it's something we could incorporate our logo into and that they may find useful / not want to throw out upon receipt. Oy! Thank you!
My husband turns 49 two weeks before Christmas, but his age is just a number; he was an old man long, long before creeping up to his 50s. Though 21 years sober, he's neither a party child nor a social dud. He'll talk to anyone about anything and knows way more about Cold War era/Iron Curtain history than any person outside of the writers' room of The Americans should. He will not even consider dancing, and you really don't want to see it anyway if he does (shudder). He's an environmental attorney by day and truly and objectively the best father to our 4-year-old and 3-year-old both day and night. The moment they express an interest in something, he's down the Wirecutter wormhole looking for The Best Thing to foster their budding brains and get them excited. I'm hoping for a gift for the guy that, when he picks a hobby, wants to talk to All The Experts and get All The Things, otherwise he might be missing something critical to the experience, but that also won't require giving up even more space in our already storage-deficient house in Santa Barbara. Current interests include: Podcasts and more podcasts; running; thinking we should be a "camping family" because that seems like an idyllic childhood for our kids and because he's jealous of the neighbor's sprinter van; and first and foremost our kids, for whom he had to patiently wait because he married me, a woman 11 years his junior, and I wasn't going to pop out kids in my 20s but then needed IVF to make the little goobers. He's a wonderful person who deserves more than just another copy of The Cadillac Desert or more running socks. Budget: $250. Help!
My husband is 44, an engineer, and has the energy of a 9-year-old. His interests are clear (collecting comic books, restoring electronics, biking, baking) but are either very specific (only Simpsons Bongo comics, only electronics that are in some category I don’t understand, etc) or not something he wants accessories for (the handmade bread lame has never been touched). I’ve tried getting him experiences, but they go unused.
He loves being a dad to our 13 y.o., eating in restaurants, and silly things. Not a reader or sports fan. His mom also passed away this year so maybe a year to tilt toward the sentimental?
I don’t know.
24 years of stressing over gifts for this man has me brain tired.
My brother. He’s 40, travels a lot, buys whatever he wants. He likes to look nice, goes biking in Golden Gate Park (sf), and eats nice meals. Doesn’t really enjoy cooking. Budget $100
My MIL, she is extremely erudite, calm, self possessed, loves wine, works in tech in SF and is fascinated by tech advancements, loves interesting non fiction and esp the books about tech companies blowing up (think Super pumped and Bad Blood), loves to travel, loves literature, has everything or could buy anything she wants. Extremely classy and loves fine dining. $100-$300
omg I can't wait, previous years' were truly the pinnacle of the genre
My grandparents, who are functionally my parents (Grandpa is 90, Grandma is 75). They just moved from their big old house to a one floor place in a senior community, and it's a big, hard change for them. Gramps is 100% Sicilian and loves classic Italian American food. Grandma is old-school glamorous. They used to love going out to eat most nights and had really active social lives, but health challenges make that very difficult now. Grandpa loves plants, gets three different newspapers every day, and watches a tremendous amount of news. Grandma does a lot of caretaking and is exhausted but would never admit it. They're both somehow still super liberal. We usually get them plants, booze, or a newsy magazine subscription for Grandpa and a mani pedi for Grandma, but would love to do something different. Could do about $250, split up however it makes sense between the two of them.
My 65 year old father in law who buys himself everything he wants. He loves cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, exercise, and science. He has every kitchen thing he could ever want and I already bought him a sciency cookbook in prior years.
We are doing secret santa this year and he’s my person and budget is $300. He lives near the Detroit area - are there any experience type gifts I should consider??
Thank you in advance!!
My cousin and her husband who just had a baby (5 mo) and are still, even with a young baby, a lot more sophisticated and put-together than I will ever be. They like the outdoors, live in Michigan and have completely renovated their house on their own, and travel. They always seem to have the top-of-the-line brands of everything, and are preppy but also conservationist? Like, they do hot yoga and take long walks/hikes and work in sustainability and their house is decorated perfectly at all times. If she were a candle scent it would probably be something like pumpkin spice and he would be smoke/leather/wood. This sounds like I hate them but I actually love them and feel uniquely underqualified to figure out anything to get for them. Budget for the couple is $150-200.
Received.
My brother, sister in law, and almost 2 year old niece. Budget for the whole family is $150. Brother is a firefighter, likes to do house projects, triathlons, and play video games . Sister in law is an EMT, fan of matching family outfits, leopard print, her pit mix dog, and romance novels/reality TV. The whole family has recently gotten into camping. They live in the upper part of a duplex in Indianapolis and don’t like clutter.
My father-in-law is a half retired lawyer who loves golf, traveling, and falling asleep in the first 5 mins of show. He and my MIL have a precious King Charles Cavalier who ranks higher than any of the grandkids but won't wear cutesy dog-themed stuff. We've gotten him books, but we're not sure he reads them and he's into drinking cocktails but not making them. Budget up to $100
My wife, 42. We are from St. Louis Missouri but now live in Barcelona Spain. We have two boys (12 and 9), a cat, and a dog. I feel I have tapped out most of the easy gift areas (chocolate, board games, art supplies, gardening, plenty of soft comfy pajamas). She is brilliant and talented at anything she decides to do. Excellent at crafts, building, and creating. She is practical, but enjoys a sense of whimsy. She enjoys art and architecture - with a preference for Art Nouveau. She used to enjoy video games, but plays less often now. Wonderful mother and partner who loves spending time with her boys & me doing activities. She used to enjoy reading, does so less often now but engages a lot with audiobooks (free via the library). We have traveled around Europe quite a bit with more trips planned for the next/last year here - she hates flying but loves train trips. She appreciates quality, but is not 'fancy". She is devastated by the election results and feels the existential threats. My budget would be around $200 but she is extremely frugal and would be most impressed with a nice gift at a reasonable price - but she deserves the nicest things in life.
My Mom, early 70s, native New Yorker that has lived in Oregon for the past 40+ years. This will be her first Christmas without my Dad, who died this summer. She loves Christmas, looks forward to it all year, has piles and piles of decorations, and shops 365 days a year so that she can have many gifts for everyone under the tree. She has a lot of stuff, loves a classic California Chardonnay, her grandkids, and dotes on her two elderly mutt dogs. Loves all forms of art and most movies (yes to romcoms, no to thrillers). She loves heirlooms, high quality everything, and has a few pillows with words on them like: 'sleeps with dogs' and 'BEACH'. She is a dedicated Rachel Maddow fan and has just gone through another major loss this year in the form of the 2024 election. Passionately dislikes the degradation of women's rights and talks about it constantly.
This will be a hard Christmas for her and I just want to make it a tiny bit less hard with a thoughtful gift. Budget is flexible but aiming for something in the $300 range.
My "aunt" by choice (mom's best friend of 40+ years) whose birthday is in early Dec (she's in her early 70s). She is a human rights lawyer who loves her work and keeps considering retirement but can't leave it behind. Divorced in her 60s, lives in a lovely apartment with her middle-aged, mid-small sized, mid-high-energy dog. Loves watching k-dramas, LOVES movies (sees all of the Oscar nominees in every category every year) and likes going for walks, loves her family, loves peppermint tea. Dislikes particularly adventurous eating but appreciates good food, doesn't enjoy the act of cooking. She has a reputation for buying generous but very odd gifts for others and my parents always ask me for help in ideas for her. Past successes include: a pocket-sized Korean-English dictionary, a lego flower bouquet she built with her adult daughter during a visit, and a year-long Criterion Collection subscription. Budget: $50-$150 .
I also forgot to mention, she doesn't eat sugar (at all, no sugar in her tea, not a bite of a baked good, not honey-glazed carrots, nothing except for fresh fruit, no sugar substitutes either) except once a year on her bday when she has ice cream cake. :)
My dad turns 65 in Dec, and it was just my parents 35th anniversary. Would love to do a splashy joint gift for them, considering they protest if we buy them more than pizza. Thought about replacing their wine fridge but curious what else you’d suggest! Both retired, splitting time between NJ and SC. Love coffee, wine, tennis, and their granddaughter. $200-300?
My aunt in her late 60s lives in Tudor City (NYC) and has always been the “cool aunt.” She took me to Mars 2112 and to see De La Guarda and Blue Man Group when I was growing up overseas and only the States in the summertime. She is in sales for high-end fixtures and is so tired and so close to retirement—I just want all the best things for her because she’s done so many nice things for me. She (Italian-American) loves pasta and the beach and wine and silly treats and has a studio apartment so I don’t want to buy anything big (experience gift? Restaurant?). Budget $300. (She buys the novelty Oreos and takes three from a pack to try for herself and mails me and my kids the leftovers so she won’t overindulge—I love her. 😂)
hi! Can't say it enough: I am so grateful for you and The Grudge Report. Please let me know if this is too out of scope--I'm a new business owner in the nonprofit fundraising/philanthropy sector and want to get small holidays gifts for our current clients, who are mostly in the performing arts/arts space. I want to send something that says "You're special to us and I've thought this through, but I'm not trying TOO hard." A goldilocks client gift for under $30/piece and I'd love if it's something we could incorporate our logo into and that they may find useful / not want to throw out upon receipt. Oy! Thank you!
My husband turns 49 two weeks before Christmas, but his age is just a number; he was an old man long, long before creeping up to his 50s. Though 21 years sober, he's neither a party child nor a social dud. He'll talk to anyone about anything and knows way more about Cold War era/Iron Curtain history than any person outside of the writers' room of The Americans should. He will not even consider dancing, and you really don't want to see it anyway if he does (shudder). He's an environmental attorney by day and truly and objectively the best father to our 4-year-old and 3-year-old both day and night. The moment they express an interest in something, he's down the Wirecutter wormhole looking for The Best Thing to foster their budding brains and get them excited. I'm hoping for a gift for the guy that, when he picks a hobby, wants to talk to All The Experts and get All The Things, otherwise he might be missing something critical to the experience, but that also won't require giving up even more space in our already storage-deficient house in Santa Barbara. Current interests include: Podcasts and more podcasts; running; thinking we should be a "camping family" because that seems like an idyllic childhood for our kids and because he's jealous of the neighbor's sprinter van; and first and foremost our kids, for whom he had to patiently wait because he married me, a woman 11 years his junior, and I wasn't going to pop out kids in my 20s but then needed IVF to make the little goobers. He's a wonderful person who deserves more than just another copy of The Cadillac Desert or more running socks. Budget: $250. Help!
My husband is 44, an engineer, and has the energy of a 9-year-old. His interests are clear (collecting comic books, restoring electronics, biking, baking) but are either very specific (only Simpsons Bongo comics, only electronics that are in some category I don’t understand, etc) or not something he wants accessories for (the handmade bread lame has never been touched). I’ve tried getting him experiences, but they go unused.
He loves being a dad to our 13 y.o., eating in restaurants, and silly things. Not a reader or sports fan. His mom also passed away this year so maybe a year to tilt toward the sentimental?
I don’t know.
24 years of stressing over gifts for this man has me brain tired.
Budget: $300
Thanks!
My brother. He’s 40, travels a lot, buys whatever he wants. He likes to look nice, goes biking in Golden Gate Park (sf), and eats nice meals. Doesn’t really enjoy cooking. Budget $100
My MIL, she is extremely erudite, calm, self possessed, loves wine, works in tech in SF and is fascinated by tech advancements, loves interesting non fiction and esp the books about tech companies blowing up (think Super pumped and Bad Blood), loves to travel, loves literature, has everything or could buy anything she wants. Extremely classy and loves fine dining. $100-$300
And I should add! She is the best. I love her ❤️